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Christianity in postmodern america

Christianity in postmodern america. What is postmodernism?. A reaction to the assumed certainty of scientific, or objective, efforts to explain reality Highly skeptical of explanations which claim to be true for all people Focuses on the relative truths of each person

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Christianity in postmodern america

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  1. Christianity in postmodern america

  2. What is postmodernism? • A reaction to the assumed certainty of scientific, or objective, efforts to explain reality • Highly skeptical of explanations which claim to be true for all people • Focuses on the relative truths of each person • Reality is based on our interpretations

  3. What is postmodernism? • Basic ideas behind postmodernism are good • We should question the things that we are taught and believe, and not assume that everything we are told is true • We begin to analyze the world around us to make sure we are making good decisions based on solid information

  4. What has our society done to Jesus? • We’ve made Him a myth • There are no eyewitnesses still alive • There are minimal artifacts from His life • There is little written documentation from His time • In a postmodern world where we demand proof why should we believe?

  5. Defending Christianity • Apologetics- speaking in defense of a position through the use of systematic information • As a Christian you hold a belief that is often under fire in modern society • Utilizing apologetics strengthens your faith by giving you logical arguments to back up your beliefs and to counter misinformation

  6. Fact #1: Jesus was a real person • 1. Little documentation exists from any person from the time of Christ. • There are 27 books in the new testament. Even though some authorship is disputed by scholars a large number of them have been proven authentic, written by authors who knew Jesus or knew others who knew Him

  7. Fact #1: Jesus was a real person • 2. Jewish writers wrote about Jesus • 3. Jewish historian Josephus wrote about Jesus • 4. Tacitus affirmed that Jesus suffered under Pilate. Multiple non-Christian ancient sources mention Jesus • 5. Historical Impact of His ministry is immense

  8. Fact #1: Jesus was a real person • 6. Artifacts from the life of Christ • Archaeologists have confirmed the existence of Pilate and Caiaphas, possibly Simon Peter and John the Baptist • 7. Non-Christian historians wrote about Jesus and His followers in a way that confirms the writings in the Bible

  9. Fact #1: Jesus was a real person • 8. Off-the-cuff comments by Paul and others attest to Christ’s existence • 9. A majority of modern scholars (sacred and secular) agree that Jesus was a real person

  10. Fact #2: Jesus died and came back to life • Why is this important?

  11. Fact #2: Jesus died and came back to life • 1. Buried in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea • Burial story was simple, lacks any signs of being developed into legend, and there are no competing stories

  12. Fact #2: Jesus died and came back to life • 2. Resurrection discovered by women in a patriarchal society • Matthew 28 story trying to explain the missing body confirms that He was no longer there

  13. Fact #2: Jesus died and came back to life • 3. Multiple eyewitness accounts post resurrection • The women, Peter (Cephas), the Twelve, the 500, James, all the apostles, Paul • Remember when Paul saw Jesus for the first time he HATED Christians!

  14. Fact #2: Jesus died and came back to life • 4. The disciples appear to sincerely believe Jesus was raised from the dead and were willing to die for their belief in Him

  15. Fact #2: Jesus died and came back to life • Conclusions: • 1. Resurrection is a logical reason for the missing body and sightings • 2. Resurrection is a plausible claim given His life of miracles, predictions, and ministries • 3. The evidence is not contrived but points to Jesus being the son of God • 4. The facts are overwhelmingly in favor of resurrection

  16. What does this mean for Us? • Jesus lived, died, and was raised from the dead • He must have been the son of God and the Messiah • His other statements must also be true

  17. Additional reading on apologetics • J.P. Moreland, Alex McFarland, Lee Strobel, Gary Habermas, Mike Licona, William Lane Craig, Tim Keller, Josh McDowell, C.S. Lewis, others

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