The Case for Faith!

Hey ALL MUNCHERS!!!

GOOD NEWS!!! This Friday will be our last Case for Faith series ya... 

Let's come and give it the LAST SHOT!!! 

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Seeya ALL!

To the ANGEL of RACHEL RAJA

Hello ANGEL! :)


Thanks for your chocs!


I LOVE YOU!!!


You are the best angel & your chocs really make me happy.


Love,
Rachel Raja :)

Objection #6: A Loving God Would Never Torture People in Hell Part I

Objection #6: A Loving God Would Never Torture People in Hell

Part I

“For a long time as a spiritual seeker, I found my sense of justice outraged by the Christian teaching about hell, which I considered far more unjust than a mandatory prison term… The doctrine seemed like a cosmic overkill to me, an automatic and unappealable sentence to an eternity of torture and torment… Step out of line with God – even a little bit, even inadvertently – and you’re slapped with an endless prison sentence…”

Lee Strobel

5 PRESUPPOSITIONS

1.    The God of Christianity hates hell and He hates people going there.

ð Ezekiel 33:11

ð Isaiah 13

ð Ezekiel 28

2.   We need to differentiate between liking or disliking something and judging whether it’s right to do so.

ð What we like might not be necessary be right for us to do it.

ð A good example would be the story of adultery.

3.   God is a compassionate being but He is also a just, moral and pure being.

4.   Hell is a place for utter heartbreak. It is a loss of everything and it stands for the worst possible situation that could ever happen to a person.

ð Do you agree with this statement?

ð What is your view of hell?

5.   There’s a difference between intrinsic value and instrumental value.

ð What is intrinsic value?

ð What is instrumental value?

Today’s interview is done with Dr. Moreland.

Discussion #1

Statement by Charles Templeton:

“I couldn’t hold someone’s hand to a fire for a moment. Not an instant! How could a loving God, just because you don’t obey Him and do what he wants, torture you forever – not allowing you to die, but to continue in that pain for eternity?”

Dr. Moreland’s reply to Charles Templeton’s statement:

“Hell is not a torture chamber. God is the most generous, loving, wonderful, attractive being in the cosmos (the universe). Hell is separation or banishment from the most beautiful being in the world – God Himself.”

Your views?

Discussion #2

Statement by Dr. Moreland:

“Hell is punishment but it’s not a punishing.”

Why is it a punishment?

“Hell is the final sentence that says “Hell is the final sentence that says you refused regularly to live for the purpose for which you were made, and the alternative is to sentence you away for all eternity.”

Your views?

Discussion #3

Statement by Lee Strobel:

“According to Genesis, when God created everything, He declared that it was good, so, obviously God created hell. But how could He ever think that hell is good?”

Dr. Moreland’s reply to Lee Strobel’s statement:

“Hell was not part of God’s original creation. Hell is God’s fall back position. Hell is something God was forced to make because people chose to rebel against Him and turn against what was best for them and purpose for which they are created.”

ð Just like Singapore, the government had never started by creating/building a jail. But they were forced to create them because people would not cooperate. The same is true to hell.

ð Why would hell even exist? Firstly, God has created freedom of choice. And so if His people choose go against His will for man as he is given the freedom to choose. Therefore, sin is man choice.

Your views?

Questions in Conclusion

1.    What is the one thing that you can bring with you in eternity?

2.   What is/are your action step(s)?

Now that many things are left silent in the bible, we have not gone through all these in our lives, we can never have a definite answer to all these, and therefore, there’s only 2 things that we can be doing. Firstly, to pray for His people and that God will reveal and give us the wisdom to understand His truths. Secondly, be close to the bible, read God’s truth and apply His truth, so that our lives will be without fault.

Knowing God’s truth will not transform your life but APPLIED TRUTH TRANSFORMS YOU!

The Case for Faith, Objection #4: GOD ISNT WORTHY OF WORSHIP IF HE KILLS INNOCENT CHILDREN

Objection #4: GOD ISNT WORTHY OF WORSHIP IF HE KILLS INNOCENT CHILDREN

When attention is focused on little-mentioned Old Testament stories of massacres and other broad-scale bloodshed, suddenly God is seen in a different light. Like Bill Clinton whose carefully crafted public persona fell apart once credible stories of extramarital dalliances were documented, God’s image as a loving and benevolent deity gets called into question by stories of seemingly cruel and vengeful behaviour. Do these brutal accounts disclose the true character of God? And if they do, does he deserve to be worshipped?
Lee Strobel


The difference between what the Bible records and what the Bible approves
1) Raping of women, cutting it into 12 pieces, sending to 12 tribes of Israel (Judges 19:25-30, 20: 4-6, 21: 11-12)

2) David committing adultery with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11: 1-5, 26-27, 12: 9-14)
- Does God approve of adultery?
- David commits adultery with Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite. Bathsheba becomes pregnant and David sends for Uriah, who is with the Israelite army at the siege of Rabbah, so that he may lie with his wife and conceal the identity of the child's father. Uriah refuses to do so while his companions are in the field of battle and David sends him back to Joab, the commander, with a message instructing him to abandon Uriah on the battlefield, "that he may be struck down, and die." David marries Bathsheba and she bears his child, "but the thing that David had done displeased the Lord." The prophet Nathan confronts David, saying: "Why have you despised the word of God, to do what is evil in his sight? You have smitten Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and have taken his wife to be your wife." David repents, yet God "struck the [David's] child ... and it became sick ... [And] on the seventh day the child died." David leaves his lamentations, dresses himself, and eats. His servants ask why he wept when the baby was alive, but ends his mourning when the child dies. David replies: "While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, who knows whether Yahweh will be gracious to me, that the child may live? But now he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me."

3) Total destroy of the Amalekites (1 Samuel 15: 1-3)
- The Amalekites are one of the peoples dwelling in the southern part of Canaan. When the Israelites left Egypt and set out toward Canaan (see Exodus 17:8), they were one of the first nations the Israelites encountered. This is one of the surrounding nations with which Israel has continual conflict. The Amalekites attack the Israelites, who disobediently seek to possess the promised land after their unbelief at Kadesh-barnea (see Numbers 14:25, 43, 45). They join with the Midianites in attacking and plundering Israel, and are one of the nations which pose such a serious threat to Israel that Gideon needs reassurance of God’s presence with him in battle (Judges 6:3, 33; 7:12). This is the nation David attacks, which overruns the city of Ziklag and captures the families and goods of David and his men (see 1 Samuel 27:8; 30:1, 18; 2 Samuel 1:1).
- Deuteronomy 7: 1-5, 9: 4-6 (repetition in the Bible  emphasis)
- Israel destroy a nation not because they are righteous but because of the country’s wickedness

God does not change. He is the same God both in Old and New Testaments
- Isn’t there a big difference between the often-cruel God of the Old Testament and the loving God of the New Testament?
- The word “mercy” in KJV occurred 261 times in the Bible and 72% in the Old Testament (3:1)
- The word “love” in KJV occurred 322 times in the Bible, about half in each testament
- “ I the Lord do not change…”Malachi 3:6
- God’s character: Holy and He cannot look upon sin, loving, merciful, gracious, compassionate, forgiving

God’s judgement is just because He has to judge sin
- 1 Samuel 15:1-3 (Total destroy of the Amalekites)
- Deuteronomy 7: 1-5, 9: 4-6 (repetition in the Bible  emphasis)
- Israel destroy a nation not because they are righteous but because of the country’s wickedness
- God took action not only for the sake of the Israelites, but ultimately for the sake of everyone through history whose salvation would be provided by the Messiah who was to be born among them
- Whoever has repented, God has been willing to save
o Joshua 2: Rahab (prostitute) betrayed her own people. The Israelites were seeking to take Jericho, and Rahab had the opportunity to stop them, but she didn't. Rahab found herself in a position where she had to decide between God's plan and the plans of earthly authority. (vs. 9-10)

God’s sovereignty to take life as He is the giver of life
- He give and takes away (Job 1:21). God allowed Satan to strip Job of EVERYTHING: his material security, his family, his health, his reputation. But it is for a greater good.
- The Lord rejected Saul as king (1 Samuel 15:26-29)

No one is innocent, we are born in sin (Psalm 51)


Can the Bible be trusted??
- The Bible’s unity- 66 books written in different literary styles by perhaps 40 different authors with diverse backgrounds over 1500 years and yet the Bible amazingly unfolds one continuous drama with one central message (Jesus the Messiah).

* The archaeological confirmation of its reliability
- Have you ever wondered why God doesn’t appear to us and write to us letters? (pg. 197)
- The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands…Psalm 19:1 (it’s written across the heaven so vividly)

* The miraculous confirmation of its divine authority
- The evidence is there if people will be willing to see it. It’s not for a lack of evidence that people turn from God; it’s from their pride of their will. God is not going to force anyone into the fold. Love never works coercively, it only works persuasively.

The Case for Faith, Objection #3: Evolution Explains Life, So God Isn’t Needed

Objection #3: Evolution Explains Life, So God Isn’t Needed

Charles Darwin didn’t want to murder God, as he once put it. But he did. –Time Magazine–

What is Evolution?

Lee Strobel mentions what he understands through his teacher’s teaching. His teacher explained that life originated millions of years ago when chemicals randomly reacted with each other in a warm ocean on the primordial earth. Then through a process of survival of the fittest and natural selection, life forms gained in complexity. Eventually, human beings emerged from the same family tree as apes.

Do you know what this sentence means?

Just like how the title for today said, “evolution explains life”, so God is dead, and Darwin’s theory of evolution had killed him.

So, do you agree with this argument?

Evolution is not just a explanation on its own, but there’s a micro-evolution and macro-evolution.

What is Micro-Evolution?

It involves gradual changes within a species. (For example, over several generations of dogs)

What is Macro-Evolution?

It involves gradual change from one species to another. (For example, from fish to amphibian to reptile)

Stanley Miller’s Experiment

What was Stanley Miller’s experiment and how did it worked out?

From the textbook, page 134. He created the atmosphere of the primitive earth in which he recreated the atmosphere of the primitive earth in a lab and shot electricity through it to stimulate the effects of lightning.

Forming a Cell

What does it take to assemble a cell?

The cell is made up of DNA, and not just one “DNA” but many “DNA(s)”. In every cell, how is a DNA formed? It is where there’s a combination of amino acids with other acids.

Therefore, an amino acid forms bonds to create protein. One simple fact is that without proteins we will all die. For example, muscles and everything else in our body is made up of protein.

Do you know where did all these DNA and amino acids are from?

Definitely they are from God.  

Let’s turn to Genesis 1:26-28

To conclude on the creation of God, let’s look at Genesis 1:31

6 Different Theories

There might be different theories that talks about evolution, but most of them are not sustainable.

1.      Random Chance

Random chance seems to be based on probability. The probability of linking together just one hundred amino acids to create one protein molecule by chance would be the same as a blindfolded man finding one marked grain of sand somewhere in the vastness of the Sahara Desert.

Even some people who aren’t educated in this field still believe life emerged by chance, scientists simply don’t believe it anymore.

2.      Chemical Affinity

The scientist thinks that the emergence of life actually might have been “biochemically predestined” because of these chemical bonding preferences.

So, researchers studied the Atlas of Protein Sequence and Structure to determine whether certain amino acids preferentially positioned themselves next to a particular neighbor.

The researcher uses a computer program to analyze it. However, the results demonstrated conclusively that the sequencing had nothing to do with chemical preferences.

3.      Self-Ordering Tendencies

For example, energy can create patterns of simple order. For instance, you could see ripples on the sand at a beach and know they where created by the action of waves. But if you saw the words, “John loves Mary” in the sand, you know that energy alone didn’t create that.

4.      Seeding From Space

Philip Johnson said that he saw another possibility, “maybe another planet would have an atmosphere of ammonia, methane, and hydrogen, which would be more conducive to producing the building blocks of life.”

But reports showed that side reactions would effectively prevent any prebiotic molecules in the meteorite from ever spontaneously forming life molecules.

5.      Vents In The Ocean

Jack Corliss suggested that these vents might have provided an environment where the beginning of life might have been nurtured.

But Bradley says that the vents might provide an unusual energy source that could prompt some chemicals to become reactive but this theory does nothing to solve the problem of how to put together the building blocks of life in the right sequence and with the right connections.

6.      Life From Clay

Cairns-Smith suggested that life somehow arose on clays whose crystalline structure had enough complexity to somehow encourage prebiotic chemicals to assemble together.

On the other hand Bradley mentions. But how would the clay be able to impart the information needed to sequence the chemicals together in the right way? The best that crystalline clay can do is providing very low-grade sequencing information, and it’s going to be repetitive. A crystal is nothing more than redundant information which is far short of the specified complexity that living matters need.   

Conclusion

In closing, page 156

“Only a rookie who knows nothing about science would say science take away from faith. If you really study science, it brings you closer to God.”

It is because you will be able to see the wonders of God’s creation.

The Case for Faith, Objection #2: Since Miracles Contradict Science, They Cannot be True

Objection #2: Since Miracles Contradict Science, They Cannot be True

It is not just a provocative rumour that God has acted in history, but a fact worthy of our intellectual conviction. The miracles of Christianity are not an embarrassment to the Christian worldview. Rather, they are a testimony to the compassion of God for human beings benighted (blinded) by sin and circumstance. Gary Habermas, Christian

Thoughts to ponder about:
1) Do you believe in the virgin birth?
2) Jesus and Peter walking on water?
3) Resurrection of Jesus Christ?

If you didn’t believe, then why did you become a Christian?
You don’t need to have all your questions answered to come to faith. “The weight of the evidence seems to show this is true, so even though I don’t have answers to all my questions, I’m going to believe and hope for answers in the long run.” Pg. 83

MIRACLES VERSUS SCIENCE
William Lane Craig’s definition of a miracle:
A miracle is an event which is not producible by the natural causes that are operative at the time and place that event occurs. Pg. 84

Does miracle contradict (oppose, go against) science?

William Lane Craig’s opinion:
- Miracles lies outside of science
- Science: natural, repeatable, governed by law

Natural law has implicit ceteris paribus conditions- natural law assume that no other natural or supernatural factors are interfering with the operation that the law describes.

Illustration of the law of gravity
- Pg. 85-86
- Natural law: exist on its own (idealized condition)
- Oxygen + Potassium = Combustion [but this does not happen in our body]
- Apple falls on the ground BUT you catch it

o Does this go against the natural law?
- Miracles: does not go against natural law, but intervention happens and overrides the natural causes of the circumstances


Do you believe in miracles?


REAL ACTS OF GOD
Scientists would someday understand the workings of the universe and thus vanquish the need for miraculous explanation. (pg.86) Richard Dawkin
- Pg.87
- Some superstitious people use miracles as an excuse for ignorance and sort of punit to God every time they can’t explain something.
- Science will squeeze out that kind of simplistic thinking
- Miracles: supernatural intervening in the process (real act of God) won’t be squeezed out by advance science, because they are not based on an appeal to ignorance
- They’re substantiated by the weight of the scientific and historical evidence
Probability Theorists (pg.89-90)
- In order to make a good judgement, you must weigh the improbability of the event’s occurring against the probability that the evidence would be just as it is if the event had not taken place (both sides of the coin)
- Don’t be quick to exclude miracles from happening
- Miracles found in the Bible shows that God is over nature

THE MIRACLES OF JESUS
If God really exists, then in what sense is it improbable that He would raise Jesus from the dead?
Jesus Himself is a miracle! (pg. 94-95)
- All the miracles and event were found in all the gospel sources. (compared to Mormon, pg. 97)
- If you believe God exists, then there’s no good reason to be sceptical about these events.
- Jesus miracles also involved lots of people (substantial truth)
- Resurrection: greatest miracle (nowhere near enough time for legend to have developed and wiped out a solid core of historical truth) (diff. From Muslim, pg.96)

The Christian fellowship was convinced that Jesus had done miracles and they told many stories of miracles of Him. Most of these stories contained in the gospels and legendary or are at least dressed up with legend. But, there can be no doubt that Jesus did such deeds, which were, in His and His contemporaries’ understanding, miracles; that is to say, events that were the result of supernatural divine causality. Doubtless He healed the sick and cast out demons.
Rudolf Bultmann, New Testament critics

THE HEART OF THE MATTER: CASE FOR GOD AND CHRISTIANITY
1) Philosophically: God Makes Sense of the Universe’s Origin (pg.104)
- Big Bang Theory: universe came from nothing and by nothing
- Something coming from nothing makes no sense.
- Whatever begins to exist must have a cause
- We were created by God from nothing (dust)

2) Scientifically: God Makes Sense of the Universe’s Complexity (pg.105-106)
- Scientifically speaking, it’s far more probable for a life-prohibiting universe to exist than a life-sustaining one
- God is the Intelligent Designer, God made sense of the universe

3) Ethically: God Makes Sense of Objective Moral Values (pg.109)
- If God does not exist, then objective moral values do not exist
- If there is no God, then morality is just a mater of personal taste, moral values are merely the products of socio-biological evolution

4) Historically: God Makes Sense of the Resurrection (pg.111-114)
- Jesus resurrection is not legendary (within 5 years, Paul included that in his 1st letter to the Corinth)
- Early independent attestation: Jesus tomb was found empty, many experienced Jesus after he resurrected
- No naturalistic explanation but the best explanation is that God raised Jesus from the dead

5) Experimentally: God Can Immediately Be Experienced (pg.114-115)
- “properly basic belief”
- You cannot prove but it’s grounded in our experience Conclusion: Christian faith is not merely believing that there is a God. It is believing that there is a God no matter what the evidence on the question may be. ‘Have faith,’ in the Christian sense, means, ‘make yourself believe that there is a God without regard to evidence.’ Richard Robinson, philosopher