It has been called “the world’s darkest assumption.” What is it? It is the following hypothetical—“IF Christ is not risen” (1 Corinthians 15:14). Paul, the apostle of Jesus Christ, summarized the case for the bodily resurrection of Jesus when he (Paul) wrote about it not more than 25 years after the event had happened. Heaven had revealed it prophetically through the Scriptures that prophesied it (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). Eyewitnesses had verified it (1 Corinthians 15:5-8). The apostles had preached it, and the Corinthians believed it (1 Corinthians 15:11). Yet, some among them, in spite of the sufficient evidence that proved it, were denying the reality of it (1 Corinthians 15:12-13). With flawless logic, Paul addresses it, explicating the implications of darkness and doom that reside in the proposition: “Christ is not risen” (1 Corinthians 15:14-19).
Read MoreThe observations of an anonymous writer grabbed my attention. I read and reread the words several times. The substance, source, and seemliness of these words impacted me. A portion of the words is as follows:
“The general moral corruption of society, sin rampant in official and family life, will bring the state to ruin. The foundations are rotting, being eaten away; the canker-worm of sinful practices are growing at the heart and the whole structure will fall apart. . . . It is the truth . . . for the nations of every age. There are fundamental moral laws underlying the structure and woven into the very fabric of human society. When they are ignored and violated disintegration sets in and the structure is sure to collapse. For the confirmation . . . it is only necessary to scan the page of history. . . .
Read MorePhillip Keller, in his book of essays titled Outdoor Moments with God, writes the following under the word “Renewal”:
According to the calendar spring is here. But outdoors in the harsh world . . . there are few signs of any seasonal change. . . . But yesterday all that changed. . . . It seemed so impossible! New life, new blooms, new leaves bursting from the earth. In spite of every adversity there was astonishing renewal. This was akin to resurrection from death and despair.
Here was hope!
I was in awe. (99)
“In awe,” in some sense, ought to describe every thoughtful person as he considers the seasons and the changing thereof. Early preachers of the Christian faith declared to their audience, “We are also men of the same nature as you, and preach the gospel to you in order that you should turn . . . to a living God, who made the Heaven and the Earth and the Sea, and all that is in them. . . . He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good and gave you rains from [H]eaven and fruitful seasons . . .” (Acts 14:15, 17, NASV; cf. Romans 1:18-20).
Read MoreChristianity is the religion of the person Jesus Christ. Christian faith is Christocentric. Its center is Christ. It certainly is the case that numerous constituent elements compose the pathway to Christian faith. However, is there not great value in giving serious thought to what one initially, primarily, and ultimately thinks of when he considers his religious faith? And, when it comes to Christian faith, should we not, in some sense, first and foremost, think of Jesus Christ? Who is He? What has He done? What is He doing now? What is He yet to do? It would seem that, in one sense, a surface reading of the New Testament would convince one of the truth of the point we are making here.
Read MoreFifty years ago (1970) Newsweek magazine asked a group of academics “What ails the American spirit?” One professor of history answered: “When a growing portion of the nation’s youth loudly proclaims its defection from everything; when even the most traditional and conservative campuses seethe with perpetual turmoil; . . . when the country is racked with fear, foreboding, and hopelessness—then we had better declare a state of spiritual crisis. . . .” (“The Spirit of ’70. . . ,” Newsweek, 6 July 1970, p. 25).
Read MoreFacing coming betrayal, judgment, and death, in just a matter of hours, Jesus of Nazareth, meeting with His apostles, in a large furnished upper room (cf. Luke 22:12) said, “A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also” (John 14:19, NKJV, emp. added).
One of those who saw and heard Jesus in that upper room was the apostle John. Sixty-five years later, while banished to the island of Patmos off the southwest coast of Asia Minor, John saw and heard Jesus again. John describes a part of what he saw and heard in the following: “. . . [W]hen I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, ‘Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death” (Revelation 1:17-18).
Read MoreIn 1960 a book authored by C. S. Lewis was published with the title, The World’s Last Night and Other Essays. Both the title and final chapter of the book connect with a question posed by the seventh century poet Donne (1572-1631). In Donne’s work, Holy Sonnet XIII, the following question is asked: “What if this present were the world’s last night?” C. S. Lewis captured this question as the foundation for an essay he wrote concerning the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. The relevancy of this essay for apologetics, and its significance during all the years of one’s life on Earth are implied in what Lewis wrote in the following:
. . . [I]t seems to me impossible to retain in any recognizable form our belief in the Divinity of Christ and the truth of the Christian revelation while abandoning, or even persistently neglecting, the promised, and threatened, Return. “He shall come again to judge the quick and the dead.” . . . “This same Jesus, said the angels in Acts, “shall so come in like manner as ye have seen [H]im go into heaven.” . . . If this is not an integral part of the faith once given to the saints, I do not know what it is. . . .
The doctrine of the Second Coming has failed, so far as we are concerned, if it does not make us realize at every moment of every year in our lives . . . [the] question “What if this present were the world’s last night?” is . . . relevant. (qtd. in Dorsett 383, 390, emp. added)
This is the final installment in a brief trilogy that has given thought to the American tradition of allowing religion a prominent place in the public square. There is a sense of incongruity in the order in which these three articles have been published. This is the case because the person (Jesus Christ), the object of belief referenced in the above title of this article, provided the initial motivation for the writing of this brief series. Specifically, this motivation rose from the wonder and awe of Jesus Christ implied in the last stanza of the great American hymn of hymns, “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” sung acapella by the United States Armed Forces Chorus July 4, 2019, at Washington, D. C. As stated in the opening article in this series, this musical performance was breathtaking. The final stanza of “The Battle Hymn” reads as follows:
Read MoreA study of the names, titles, and designations of the King of Heaven and Earth has an overwhelming element to it. The subject is overwhelming. It is a subject that is full of wonder. Eight centuries before He was born of the virgin Mary (Matthew 1:18-2:1) and cradled in Bethlehem’s manger (Luke 2:1-7), it was prophesied that His name would be “WONDERFUL” (Isaiah 9:6, emp. added). Alexander Campbell once wrote:
The Savior’s inspired names have all a meaning. Each one of them designates some peculiar characteristic or office, or work of the Messiah. Since this is the case, we may expect that some great truth underlies the names, which the evangelical prophet gives to the Redeemer.
“His name shall be called Wonderful.” There are many obvious reasons for this name. Passing by all others, there is one which seems to have especial weight. Jesus is called Wonderful, on account of the strange contrasts and wide extremes seen in him and in his history—contrasts and extremes which appear to be direct contradictions.
There are extremes in the Savior’s names. On one page of inspiration he is called the “man Christ Jesus;” on the next he is called “our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” At one time he calls himself “the Son of Man;” at another time, “the Son of God.” We are told he is “the child born, the son given;” and yet with the same breath we are told that he is “the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.” He is Jehovah, God over all, and blessed forever, and yet he is a servant of servants. He is the same yesterday, to-day, and forever, the ever living and ever unchanging one, and yet he is the crucified and buried Redeemer. If Jesus is appropriately called by all these diverse names, he must be Wonderful. (25)
Christianity confronts the basic issues of life and death with the affirmation of the historical fact of Jesus’ bodily resurrection from the dead. The great emphasis on this is evidenced in the documents that comprise the New Testament. It is seen in the report of eyewitnesses (cf. Matthew 28; Mark 16; Luke 24; John 20-21; 1 Corinthians 15), the preaching of the early Christians (Acts 2-5, 9-10, 13, 17, 22-24, 26, et al.), and the regular weekly assembly to eat the Lord’s Supper (Acts 2:42; 20:7; 1 Corinthians 10:16; 11:20-34; 16:1-2). These documents say nothing about an annual observance known as Easter. The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia states that the term Easter “does not properly occur in Scripture. . . . There is no trace of Easter celebration in the NT” (Porter 889). Thus, the practice of Christianity based on the New Testament will result in disciples meeting every Lord’s Day (i.e. the first day of the week) to eat the Lord’s Supper and, in this special way, remember their Lord.
Read MoreIn 1978 I was given two apologetics books by the late Fred E. Dennis, during one of my visits to the Dennis house on Cutler Street in Marietta, OH. The first book was God’s Incomparable Word, authored by Harold Lindsell a founder of Fuller Seminary who also served as Editor of Christianity Today. The second book was More Than a Carpenter by Josh McDowell, a popular apologist during that era. Fred Dennis was a preacher who was known by many during the 20th century. He died in 1983 at the age of 88. At his passing, a weekly publication of the Granny White Church of Christ, Nashville, TN, and “Home Congregation of Lipscomb [University] Students,” contained a front-page article concerning Fred Dennis. The article described him as “an outstanding preacher, holding fast to the ‘old paths’ . . . held in deep esteem . . . because of his consecration and sound preaching” (Hardy).
Read MoreWhen I was in my twenties, my paternal grandmother gave me a brief article concerning a letter written by the English novelist, Charles Dickens (1812-1870) to his youngest son when he left home in 1868 to join an older brother in Australia…
Read MoreThe first four verses of The Gospel According to Luke make up one of the most remarkable sentences in ancient literary work. It reads as follows:
Read MoreDuring a presidential election year, as well as a time when the nation mourns the loss of one of its greatest Supreme Court jurists, private citizens and public servants alike need reminded, in the words of Abraham Lincoln, that it is “not with politicians, not with Presidents, not with office-seekers …[that] the liberties of this country [will] be preserved” (Ostergard, The Inspired Wisdom of Abraham Lincoln 122). The most important connection that civilization has to safeguard its liberties, moral stability, and prosperity is a deep awareness of the Divine in the minds and lives of the people. ..
Read MoreThe Christian worldview, set forth in the Bible, is the culmination of biblical revelation resulting in the affirmation and defense of the proposition that the true meaning of life is not merely discovering a principle, or principles, but it ultimately is the discovery of a Person. This Person is identified as the Logos, and this Logos (the WORD) is God (John 1:1)...
Read MoreOne of the foundational statements on the crucial doctrine of the deity of Jesus Christ is the following: “For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’ And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain” (2 Peter 1:16-18). The text implies that the case for the deity of Christ rests on (1) events that witness its historicity, (2) eyewitnesses that testify to its integrity, and (3) an excellence of His person and work that argues its divinity.
Read MoreRecently, someone said to me that the Warren Center’s upcoming Spring Apologetics Lectures program has great potential to challenge skeptical philosophy in its rejection of the Christian worldview and demoralization of American education and culture. I think this person is right, and I am excited to tell you why!
Read MoreA part of the apologetic armory of the Christian faith is fulfilled prophecy. One of the common methods of historical apologetics "calls attention to fulfilled prophecy. For example . . . the probability that all the biblical prophecies regarding the Messiah would be fulfilled in a single person (Jesus) without supernatural design is infmitesimally small" (Beilby 311). While there are no prophecies in the Qur'an, in the Hindu Vedas, in the sayings of Buddha, Confucius, or in the Book of Mormon, it has been estimated that "30% of the Bible consists of [predictive] prophecy of one kind or another, making it unique in religious literature" (Blanchard 408). "There is nothing in the Qur'an [or any of the other above purported revelations], by way of types and shadows, that serves as evidence of its divine origin, whereas the Bible contains large sections of typology (even entire books - cf. The Epistle to the Hebrews) that prove its divine origin" (Pugh 7).
Read MoreFrom April 1 to April 22, 1923, twenty-three sermons were delivered by the inimitable N.B. Hardeman at the famed Ryman Auditorium, home of the Grand Ole Opry, in Tennessee's capital city of Nashville. The second of these sermons included an examination of the period between the Old and New Testaments in which Hardeman surveyed the reign of the infamous Herod the Great who occupied the throne when the angel of the Lord announced on that starlit night, that a Savior, Christ the Lord, has been born (Luke 2:8, 11).
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