Session 7: Proving Inspiration: An Apologetic Defense of Scripture
Posted by: carrie in Fall 2008Fall 2008 Online Certificate Students:
View all sessions below. Then log all your comments, questions, discussion question answers, criticisms, or thoughts below.
NOTE:
This is not the place for general discussion and questions. Go to the foyer for general discussion and refer to the FAQ on the right for question. Time spent in the comments section will apply toward your one hour of community time per week. To download audio sessions, visit the course homepage on the TTP site. The next session will be posted each Wed.
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How can we know that the Scriptures alone are inspired? What about other religions? Don’t they have books that claim to be inspired? Is there any way to verify that God wrote the Bible? Important questions that most Christians are not prepared to answer. Most would just give an honest but insufficient answer, “I believe because the Holy Spirit convicts me to believe.” Upon completion of this session, the student will have been exposed to a strong logical defense for the evangelical understanding that the Christian Scriptures alone are the word of God. The student should become more confident in his or her claim that the Scriptures are indeed inspired through discussion about the various tests that the Scriptures must pass before a claim to inspiration can be trusted. Much attention will be given to a defense of the historicity of Scripture, using the resurrection of Christ as a test case. As well, students should become aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the subjective arguments for inspiration such as “the testimony of the Holy Spirit,” since all religions can and do claim these for their writings.
How do we know the Bible is inspired? [17:48m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download What is the internal evidence? Part 1 [15:34m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download What is the internal evidence? Part 2 [18:25m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download What is the external evidence? Part 1 [15:13m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download What is the external evidence? Part 2 [18:24m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
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October 7th, 2008 at 6:55 pm
1. Yes. 1)The Bible tells me so! (sing along!) 2)My faith believes the Bible is the Word of God. 3)The Bible changed my life.
2. The fact that no one can prove It’s false. The external evidence was most convincing to me.
3. If we say it’s based on history first, then it makes sense that someone would want to see them stand historically on their own before accepting them as inspired. It’s more tangible to prove history than to prove inspiration.
4. The Bible talks about a human tribe–the Israelites. They make mistakes. They are an irritating people until you realize how much you are just like them.
5. The Lord puts Himself on trial! He asks us to test Him. He never wanted us to accept our faith blindly without reason.
6. Isaiah 41–”predict how future events will turn out.” Isaiah has so many prophesies about the Messiah that were fulfilled in Christ. Hundreds of years before Christ, Isaiah prophesied these things. No one could have known. It was inspired.
7. In Spirit and in Truth! My heart is at peace. I have answers to my questions. My life is changed. Things become clear. I see the reality of the Scripture alongside the reality of my life. The Scriptures make sense. There is so much wisdom that will always be applicable.
8. I’m more challenged to be ready to defend my faith. Now that I know about all these amazing reason to believe in inspiration, I’m accountable for remembering them. I feel my faith is growing, too. I had never heard about most of the arguments. There is so much authenticity and evidence about the Bible. I love it!