Christianity Versus

1
Christianity Versus

• Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy
  and empty deceit, according to the tradition of
  men, according to the basic principles of the
  world, and not according to Christ
• Colossians 28

2
Christianity VS

• The Postmodern World

3
What Is Postmodernism?

• Also Called Deconstructionism
• Current trend in philosophy (French philosopher,
  Jacques Derrida)
• Stresses the relativity of all meaning and
  truth, and denies first principles that is, the
  commonly accepted truths (e.g., I exist) that
  form the starting point for all philosophical
  enquiry. (Josh McDowell, NETDAV, pg. xlii)
• Dominates cultural thinking today

4
Consequences of this Philosophy

• Nothing can truly be known. To claim a knowledge
  of truth is silly.
• Reality is defined or constructed by culture or
  language, not discovered by reason and
  observation (Dennis McCallum)
• Subjectivism rules. We should not try to be
  right, but should tolerate each other despite
  having different world views.
• Fundamentalism (Such as the Christian faith) is
  to be rejected. It only is intolerable.

5
The Sin of Intolerance

• Not too long ago, intolerance meant rejecting or
  even persecuting practitioners of other
  religions. Not any more. Now, intolerance means
  questioning the validity of any aspect of
  anothers religion. To the majority of Americans
  below fifty today, questioning the truthfulness
  of anothers religious views is intolerant and
  morally offensive. This prohibition against
  differing with others viewpoints is postmodern.
• Postmodernism and You Religion
• By Jim Leffel Dennis McCallum
• http//www.thewychfamily.com/beliefs/postmodern-re
  ligion.html

6
John 146

• Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and
  the life. No one comes to the Father except
  through Me.
• Jesus left no doubt that he is mankinds only
  hope, and that He is truth.

7
Acts 410-12

• Let it be known to you all, and to all the people
  of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of
  Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised
  from the dead, by Him this man stands here before
  you whole. 11 This is the stone which was
  rejected by you builders, which has become the
  chief cornerstone. 12 Nor is there salvation in
  any other, for there is no other name under
  heaven given among men by which we must be saved.

8
2 John 9-11

• Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the
  doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who
  abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the
  Father and the Son. 10 If anyone comes to you and
  does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him
  into your house nor greet him 11 for he who
  greets him shares in his evil deeds.
• Not even all who claim to be followers of Jesus
  have it right. Truth is found in scripture. It
  can and must be known.

9
Christianity VS

• The Postmodern World
• The Eastern/Mystical World

10
Zen Buddhism An Example

• Zen does not follow the routine of reasoning,
  and does not mind contradicting itself or being
  inconsistent
• ... Zen is decidedly not a system founded upon
  logic and analysis. If anything it is the
  antipode to logic, by which I mean the dualistic
  mode of thinking.
• D.T. Suzuki
• (Living By Zen, pg. 94 Intro to Zen Buddhism,
  pg. 38)

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Consequences of this Philosophy

• Yin/Yang not good/evil, but everything
  made up of opposites, neither good nor bad
  intrinsically. Yin and Yang must always balance
  for harmony.
• Life and death are one, right and wrong are the
  same (Chuang Tzu, as quoted in World Religions,
  pg. 333)
• Denies either/or statements. For example,
  statement Either Jesus is, or he is not the
  Son of God. Concept of either saved or lost
  foreign.

12
John 844

• You are of your father the devil, and the desires
  of your father you want to do. He was a murderer
  from the beginning, and does not stand in the
  truth, because there is no truth in him. When he
  speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources,
  for he is a liar and the father of it.
• N.T. Reveals the devil to be evil, no good in him.

13
1 John 38

• He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has
  sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the
  Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy
  the works of the devil.
• The devil and the son of God are portrayed as
  opposites, enemies. Light and darkness.

14
2 Corinthians 614-15

• Do not be unequally yoked together with
  unbelievers. For what fellowship has
  righteousness with lawlessness? And what
  communion has light with darkness? 15 And what
  accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a
  believer with an unbeliever?
• Where Eastern philosophy strives for balance,
  Christ instructs us to remove evil from ourselves.

15
1 John 15

• This is the message which we have heard from Him
  and declare to you, that God is light and in Him
  is no darkness at all.
• who alone has immortality, dwelling in
  unapproachable light (1 Timothy 616).

16
Christianity VS

• The Postmodern World
• The Eastern/Mystical World
• The Atheistic World

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What Is Atheism?

• a (meaning no), theos (meaning God)
• To be consistent, an atheist, to know there is no
  God, would himself have to be a god (omniscient).
  Otherwise, the existence of God may be outside
  of his knowledge
• No valid basis for atheism

18
Psalm 531-3

• The fool has said in his heart, "There is no
  God." They are corrupt, and have done abominable
  iniquity There is none who does good. 2 God
  looks down from heaven upon the children of men,
  To see if there are any who understand, who seek
  God. 3 Every one of them has turned aside They
  have together become corrupt There is none who
  does good, No, not one.

19
Romans 120-23

• For since the creation of the world His invisible
  attributes are clearly seen, being understood by
  the things that are made, even His eternal power
  and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, 21
  because, although they knew God, they did not
  glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became
  futile in their thoughts, and their foolish
  hearts were darkened. 22 Professing to be wise,
  they became fools, 23 and changed the glory of
  the incorruptible God into an image made like
  corruptible man--and birds and four-footed
  animals and creeping things.

20
Christianity VS

• The Postmodern World
• The Eastern/Mystical World
• The Atheistic World
• The Agnostic World

21
What Is Agnosticism?

• a (meaning no), gnosis (meaning knowledge)
• Philosophical agnosticism (knowledge of reality
  not possible)
• Self defeating, claim to know that you cant
  know. (Absurd)
• Practical agnosticism (just dont know)
• Evidence is available, just unexamined!

22
Acts 2625-29

• But he said, I am not mad, most noble Festus,
  but speak the words of truth and reason. 26 For
  the king, before whom I also speak freely, knows
  these things for I am convinced that none of
  these things escapes his attention, since this
  thing was not done in a corner. 27 King Agrippa,
  do you believe the prophets? I know that you do
  believe. 28 Then Agrippa said to Paul, You
  almost persuade me to become a Christian. 29 And
  Paul said, I would to God that not only you, but
  also all who hear me today, might become both
  almost and altogether such as I am, except for
  these chains.

23
1 Corinthians 156-8

• After that He was seen by over five hundred
  brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain
  to the present, but some have fallen asleep. 7
  After that He was seen by James, then by all the
  apostles. 8 Then last of all He was seen by me
  also, as by one born out of due time.
• Resurrection, a chief proof of God and Jesus as
  Christ, well-attested by numerous eye-witnesses

24
Christianity VS

• The Postmodern World
• The Eastern/Mystical World
• The Atheistic World
• The Agnostic World
• The Scientific World

25
Science Validates Our Faith

• Oddly enough, of all the worlds in collision
  with Christianity today it is the scientific
  world that is increasingly giving the greatest
  and most shocking evidence in favor of Gods
  existence.
• Josh McDowell
• (NETDAV, pg. l)

26
DNA Structure

• There is an identity of structure between DNA
  (and protein) and written linguistic messages.
  Since we know by experience that intelligence
  produces written messages, and no other cause is
  known, the implication, according to the
  abductive method, is that intelligent cause
  produced DNA and protein

27
DNA Structure

• The significance of this result lied in the
  security of it, for it is much stronger than if
  the structures were merely similar. We are not
  dealing with anything like a superficial
  resemblance between DNA and a written text. We
  are not saying DNA is like a message. Rather, DNA
  is a message. True design thus returns to
  biology.
• Hupert Yockey
• Journal of Theoretical Biology
• quoted by Charles Thaxton in A New Design
  Argument,1998

28
The Cosmos

• This means that the initial state of the
  universe must have been very carefully chosen
  indeed if the hot big bang model was correct
  right back to the beginning of time. It would be
  very difficult to explain whey the universe
  should have begun in just this way, except as the
  act of a God who intended to create beings like
  us.
• Stephen Hawking
• A Brief History of Time, page 127

29
Genesis 11

• In the beginning God created the heavens and the
  earth.
• Though many are unwilling to accept the
  ramifications, science is progressing
  sufficiently to show powerful evidence of design
  of a designer which means we have an obligation
  to the one to whom we owe our existence.

30
Ecclesiastes 1213-14

• Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter
  Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is
  man's all. 14 For God will bring every work into
  judgment, Including every secret thing, Whether
  good or evil.

31
Conclusion

• First, we should
  recognize that
  theChristian faith is under attack from many
  directions in our time.
• Second, we can be confident that the way of
  Christ is indeed the true way to God, redemption
  and eternal life!