From the mind to the heart: Why a Christian?

 

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Fleshed out here: http://books.google.com/books?id=PCGhbTrI9QoC&lpg=PA49&ots=9Bdi-kIXQ1&dq=Truth%20is%20knowable%20Geisler&pg=PA10#v=onepage&q=&f=false

 

And what follows is the short version:

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Reasoning to Christianity from Ground Zero

 

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Thanks entirely to Norman Geisler for these 14 points of logic.

    

 

1.        There are self-evident truths. (e.g., “I exist,” “Logic applies to reality”).

2.        Truth corresponds to reality.

3.        Truth is knowable (all other views are self-defeating).

4.        One can proceed from self-evident truths to God.

a.        The argument from Creation (proceeds from “I exist”)

b.       The argument from morals (proceeds from “Values are undeniable”)

c.        The argument from design (proceeds from “Design implies a designer”)

5.        God is a necessary being (argument from being).

6.        My existence is not necessary (evident from the definition of a necessary being).

7.        Therefore, theism is true (there is a necessary Being beyond who has created contingent things in the world and intervenes in the world).

a.        The objection from the problem of evil can solved.

b.       The objection to miracles can be solved.

8.        The Bible is a historically reliable document.

a.        History is an objective study of the past.

b.       There is great historical, archeological, and scientific evidence to confirm the reliability of the Bible. (corollary) The Bible gives a reliable recording of the teaching of Jesus Christ.

9.        Jesus claimed to be both fully human and fully God.

10.     He gave evidence to support his claim.

a.        The fulfillment of prophecy.

b.       His miraculous and sinless life.

c.        His resurrection.

11.     Therefore, Jesus is both fully human and fully God.

12.     Whatever God teaches is true.

13.     Jesus (God) taught that the Old Testament was the inspired word of God and He promises the New Testament.

14.     Therefore, both the Old and New Testaments are the inspired Word of God.

 

 

1.        The universe had a beginning.

2.        Anything that has a beginning must have been caused by something else.

3.        Therefore, the universe was caused by something else, and this cause was God.

 

 

 

1.        Finite, changing things exist. For example, me. I would have to exist to deny that I exist; so either way, I must really exist.

2.        Every finite, changing thing must be caused by something else. If it is limited and it changes, then it cannot be something that exists independently. If it existed independently, or necessarily, then it would have always existed without any kind of change.

3.        There cannot be an infinite regress of these causes. In other words, you can’t go on explaining how this finite thing causes this finite thing, which causes this other finite thing, and on and on, because that really just puts off the explanation indefinitely.

4.        Therefore, there must be a first uncaused cause of every finite, changing thing that exists.