a conversation - how would you respond 2

8/3/2019 A Conversation - How Would You Respond 2

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A Conversation

Between an Agnostic and aChristian (Cont)


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Conversational Apologetics

Open Questions

To understand and know them

Pointed Questions To remove the roof of their irrational

assumptions

Explain the Gospel

Only when asked

Nurture The Relationship

Help unbelievers grow towards Christ

Help believers to grow IN Christ


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How Would You Respond?

Have you heard about that court casein where it is?Kentucky? I cant

believe that in the 21st Century, wereSTILL arguing about teachingCreationism in a Science class! Its

ridiculous! Religion and Science aretwo different things.


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Typical Response

Actually, theres a lot of scientific

evidence that God created the

universe.


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Open Questions

No, can you tell me about that case?

Follow-up: Why does that bother you?

What do you mean by creationism?

Whats your definition of science?

What do you mean by religion?

In what ways do you think science andreligion are different?


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Oh, no! Youre not a fundamentalist

Christian are you?


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Typical Response

Well, as a matter of fact, I am. But youknow, theres a lot of evidence that

God created the universe.


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Open Questions

What do you mean, Oh, no?

Why do you say Im a

fundamentalist?

What do you mean byfundamentalist?

What would a non-fundamentalistChristian be?


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Evidence? Im talking SCIENTIFIC

evidence. You know, something that

you can prove.


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Typical Response

Oh, you mean SCIENTIFIC, likeTHEORY of evolution?


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Open Questions

How would you define scientific

evidence?

Can you give me some examples ofscientific proof?

How would you define truth?

Follow-up: Is scientific proof the only wayto determine if something is true?


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Yes, exactly. Like the THEORY ofGravity! We may not know all the

details of how gravity works, but weknow THAT it works. We can prove it.And the same is true of evolution.


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Typical Response

Actually, a lot of scientists arebeginning to doubt whether evolution

can be proven. They think that anobjective review of the evidence leadsaway from evolution and towards

intelligent design.


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Open Questions

What do you mean by evolution?

What do you mean that the theory of

evolution is the same as the theory ofgravity?


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A lot MORE scientists still believe theevidence proves evolution, and a

handful of Christians who happen tohave degrees in the sciences and areletting their faith overcome their reason

can not prove otherwise.


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Typical Response

Id say its the secular scientists that are letting THEIR faith overcometheir reason. Take a look at the cell. Back in Darwins day, he couldassume that the cell evolved from non-living material because hethought the cell was pretty simple. I remember reading in sciencetextbooks how the building blocks of life naturally evolved into

SIMPLE, single-celled organisms. But modern microbiology hasoverturned the myth of the simple cell. The cell is actually a complexbiochemical factory with thousands of interdependent elements. Allof those elements had to be there AT THE SAME TIME for the cell tofunction. For it to live. Modern scientists who step back for a minuteand consider the amazing complexity of the cell realize that it is fartoo complex to have evolved. They compare it to other complex

systems we find in the world, all of which were designed by anintelligent designer for a specific purpose, and conclude quitescientifically that the cell must have been designed by an intelligentdesigner, too: God!


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Open Questions

What evidence do you findpersuasive?

Can you give me the names of someof the scientists youre referring to? Id

like to read what they have to say.

How can you tell when someonesfaith overcomes their reason?


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Wow. Thats a big leap youre making, there. Justbecause we dont understand all the complexities ofhow the cell evolved, that doesnt mean we can just

arbitrarily say some supernatural creator made it.Science is continually refining itself as newinformation becomes available. Back when theythought the sun revolved around the earth, therewas evidence that it really didnt happen that way.

But they didnt conclude that God was magicallymoving the planets they just refined theirexplanation to account for the evidence that theearth really goes around the sun.


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Typical Response

But thats exactly what Im talking

about refining the explanation. If

evolution cant account for the origin ofcomplex cells and intelligent designcan, shouldnt we refine our

explanation for the origin of the cell?


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Open Questions

Youre right I may not have spokenprecisely. Im sorry. But what happens inscience when evidence is discovered that

disproves the theory? How much evidence do you think necessary

before a theory should be refined orrestated?

What about when contradictory evidence isfirst being discovered what shouldscientists do with that evidence?


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How Dare We?

We have the truth Truth = Reality

The non-Christian does not The non-Christian has a worldview that

does not correspond with reality The more the non-Christian follows the logic

of his/her worldview, the less they live in the

real world The less the non-Christian follows the logic

of his/her worldview, the more they live inthe real world


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The Point of Tension

Every person is somewhere along the linebetween the real world and the logicalconclusions of his or her non-Christianspresuppositions. Every person has the pullof two consistencies, the pull towards thereal world and the pull towards the logic ofhis system. He may let the pendulum swing

back and forth between them, but he cannotlive in both places at once. (FrancisSchaeffer, The God Who is There).


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The Point of Tension

The Real The logical

Conclusion

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World Of the non-

Christian

Worldview


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Finding the Point of Tension

The Object of Open Questions is to find the Point ofTension

The first consideration in our apologetics for

modern man, whether factory-hand or researchstudent, is to find the place where his tensionexists. We will not always find it easy to do this.itwill take time and will cost something to discoverwhat the person we are speaking to often has not

yet discovered for himself. We, in love, looking tothe work of the Holy Spirit, must reach down intothat person and try to find where the point oftension is.The next step, is to push him towardsthe logical conclusion of his presuppositions.

(Francis Schaeffer, The God Who is There).


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And that next step is

Pointed Questions

Come back for the next workshop!

a conversation - how would you respond 2

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