Norman L. Geisler - When Skeptics Ask

Ask

NORMAN L. GEISLER

and

RONALD M. BROOKS

1990 by Norman L. Geisler and Ronald M. Rhodes

Published 1996 by Baker Books

a division of Baker Book House Company

P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 495166287

First published 1990 by Victor Books, a division of Scripture Press Publications Inc., Wheaton, Illinois.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meansfor example, electronic, photocopy, recording

without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

PDF by ANGEL (realnost-2005@yandex.ru)

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Geisler, Norman L.

When skeptics ask/Norman L. Geisler and Ronald M. Brooks p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN 08010-11418

1. Apologetics20th centuryMiscellanea. I. Brooks, Ronald M. (Ronald Matthew), 1957- II. Tide.

BT1102.G436 1990

239dc20 8929002

Art on page 49 M. C. Escher Heirs/Cordon Art-Baarn-Holland. Used by permission.

Art on pages 12122 taken from W. D. Edwards, W. J. Gabel, and F. E. Hosmer, On the Physical Death of Christ, Journal of the American Medical Association 255 (21 March 1986): 145463. Used by permission of Mayo Foundation.

Chart on page 155 taken from Norman L Geisler and William E. Nix, General Introduction to the Bible (Chicago: Moody Press, 1987), 149. Used by permission.

Chart on page 227 taken from Norman L. Geisler and J. Origin Science: A Proposal for theCreation-Evolution Controversy (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1987), 149. Used by permission.

Chart on pages 236 and 238 taken from Norman L. Geisler, The Re-Incarnation Sensation (Wheaton, ILL.: Tyndale House Publishers, 1986). Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are from the New American Standard Bible,

The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are from the HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL

VERSION. NIV . Copyright 1973,1978,1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the Authorized King James Version.

For information about academic books, resources for Christian leaders, and all new releases available from Baker Book House, visit our web site: http://www.bakerbooks.com

CONTENTS

Chapter One: The Need To Answer Every Man

Unbelievers Have Good Questions

We Have Good Answers

God Commands Us to Give Them the Answers

But What About ?

Chapter Two: Questions About God

Does God Exist?

What Kind of God Exists?

Some Objections

Chapter Three: Questions About Other Gods

AtheismWhat If There Is No God?

DeismWhat If God Made the World and Then Left It Alone?

PantheismWhat If the World Is God?

PanentheismWhat If the World Is Gods Body?

Finite GodismWhat If God Is Not All-Powerful?

PolytheismWhat If There Are Many Gods?

Chapter Four: Questions About Evil

What Is Evil?

Where Did Evil Come From?

Why Cant Evil Be Stopped?

What Is the Purpose of Evil?

Does There Have to Be So Much Evil?

Couldnt God Make a World without Evil?

Chapter Five: Questions About Miracles

Are Miracles Possible?

Are Miracles Credible?

Are Miracles Scientific?

Are Miracles Historical?

Are Miracles Mythological?

Are Miracles Definable?

Are Miracles Valuable?

Chapter Six: Questions About Jesus Christ

Who Was Jesus?

What Claims Did the Disciples Make about Jesus?

What Evidence Did Jesus Give to Support His Claims?

Old Testament and the Resurrection

Jesus Predicted His Own Resurrection

Jesus Actually Died on the Cross

Jesus Rose Bodily from the Grave

Jesus Appeared in a Resurrected Body

Summary and Conclusion

Why Is Jesus Better Than Other Teachers?

Chapter Seven: Questions About The Bible

How Do We Know That the Bible Came from God?

How Was the Bible Written?

Can the Bible Be Wrong?

How Was the Bible Put Together?

How Reliable Are Our Modem Bibles?

Summary

Chapter Eight: Questions About Bible Difficulties What Are the Guidelines for Handling Difficult Passages?

How Can We Resolve Some of These Difficulties?

Chapter Nine: Questions About Archeology

Does Archeology Confirm the Old Testament?

Does Archeology Confirm the New Testament?

Chapter Ten: Questions About Science And Evolution The Basic Argument against Evolution

The Origin of the Universe

The Origin of First Life

The Origin of New Life Forms

Conclusion

Chapter Eleven: Questions About The Afterlife

What Is Reincarnation?

What Is Resurrection?

Chapter Twelve: Questions About Truth

Is Truth Relative or Absolute?

Is Truth Correspondent or Coherent?

Is Truth Knowable?

Is Truth Logical?

Chapter Thirteen: Questions About Morals

Are There Any Absolute Values?

Where Do Values Come From?

What Happens When Absolutes Conflict?

Appendix: Reasoning to Christianity from Ground ZeroGlossary of Terms

Suggested Readings

Topical Index

This book is dedicated

to all who would seek

a reason for the hope

that is in them.

THE NEED TO ANSWER EVERY MAN

You know, all this stuff about arguments for Gods existence and evidence for the Resurrection is interesting, and I know there is a place for it, but Ive never needed it,

the pastor said as he looked in the rearview mirror to change lanes. The young man seated next to him remained silent for a moment, slightly shocked by this statement. The pastor continued, The people I share the Gospel with just dont ask those questions.

They arent interested in whether truth is objective, or what ancient historians said about Jesus and the Resurrection, or solutions to the problem of evil. Most people just arent the kind that are philosophical about what they believe.

Finally the young man blurted out, REALLY? Thats the only kind of questions I ever get! He had come from a family that was Christian in name only and raised in a part of the country where religion was typically ridiculed. When he finally became a Christian in college, he had to work out a lot of difficult questions about his faith, and the unbelievers he had contact with had been thoroughly trained skeptics and agnostics.

Through his whole life he had been keenly aware of the fact that the world is opposed to Christianity on intellectual grounds. Whenever he shared Christ with someone, he or she would inevitably raise some of the objections that he himself had once voiced. It seemed inconceivable, from his experience, that a pastor could minister without ever confronting the same kind of opposition.

These two men were engaged in two different ministries. Both are valid and both are necessary. The pastors ministry focused on evangelism, but the other man was used by God in a separate and distinct ministry of pre-evangelism. Rather than first trying to lead people to Christ, he removed the obstacles to faith. Rather than just preaching the Word, he spent more time using reason to explain why objections are groundless. Instead of asking immediately for a spiritual commitment, he sought intellectual agreement on the issues that must be understood before the Gospel can be accepted. For example, if someone does not believe that God exists and that He can perform miracles, then it makes no sense to him to say that God raised Jesus from the dead, because that is a miraclea big one! Not all people have questions of this kind, but when they do, they need answers before they can believe. Before we can share the Gospel, we sometimes have to smooth the road, remove the obstacles, and answer the questions that are keeping that person from accepting the Lord. The following chart clarifies the difference between evangelism and pre-evangelism.