ON GUARDBy William Lane Craig

REASONS FOR APOLOGETIC

• Biblical examples

• 1 Peter 3:15

• Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch

• Paul in Acts

• Mt 28:19 - A disciple is a learner

REASONS FOR APOLOGETIC

• Shaping the Culture

• Strengthen the believer

• Faith in struggles

• Bolder witness

• Makes you a more interesting person

• Winning Souls

REASONS FOR APOLOGETIC

Love the world

What Difference Does It Make If God Exists?

• Meaning – has to do with significance, why something matters

• Value – has to do with good and evil, right and wrong

• Purpose – has to do with a goal, a reason for something

What Difference Does It Make If God Exists?

“If there is no God and no life beyond the

grave, then life itself has no objective

meaning, value, or purpose.”

William Lane Craig

Clarification

“I’m not saying that atheists experience life as dull and

meaningless, that they have no personal values or lead

immoral lives, that they have no goals or purpose for living.

On the contrary, life would be unbearable and unlivable

without such beliefs. But my point is that, given atheism,

these beliefs are all subjective illusions: the mere appearance

of meaning, value, and purpose even though, objectively

speaking, there really isn’t any. If God does not exist, our lives

are ultimately meaningless, valueless, and purposeless

despite how desperately we cling to the illusion to the

contrary. “

W. L. Craig

FIVE BIG QUESTIONS

1. Origin: Where did we come from?

2. Identity: Who are we?

3. Meaning: Why are we here?

4. Morality: How should we live?

5. Destiny: Where are we going?

“Then I considered all that

my hands had done and the

toil I had spent in doing it,

and behold, all was vanity

and a striving after wind, and

there was nothing to be

gained under the sun.”

Ecc 2:11

If death stands with open arms at the end of life's trail, then what is

the goal of life? Is it all for nothing? Is there no reason for life? And

what of the universe? Is it utterly pointless? If its destiny is a cold

grave in the recesses of outer space the answer must be, yes—it is

pointless. There is no goal no purpose for the universe. The litter of

a dead universe will just go on expanding and expanding—forever.

Immortality = Meaning?

Have you ever

felt the darkness

of despair, that

your life was

meaningless?

HG Wells Time Machine

“Beyond these lifeless sounds, the world

was silent”

Auschwitz - No right or wrong

Nihilism – the

destruction of all

meaning and value

in life.

NOBLE LIE

A Noble Lie “is one that deceives us, tricks us, compels us beyond

self-interest, beyond ego, beyond family, nation [and] race.”

Dr. L. D. Rue

“It is a lie, because it tells us that the universe is infused with value

(which is a great fiction), because it makes a claim to universal

truth (when there is none), and because it tells me not to live for

self-interest (which is evidently false). "But without such lies, we

cannot live.“ W.L. Craig

How does God Impart

Meaning, Value, and Purpose?

Bill Craig's story

“Because He loves you, Bill”

“Meaning”