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Chapter One-1
Study Guide for Norman Geisler, Systematic Theology, Vol. 1, Chapter One
Fill in the blanks and use this as a study guide for your mid-term exam.
1. _____________________________- is the introduction to theology. It
deals with the necessary preconditions for doing systematic theology.
2. Theology is a rational discourse about ______________.
3. _________________ theology is a discourse about God that maintains that
here are certain essential beliefs. These include, but are not limited to:
_________________ and ________________ of the Bible
4. The _________________ of God
5. The ______________ _____________ of Christ
6. The ________________ of Christ
7. The all-sufficiency of Christ’s atoning __________________for
_________
8. The __________________ and ________________ resurrection of Christ
9. The necessity of salvation by _____________ alone
10. The _________________ and _____________ return of Christ to the earth
11. The eternal ______________ bliss of the saved and eternal ____________
of the unsaved.
12. Three categories of theology are:
Chapter One-2
1. ____________ Theology—a study of the biblical basis for theology
2. ____________ Theology—a discussion of the theology of the great
theologians of the Christian church.
3. ____________ Theology—an attempt to construct a comprehensive and
consistent whole our of all revelation from God, whether, special (biblical)
or general (natural) revelation.
The Basic Divisions of Systematic Theology
13. List and define the basic divisions found on page 16 of Geisler.
_____________________ is the study of __________________
_____________________ is the study of __________________
_____________________ is the study of __________________
_____________________ is the study of __________________
_____________________ is the study of __________________
_____________________ is the study of __________________
_____________________ is the study of __________________
_____________________ is the study of __________________
May also include:
Christology which is the study of ________________________
Pneumatology which is the study of _____________________
The Preconditions of Evangelical Theology
Chapter One-3
14. Evangelical theologians believe that the Bible is an __________________,
absolutely ______________ communication in human language that came
from an _____________________, _________________ and morally
__________________ God.
15. This belief presupposes that many things are true—most of which are
challenged by our current _________________.
Chapter One-4
1. Study Guide for Norman Geisler, Systematic Theology, Vol. 1, Chapter
Two
Fill in the blanks and use this as a study guide for your mid-term exam.
1. The existence of a ______________ God is the foundation of Christian
theology.
2. Theism is the __________________ precondition for evangelical theology.
___________________ is the study of being or reality. It is the study of being
as being, as opposed to studying being as physical being.
3. The name given for the view that God created everything else that exists is
______________ (God created all), as opposed to ______________ (there is
no God at all) and __________________ (God is all).
Theism and the Opposing Worldviews
4. List and define the seven major world views listed by Geisler
________________: ____________________________________________
________________: ____________________________________________
________________: ____________________________________________
________________: ____________________________________________
________________: ____________________________________________
________________: ____________________________________________
________________: ____________________________________________
Chapter One-5
5. ___________________ holds that more than one being exists.
6. ___________________ asserts that all reality is one—that there is only
being.
7. __________________ believes that there are many beings in existence.
The Alternatives to Monism
8. List the alternatives to Monism as listed by Geisler and the definitions:
___________________ : ___________________________________________
___________________ : ___________________________________________
___________________ : ___________________________________________
___________________ : ___________________________________________
9. Of these alternatives, which one is consistent with the Christian view?
The Four Arguments for God’s Existence
First: The Cosmological Argument for God’s Existence
10. The cosmological argument come in two basic forms:
____________________ and ___________________.
The Horizontal Form of the Cosmological Argument
11. Everything that had a beginning had a _____________
12. The universe had a ______________________
13. Therefore , the universe had a ______________
Chapter One-6
The Vertical Form of the Cosmological Argument
The argument from contingency
1). Whatever exists but can/could not exist needs a ______________ for its
existence, since the mere possibility of existence does not explain why
something exists. There mere possibility of something is _______________.
2.) But ______________ cannot produce __________________.
3.) Therefore, something necessarily exists as the ground for everything that
does exist but can not exist. It is a violation of the principle of causality to say
that a _________________ being can account for its own _______________.
The argument from change
1.) Whatever changes passes from a state of ________________ (potency) for
that change to state of being __________________ (act). That is, all
changing beings have act(uality) and potency in their very being. If not,
then all change would involve annihilation and re-creation, which is
impossible without a _____________, since nothing cannot produce
something.
2.) But no ________________ can _______________ itself, any more than the
potential for steel to become a skyscraper can actualize itself into a
skyscraper.
3.) If no potency can actualize itself, and yet at least one being is actualized
(e.g., me), then ultimately there must be something that is __________
________________ (with no potentiality), otherwise there would be no
ground for why something now exists that has the potential not to exist.
Chapter One-7
4.) If we deny the possibility of infinite regress of causes, then we must accept
the fact of the _________________ ________________, which scientists
desire to avoid.
The Argument form Present Depenance of Every Part of the Universe
1.) Every part of the universe is right now _________________ for its
existence.
2.) If every part is right now dependent for its existence, then the who universe
must also be right now ________________ for its ________________.
3.) Therefore, the whole universe is dependent for its existence on some
____________________ ____________ beyond itself.
Second, The Teleological Argument for God’s Existence
1.) All designs imply a _________________.
2.) There is ___________ design in the ______________.
3.) Therefore, there must have been a __________________ _______________
of the universe.
4.) A support of the teleological argument, the ________________ principle
states that from its very inception the universe was fine-tuned for the
emergence of human life.
Third, The Ontological Argument for God’s Existence
The first form of the ontological argument
1.) God is by definition and absolutely ______________ ____________.
________________ is a perfection.
Chapter One-8
2.) Therefore, God must ______________. If God did not exist, then He would
be lacking one perfection, namely existence. If God lacked any perfection
He would not be God, because God by definition absolutely perfect Being.
The second form of the ontological argument
1.) If God exists, we must conceive of Him as ___________________ Being.
2.) But by definition, a ___________________ Being cannot NOT exist.
3.) Therefore, if a ____________________ Being can exist, it must exit.
4.) While the ontological argument cannot prove God’s
____________________, it can prove certain things about His
_________________, if God does exist.
Fourth, The Moral Argument for God’s Existence
1.) The heart of the argument follows this basic structure:
________ law implies a __________ Lawgiver
2.) There is an objective _________ law.
3.) Therefore, there is an objective _____________ Lawgiver.
Chapter One-9
Study Guide for Norman Geisler, Systematic Theology, Vol. 1, Chap3
Fill in the blanks and use this as a study guide for your mid-term exam.
1. Evangelical theology is built on the __________________________.
Two Definitions of Miracles
1.) The weak view is that miracles might not be
______________________ at all; it could simply be a natural event
for which the observer, as yet, has not natural explanation.
2.) The strong view is that a miracle is beyond nature’s power to
produce and that only a supernatural power (God) can do.
2. __________________ law is understood as the usual, orderly, and general
way that the world operates.
3. Miracles are ____________________ but not anti-_________________.
Three Old Testament Words for Miracles
4. ____________ (Heb. oth) usually carries a supernatural significance,
namely, as something appointed by God with special assigned meaning.
5. _____________ (Heb. mopheth) sometimes used synonymously with signs,
the word has a special, supernatural (divine) significance.
6. _____________ (Heb. koak) is sometimes used of human power, very often
of divine power, often in direct connection with events called “signs” or
“wonders” or both.
Three New Testament Words for Miracles
Chapter One-10
7. ____________ (Grk. semeion) is used seventy-seven times in the New
Testament. Most often it is reserved for what we would call a miracle.
8. ____________ (Grk. teras) used sixteen times in the New Testament, almost
always refers to a miracle.
9. ____________ (Grk. dunamis) is used to refer to human power or abilities,
of satanic power, and of often of God’s power, and is often translated
“miracles.”
The Purposes of Miracles
The Bible states at least three purposes of a miracle:
10. To _____________ the ______________ of God (Jn. 2:11; 11:40)
11. To ______________ certain persons as ___________________ for God
(Ac. 2:22; Heb. 2:3-4).
12. To provide _______________ for belief in God (Jn. 6:2; 14, 20:30-31).
The Various Dimensions of Miracles
13. Miracles have an ____________________ ___________________
14. Miracles have a _____________________ ____________________
15. Miracles have a ____________________ _____________________
16. Miracles have a ____________________ _____________________
17. Miracles have a ______________________ ___________________
18. Miracles, in the strictest sense of the word, are possible only in a
____________ world.
Chapter One-11
Study Guide for Norman Geisler, Systematic Theology, Vol. 1, Chap. 4
Fill in the blanks and use this as a study guide for your mid-term exam.
The Prerequisites for Divine Revelation
1. A Being capable of _______________ a revelation.
2. A being capable of _______________ a revelation.
3. A _____________ through which a revelation can be given.
God’s General Revelation –Nature, Humans, History, Arts, & Music
4. _______________ revelation refers to God’s revelation in nature, as
opposed to His revelation in ________________________ .
5. True or False: General revelation is NOT integral to Christian apologetics.
6. God is revealed in nature in two basic ways: as _________________ and as
_________________. He is the cause of the ______________ as well as the
_________________ of the universe.
7. God is revealed in human being is His ________________ and
______________ (Gen. 1:27); consequently, something about God can be
learned from studying human beings.
8. God is revealed in history, which is call _____-_______. It is the
_____________ of God in the sands of time.
Chapter One-12
9. The Bible declares that God is _________________ and so is His creation.
Geisler extrapolates from this that God is revealed in art. Human can both
____________ beauty and they can also ____________ beautiful things.
10. Likewise, Geisler argues that God’s general revelation can be seen in music.
He writes, “We learn something more about God’s nature through human
___________, a God-ordained instrument of music.
11. Fill in the comparison blanks comparing General and Special Revelation
General Revelation Special Revelation
God as _________________
Norm for _________________
Means of ________________________ in
____________________
God as ___________________
Norm for ___________________
Means of _________________________ in
____________________
12. Special revelation contributes uniquely to Christian _________________,
for the Bible alone is both infallible and inerrant.
The Role of Special Revelation
13. The Bible Alone is _____________________ and ____________________
14. The Bible Alone _________________ God as _______________________
15. The Bible Alone has the _____________________ of _________________
16. The Bible Alone is the _______________ Norm for ___________________
Chapter One-13
The Role of General Revelation
17. General Revelation is ______________ than Special Revelation
18. General Revelation is Essential to Human __________________
19. General Revelation is Essential to Human __________________
20. General Revelation is Essential to Christian _________________
Human reason is necessary for two things:
21. It puts _____________ on the general ______________ law.
22. It aids us in _______________ what it means to utilize in order to attain the
_____________ end.
23. Geisler states that the Bible is always ____________, but our
________________ of it is not.
24. God’s revelations in His Word and His world never _______________ each
other.
25. Whenever there is a real conflict, it is between human __________________
of God’s Word and human ___________________ of His world. Either one
or both are wrong, but God has not erred.
Chapter One-14
Study Guide for Norman Geisler, Systematic Theology, Vol. 1, Chap 5
Fill in the blanks and use this as a study guide for your mid-term exam.
1. Logic deals with the methods of valid thinking; it reveals how to draw
proper __________________ from ___________________.
FUNDAMENTAL LAWS OF THOUGHT
2. There are three elemental laws of all rational thinking:
a) The Law of _____________________ (A is not non-A)
b) The Law of ___________________ (A is A)
c) The Law of _____________ ______________ (either A or non-A)
3. Without the law of noncontradiction we could not say that God is not
_______________.
4. If the law of identity were not binding, we could not say that God is
_______________.
5. If the law of excluded middle didn’t exist we could not affirm that it is
either God or ________ _________ that we are speaking about.
THE LAWS OF RATIONAL INFERENCE
Deductive Logic
6. The device by which one proposition can be correctly drawn from others is
called a __________________. Deductive logic comes in three forms:
a) _______________ syllogisms
b) _______________ syllogisms
c) _______________ syllogisms
Chapter One-15
Categorical Syllogisms
7. A categorical (__________________) syllogism is one where a categorical
(________________) proposition is deduced from two other categorical
propositions. For example:
All human being are sinful.
John is a human being.
Therefore __________ is _____________.
Propositions
8. A proposition is a _____________________ sentence that _____________
or _____________ something. A proposition is composed of a subject, a
predicate, and a copula.
In the example above (question 7), identify the
a) Subject _____________________
b) Predicate ____________________
c) Copula ______________________
9. The subject can be ________________________ or
_______________________.
10. Propositions can be either _____________________ or
____________________.
Seven Rules of Categorical Syllogisms
1) There must be only ______________ terms
2) The middle term must be distributed at least ________________
3) Terms distributed in the _______________ must be distributed in the
premises.
Chapter One-16
4) The _________________ always follows the weaker premises.
5) No conclusion follows from two negative ___________________.
6) No conclusion follows from two ______________ premises.
7) No _________________ conclusion follows from two affirmative premises.
Fallacies of Categorical Syllogisms
11. _________________________ is the fallacy where the major term is
distribution in the conclusion but not in the premise.
12. ________________________ is the fallacy where the minor term is
distributed in the conclusion but not in the premise.
13. _______________________ is the fallacy where the middle term is not
distributed at least once.
14. ______________________ is the fallacy where there are not three and only
three terms in the syllogism (includes the fallacies of “ambiguous middle”
and “equivocal middle.”
Hypothetical Syllogisms
15. Hypothetical syllogisms are an “____ . . . _______. . .” type of reasoning. If
A, then B follows. For example:
If God is all-just, then He must punish all sin
God is all-just
Therefore, He must ______________ _____ _________.
16. There are only two ways to draw valid conclusions from a hypothetical
syllogism:
Chapter One-17
a) Modus pollens: Affirming the ____________________ (the part of the
sentence that coming before “then”).
b) Modus tollens: Denying the __________________ (the part of the sentence
coming after “then”).
17. In the example above (question 15), is the syllogism a modus pollens, or a
modus tollens?
Disjunctive Syllogisms
18. A disjunctive syllogism is an ________________/_________ type of
reasoning. For example:
It is either A or not A (but not both)
It is not non-A
Therefore, it is ______.
A theological example:
Either God is existent or He is nonexistent.
God is not nonexistent.
Therefore, God is _____________.
19. There are two ways to draw a valid conclusion from a disjunctive syllogism:
Either by denying one ________________ or by denying the other
_______________. An alternate is the statement on one side or the other of
the “or.”
Exercises:
20. In the examples below, identify the type of syllogism, and if it is a
categorical syllogism identify whether it is modus pollens, or modus tollens.
Chapter One-18
After identifying the type of syllogism, insert the conclusion that must
follow the premises.
Type of Syllogism
Major Premise
If I lie, then I’ll be sorry
Either I should exercise or I should diet
If you study, then you learn
If I pay now, then I’ll save
Minor
Premise
I’ll lieI should not exercise You didn’t
learn
If I save, then I’ll have money later
Logical Conclusion
INDUCTIVE LOGIC
21. Broadly speaking, deductive reasoning is from the ________________ to
the ____________________, while inductive reasoning is from the
_______________ to the ______________________. Inductive logic
begins with any number of particulars and makes a generalization about
them.
Rules of Inductive Logic
22. The validity of the generalization from inductive reasoning is evaluated by
asking the following questions:
a) How many ________________ were ______________________?
b) How _____________________ was the ____________________?
c) How _________________ was the evidence
______________________?
d) How does the ____________________ gained ____________________
with other knowledge?
Chapter One-19
Kinds of Probability
23. A priori probability is _____________________ in nature, dealing with the
advanced likelihood or odds of an even occurring. In other words, the
probability or likelihood of an event occurring is hypothesized/theorized
based on previous examples.
24. A posteriori probability is probability __________ the fact. In science, it is
_____________________ probability, also called scientific probability. A
posteriori probability offers varying degrees of certainty that something is
true based on an examination of the available evidence.
Sample Test Question:
25. True or False: The belief that the sun will come up tomorrow is based on a
priori probability.
Degrees of Probability
26. According to the inductive method, there are various degrees of probability,
depending on the kind and extent of evidence available. These range from
virtually _________________ on the one end to virtually
_________________ on the other end.
LOGIC AND GOD
27. God does not merely choose to be rational and consistent. He is
______________ by his very nature.
28. While God is prior to logic in order of being (__________________),
nevertheless, logic is prior to God in the order of knowing
(______________________).
Chapter One-20
29. Good reason does not subject God to ______________ minds, but rather
subjects our ______________ minds to His infinite Mind (2 Cor. 10:5; 1
Cor. 1:21).
Sample Exam Questions:
30. True or False: According to Geisler the Scriptures declare that there are
many things that are impossible for God to do.
31. True or False: God created the laws of thought.
32. True or False: God can transcend the laws of logic.
33. True or False: The laws of physics are created and can be transcended by
God like everything else that was created.
34. Given the laws of logic, be prepared to defend the Orthodox view on the
topics of: The Trinity, the Incarnation, and the doctrine of
predestination/free will.
Chapter One-21
Study Guide for Norman Geisler, Systematic Theology, Vol. 1, Chap 6
Fill in the blanks and use this as a study guide for your mid-term exam.
1. Christianity makes ________ claims
2. However, all true statement must be __________________ they must make
sense.
3. The objectivity of truth is dependent on the objectivity of
____________________.
4. The dominant view in the contemporary world is opposed to an
_______________ embrace of meaning.
5. The dominate view is called ___________________________, which
maintains that all meaning is relative to changing situations; meaning is
arbitrary and varies according to context.
6. Conventionalism is an overreaction to Platonic ______________________.
7. Essentialism, as proposed by Plato, insists that there is a
___________________ or _______________ relation between our
statements and what they mean. According to this view, language is not
arbitrarily related to meaning; rather, there is a one-to-one
___________________ between them.
8. Wittgenstein, a proponent of conventionalism, offers an alternative view of
meaning that employs:
a) ______________ resemblance
b) Language _________________
c) Forms of _________________
Chapter One-22
9. According to the Wittgensteinian view of conventionalism, God-talk is
_________________.
10. ___________________ language can have only one meaning (look in
footnotes)
11. ___________________ language is based on similarity or analogy
12. ___________________ language is ambiguous, having two or more
meanings.
13. Religious beliefs have ____________________ force; that is, they orient
our lives.
Critique of Conventionalism’s Theory of Meaning
14. First, conventionalism is ____________-_______________
15. Second, if conventionalism were correct, then _____________________
statement would not necessarily translate into all languages as
_______________ statements, but they do.
16. Third, if conventionalism were true there would not be any _____________
truths in any language, but there are.
17. Fourth, if conventionalism were true, we would not know any truth
_____________ of and/or prior to knowing the conventions of that truth in
that language.
18. Fifth, the laws of logic are not based on human conventions; they are true
apart from all __________________ conventions.
19. Sixth, conventionalism confuses the _________________ source of
meaning with its ultimate _________________.
20. Seventh, if conventionalism were ________________, then no meaning
would be possible.
Chapter One-23
21. Eight, conventionalism has only an ________________ criterion for
meaning, such as coherence.
22. Ninth, conventionalism involves a _______________ argument.
23. Tenth, conventionalists of the distinguish between _________________ and
__________ grammar to avoid certain problems, such as those just given.
24. Eleven, no truly ___________________ knowledge of God is possible in a
conventionalist view of language, since in conventionalism, language is
simply based on our experience.
REALISM:
AN ALTERNATIVE TO ESSENTIALISM AND CONVENTIONALISM
25. This alternative avoids the rigidity of ____________________ and the
relativism of ______________________.
26. Realism contends that meaning is ____________________, even though
our symbols are culturally relative, for meaning transcends our symbols and
linguistic means of expressing it.
27. Understanding the Meaning of Meaning
The six causes:
a) Efficient Cause—that ___ ______ something comes to be
b) Final Cause—that ___ ______ something comes to be
c) Formal Cause—that ___ ______ something comes to be
d) Material Cause—that ____ ___ _______ something comes to be
e) Exemplar Cause—that _____ ________ something comes to be
f) Instrumental Cause—that __________ ________ something comes to
be
Chapter One-24
28. Words in themselves have not actual meaning; they have only
________________ meaning.
29. Words are only parts of a whole (the whole __________________), which
does have meaning.
The Locus of Meaning
30. A text’s meaning is not found _______________ the text (in the author’s
mind)
31. A text’s meaning is not found _______________ the text (in the mystic’s
mind)
32. A text’s meaning is not found ________________ the text (in the author’s
unexpressed intention).
33. A text’s meaning is found ________ the text (in the author’s expressed
meaning).
The Unity of Meaning
34. Since the meaning of Scripture comes ultimately from an objective Mind
(God) and is found in an objective text that uses terms with the same
meaning for both God and human beings, it follow that there is only
___________ meaning in a biblical text—the one given to it by the
________________. Of course, there can be many ________________ and
___________________. Indeed, it can be expressed in different ways in the
same language.
Chapter One-25
35. Thus, while the ____________ ___________ (one sense) view is correct
when it affirms only one meaning to a text, there is, however, a __________
___________ (full sense) in terms of implications and applications.
The Objectivity of Meaning
36. Human languages vary, but _______________ does not.
37. ___________________ insists on a one-to-one correlation between the
meaning and the expression.
38. __________________ contends there is a many-to-one correlation between
meaning and the expression.
39. _________________ affirms that there is a one-to-many correlation.
40. The objectivity of truth that Christianity embraces is based on the premise
that meaning is _____________________.
41. The usages of ___________________ and ________________ do change,
but the meaning properly expressed by them does not.
Chapter One-26
Study Guide for Norman Geisler, Systematic Theology, Vol. 1, Chap 7
Fill in the blanks and use this as a study guide for your mid-term exam.
1. Another important precondition of evangelical theology is the nature of
________.
2. Up to modernity, orthodox theology held the _________________ view of
truth, which maintains that truth is what corresponds to the objects of its
affirmations.
3. The Bible claims to be ____________. The psalmist declared, “Your law is
___________” (Ps. 119:142), and Jesus prayed, “Sanctify them by Your
___________, Your ____________ is truth” (John 17:17).
4. ____________________ truth, is true for everyone, everywhere, always.
5. Christianity claims that there is _____________ truth and also insists that
truth is that which ____________________ to the way things are.
THE DEFINITION OF TRUTH
What Truth is Not
Truth is not “That which works” This is known as the pragmatic view of truth
Truth is not “That which coheres”
Truth is not “That which was intended”
Truth is not “That which is comprehensive”
Truth is not “That which is existentially relevant”
Truth is not “That which feels good”
What Truth Is: Truth Is That Which Corresponds to the Object
Chapter One-27
6. Truth is found in __________________. Truth is what corresponds to its
____________ (referent), which this object is abstract or concrete. As
applied to the world, truth is the way things really are.
Philosophical Arguments for a Correspondence View of Truth
7. First, noncorrespondence view of truth are ________-___________.
8. Second, even ________ are impossible without a correspondence view of
truth.
9. Third, without correspondence there could be no such thing as
_____________ or _____________.
10. Fourth, ______________ communication would break down without a
correspondence view of truth.
11. Fifth, even the ___________________ theory depends on the
correspondence view of truth.
Biblical Arugments for a Correspondence View of Truth
12. First, the ___________ commandment is predicated on a correspondence
view of truth.
13. Second, the Bible gives numerous examples of the correspondence view of
truth. Examples: Joseph, Moses, Solomon, Micaih, etc.
14. Third, the biblical use of the word _______ does not support the
intentionalist view of truth, since it is used of unintentional “errors” (cf. Lev.
4:2; 27, etc.).
15. The Bible consistently employs a ________________________ view of
truth. A statement is true if it corresponds to the _____________ and false
if it does not.
Chapter One-28
SUMMARY OF TRUTH’S DEFINITION
16. There is a difference between what truth ______ and what truth
__________. Truth is _______________, but truth has certain
________________.
THE NATURE OF TRUTH AS ABSOLUTE
17. Not only is truth correspondence, truth is also _______________________.
Evangelical theology is predicated on the premise that the Bible is ________
truth (John 17:17), not just _____ truth.
The Relative View of Truth
18. The relative view of truth maintains that some things are only truth for
_______ people but not for ______ people. Another relative view of truth is
that some things are true only for some ___________ but not for all times.
A third view is that some things are true in come _________ but not in all
places. On the other hand, the absolute view of truth is that truth is true for
all __________, at all ____________, and in all ___________.
19. The problems with the relative view of truth:
a) Relativism is _________-_______________
b) Relativism entail a world filled with __________________________
c) Relativism means no has ever been _______________ about anything
Exam Question Example:
Please answer the objection to absolute truth that it is too narrow.
Chapter One-29
Study Guide for Norman Geisler, Systematic Theology, Vol. 1, Chap 8
Fill in the blanks and use this as a study guide for your mid-term exam.
1. _________________ is the belief that every religion is true, that each
provides a genuine encounter with the Ultimate. One may be better than the
others, but all are adequate.
2. ________________ is similar to pluralism, claiming each religion is true to
the individual who holds it. Relativists believe that since there is no
objective truth in religion, there are no criteria by which one can tell which
religion is true or which religions are false.
3. _______________ claims that one religion is explicitly true, and all others
are implicitly true.
4. ______________ is the belief that only one religion is true, and all others
opposed to it are false.
5. Christianity is exclusivistic, claiming to the _________ true religion.
6. John Hicks argues for _____________________. He claims that all
religions hold the same core moral values, i.e., love and concern for others.
He claims that statements similar to Christianity’s ______________
_____________ can be found in other religions.
7. Geisler counters with the following points:
a) First, it is debatable that anything the “______ of the Spirit” can be found in
other non-Christian religions.
Chapter One-30
b) Second, moral equality of practice does not prove that there is no moral
______________ in the teaching of Christianity over other religsions.
c) Third, Hicks assumes a moral common denominator to argue that all
religions are ________________. He thus has to negate the superior aspects
of Christian morality or teaching in order to show that Christianity is not
superior.
d) Fourth, the moral manifestations of a _____________ does not settle the
truth question. Being a good moral Mormon does not prove the truth of the
historical assertions of the Mormon Bible.
e) Fifth, in the final analysis, the moral superiority of Christianity does not rest
on our _______________ as Christians, but on Christ’s unique
__________________.
REDEMPTIVE EQUALITY OF ALL RELIGIONS
8. Hicks argues that humanity’s redemption is achieved in “a gradual
___________________ from the natural self-centeredness to a radically new
orientation centered on God and manifest in the “fruit of the Spirit.” As
such, Hicks argues that “salvation is taking place within all of the world
religions.”
9. A Response to Redemption Equality
a) First, it’s based on the __________________ that all religions have a
proper relation to what is truly Ultimate.
b) Second, Hicks assumes that all religions are merely a ______________
response to the Ultimate.
Chapter One-31
c) Third, this denial of the truth of any particular religion is itself a form of
_______________, for it favors the worldview known as pantheism in order
to deny the particularity of the worldview known as Christian theism.
d) Fourth, the pluralist view often __________________ to the position that
whatever is sincerely believed is true.
e) Fifth, the argument for redemptive equality implies that all truth claims are
a matter of _________/_________and not __________/__________.
THE ALLEGATION THAT CHRIST IS NOT UNIQUE
Hicks argues that Jesus never claimed to be unique, but that this was the view
of the writers who portray Jesus.
10. Geisler argues that the New Testament documents are ________________
reliable, and their historicity has been abundantly attested.
11. Hick also argues that it is impossible for Jesus to be God incarnate. He
asks, rhetorically, “Is it really possible for infinite ___________________ to
be housed in a finite human ____________?”
12. Geisler answers that the Incarnation is not a logical _________________,
and as such there is no demonstrated incoherence in the view. Second,
Hicks view of the Incarnation assumes the unorthodox
__________________ view, which confuses Christ’s two natures.
THE ALLEGATION OF INTOLERANCE
13. The argument of the pluralists, is that the exclusivist view of Christianity is
bigoted and ____________________.
Chapter One-32
14. Geisler responds that pluralists are themselves ______________________
to any argument that does not embrace their worldview.
Other allegations against the Christian exclusivist view is that it is narrow-
minded, and that it promotes intellectual imperialism. The problem with these
allegations is that they can be equally true of pluralists, but that they are not true
of Christianity.
CHALLENGEABLE PRESUPPOSITIONS OF PLURALISM
15. Pluralists generally deny any ________________________ binding moral
law. If there is no such universal moral law, then it is impossible to judge
the religions from any standard beyond them. This it is impossible to judge
Christianity as inadequate or to claim that Christianity cannot be exclusivist.
By what moral law does one make such a claim if no such moral law exists.
16. Beneath the pluralist’s attack on exclusivism is a ____________________
presupposition that all religious phenomena can be explained
naturalistically, that is, without any appeal the supernatural.
Chapter One-33
Study Guide for Norman Geisler, Systematic Theology, Vol. 1, Chap 9
Fill in the blanks and use this as a study guide for your mid-term exam.
1. Evangelicals believe that the Bible is God’s Word in _______________
words.
2. True or False : A precondition for doing evangelical theology is the belief
that finite human language is capable of meaningfully expressing the nature
of the infinite God of Christian theism.
3. True or False : Evangelicals accept the fact that it is impossible to speak
meaningfully about God.
4. Three possible views with regard to “God-talk”
a) It is ______________ (totally different from the way God actually is).
b) It is _____________ (totally the same as God actually is).
c) It is _____________ (similar to the way God actually is).
5. Evangelicals have defended versions of both ________________ and
_______________. However, Geisler argues that only through some form
of ______________ is God able to communicate with us.
Analogous Language and Special Revelation (Scripture
6. The Bible is emphatic about two things in this connection. First, God is
beyond our __________________ and ________________ in that our finite
can never fully comprehend the infinite.
Chapter One-34
7. Second, human language is adequate for expressing the
___________________ of God.
8. But if God is both _________________ expressed in human language and
yet ____________________ more than human language can express, then at
best the language of Scripture is only ____________________________-.
9. Analogous Language and General Revelation (Nature)
a) First, arguments for God’s existence are arguments from
__________________ to the efficient ____________________ of their
being. Since effects get their actuality from God, they must be
___________________ to Him.
b) Second, Pure _________ (God) cannot create another Pure ________. It is
impossible to create an _____________________ Being. Thus every
created being must be composed of _____________________ and
_______________________. All created beings have _________________
because they actually exist, and they have ______________________
because they have the potential not to exist. Anything that comes into
existence can pass out of ______________________.
10. The linguistic precondition of evangelical theology is that we do have some
positive ________________ of God.
Chapter One-35
Study Guide for Norman Geisler, Systematic Theology, Vol. 1, Chap 10
Fill in the blanks and use this as a study guide for your mid-term exam.
1. Hermeneutics: 1) the science and methodology of interpreting texts,
especially the books of the Bible; 2) the branch of theology that is concerned
with explaining or interpreting religious concepts, theories, and principles.
2. Subjectivity: 1) interpretation based on personal opinions or feelings rather
than on external facts or evidence; 2) the philosophical argument that
nothing can be proven factually, therefore all of reality is the nothing more
than the individual interpretation. As a hermeneutic, it argues that trying to
discover the intended meaning of the author is pointless, if not impossible.
Instead every hermeneutic is nothing more than the individual response to
the text.
3. There are many forms of subjectivism in hermeneutics, but that all involve
self-defeating statements, and any attempt to deny an objective interpretation
implies that one is possible, namely, the one by which the subjectivist’s view
is expected to be understood.
4. Objectivity: 1) the ability to perceive or describe something without being
influenced by personal emotions or prejudices; 2) the fact or quality of being
accurate, unbiased, and independent of individual perceptions; 3) philosophy
Chapter One-36
the actual existence of something, without reference to people's impressions
or ideas.
OBJECTIVITY IN HERMENEUTICS
5. The Basis of Objective Hermeneutic
a) The existence of an absolute _________________ (God)
b) The absolute nature of _________________________.
c) The analogy between _____________________ understanding and
___________________ understanding
d) The ability of ______________ minds to understand the
________________ revealed by God.
PRINCIPLES OF OBJECTIVE HERMENEUTICS
6. Look for the ___________________ meaning, not the
_________________.
7. Look for the Author’s meaning (____________________) not his purpose
(______________).
8. Look for meaning in the _______________, not beyond it.
9. Look for meaning in ____________________, not
____________________.
10. THE FOUR MAIN HERMENEUTIC PRINCIPLES FOR
INTERPRETING NATURAL (GENERAL) REVELATION
a) The principle of _______________________
Chapter One-37
b) The principle of _______________________
c) The principle of _______________________
d) The principle of _______________________
Chapter One-38
Study Guide for Norman Geisler, Systematic Theology, Vol. 1, Chap 11
Fill in the blanks and use this as a study guide for your mid-term exam.
1. Historical Christianity is inseparably tied to historical events. Thus, the
existence and _____________________ of certain historical events are
essential to maintaining biblical Christianity.
2. The Overall argument in defense of Christianity is based on the
_______________ of the New Testament documents.
Epistemological Objections to an Objective History
The Unobservability of History
3. Response: It must be possible to be “________________” because they
claim to have it. How could they know everyone’s knowledge of history is
not objective unless they had and objective knowledge of it by which they
judge others? “Objective” means “__________________ and adequate”
The Fragmentary Nature of Historical Accounts
4. Response: The fact that accounts of history are _____________________
does not destroy historical objectivity any more than the existence of only a
limited number of fossils destroys the objectivity of geology. History need
be no less objective than ________________________ for depending on
fragmentary accounts.
Chapter One-39
The Axiological (Value) Objection
The historian cannot avoid making value judgments.
5. Response: One may grant the point that ordinary _____________________
is value-laden and that value judgments are _______________________.
This by no means makes historical objectivity impossible. Objectivity
means to be fair in dealing with the facts; it means to present what happened
as accurately as possible. Fairness, implies a value and thus objectivity is
seen to be demanding value judgments rather than avoiding them.
The Methodological Objections
The Selective Nature of Historical Methodology
6. Response to the problem of Historical Conditioning: It does not follow
that since the historian is a ________________________- of his time, his
history is also purely a _______________________ of the time.
The Need to Select and Arrange Historical Materials
7. Response: That historians must select his materials does not automatically
make history purely ______________________________. Jurors make
judgments “beyond reasonable doubt” without having all the
_____________________.
The Metaphysical (Worldview) Objections
Chapter One-40
The Need to Structure the Facts of History
8. Response: There is no reason to assume that the historian cannot arrange
the historical materials without _________________________- the past.
The Unavoidability of Worldviews
9. Response: Without a worldview it makes no sense to talk about
_______________ meaning. Meaning is system-dependent within a given
meaning, but within another system it may have a very different meaning.
This points to the necessity of establishing a worldview in order to attain
_________________________.
Miracles Are by Nature Supernatural
10. Response: Even if the objectivity of _________________________ is
accepted, many historians object to any history that contains
____________________. The secular rejection of miracle-history is often
based on __________________ principle of analogy. The argument is that
if something from history cannot find an analogy in the present (regular
pattern of existence) then it must be rejected as _______________.
However, the testimony for regularity in general is in no way a testimony
against an unusual event in particular. Repeatability and
________________________ are needed to establish scientific laws or
general patterns (of which miracles would be particular exceptions), but
what is needed to establish historical events is credible testimony that these
particular events did indeed occur.
Chapter One-41
Miracles Are in Principle Historically Unknowable
11. Response: The supernatural occurs _________ the historical but it is not a
product _________ the natural process. There is not good reason why the
Christian should yield to the radical existential theologians on the question
of the objective and historical dimensions of a miracle. A miracle can be
identified within an empirical or historical context both ______________
and _________________, both objectively and subjectively. Miracles are
historically grounded—they are more than historical, but they are not less.
The Psychological Objection
12. History recorded by persons with religious motives cannot be trusted—their
religious _______________________ obscures their historical objectivity
and they tend to reinterpret history in the light of their religious beliefs.
13. Response:
1) There is not logical _______________________ between one’s purpose and
the accuracy of the history he writes.
2) Other important writers from the ancient world wrote with
_______________ similar to the Gospel authors.
3) Complete religious ___________________ literature, such as some critics
see in the New Testament, was actually unknown in the ancient world.
4) Unlike other early accounts, the Gospels were written, at a maximum, only
____________________ after the events.
Chapter One-42
5) The historical confirmation of the New Testament writings is
________________________.
6) The New Testament writers take great care to distinguish their words from
the ________________ of Jesus.
7) Luke, for example, states a clear interest for historical _______________.
8) The existence of religious __________ is no guarantee of historical
inaccuracy.
9) The New Testament is ______________________ to be historical by the
same criteria applied to other ancient histories.
10) If the historicity of an event must be denied because of the strong
motivation of the person giving it, then virtually all eyewitness testimony
from the survivors of the ______________ must be discounted.
The Hermeneutical Objections
14. No history can be written without bringing the material into a
“coordinated whole” under some “unifying _____________________,”
and Hayden White believes these concepts are chosen from poetry.
15. Response: The relativity argument presupposes some objective knowledge,
otherwise they would not be able to identify the subjective. They speak of
needing to select and arrange the facts. “Facts” represent some objective
________________________. If the relativists believe that one’s
worldview can distort how one views history, then it implies that there is a
correct way to view it.
Chapter One-43
16. Response: As matter of fact, total relativity is _______________________.
How can one know that history was completely unknowable unless he knew
something about it? It is an admission that history is objectively knowable
and as such cannot eliminate the possibility that Christian claims of history
are knowable. Historical evidence for the central _________________ of
Christianity is more amply supported by historical evidence than for almost
any other event from the ancient world.
17. Response: The heralds of the historical relativist view sometimes attempt to
write _________________________- history themselves.
18. Response: The ability to recognize ________________ history implies
objective knowledge.
19. Response: Like science, history employs normal _____________________
measures that render the facts knowable.
GENERAL REMARKS CONCERNING
THE OBJECTIVITY OF HISTORY
20. First, absolute objectivity is possible only for the ____________ Mind.
Finite minds must be content with systematic __________________, that is,
fair but revisable attempts to reconstruct the past based upon an established
framework of reference that comprehensively and consistently incorporates
all the facts into the overall sketch provided by the worldview.
21. Second, even with this absolute perspective, an adequately objective, finite
interpretation of history is ________________, for the historian can be as
objective as the scientist.
Chapter One-44
22. Third, in reality neither the scientist nor the historian can attain objective
meaning without the use of some ________________ by which he
understands the facts.
Chapter One-45
Study Guide for Norman Geisler, Systematic Theology, Vol. 1, Chap 11
Fill in the blanks and use this as a study guide for your mid-term exam.
1. _________ theology is done will determine ______________ the
theological conclusion will be.
VARIOUS KINDS OF THEOLOGICAL METHODS
The Reductio Absurdum Method
2. Zeno (c. 495 – c. 430 B.C.) Argued that nothing existed except one solitary
________________-. Nothing, he argued could move from point A to point
B, since there are an infinite number of points between them, and it is
impossible to traverse the __________. Therefore, by reducing pluralism to
the _______________, he believed he had proven monism (that all is one.).
The method itself does not necessitate any view contrary to Christian belief.
The Socratic Method
3. Socrates (c. 470 – 399 B.C.) This could better be called the _____________
method or the method of interrogation, for it is based on the simple
technique of discovering truth by asking the right _____________. The true
Socratic Method is based on the belief in _______________; however,
others have abstracted this methodology from the belief in
_______________ and use it to lead a mind down the path of truth by asking
the right questions.
The Deductive Method
4. Aristotle (384 – 322 B.C.) Credited with being the first to record the canons
of deductive logic (Prior Analysis). These deductions are done by way of
Chapter One-46
logical ___________________-, which take on either a categorical,
hypothetical, or disjunctive form. In the categorical form the conclusion
follows from the truth of the _________________________. In the
disjunctive form, the conclusion is true if one of the two disjuncts
(statements on either side of the “or “in the premise) is negated.
The Inductive Method
16. Francis Bacon (1561 – 1626) He developed the inductive logic and
____________________ logic, known popularly as the _______________
method. These were put in their current form by John Stuart Mill (1806 –
1773). There are two categories of induction: imperfect and perfect. Perfect
induction are possible with regard to biblical teaching, since the Bible
contains a ______________________ and manageable amount of material, a
high degree of certainty is obtainable in a perfect induction.
The Cartesian Method
17. Rene Descartes (1596 – 1650) He developed a method for discovering truth
that began in systematic and methodological ____________________. It
began with “I doubt, therefore I think,” and it concluded with “I exist, God
exists, and the world exists.” Descartes outlined a method by which one
could obtain certainty.
18. The rule of ________________: Only indubitably clear and distinct ideas
should be accepted as true.
19. The rule of ________________: All problems should be reduced to their
simplest parts.
Chapter One-47
20. The rule __________________: All reasoning should proceed from simple
to complex,
21. The rule of ________________: One should review and recheck each step
of the argument.
The Euclidian Method
22. Euclid (fl. 300 B.C.) Developed a system of ______________________ that
began with certain basic definitions and axioms held to be self-evident.
From these all other postulates and theorems were deduced logically and
systematically. Using this method, Spinoza developed an entire
philosophical system, including proofs for __________________ as well as
descriptions of the creation and nature of human beings, free will, and ethics.
From deductive rationalism Spinoza also deduced that miracles were
_______________ and began the first systematic effort at negative higher
criticism of the Bible.
The Transcendental Method
23. Immanuel Kant (1724 – 1804) Credited with the development of
transcendental method. It is neither deductive nor inductive; it is more
_______________________, arguing back to the necessary preconditions of
something being the case. The transcendental method seeks for necessary
_________________ of a given state of affairs, not an actual ___________
of them.
The Abductive Method
Chapter One-48
24. Charles Sanders Pierce (1839 – 1914) is credited with developing the
abductive method. An abduction is more like an _______________ or
_____________________ flash that provides one with a model for doing
science or theology. Sometimes this abduction comes as in intelligent
__________________ and other times in a dream or a vision. It is an
intelligent insight into the situation.
The Retroductive Method
25. A retroductive theology is where additional insight is gained from further
_____________________. In this way, the more one knows, the more one
know what he knows better. Sometimes this movement is described as a
____________________. But it is considered a benign circle, not a vicious
circle; in the discipline of interpretation it is called “the ________________
circle.” This is the process by which one understands the whole in the light
of the parts and the parts in light of the whole.
The Analogical Method
26. Joseph Butler (1692 – 1752) is best known for his famous Analogy of
Religion. It is a presentation of the plausibility of Christianity in terms of
the analogy between _________________ and ________________ religion.
27. The Use of Probability: Argued that our knowledge of nature is only
_______________. From this he concluded two things in the defense of
Christianity. First, since this is the case, “one is always in the position of a
potential ______________________, and so one never can posit what one
knows of nature as the standard to judge what is natural.” Second,
probability, which is the guide to life, supports the belief in a
Chapter One-49
______________________ revelation from God in the Bible and the
miracles of Christ.
28. The Objection to Deism: He who believes the _____________________ to
have proceeded from Him who is the Author of nature, may well expect to
find the same sort of difficulties in it as are found in the constitution of
_________________. [Therefore,] he who denies Scripture to have been
from God, upon account of these difficulties, may for the very same reason
deny the world to have been formed by him. Thus if the Deists concluded
that God created the world, which they do, then they would be forced by
their own logic to accept the possibility that the Scriptures were from God as
well.
29. A Religion Should be Judged as a Whole: Another result of Butler’s
analogous argument is that a system of religion must be judged as a whole,
and not simply from attacks leveled against specific _____________.
30. The Relation of Natural and Supernatural Revelation: Butler agrees that
God is the Author of ________________ and that Christianity contains a
republication of this original revelation. He writes: “The essence of
____________________ religion may be said to consist in the religious
regards to “God the Father Almighty”: and the essence of revealed religion
as distinguished from the natural to consist in religious regard to “the Son”
and to “the Holy Ghost.”
31. The Defense of Miracles: In Butler’s words: “No presumption, from
analogy, against the general Christian Scheme; for (1) although
undiscoverable by reason or experience, we only know a
________________ _______________ of a vast whole; (2) even if it be
Chapter One-50
unlike the known course of _________________-, (a) the unknown may not
everywhere resemble the ___________________; (b)we observe unlikeness
sometimes in _________________; (c) the alleged unlikeness is not
complete. Thus no presumption lies against the general Christian scheme,
whether we call it __________________________ or not.
The Dialectical Method
32. Karl Marx (1818 – 1883) Consists in opposing a _____________ with an
_________________ and making a synthesis of them.
33. F. C. Baur (1792 – 1860) claimed that that first century’s supposed tension
between Peter’s Judaistic form of Christianity (thesis) and Paul’s anti-
Judaistic form of Christianity (antithesis) found its reconciliation
(synthesis) in John’s second-century gospel. The tragedy has been that this
dialectic tended to determine the facts rather than discover them, and it has
led to an overlooking if not rejecting of the evidence that points to a much
earlier date for John.
34. Karl Barth (1886 – 1968) employed a dialectical method, stating that the
thesis of ____________________ was opposed by the antithesis of
_______________________ that he synthesized into neo-orthodoxy.
The Pragmatic Method
35. William James (1842 – 1910) According to James, “Truth happens to an
idea. It becomes ___________________, is made true by events . . . ‘the
true,’ to put it very briefly, is only the expedient in the way of our
______________________, just as ‘the right’ is only the expedient in the
way of our ___________________.”
Chapter One-51
36. According to pragmatism, we know what is true by whether or not it
_________________.
The Experimental Method
37. John Dewey (1859 – 1952) More popularly known as experimentalism, this
is an _______________________- contribution to the discipline of
methodology. One discovers the truth by doing, and the final vote is cast by
whether or not our experimentation produces _______________________.
TOWARD DEVELOPING AN APPROPRIATE THEOLOGICAL METHODOLOGY
Step 1: An Inductive Basis in Scripture
Evangelical theology is based on a belief that the Bible and the Bible alone is
the only _______________________, infallible and inerrant revelation from
God; as a result, any adequate methodology must be based on sound exposition
of ______________________. Using the Socratic method of interrogation of a
piece of literature we might ask:
______________ wrote it?
______________ did he write it?
______________ were they located?
To _____________ was he speaking?
______________ was said (or done) according to the text?
Step 2: A Deduction of Truths From Scripture
Systematic Theology draws certain logical conclusions from the premises
provided by a biblical _________________.
Step 3: The Use of Analogies
Chapter One-52
The method of analogy can be used to derive and refine an understanding of
God’s revealed truth. Since God has revealed Himself in both
______________ and _____________________revelation, systematic theology
can make use of analogies from either to help explain and expound truth.
Step 4: The Use of General Revelation
God has revealed Himself in all of nature, including ________________-
nature. Indeed, every _____________________ in creation, wherever it is
found, is similar (analogous) to God, since He cannot produce what He does not
possess; He cannot give to creation what He does not have to give.
Step 5: The Retroductive Method
This step involves use of all the ________________________ gained in step 4
in order to help refine, nuance, and fill out our ______________________ of
what is meant in the teachings of steps 1 through 3.
Step 6: Systematic Correlation ( of all information into a fully orbed doctrine through the use of the laws of logic that insist that all truth must be noncontradictory)
The Bible is the ______________ and _______________Word of God in the
_________________ text (not in all copies). In accord with a good analogy, it
is like Christ (the Word of God) in that both have a divine and human
dimension, yet without error. However, the Bible should be understood in
terms of the literary forms in which it is expressed, its own phenomena (data),
and in accord with other revelation from God in nature.
Step 7: Each Doctrine is Correlated with all Other Doctrines
Chapter One-53
The word systematic in systematic theology implies that all the teachings of
both general and special revelation are _________________ and
________________. The entails the use of another methodology—logic. The
law of _____________________________ affirms that A is not non-A. To two
truths can be contradictory, which is why all biblical truth and extrabiblical
truth must be brought into a consistent whole.
Step 8: Each Doctrine is Expressed in View of the Orthodox Teachings of the Church Fathers
Systematic theology is a ___________________ discipline; only the Bible is an
infallible guide for faith and practice. However, theology should not be done in
a vacuum—just as we can see farther spatially if we stand on the shoulders of
giants, we likewise can see further theologically if we stand on the shoulders of
the church __________________. Considering seriously the enduring
teachings of the orthodox Fathers of the past is essential in constructing a viable
evangelical systematic theology for the present.
Step 9: Livability is the Final Test for Systematic Theology
True Christianity is not merely ___________________; it is also ethics. It is
not simply theoretical; it is practical. Its goal is not only to satisfy the
_____________ but also to shape the _____________. Therefore, it must be
livable; its truths must be effective in a pragmatic way. Of course, not all that
works is true, but what is true will work.
Chapter One-54
BIBLIOLOGYStudy Guide for Chapter 13
1. The Bible claims to be a book from God, a message with divine
___________________.
2. Two basic texts on Revelation and Inspiration:
_________________________ and ___________________________.
3. The biblical authors were ___________________ and
________________of God.
Short Essay Question:
4. Support the position that the Bible is the “the inspired, authoritative Word
of God.”
Chapter One-55
5. The extent of divine authority in Scripture includes:
a) All that is ________________—2 Timothy 3:16
b) Even the very ________________—Matthew 22:43; 1 Corinthians 2:13
c) And the _____________and ___________—Matthew 22:32; Galatians 3:16
d) Even the _____________________ parts of words—Matthew 5:17-18
6. The locus of revelation and inspiration is the written
____________________, not simply the idea or even the writer.
7. Biblical inspiration is not only verbal (located in the words), but it is also
_________________________, meaning that it extends to every part of the
words and all they teach or imply.
8. The inspiration of God includes not only what the Bible teaches explicitly,
but also what it teaches _____________________,, covering not only
spiritual matters but factual ones as well.
9. While everything is the Bible is equally _______________, not everything
is equally __________________________.
10. Short Essay Question:
Define “inspiration” as it applies to the Bible.
Chapter One-56
11. While the Bible was not dictated by God to secretaries, the final product is
as ____________________ and _____________________ as though it were
dictated.
Chapter One-57
Study Guide for Geisler, Chapter 14
1. The Hebrew godesh and Greek hagios both mean _____________ or
_______________, which means “to be set apart.” As an attribute of God,
holiness means to be totally and utterly set apart from all creation and from
evil.
2. Holiness is used of God’s Word similarly to the way it is used of God,
namely, to be set apart from other things, to be _______________, to be
________________.
3. God’s Word is not only holy itself, but it is able to make us
__________________.
4. As the Word of God, the Bible has divine authority.
5. The word _______________________ is not used in Scripture of itself;
however, other statements are used of the Bible that imply its infallibility.
6. Jesus declared that the Bible is _________________________.
7. The Bible has __________________________ power—it cannot be worn
out; it is tireless and inexhaustible.
8. The Bible has the quality of being __________________________; that is,
it cannot be overcome, made void or ineffective—it always accomplishes its
purpose.
9. Give one argument (Geisler offers three) that shows that the Bible is without
error.
Chapter One-58
2.
Study Guide for Chapter Fifteen
1. The Bible is not only of _________________ origin, it also has
________________ authors, and therefore it is a human book. Indeed, it is a
_____________________________ book.
2. SHORT ESSAY
Defend the proposition that in addition to being a book of divine origin, it is
also a human book.
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
9)
10)
Chapter One-59
3. There is one human characteristic that the Bible does not have;
_______________.
4. The logic of inerrancy is as follows:
God cannot err
The Bible is God’s Word
Therefore, the ____________ cannot ______________
5. Christians claim that God breathed out everything in the
___________________ text, not everything in the _______________.
6. The degree of accuracy between copies is greater than that of any other
book from the ancient world, exceeding _____________ percent.
7. Both ___________________ and Scripture are
_________________________.
8. It should be noted, that the Bible is not ______________, and should not be
______________________.
9. Worshipping a book is known as bibliolatry, or “idolizing the book.”
Chapter One-60
Study Guide for Chapter Sixteen
1. Whatever Jesus taught about the __________________ is the last word on
the topic.
2. Jesus’ words apply __________________ only to the Old Testament;
however, since He also made certain promises the apostles about New
Testament truth, and since the apostolic writings were considered on par
with the Old Testament, then what Jesus taught about the divine authority of
the Old Testament applies __________________ to the New Testament.
3. Over and over Jesus declared, “It is _____________” (Matt. 4:4, 7, 10).
4. With respect to what Jesus taught about the Old Testament:
a) Jesus Affirmed Its Divine __________________
b) Jesus Affirmed Its __________________
c) Jesus Affirmed Its __________________
d) Jesus Affirmed Its Ultimate __________________
e) Jesus Affirmed Its Factual __________________
f) Jesus Affirmed Its Historical __________________
g) Jesus Affirmed Its Scientific __________________
Chapter One-61
5. Jesus employed several terms that refer to the Old Testament as a whole:
a) First, “law and __________________” its equivalent
b) Second, the term “the __________________”
c) Third, Jesus used a phrase equivalent to our “from Genesis to
__________________”
6. Not only did Jesus confirm the Old Testament to be the Word of God, He
also promised the same for the New Testament, affirming that the Holy
Spirit would __________________ the apostles “all things” and
__________________ them into “all truth.”
7. Paul cited the words of Jesus from the Gospel of Luke, calling them
“__________________” right alongside the Old Testament.
8. Peter acknowledges the letters of __________________ as Scripture.
Christ and the Critics
9. Jesus affirmed that Daniel was a __________________, not a mere
__________________.
10. Jesus confirmed that God __________________ Adam and Eve
11. Jesus confirmed that __________________ was swallowed by a great
__________________
12. Jesus verified that the world was __________________ by a
__________________
13. Jesus maintained that there was __________________ Isaiah not
__________________
Chapter One-62
14. Jesus confirmed that __________________ wrote Psalms ascribed to him
15. According to the accommodation theory, Jesus was merely
__________________ Himself to the accepted Jewish belief of the day with
respect to the divine authority of the Old Testament. Geisler proves this
false on my counts:
16. Accommodation to error is contrary to the __________________ of Jesus’
life.
17. Accommodation to error is contrary to Jesus’ __________________
18. Another critical hypothesis is the __________________ theory, which
argues that because Jesus was fully human, His knowledge was limited and
thus His words could not have been considered divine authority.
19. While Jesus was fully human, He was also fully __________________.
20. Jesus had a __________________ knowledge even in His human state
21. Christ possessed complete and final __________________ for whatever He
taught
Chapter One-63
Study Guide for Geisler, Chapter 17
1. The history of the Christian church is in overwhelming support of what the
Bible claims for itself, namely, to be the divinely __________________,
__________________, and __________________ word of God.
2. Epistle of Pseudo-Barnabas This work cites the gospel of Matthew after
stating that it is what “God __________________”
3. Epistle to the Corinthians He quotes the Synoptic Gospels after calling
them “__________________.”
4. Epistle to the Philippians He referred to the New Testament several times
in his epistle, introducing Galatians 4:26 as “the word of
__________________”.
5. Papias Wrote five books titled Esposition of the Oracles of the Lord, which
is the same title given to the Old Testament by the apostle Paul in Romans
3:2, revealing Papias’s high regard for the New Testament as the very
__________________ of God.
6. Justin Martyr He spoke of the Gospels as the “__________________ of God”
7. Tatian He called John 1:5 “__________________”
8. Irenaeus He referred to the divine _________________ of the New Testament.
Chapter One-64
9. Clement of Alexandria He called the gospel “__________________” in the same senses as the Law and the Prophets.
10. Tertullian Never wavered in his support of the doctrine of __________________ of both the Old and New Testaments.
11. Hippolytus Exhibited the same deep sense of __________________ toward
Scripture as his teacher Irenaeus
12. Origen Held that God “gave the law, and the prophets, and the
__________________, being also the God of the apostles and the of the Old
and New Testaments.
13. Cyprian Appeals to the Gospels as __________________, referring to
them as the “commandments of Christ.”
14. Eusebius Held to the __________________ of the Old and New Testaments.
15. Athanasius Was the first to use the term “__________________” in
reference to the New Testament books, which he called “the foundations of
salvation.”
16. Cyril Offered what he called a summary of the “whole
__________________ of the Faith” that has been built up strongly out of all
the Scriptures.
17. Ambrose In his Letters Ambrose cites Matthew by using the familiar
introductory statement for a __________________ inspired writing.
18. Jerome His writings include many references to the “Holy
__________________” and to their authority.
Chapter One-65
19. The Syrian School at Antioch They viewed the Holy Spirit as providing the
content of __________________ and the prophet as giving it appropriate
expression and form.
20. Augustine of Hippo He completely endorsed the claims of the New
Testament for its __________________.
21. Gregory I Refers to Hebrews as “__________________”
22. Anselm of Canterbury He continued to state the __________________
view of inspiration.
23. The Victorines Their respect for Scripture was based on the belief of their
predecessors—that the Bible is the __________________ inspired Word of
God.
24. Thomas Aquinas In his Summa Theologica states, “The
__________________ of the Holy Scripture is God.”
Chapter One-66
Study Guide for Geisler, Chapter 18
1. On the nature of Scripture, there are no substantial __________________
between the views of the Reformers and the great early and medieval
__________________ of the church.
2. Martin Luther did not depart from the doctrine of Scripture held by his great
mentor, Augustine. He firmly adhered to the divine __________________,
__________________, and __________________ of Scripture.
3. John Calvin was just as repeatedly emphatic about the divine
__________________ and __________________ of Scripture as were
Augustine, Aquinas, and Luther.
4. Ulrich Zwingli held on to __________________ and __________________
of Scripture.
5. The Westminister Tradition Inspiration and authority of Scripture is
affirmed in “The Article of the __________________ of the Holy Scriptures
for Salvation”
6. The Weslyan Tradition In The Twenty-Five Articles of Religion, Article II,
“The Sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures for Salvation” affirms the absolute
__________________ and total __________________ of the Bible.
Chapter One-67
The Anabaptist and Baptist Tradition In the introduction to his Treatise
Against the Anabaptists, even Calvin acknowledged that “this sect
__________________ the Holy Scripture, as we do.”
The Roman Catholic View on Scripture The Council of Vatican I proclaimed
the __________________ of Scripture.
The Eastern Orthodox View of Scripture The Eastern Church has maintained a
high view of the __________________ of Scripture, in line with both the
Roman Catholic and Protestant view.
Chapter One-68
Study Guide for Geisler, Chapter 19
1. The word _________________ simply means “to execute judgment.”
2. There are two basic kinds of _________________ criticism: lower and
higher.
3. _________________ criticism has to do with the _________________ of
Scripture.
4. _________________ criticism has to do with the _________________ of
the text.
5. Higher criticism can be divided into two categories: positive and negative,
also called _________________ and _________________.
6. Destructive criticism is based on the presuppositions that are opposed to the
Bible and to _________________ theology.
7. One of the most persistent and unjustified presuppositions of negative
biblical criticism is _________________.
8. Associate the name of the philosopher with the philosophical view:
Chapter One-69
a) Inductivism: _________________
b) _________________ : Thomas Hobbes
c) Antisupernaturalism: _________________
d) _________________ : David Hume
e) Agnosticism: _________________
f) _________________ : Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
g) Scientism: _________________
h) _________________ : Spencer and Darwin
Roots of Destructive Biblical Criticism
9. Pietism: Stressed the primary importance of _________________ over
“cold orthodoxy.”
Liberalism: Friedrich Schleiermacher
10. The basis of religion is found in _________________. Religion is found in
_________________, and doctrine is only a form of feeling. The aim or
goal of religion is love of the ______, the World-Spirit. Religion is neither
true or false.
Existentialism: Soren Kierkegaard
Chapter One-70
It should be noted at the outset, that Kierkegaard’s personal faith can be
described as _________________, and he sought a form of piety that sought to
experience God rather than just to know about God. Other’s took his writings
and went beyond Kierkegaard in their application of his philosophy. For him
Christianity is a faith, first and foremost, and when this faith is founded on
Christ neither the rational affirmations of the truth of Scripture nor the criticism
of Scripture could diminish the experience one has with God through Christ.
The subjective and experiential form of religion eventually gave way to
rationalism. Some of the more notable proponents of destructive biblical
criticism include:
Ferdinand C. Baur: Postulated that the Gospel of John must be a second-
century _________________ between the thesis of Peter and the antithesis of
Paul.
Rudolph Bultman: Developed an antisupernatural form of _________________
of the New Testament.
Chapter One-71
Study Guide for Chapter Twenty
1. The rise of modern _________________ undermined the historical
orthodox view of Scripture.
2. The Classical Liberal View of Scripture
L. Harold DeWolf’s View
Antisupernatural
a) Cultural _________________
b) Favor of the _________________ view
c) The Bible is not the _________________ of God
d) The Bible is _________________ and errant
e) The origin of Scripture is not _________________
2. Harry Emerson Fosdick’s View
Antisupernatural bias
a) Naturalistic _________________
b) The Bible is fallible and _________________
c) The Bible contains _________________
Chapter One-72
The Bible has scientific _________________
Some the acts ascribed to God in the Old Testament are immoral
The Neoclassical Liberal View of Scripture
Schubert Ogden
God is not _________________, all-knowing, all-powerful
Revelation is not _________________
Rejects that what the Bible says, is what __________ says
None of the New Testament, in present form, was written by an
_________________ or one of his disciples
The Bible has authority only to the extent that it brings _____________ to us
An Evaluation of Liberal Views of Scripture
Some Positive Aspects of the Liberal Views
The emphasis on the _________________ element of Scripture
The focus on matters of _________________ criticism
An understanding of the need for _________________
The emphasis on the need for biblical _________________
Chapter One-73
3. Some Negative Aspects of the Liberal Views
a) Liberalism’s belief is contrary to the claim of the ______________
b) It is contrary to the claim of _________________
c) It is contrary to the historical claim of the _________________
d) It is based on the wrong view of _________________
e) It is based on an unjustified _________________
f) It is _________________ with its own assumption
Chapter One-74
Study Guide for Geisler, Chapter 21
1. The neo-orthodox view of Scripture arises out of a reaction to dead
____________, as well as out of reaction to dead _________________.
KARL BARTH: THE FATHER NEO-ORTHODOXY
The Origin of Scripture
2. ___________ is the source of the Bible
The Threefold Word of God
3. Barth said there are three levels to the Word of God
4. Primary level of the Word of God is ____________, the Living Word of
God
5. Secondary level of the Word of God is the _______________, which is a
witness to God’s primary revelation in Christ.
6. Tertiary level of the Word of God is the _____________ of the Word.
The Purpose of the Bible
7. The Bible is an _____________ through which God reveals His Word.
The Bible is a Record of Revelation
8. It is merely a ______________ of God’s revelation in Christ.
Chapter One-75
A Witness to the Word of God
The Bible is a _________________ witness to God’s revelation in Christ.
The Bible is Fallible and Errant
There are obvious overlappings and _________________, for example,
between the Law and the prophets, between John and the Synoptics, etc.
AN EVALUATION OF THE NEO-ORTHODOX VIEW OF SCRIPTURE
The Positive Aspects of the Neo-Orthodox View
Rejection of mechanical _________________ theory of inspiration
Emphasis on the _________________ of Christ
Rejection of _________________ (worship of the Bible)
Stress on the need for personal _________________ with God
The _________________ of God in His acts/works
Focus on the need for _________________
The Negative Aspects of the Neo-Orthodox View
This view of Scripture is biblically _________________
This view of the Bible is _________________ unsupported
This view of the Bible is _________________ inconsistent
Chapter One-76
9. This view of Christ is _________________
10. This view of Scripture is _________________ misplaced
11. This view is filled with logical _________________
12. This view of Scripture is practically _________________
Chapter One-77
Study Guide for Geisler, Chapter 22
1. The Neo-Evangelical view is named this because it is a deviation from the
longstanding Evangelical teaching on Scripture.
REPRESENTATIVES OF NEO-EVANGELICALISM
G. C. Berkouwer
2. Berkouwer believed that in the Bible we can distinguish between the Word
of God and the words of man. The ________________ of God could be
heard within Scripture—a confession that falls short of the clear orthodox
proclamation that the Bible is the Word of God and not merely contains the
Word of God.
3. Berkouwer thought of Scripture more as a result of the ________________
of God than as a ________________ work of God.
4. Berkouwer believed that inspiration is ________________ (that is, that the
Bible is inspired as a ________________, but not necessarily in all its parts),
but verbal and plenary.
5. Berkouwer believed that the Bible is inspired in its ________________, i.e.,
the divine message of salvation, but again, not in verbal or plenary
inspiration.
6. Berkouwer was willing to accede that the Bible had human
________________, such as error, like any other human writing.
Chapter One-78
7. Berkouwer believe that the Bible has ________________ accommodations
that must be viewed as relevant only for the cultural in which it was written.
As such, he would not grant that the Bible is culturally transcendent.
8. Likewise, Berkouwer believed that the Bible contains ________________
accommodation, meaning that it reflected the human understanding of
science during the time in which it was written, and as such contains error.
9. Additionally, Berkouwer held that the Bible contains historical
accommodation, reflected in the fact that the writers “use certain _______-
_________ conceptions in their writing.” In this, he says, there are errors in
Scripture, and he uses error in the sense of being incorrect, not corrupt or
willfully deceptive.
10.In addition to the above accommodations claimed by Berkouwer, he also
believes that the Bible is ________________ even in the worldview it
expresses. He writes, “Scripture bears the marks of the period and of the
milieu in which it was written and shares in part these marks with culture
which in many ways was interrelated to that of Israel.” As such, he would
claim that this Judean/Jewish worldview is limiting and is not applicable
throughout all times, cultures, and worldviews. For example, the current
Postmodern worldview of the Twenty-First Century.
11.Finally, Berkouwer went so far as to claim there are ________________ in
the Bible.
Jack Rogers
13. Rogers was one of the faculty members of Fuller Theological Seminary
who successfully push through a neo-evangelical view of Scripture, which
Chapter One-79
led to the departure of several of the notable evangelical faculty members of
the seminary.
14. Rogers holds that “evangelicals believe the Bible is the authoritative word
of God.” However, he also maintained that it included accommodation to
human finitude and even error is involved in the this process. Follower
Berkouwer, he argued that the nature of inspiration is not verbal and plenary,
it is ________________.
15. Rogers was willing to speak of the inerrancy of the Bible, but regarded it in
terms of truth being determined by ________________ and not
correspondence. That is to say, the Bible is without error in what it intends
to do, not in all that it actually states. As such, Rogers believes that the
Bible does in fact have historical and scientific errors.
16. Once inerrancy was defined by ________________, rather than content, the
neo-evangelicals could speak of the saving ________________ of Scripture
with respect to what is meant by inspiration.
17. Having embraced the hermeneutical perspective of saving purpose rather
than verbal or plenary inerrancy, Rogers is able to accommodate modern
________________ criticism of the Bible.
18. Rogers proceeded in his ________________ philosophy of church history
to reinterpret the past in favor of his new evangelical view.
Short Essay Question:
19. How does the neo-evangelical view differ from the evangelical view of Scripture? (See summary on page 197)
Chapter One-80
C. S. Lewis
20. Lewis viewed Scripture as the ________________ of God through
________________ distortion. Lewis maintains that there was a constant
divine/human ________________ in the formation of Scripture.
21. For Lewis, Scripture resulted more from God’s ________________ than
from His supernatural intervention.
22. With respect to the inerrancy of the Bible, Lewis believed that there is a
________________ between the Word of God and the word of man
contained in Scripture.
23. Lewis’s view of the New Testament was more ________________ than his
view of the Old Testament. He had no difficulty with the liberal view that
there are myths in the Old Testament.
24. Likewise, he had no difficulty accepting that there were historical
________________ in the Bible. Unlike many neo-evangelicals, Lewis did
not limit the errancy of Scripture to ________________ matters. He found
error, for example in some of the psalms, which he believed were
contemptible and even devilish.
25. Lewis clearly rejected the orthodox view of ________________ Scripture.
26. Lewis rejected the traditional ________________ of certain sections of the
Old Testament, including Psalms. In addition, he rejected many of the Old
Testament ________________.
27. Lewis, was willing to embrace theistic ________________ in direct
contradiction with a literal interpretation of the creation account.
Chapter One-81
EVALUATION THE NEO-EVANGELICAL VIEWS OF SCRIPTURE
28. Positive aspects
a) It emphasizes the ________________ whole of Scripture
b) It warns against ________________ philosophical view
c) It takes seriously the ________________ nature of Scripture
d) It highlights the need for divine ________________
e) It interacts with contemporary ________________
29. Negative aspects
a) It is contrary to the claims of ________________
b) It is contrary to the ________________ of the Church Fathers and
Reformers
c) It is based on a ________________ view of truth
d) It undermines the divine ________________ of the Bible
Chapter One-82
Study Guide for Geisler, Chapter 23
THE EVANGELICALS ON THE BIBLE
1. The evangelical view of Scripture is a continuation of the historical
________________ view as expressed in the Bible. Evangelicals affirm the
full ________________ and factual ________________ of the Bible.
NOTEABLE
Francis Turrentin
2. The authority of Scripture depends on their ________________. They are
from God, therefore, they must be authentic and divine.
3. Turrentin held that the Bible is both ________________ and
________________. The Bible cannot err because: 1) The Scriptures are
inspired of God; 2) If the integrity of Scripture cannot be maintained then
they cannot be regarded as the sole rule of faith and practice.
4. Turrentin believed that the ________________ Hebrew and Greek texts are
without error. He also believes that the Hebrew and Greek texts are the
standard and rule to which all ________________ should be applied.
5. Turrentin believed in __________ ________________, which means he
believes that the Bible is the only written authority for believers.
6. Turrentin believed in the ________________ of Scriptures, that is, that God
has insured that copies of Scripture have been providentially preserved by
God.
Chapter One-83
Jonathan Edwards
7. Edwards believed that the Bible was the very ________________ of God.
8. Edwards believed that the Bible was also a ________________ book. When
Edwards refers to the divinely authoritative product of inspiration and not to
the human means by which it was produced.
The Old Princetonians
Charles Hodge
9. C. Hodge argued that “all Protestants agree and teach that ‘the word of God,
as contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, is the only
________________ rule of faith and practice.’”
10.Hodge affirmed that “the Scriptures are infallible, i.e., given by
________________ of God.
11. Hodge opposed ________________. He calls the theory of evolution
“atheistic . . . the exclusion of design from nature is . . . tantamount to
atheism.”
A. Hodge and B. B. Warfield
12. These men believed that the Bible is the Word of God; it is not merely the
thoughts but the very ________________ of Scripture that are infallible.
13. They do not deny the ________________ element in the Scriptures and this
“obvious humanness” eliminates any notion of a “mechanical” or “verbal
dictation” view of inspiration.
Chapter One-84
14. They believed in the ________________ inspiration, and absolute
errorlessness in all it affirms. The Bible is therefore, verbal, plenary,
infallible and inerrant. What the sacred writers affirm is infallibly true.
15. In response to negative biblical criticism their position remained consistent
with the basic ________________ teaching about Scripture.
Evangelical Theological Society (ETS)
16. Their view is consistent with that of Hodge-Warfield.
THE EVANGELICAL VIEW OF SCRIPTURE
17. Acceptance of the long-standing ________________ view of the full
inspiration and factual inerrancy of Scripture. This orthodox view has been
rejected in modern times because of an unnecessary and unjustified
acceptance of antisupernaturalism and the uncritical and unsubstantiated
acceptance of alien philosophical presuppositions.
18. Evangelicals reject ________________. God Himself is supernatural, to
believe in God presupposes the possibility of the supernatural intervention
of God by way of miracles and spiritual manifestations.
19. Evangelicals reject the insertion of ________________ philosophical view
into the theological discussion. They reject the attempt to insert baseless
philosophical premises, antisupernaturalism, evolution, progressivism, and
secular existentialism.
Chapter One-85
Study Guide for Geisler, Chapter 24
1. Many contemporary theologians who would call themselves
fundamentalists accept the same view as expressed in the
“________________” position. Both groups trace their roots back to C.
Hodge, A. A. Hodge, B. B. Warfield, and J. G. Machen.
Historical Fundamentalism
2. Historic fundamentalism held the standard ________________ view of
Scripture, the view of the Fathers and Reformers of the church.
Contemporary Fundamentalism
3. Current fundamentalists do not hold a ________________ view of
Scripture. They range from the standard evangelical view to a verbal
dictation and even beyond to a KJV only view.
VERBAL DICTATION VIEW
The Verbal Dictation View of John R. Rice
4. Rice embraced what he called “________________ dictation,” meaning that
there is a human side to the Bible in its style, language, composition, history
and culture.
THE INSPIRED KING JAMES VERSION VIEW
5. Most fundamentalists were reared on the KJV Bible. They appreciate the
beauty rhythm, cadence and descriptive power is indicative of
________________ style language.
Chapter One-86
6. However, some have taken things too far by ________________ this
aesthetically pleasing translation. They have frozen the truth of the original
Hebrew and Greek text of the Bible in this seventeen-century book as time
has passed them by.
CRITIQUE OF THE INSPIRED-KJV CLAIM
7. The choice of version is ________________. Why a Bible in English rather
than in German, or French, or some other language?
8. Why choose only this ________________ Bible as inspired? Why not
some other English translation, such as the more popular NIV?
9. Why are recent edition of the KJV? Why not the ________________ one?
Even the two editions issued in 1611 differ from each other.
10. The original KJV had the ________________ books in it. They were not
taken out until the 1629 edition.
11. To hold to the KJV as an inspired translation is to confess that many things
in it are ________________ and/or false. Some of the Old English words
have lost their meaning, or actually now mean the opposite of their original
—for example, “let” in 2 Thess. 2:7 now means “hinder” and not the modern
meaning of “let,” i.e., “allow.”
BIBLICAL DOCETISM—DIMINISHING SCRIPTURE’S HUMANITY
12. Biblical docetism is an unorthodox view of Scripture, since it too
diminishes the Bible’s ______________ side. Denying biblical humanity is
a failure to recognize one or more of the following human characteristics of
Scripture:
Chapter One-87
13. Scripture has human ________________, some forty in all.
14. The Bible was written in human ________________ —Hebrew, Aramaic,
and Greek.
15. The Bible utilizes different literary ________________ —from down to
earth to sophisticated.
16. The Bible uses different human ________________ —poetry, narrative,
parable, etc.
17. The Bible reflects different human ________________ —from shepherd to
prophet, to pastor.
18. The Bible reveals human thought ________________ and processes,
including human reasoning.
19. The Bible reveals human ________________ —including sorrow, anger,
joy, etc.
20. The Bible manifests specific human ________________.
21. The Bible expresses human ________________, basically Semitic.
22. The Bible utilizes other written human ________________, some of which
are not in the Bible.
Chapter One-88
Study Guide Chapter for Geisler, Chapter 25
1. Christianity is a historical religion, and the main events on which it is based,
such as Creation and the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, claim
to be space-time events in the _______________ world.
2. The historicity of the Old Testament is based on two major factors: The
reliability of the Old Testament text, and the reliability of those who put the
text together.
THE RELIABILITY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT MANUSCRIPTS
3. The _______________ of Old Testament Manuscripts
Thousands of ancient manuscripts exist for the Old Testament
4. The _______________ of the Old Testament Manuscripts
Conservatives place the last book of the Old Testament around 400 B.C.
5. The _______________ of the Old Testament Manuscripts
6. The accuracy of the Old Testament manuscripts was attested in the
discovery of the _______________ Scrolls provide a cross-check on how
accurately manuscripts were copied during a thousand year period and the
results confirmed the accuracy of later manuscripts.
Chapter One-89
The Historicity of Particular Sections of the Old Testament
7. W. F. Albright wrote: “There can be no doubt that the archaeology has
_______________ the substantial historicity of the Old Testament
tradition.”
Historicity of Adam and Eve
8. First, they are presented in Genesis 1-2 as _______________ persons.
9. Second, they gave birth to _______________ children.
10. Third, the phrase, “this is the _______________ of,” is used to record later
history.
11. Fourth, later Old Testament chronology of historical persons place
___________ at the top of the list.
12. Fifth, the New Testament places Adam at the beginning of
_______________ literal ancestors.
13. Sixth, _______________ referred to Adam and Eve as the first actual “male
and female.”
14. Seventh, the book of _______________ declares that literal death was
brought into the world by a literal man.
15. Eighth, in comparison of Adam with _______________, 1 Corinthians
15:45 manifests that Adam was understood as being historical.
16. Ninth, Paul’s declaration that “_______________ was first formed, then
Eve”
Chapter One-90
17. Tenth, logically there had to be a first real set of human being, male and
female to account for present _______________.
The Historicity of Noah and the Flood
18. First, the account presents itself as _______________, not mythological.
19. Second, it is part of a broader _______________ account, being linked by
such literary connectives as, “this is the account of Noah” (Gen. 6:9).
20. Third, it is immediately followed by a listing of _______________ and
cities know to come from that area of the world.
21. Fourth, Noah and his sons are listed in a later ___________ record in 1
Chronicles.
22. Fifth, Isaiah the prophet referred to ________ and the Flood as historical
events (54:9).
23. Sixth, during the time of Ezekiel the prophet, Noah was still considered one
of the great figures of _______________ history.
24. Seventh, _______________ affirmed that Noah, the Flood, and details
surrounding the Flood are historical (Matt. 24:37-38).
25. Eight, the writer of _______________ places Noah in the great Hall of
Faith along with other historical figures like Abraham, Moses, and David
(Heb. 11:7).
26. Ninth, the apostle _______________ twice refers to Noah and the Flood as
a literal person and event (1 Pet. 3:20; 2 Pet. 2:5).
Chapter One-91
27. Tenth, there is abundant _______________ evidence that the water once
covered the entire earth, including mountains and the poles.
28. Eleventh, the worldwide existence of Flood stories in diverse
_____________ and _______________ is testimony to the historicity of
Noah and the Flood.
Historicity of the Tower of Babel
29. The _______________ archeological finds of this area support the
historicity of this text.
Historicity of the Patriarchs
30. Law codes have been found from the time of Abraham that show why the
Patriarch would have been hesitant to throw Hagar out of his camp, for he
was _______________ bound to support her.
31. The discovery of the _______ letters reveals such names a Abam-ram,
Jacob-el, and Benjamites. These to not refer to the biblical character, but
demonstrate that these names are consistent with names of that time and
place.
Historicity of Sodom and Gomorrah
32. Evidence has revealed that all five cities mentioned in the Bible (Sodom and
Gomorrah and three other cities in the area) were in fact centers of
_______________ and were geographically situated as the Scriptures say.
Chapter One-92
Study Guide for Geisler, Chapter 26
1. Few scholars have denied the complete _______________ of the New
Testament. Even Bultmann, who denied the miracles and attempted to
“demythologize” Scripture, said, “By no means are we at the mercy of those
who _______________ that Jesus ever lived.”
2. The historicity of the New Testament is basically the historicity of the
_________, the book of _______, and the early epistles of ______.
THE RELIABILITY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT
3. The _______________ of New Testament Manuscripts
4. The early ________ of the New Testament Manuscripts
5. The _______________ of the New Testament Manuscripts
6. The _______________ of the New Testament Manuscripts by Early Church
Fathers
THE RELIABILITY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT ACCOUNTS
The Historicity of Acts
7. The date and authenticity of the book of Acts is crucial to the historicity of
early Christianity and, thus, to apologetics in general. If Acts was written
before _______________ while the eyewitnesses were still alive, then it has
great historical value in informing us of the earliest Christian beliefs.
8. If Acts was written by A.D. 62 (the traditional date), then it was written by a
_______________ of Jesus (who died A.D. 33).
Chapter One-93
9. Five strong reasons, given by Colin Hemer for accepting the traditional
early date of Acts:
10. There is no mention in Acts of the crucial historical event of the fall of
_______________ in A.D. 70, which places Acts before that event.
11. There is no hint of the outbreak of the _______________ in 66 or of any
serious or specific deterioration of relations between Romans and Jews,
implying Acts was written before that time.
12. There is no hint of the more immediate deterioration of Christian relations
with Rome involved in the _______________ persecution of the late 60’s.
13. There is no hint of the death of _______________ at the hands of the
Sanhedrin in c. 62, recorded by Josephus.
14. Since the apostle _______________ was still alive (Acts 28), it must have
been written before his death (c. A.D. 65).
Historicity of the Gospel Accounts
15. Arguing for the historicity of one of the _______________ Gospels is to
argue for the historicity of all the three (Matthew, Mark and Luke), Geilser
shows strong support for the historicity of Luke because there are numerous
arguments to support his historicity.
16. The author of Luke is known to be an accurate _______________, as
evidenced by his writing the book of Acts.
17. The Gospel of Luke was written by about _______________, which was
within 30 years of Jesus’ ministry.
Chapter One-94
Luke states that he researched for writing this account:
18. He is aware of other earlier _______________ accounts of Christ’s life
19. The gospel of Luke is based on “_______________” testimony
20. He had “carefully _______________ everything from the beginning”
The archeological confirmation of the Gospels
21. The Gospels breathe the same air of first-century ____________ culture.
22. The mention of __________, Sadducees, Jewish traditions, customs, and
use of Aramaic words affirm that they were written during the first century.
23. References to ___________, topography, lakes, land, etc. all point to the
authenticity of the Gospels.
24. The accurate portrayals of historical ______________ such as Caesar
Augustus, Quirinius, King Herod, etc. strongly support the historical
accuracy of the test.
25. Archeological discovery of specific places, such as the Siloam pool, pool of
Bethesda, the foundation of ____________ temple, etc. are consistent with
the accounts of Scripture.
26. Like the rest of _______________, the life of Christ portrayed in the
Gospels fits perfectly into the known facts unearthed by the archeology of
this period.
Chapter One-95
Evidence for the Historicity of Paul’s Early Epistles
27. There is general agreement, even among _______________ critics, that
Paul wrote 1 Corinthians adjourned A.D. 55.
28. First Corinthians presents the same basic information about Christ found in
the _______________, but some five years earlier than Luke.
29. There is strong internal evidence for Pauline authorship, as well as strong
external evidence, namely _______________ of Rome, the Epistle of
_______________, the _______________, and the Shepherd of
_______________.
30. Paul rests the very truth of Christianity on the historicity of the
_______________, and as such provides lists of living witnesses to Jesus’
resurrection, including Paul himself.
Confirmation of the New Testament from the Basic Facts Position
31. Professor Habermas lists “at least twelve separate facts that are agreed to be
knowable history” by “practically all critical scholars”:
1) Jesus died by _______________
2) Jesus was _______________
3) His disciples _______________
4) The tomb was later found _______________
5) The disciples believed they later saw literal appearances of ___________
Chapter One-96
6) They were transformed from doubters to bold proclaimers of His
_______________
7) This message was the center of their early _______________
8) They preached this in _______________ shortly after it happened
9) The church was born and grew _______________
10) _______________ was their primary day of worship
11) James was converted from _______________ to belief in the resurrection
of Jesus
12) A few years later Paul was _______________, proclaiming that he had
seen the resurrected Christ.
32. Given this “knowable history” it can be argued that no purely naturalistic
theory explains all these facts and that the actual _______________
resurrection of Jesus is the best explanation of all the facts.
Strong Internal Evidence for the Historicity of the Gospels
33. There is no attempt by the Gospel writers to _______________ (make them
agree with one another on every point) their accounts. If this was a fraud,
one would expect them to try very hard to get their accounts to agree 100
percent.
34. The Gospel writers have passages that appear to put Jesus in a
_______________, such as not going immediately to heal Lazarus, instead,
allowing Lazarus to die, and then going to raise him. Further, they record
the negative gossip concerning Jesus, i.e., that He was a drunkard, a
Chapter One-97
madman, that He was demon possessed, and that His own brothers did not
believe in Him. If these writers were trying to perpetrate a fraud, they would
have omitted these negative reports, and only cast Jesus in a positive light.
35. The Gospel writers leave _______________ passages in their text. If they
were trying to fabricate historical facts about the life of Jesus, they would
have smoothed out difficult passages rather than leaving them in.
36. The Gospel writers include reports that cast ______________ (the disciples)
in a negative light. Again, one would not expect this in a false account.
37. By all accounts, the Gospel writers did not deny their testimony, even under
threat of _______________.
38. The Gospel writers claim to have based their account on _______________,
a claim that could easily have been proven wrong if it were not true.
Chapter One-98
Study Guide Geisler, Chapter 27
1. The doctrine of inerrancy is not directly taught in Scripture, although it is
logically implied. Two things are directly taught:
a) Premise 1). The Bible is the ______________of God
b) Premise 2) God cannot ______________
c) Conclusion: The ______________cannot ______________
2. ______________means “breathed out by God, what comes from God
himself.”
3. ______________means “what has divine authority, what cannot be
broken.”
4. ______________means “what is without error, wholly true.”
5. What is inspired is ______________, since inspired means to be breathed
out by God, and what is God-breathed cannot be in ______________.
However, not everything inerrant is divinely ______________.
The Bible is God-Breathed
6. ____________declared that “all Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for
teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” (2 Tim. 3:16)
The Nature of a Prophet
Chapter One-99
7. The Bible claims to be a ______________writing (Heb. 1:1; 2 Peter 1:20-
21), prophets, as mouthpieces of God, spoke only what God put in their
mouths.
The Divine Authority of the Bible
8. Jesus said God’s Word was exalted above all ______________authority
(Matt. 15:3-6).
The Bible is “What God Says”
9. What the Bible ______________, God ______________.
The Bible is Called “The ______________of God”
10. This very phrase or its equivalent is used many times of the Bible in part or
as a whole.”
God Cannot Err
11. Every moral law has a Moral ______________There is an ______________moral lawHence, there is an absolute ______________Lawgiver
The argument from Scripture
12. “. . . it is impossible for God to ______________” (Heb. 6:18)
13. Paul speaks of the “God who does not lie” (Titus 1:2), a God who, even “if
we are faithless, he will remain ______________, for he cannot disown
himself” (2 Tim. 2:13).
Chapter One-100
14. God is truth (John 14:6), and so is His Word; Jesus said to the Father, “Your
Word is ________” (John 17:17).
15. The Psalmist said, “All your ________are true” (Ps. 119:160; cf. Rom. 3:4).
Therefore the Bible Cannot Err
16. Truth is ______________with the facts. Therefore when we speak abou the
inerrancy of the Bible we mean that it is actually and factually correct in
whatever it affirms.
17. The Bible has no ______________of any kind. Whatever God affirms is
true, is true no matter what the subjects; He cannot err on any topic.
THEOLOGICAL DEFINITION OF INSPIRATION AND INERRANCY
18. Inspiration is the supernatural ______________exerted on the sacred
writers by the Holy Spirit of God, by virtue of which their writings are given
divine trustworthiness.
Six Crucial Elements in a Complete Definition of Inspiration and
Inerrancy
19. Its divine ______________ (from God);
20. Its human ______________ (through men);
21. Its written ______________ (in words);
22. Its original ______________ (in autographs or original text);
23. Its final ______________, normative (for believers);
24. Its inerrant ______________ (without errors).
Chapter One-101
Objection that Inerrancy is Contrary to Fact. It Makes the Following
Mistakes
Mistake 1: Assuming that the unexplained is not ______________
Mistake 2: Presuming the Bible ______________until proven innocent
Mistake 3: Confusing _____ fallible interpretations with God’s infallible
revelation
Mistake 4: Failing to understand the ______________of the passage
Mistake 5: Neglecting to interpret difficult passages in the light of
_________ones
Mistake 6: Basing a teaching on an ______________ passage
Mistake 7: Forgetting that the Bible is a ______________ book with
______________ characteristics
Mistake 8: Assuming that a partial report is a ______________ report
Mistake 9: Demanding that New Testament ______________of the Old
Testament always be exact quotes
Mistake 10: Assuming that ______________accounts are false ones
Chapter One-102
Mistake 11: Presuming that the Bible approves of all it ______________
Mistake 12: Forgetting that the Bible uses non-____________, everyday
language
Mistake 13: Assuming that the ______________numbers are false
Mistake 14: Neglecting to note that the Bible uses different ____________
devices
Mistake 15: Forgetting that only the original text, _______every copy of
Scripture is without error
Mistake 16: Confusing general statements with ____________ ones
Mistake 17: Forgetting that later revelation ______________ previous
revelation
Mistake 18: The allegation that ______________ irregularities are errors
First, there is no ______________ standard for grammar.
Second, grammar as such does not deal with ______________ but is only
the form through which verbal truth is expressed.
Chapter One-103
Third, irregular grammar is often a more ______________ expression of an
idea as slang reveals
Chapter One-104
Study Guide for Geisler, Chapter 28
1. ______________ means rule or norm, and as used of the Bible it means
which books are the normative books for Christian faith and practice.
2. Judaism, Catholicism and Protestantism agree over the common
______________ (Jewish) cannon, which consists of thirty-nine books
(numbered twenty-four in Jewish Bible). This can be called the
______________ canon.
3. Although the Roman Catholic canon has ______________ more books than
the Protestant Bible, only ______________ extra books appear in the table
of contents of Roman Catholic Bibles.
A Response to Catholic Arguments in Favor of the Apocrypha
4. There may be New Testament allusions to the Apocrypha, but there are no
clear New Testament ______________ from them—not one.
5. The fact that the New Testament often quotes from the Greek Old Testament
in no way proves that the apocryphal books contained in Greek manuscripts
of the Old Testament are ______________ .
6. Citations by the church fathers in support of the canonicity of the Apocrypha
are ______________ and misleading. What one church father accepted,
another church father rejected. There is no unanimity on the fact that the
apocryphal books should be viewed as canonic.
Chapter One-105
7. Although some individuals in the early church had a high esteem for the
Apocrypha, there were many individuals who vehemently ______________
it.
8. As even many Catholic scholars will admit, scenes from the
______________do not prove the canonicity of the books whose events they
depict.
9. None of the great Greek manuscripts contains all of the ______________
books.
10.There are some important reasons why citing these church councils does not
prove the Apocrypha belonged in the canon of the church.
First, these were only ________ councils, not binding on the whole church.
Second, these books were not part of the Christian (New Testament period)
writings, and hence, they were not under the providence of the Christian
______________ to decide.
Third, the books accepted by these Christian councils may not have been the
______________ ones in each case,
Fourth, the local councils of Hippo and Carthage in North Africa were
influenced by ______________, who is the most significant antiquated
voice that accepted the same apocryphal books later canonized by the
Council of Trent. However, his position is ill-founded.
11. The Greek Orthodox Church has not always accepted the Apocrypha, nor is
its present position ______________.
Chapter One-106
12.At the Council of Trent the ______________ proclamation was made
accepting the Apocrypha as the part of the inspired Word of God. However,
the “infallible” decision at Trent came a millennium and a half after the
books were written and in an obvious polemic against ______________ and
the Reformation.
13.Apocryphal books appeared in Protestant Bibles prior to the Council of
Trent, and they were generally placed in a separate ______________
because they were not considered of equal authority.
14.The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls at Qumran included not only the
community’s bible (the Old Testament) but also their library, with fragments
of hundreds of different books. There were some Old Testament apocryphal
books, but there were no ______________ on any of the apocryphal books,
only on canonical books.
Argument in Favor of the Jewish/Protestant Old Testament Cannon
15.The true test of canonicity is ______________, which determines
canonicity for Old Testament books. God determined which books would
be written in the Bible by giving their message to a prophet. So only books
written by a prophet or an accredited spokesperson for God are inspired and
belong in the canon of Scripture. Of course, while God ______________
canonicity by propheticity, the people of God had to ______________
which of these books were prophetic.
16.No apocryphal book claims to be written by a ______________.
17.There is no ______________ confirmation of any of the writers or the
apocryphal books.
Chapter One-107
18.There is no predictive ______________ in the Apocrypha.
19.There is no new ______________ truth in the Apocrypha
20.Even the Jewish community acknowledged that the prophetic
______________ had ceased in Israel before the Apocrypha was written.
21.The apocryphal books were never listed in the ______________ Bible.
22.Never once is any apocryphal book cited authoritatively by a
______________ book written after it.
23.No canonical list or ______________ of the Christian church accepted the
Apocrypha as inspired for nearly the first four centuries.
24.The ______________ rejected the canonicity of the Apocrypha.
25.Incorrect and Correct View of Cannon
Incorrect View of Canon Correct View of Cannon
Church ____________ Canon
Church is ____________ of Canon
Church is Magistrate of Canon
Church Regulates Canon
Church is ____________ of Canon
Church Discovers Canon
Church is Child of Canon
Church is ____________ of Canon
Church ____________ Canon
Church is Servant of Canon
Chapter One-108
THE NEW TESTAMENT CANON
The Evidence for the Completeness of the New Testament
26.The reasons for believing that the ____________ books of the current New
Testament and those alone, belong in the Christian canon are very strong.
27. The Promise of Jesus
First, Jesus was the full and complete ____________ of the Old Testament
(Matt. 5:17)
Second, Jesus chose, commissioned, and credentialed twelve ____________
(cf. Heb. 2:3-4) to ____________ this full and final revelation that He gave
them (Matt. 10:1f.), and before He left this world He promised these apostles
to guide them into all ____________, saying, “the Holy Spirit . . . will teach
you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you” (John
14:26).
Third, the apostles of Christ lived and died in the first century, consequently
the record of this full and final revelation of Christ to the apostles was
completed in the ____________ century.
Fourth, so that there would be no doubt as to who was authorized to teach
this full and final revelation of God in Christ, God gave special supernatural
____________ to the apostles (who in turn gave them to their associates—
Acts 6:6; 8:15-18; 2 Tim. 1:6).
[Note: Geisler’s view here is a cessationist view, which holds that the miraculous gifts of the Spirit ended with the completion of the New Testament. Further, the argument is that only the apostles (and associates) exercised these gifts. This is not a view which the Pentecostal community shares.]
Chapter One-109
Fifth, there is only one ____________ record of apostolic teaching in
existence, and that is the twenty-seven books of the New Testament. All
other books claiming inspiration were written in the second century or later.
28. The Providence of God
God, who is omniscient and omnipotent, would not inspire books for the faith
and practice of believers down through the centuries that He did not
____________. Lost inspired books would be a lapse in God’s providence.
29.The Preservation by the Church
First, a ____________ of these books was made from the earliest times;
even within the New Testament itself this preservation process was put into
action.
Second, the ____________ of the apostles show a concerned awareness of
their mentor’s writings, quoting from prolifically.
Third, when ____________ by heretical teaching, such as that of Marcion
the Gnostic, who rejected all but part of Luke and ten of Paul’s epistles, the
church responded by officially defining the extent of the Canon.
30. Proclamation of the Church
Eventually the Christian church came to pronounce ____________ on the
twenty-seven books of the present New Testament canon. There has been
no significant debate on this since around AD 400.
31.The New Testament Apocrypha
Chapter One-110
The New Testament Apocrypha includes: the Epistle of Pseudo-Barnabas;
the Epistle to the Corinthians; the Gospel According to the Hebrews; the
Epistle of ____________ to the Philippians; the Didache, or Teaching of the
Twelve; the seven Epistles of ____________; the Ancient Homily, or the
Second Epistle of Clement; the Shepherd of Hermas; the Apocalypse of
Peter; and the Epistle to the Laodiceans.
32. Reasons for Rejecting the NT Apocrypha
First, none of them experienced any more than a local or temporary
____________.
Second, most of them had at best a quasi-canonical status, being merely
____________ to various manuscripts or listed in tables of contents.
Third, no major canon or church council ____________ them as part of the
inspired Word of God.
Fourth, their limited and temporal ____________ is explainable on the
ground that they were believed wrongly (1) to have been written by an
apostle, or (2) to have been referred to in an inspired book.
THE COMPLETENESS OF THE BIBLICAL CANON
33. There is no evidence that any inspired book has been _________. This is
confirmed by:
a) The ____________ of God
b) The immediate and careful ____________ of the church
c) The absence of any evidence of any other ____________ or apostolic book.
Chapter One-111
34.Alleged contrary examples are easily explained as either ____________
works to which the biblical author made reference, or inspired works
contained in the sixty-six inspired books but with another ____________.
CONCLUSION
35.The Bible is the only ____________ written revelation of God to man. It is
complete and as such is sufficient for ____________ and ____________;
nothing more is needed; the spiritual guide to life needs no new chapters.
The Author inspired a complete manual from the beginning and has
____________ all of it, intact.
Chapter One-112
Study Guide for Geisler, Chapter 29
1. The Bible cannot be the Word of God, unless there is a God, nor can the
Bible be supernaturally confirmed to be the Word of God unless there are
special acts of God, such as ____________.
Scientific Evidence for a Supernatural Cause of the Universe
2. Everything that comes into existence has a ____________; modern science
has shown that the universe must have had a Cause, since the material
universe came into existence.
Scientific Evidence for a Super-Intelligent Cause of the Universe
3. The ____________ principle states that the universe was fitted from the
very moment of its existence for the emergence of life in general and for
human life in particular.
Theistic Implications of the Anthropic Principle
4. The conditions that gave rise to the anthropic principle are such that would
lead one to believe that the universe was “____________ crafted” for our
benefit.
Intelligent Design Explains the Origins of Complex Life—Microbiology
5. Life does not arise from purely non-intelligent ____________ laws.
6. Microbiology has demonstrated,
a) The ____________ code of life is mathematically identical to that of a
human language
Chapter One-113
b) The specified complexity of a one-celled animal is equal to ____________
volumes of the Encyclopedia Britannica.
ADVANCED SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE IN THE BIBLE
7. The order of ____________ of creation are known by modern science and
they correspond to the biblical account.
8. Just at the Bible affirmed long before science demonstrated it to be true,
everything reproduces after its own ____________.
9. Science has shown that human bodies are indeed made of the
____________; the minerals and compounds are found in the composition of
the earth.
10.Rain water returns to its ____________ through a cycle of evaporation and
precipitation. The Bible declared this before science understood it.
11.The earth is ____________ and hangs in space, just as we now know.
12.The life is in the ____________, a fact well attested to by a loss of blood
bringing death.
13.The sea has ____________ and boundaries. The continental shelf that
makes this possible is a fairly recent discovery.
14.The laws of ____________ were instituted in the Moasic Law long before
humanity knew anything of microbes.
THE TESTIMONY OF THE SCROLLS
15.The New Testament ____________ are more numerous than the ancient
classics which have survived.
Chapter One-114
16.The New Testament manuscripts were written much ____________ to the
actual events, and as such less likely to have been corrupted.
17.The New Testament Manuscripts are more ____________ copied than any
other ancient texts. One hundred percent of the message of the New
Testament has been preserved in its manuscripts.
18.The New Testament manuscripts were written by ____________ and
eyewitnesses of the events.
THE TESTIMONY OF THE SCRIBES
19.The nature of the prophet as a ____________ of God
20.Prophets claimed to be ____________ by the Spirit of God
21.“Thus ____________ the Lord”
22.The Scriptures claim to be ____________ out by God
23.What the ____________ says, God says
24.The Bible claims to be the “____________ of God”
THE TESTIMONY OF THE SUPERNATURAL
25.Supernatural ____________ in the Bible
26.Supernatural ____________ in the Bible
Chapter One-115
THE TESTIMONY OF THE STRUCTURE OF THE BIBLE
First, it was written over a period of some ____________ ____________ years
or more.
Second, it is composed of ____________ - ____________ different books.
Third, these books were written by some ____________ different authors.
Fourth, it was composed in ____________ languages—Hebrew, Greek, and
Aramaic.
Fifth, it contains hundreds of different ____________.
Sixth, it was written in a variety of different literary __________, including
history, poetry, didactic, parable, allegory, apocalyptic and epic.
Seventh, it was composed by authors of many different ____________.
Yet, in spite of all this vast diversity, the Bible reveals an astounding unity
First, it is a ____________, unfolding drama of redemption.
Second, the Bible as one ____________ theme: the person of Jesus Christ
Third, the Bible has one unified ____________: humanity’s sin and salvation
through Christ.
THE TESTIMONY OF THE STONES
27.The rocks cry out in support of the historicity and authority of the Bible. No
archeological find has ever ____________ a biblical claim.
Chapter One-116
28.Wm. Albright said, “There can be no doubt that archaeology has
____________ the substantial historicity of the Old Testament tradition.”
29.For Acts, the confirmation of historicity is ____________.
THE TESTIMONY OF THE SAVIOR
30.Jesus ____________ to be the Son of God (John 8:58; Matt. 16:16-18;
26:63-64) and was confirmed by acts of God (John 3:2; Acts 2:22). Jesus
said the ____________ is the Word of God, therefore either the Bible is the
Word of God, or Jesus is not the Son of God.
31.Jesus confirmed the Old Testament to be the ____________ of God.
32.Jesus ____________ that the New Testament would be the Word of God.
THE TESTIMONY OF THE SPIRIT
33.No amount of evidence apart from the work of the ____________ will
convince anyone of the significance of the fact that the Bible is God’s Word.
THE TESTIMONY OF THE SAVED
34.The _____ - ____________ power of the Bible is widely know. On chief
example is Saul of Tarsus who was transformed from being a hater of
persecutor of Christ and Christians, to becoming a preacher of the gospel,
even to the Gentiles.