Apologetic Defense

ANNAN STEPHEN ENEBELI
APOLOGETIC DEFENSE OF QUESTION 1
PENSA PUC
ODORKOR AREA
THE CHURCH OF PENTECOST YOUTH MINISTRY 2ND BATCH OF SCHOOL OF APOLOGETICS BLOCK 1 TAKE HOME ASSIGNMENT.
NAME:
INSTITUTION REPRESENTING: PENSA PUC
AREA:
ODORKOR AREA
Question
1. Write the Apologetic in defense with respect to the following issues: a. Social Issues i. ii. iii. Homosexuality Co-Habitation Masturbation
b. Theological Issues i. ii. iii. Existence of God The Incarnation of Christ The infallibility of the Bible

PENSA PUC
ODORKOR AREA
HOMOSEXUALITY
The issue of homosexuality has caused great uproars all over the world. In today's world there are many questions about homosexuality as it relates to Christianity. Homosexuality is sexual attraction to or sexual relations with somebody of the same sex or performing sexual acts with a person of the same sex for the purpose of sexual gratification and avoidance of procreation. A homosexual is a person sexually attracted to a person of same sex. Homosexual females are called lesbian and the homosexual male called a gay. Many homosexuals' claim thatThey are Created that way, they are seduced or tricked into being homosexuals, homosexuality is of no harm to the participants or to anyone else, If it feels right to those involved, it is nobody else's business (Post-modernism), Homosexual relationships and heterosexual relationships are equally valid (Some even claim that the Bible condones homosexual relationships.) The human anatomy has clearly defined what every part of the body should be used for. In the same way, the male and female sexual organs of human beings have been designed for each other. The anal passage has been designed to expel excreta and not as a sexual passage. The misuse of their anal passage for sexual activities has resulted in several health problems and also oral sex which also results in serious and complicated health challenges. The Christian belief condemns homosexuality as a sin. The Christian faiths refusal to advocate same-sex marriage has the Christian church dubbed intolerant and homophobic by the homosexual camp. The Bible clearly teaches, that homosexuality is an action that is in rebellion to the plans and purposes of God. In other words, it misses the mark of Gods view of perfection and it is properly termed a sin. There are extensive writings about the Bible and homosexuality. From Genesis to Revelation, homosexuality is portrayed as a sin. No one denies this. Many people seek to handle these verses in different ways but no one can deny that homosexuality is a sin is in there. Whether in Genesis with the narrative of Sodom, in Leviticus with homosexuality capital punishment laws, or in the writings of Paul or the Revelation, the Bible says what it says. A concise defense to various misinterpretations of these scriptures is presented below:

PENSA PUC
ODORKOR AREA
GENESIS 19:1-11 Some contend that Genesis 19 should not be used to argue against homosexuality since Sodom was destroyed, not for homosexuality, but because of its inhospitality and pride (Matthew 10:14-15; Ezekiel 16:48-49). The argument is that the men of the city did not necessarily have any sexual perversion in mind, but just wanted to know Lots guests in the sense of interrogating them. While it is true to say that Sodom was not destroyed merely because some of its citizens practiced homosexuality, it is false to say that Sodom was destroyed merely because its inhabitants were inhospitable and proud. The city was destroyed because its citizens were exceedingly sinful (Genesis 13:13). Ezekiel 16, which does mention their pride, also says they committed abomination before the Lord. Their actions at Lots doorstep reflected that sinfulness (Genesis 19:4-11). When the men of Sodom said they wanted to know the messengers of God, they obviously had sexual intentions in mind. This is clear from Lots unfortunate offer of his two daughters. Jude 7 reinforces this view as well: As Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. LEVITICUS 20:13 Although Leviticus 20:13 enjoins the death penalty upon homosexuals, the passage is dismissed as irrelevant to the debate because it is part of a legal/holiness code that no longer is in force. It is no more binding than are the regulations against wearing different materials of cloth and planting different types of seed in the same ground. It is true that the Mosaic legal code was nailed to the cross (Colossians 2:14). However, to trivialize the code by placing all items in it on the same level is dubious. The Levitical condemnation of homosexual behavior is treated differently than the legislations against mixing cloths and sowing mixed seed. The former was under penalty of death; the latter were not (Leviticus 19:19). A better, though more unpleasant, analogy to the Levitical view of homosexuality is seen in the prohibitions against incest and bestiality, which are mentioned in the same context (Leviticus 20:14-16). It was explicitly clear that a man who lies with a fellow man as in a woman had committed an abominable act.

PENSA PUC
ODORKOR AREA
1 CORINTHIANS 6 AND 1 TIMOTHY 1 Great strides are taken to prove that 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 and 1 Timothy 1:9-11 do not condemn homosexuality in general, but rather, abusive homosexual practices and male prostitution in particular. However it is quite clear that the scriptures posited that all those who practice this disgraceful and abominable act would not inherit the kingdom of God. It shuns and classifies the practice of homosexuality as tantamount to unrighteous which will not inherit the kingdom and our bodies are the temple of God and as such ought to be used to give glory to God. ROMANS 1:26-27 Clearly the most problematic passage for all who wish to say the Bible does not condemn homosexuality is Romans 1:26-27: For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due. Proponents of homosexuality have tried to remove the force of this passage by suggesting that either Paul was expressing his own uninspired opinion, or he was merely laying the groundwork for his teaching on grace. So he was mainly concerned with idolatry, and not any sin in particular. The fact is, Paul meant exactly what Christians have long thought he meantthat homosexual behaviour is symptomatic of sin in the world. The Greek word arsenokoitai used in 1Timothy 1:10 literally means men who sleep with men. It is the same Greek word used for homosexual offender in 1 Corinthians 6:9, variously translated as abusers of themselves with mankind (KJV), homosexuals (NASB) or homosexual offender (NIV). The conclusion is this: every time homosexual behaviour is mentioned, it is condemned. These unsuccessful attempts to reinterpret the Bibles teaching on the subject raise an even more crucial question: What Scripture can be presented that legitimizes homosexuality?

PENSA PUC
ODORKOR AREA
The apostle Paul listed homosexuals among "the unrighteous" who would not inherit the kingdom of God (1 Cor 6:9), and declared that God's wrath stands against such behaviour, whether practiced by men or women (Rom 1:26-27).

PENSA PUC
ODORKOR AREA
CO-HABITATION
Cohabitation is increasing and becoming more widely accepted as an alternative to marriage, with the result that marriage is being delayed or disregarded altogether. In todays postmodern world we increasingly encounter unmarried couples who are living together. The issue of cohabitation needs to be addressed boldly yet graciously. In some cultures it is widely accepted and approved means of relationship between an unmarried man and woman, some of those engaged in the lifestyle of cohabitation give reasons such as they want to live with the other partner so as to test their compatibility and some even say they do that so that they could prove their partners are sexually fertile and good on bed, some also capitalise on Christian liberality since they claim the Bible does not emphatically condemn their lifestyle so they dont see reason why they cant live together (they need to be taught Gods design for marriage in Scripture). Biblically, there is no verse that speaks specifically about cohabitation, although Jesus lovingly confronts the woman at the well in John 4:18 the one you now have is not your husband. We have to understand Gods design for marriage and relationships and infer from such relationships and also Gods will through wisdom and holiness for which God wants us to live as His people on earth reflecting His beauty. The blueprint verse for marriage and relationships remains Genesis 2:24: Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. The word therefore pertains to the fact that God created Adam and Eve as male and female and then joined them together as husband and wife in marriage. In the biblical definition of marriage, a husband moves in with his wife under the protective covenant of marriage. One husband and one wife were meant to live together, not one unmarried man and one unmarried woman. Importantly, Genesis 2:24 is repeated both by Jesus in Matthew 19:5 and by Paul in Ephesians 5:32. There is continuity and agreement throughout Scripture about the definition of marriage. Gods design for building oneness in marriage is evident even in secular research, which confirms that couples who live together before marriage are more likely to divorce if they end up getting married.

PENSA PUC
ODORKOR AREA
In Ephesians 5:15-17, Paul teaches that wise living is Gods will for man: Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. (Eph. 5:15-17) Basically, an unmarried man and woman living together, sleeping in the same bed, procreating etc., is wrong and sinful. According to 1 Cor. 6:18, we are admonished to "Flee immorality, Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body." There are lots of scriptures that emphasize on the need to live according to Gods will and design for our lives such as Eph. 5:3, "But do not let immorality or any impurity or greed even be named among you, as is proper among saints." , Col. 3:5, "Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry." , 1 Thess. 4:2-5, "For you know what commandments we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus. 3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honour, 5 not in lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God." Throughout scripture it is evidentially clear that God abhors a relationship such as cohabitation and His perfect design is marriage and doing anything outside Gods will is sinful. It is therefore imperative for people who practice such to reconsider their ways and align themselves to Gods standards and design for living together which is marriage through His word.

PENSA PUC
ODORKOR AREA
MASTURBATION
The social issue of masturbation has raised hot discussions in our perverse world and many are confounded as to its state whether sinful or not. Masturbation according to the Encarta 2009 Dictionaries is the act of stroking the genitals to give yourself or somebody else sexual pleasure usually to orgasm. Masturbation is nearly always the result of lustful thoughts, sexual stimulation, and/or pornographic images. The youth are among the most common group of practitioners of masturbation and are often deluded into it. Those who practice it claim its part of their sexuality and a healthy form of sexuality, some also claim they do that for self-sexual gratification, some also claim it is a safer form of satisfying sexual desires than sex especially among the youth. Although the Bible does not explicitly state that it is to be abhorred or directly addresses masturbation but there are some biblical principles that can be applied to the issue of masturbation. Ephesians 5:3 declares, Among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity. It is hard to see how masturbating can pass that particular test. The Bible teaches, So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31). Further, there is the need to remember that our bodies have been redeemed and belong to God. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honour God with your body (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). This great truth should have a real bearing on what is to be done with the body. Our bodies are indeed the dwelling place of God and we ought to be circumspect with what we do with it. In light of these principles, the conclusion is that masturbation is sinful and should not be practiced. Clearly, masturbation is not glorifying to God; it does not avoid the appearance of immorality, nor does it pass the test of Gods having ownership over our bodies. The act of masturbation arises usually from lustful desires and need to satisfy those desires. It usually leads to other lustful acts and addiction to it is common and prevalent especially among the youth and adolescents. Jesus even instructed that we should not look at a woman lustfully as it is tantamount to adultery.

PENSA PUC
ODORKOR AREA
The umbrella of sexual impurity covers so much more than masturbation. Sexual purity is top priority for all who follow the Lord Jesus. According to Romans 1:18-25, we are made to understand that in the last days, sexual debauchery will increase without bound. We are to make sex a holy and blessed thing as God commanded us in Genesis 2. A healthy life of sexual purity is quite attractive to those whose lives are deeply stained by immorality.

PENSA PUC
ODORKOR AREA
EXISTENCE OF GOD
C.S. Lewis made this point: If there is hunger, there is food. If there is thirst, there is drink. If there is curiosity, there is knowledge. If there is loneliness, there is society. But, starvation does not prove that food does not exist. Loneliness does not prove that other people dont exist. So also, failure to achieve immortality, to reach paradise, or to find God does not prove any of these dont exist.
Absolute proof is not required to believe in God. A rational person can have a reasonable faith that is based upon good evidence. However, many reject God not for intellectual reasons, but for emotional reasons. The implications of Gods existence seem too uncomfortable for some; He is ignored, excused, and denied. Someone who has chosen not to believe in God can refuse to be convinced, even in the face of abundant evidence. Psalm 14 just responds, The fool says in his heart, There is no God. Some Sceptics Say: Cosmologists can explain the origins of the universe without a God but the truth is Science has explained the origins of the universe with one of the following theories: Big Bang, Oscillation, and Static Universe. All three theories conflict with each other, and they all require the existence of material and a First Cause before they pick up. In other words, even cosmologists demand the existence of a God before their theories can take over explanations. According to Galyn Wiemers (2008) Reasons logically dependent on sense experience of the existence of God includes: a. Cause (cosmological) There cannot be an infinite regress of finite causes. There must be an uncaused causer. b. Design (Teleological) Observable order and design demand a designer.

PENSA PUC
ODORKOR AREA
c. Moral (Anthropological) All people possess moral impulse. Behavioural science cannot explain this since many moral behaviours go unrewarded for long periods of time. The development of moral behaviour cannot come out of nature. d. Motion Motion cannot start itself. Infinite regress of motion is meaningless. This is the Greek concept of the unmovable mover. e. Perfection There is a universal pyramid of beings seen from insects to men. Man is at the top of the existence pyramid, but the universe is too grand for man to be the ultimate expression of existence. f. Dependency All things exist in a network of relationships and dependency. Infinite regress of dependency is contradictory. Everything must begin with an independent being. 2. Reasons logically independent of sense experience: a. Perfect being (Ontological) The concept of perfection exists but is never attained. We did not develop the thought of perfection because we saw it. b. Innate idea People in all cultures throughout time have been born with the idea of God. c. Mysticism Man can and has experienced God directly in his life. This union is so real it is self-validating. d. Truth The concept of truth exists. People seek truth, so ultimate truth must exist. e. Blessedness Man is basically restless, searching, striving. He is only fulfilled when he finds God. We know that God exists because he has revealed himself to us. He has done this through creation and Scripture. Many people try to avoid the latter, but no one can escape the former. David says in Psalm 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. Their measuring line goes out through all the earth and their words to the end of the world (Ps. 19:1-4).

PENSA PUC
ODORKOR AREA
Genesis 1:1 says, In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. This alludes to the fact that for anything to exist they must have been someone or something behind it. There is God who created the earth in the beginning. Every day, nature reveals to the world the existence of its Creator. The rising of the sun and the shining of the stars say unambiguously and undeniably to mankind: You are a creature living in the Creators universe. This, as Paul says in Romans 1:19-20, leaves people without excuse: For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. One central theme of Christianity is in the belief of the existence of the One True God, Elohim, maker of the whole universe; indefinable but revealed as the Triune God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, one in nature, essence and attributes omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient. God indeed exists and he got the whole world in his hands.

PENSA PUC
ODORKOR AREA
THE INCARNATION OF CHRIST

The doctrine of the incarnation is fundamental to Christianity, and is the basis upon which the entire fabric of revealed religion rests. It is presented to our faith from the plane of the miraculous, and is to be considered as the one all-comprehensive miracle of Christianity. It contains within itself essentially the entire series of miracles as taught in the Gospels. These miracles are the fruit, after its kind, which this divine tree brings forth. Faith sees in the fallen estate of so noble a being as man, and his restoration to purity, immortality, and God, objects commensurate with the sacrifice and humiliation that are implied in the incarnation, and accepts the doctrine as corresponding to the wants and necessities of human nature; but a divine revelation elevates our vision, and meets all objections founded upon the comparative insignificance of our race by indicating that in some mysterious manner the influences of the atonement may beneficially affect the entire universe. Therefore, God became man (John 1:1,14) to die for our sins (1 Pet. 2:24) which is the atonement. Through Jesus we have forgiveness of sins. Since we are saved by grace through faith (Eph. 2:8-9) it is essential that our object of faith be accurate. The doctrine of the incarnation ensures accuracy, the knowledge that God died on the cross to atone for sin and that the God-man (Jesus) is now in heaven as a mediator (1 Tim. 2:5) between us and God. To incarnate means to become flesh. It is where God became a man (John 1:1,14; Phil. 2:58). It was the voluntary act of Jesus to humble himself so that he might die for our sins (1 Pet. 3:18). Jesus came to reveal the Father (Matt. 11:27; Luke 10:22), to do His will (Heb. 10:5-9), to fulfill prophecy (Luke 4:17-21), to reconcile the world (2 Cor. 5:18-21), and to become our High Priest (Heb. 7:24-28). Several arguments have been employed in attempting to buttress the contention that the concept of an infinite God being clothed within a human body is illogical. Though these arguments undoubtedly mean well, their position is quite erroneous as to the nature of the incarnate Christ. For example, it has been argued: (a) God cannot be tempted (James 1:13); but (b) Jesus was tempted (Hebrews 2:18).

PENSA PUC
ODORKOR AREA
The thing that seems to be at the root of this misunderstanding is a failure to recognize that the Lords earthly limitations were not the consequence of a less-than-God nature; rather, they were the result of a self-imposed submission reflecting the exercise of His sovereign will. Of what did Christ empty Himself when He became flesh? In John 1:1, 14 the Bible states that In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was GodAnd the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. Jesus incarnation as man is well proven by the scripture as He is the word and became flesh to dwell among the living no wonder it was prophesied He would be called Emmanuel and He was indeed Emmanuel God with Us. His virgin birth also gives credence of His uniqueness and asserts the fact that He was God in flesh.

PENSA PUC
ODORKOR AREA
INFALLIBILITY OF THE BIBLE

God chose to use many individuals, over thousands of years to write His words down. The Bible is inerrant and infallible (inerrancy refers to the Bible being without error and infallibility refers to the Bible being incapable of containing an error). The doctrine of biblical inerrancy states that God's Word is without error in its original manuscripts. It allows for copyist errors ("typos") in the modern translations. These modern errors are very few in number and disappear when multiple texts are consulted. The Bible clearly is the revealed information about God which is authoritative in its declaration, final in its authority, comprehensive and all-sufficient in its provisions. Deuteronomy 29:29 declares that, "The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law." The unique nature of the Bible is made clear by Paul in 2 Timothy 3:16. Paul tells Timothy that "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness." The accuracy of the Old Testament documents are attested to by the Dead Sea Scrolls which gives us copies of parts of the Old Testament almost a thousand years closer to the original texts than previously available. The dependability of the New Testament is confirmed by the availability of a remarkable volume of manuscripts, which were written very near the time of the original events.
The Bible was written by about forty different men under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit during a span of about 1,500 years. The Bible being God-breathed (2 Timothy 3: 16) does not mean it was dictated word-for-word from God to man. The Bible has been scrutinized, criticized, and attacked for centuries and it has withstood every assault. It is unique in every way. More importantly, it is the inspired, inerrant, and infallible Word of God. The Word of prophecy is said to be a sure word (2 Peter 1:19); a word worthy of all acceptance (1 Tim 1:15, etc.); a word that, unlike all flesh which is grass, abides forever; a word that should induce people to turn from their evil ways to God because it is an efficacious word of the God whose ways and thoughts are not like those of people (Isa 55:69); a word of God that men should not doubt, because it is the word of Him who has built for

PENSA PUC
ODORKOR AREA
them a city, because He is not ashamed to be called their God (Heb 11:16). Similarly, Jesus urged the infallibility of the Scriptures upon the disputatious Sadducees when He said, "You are wrong, because you know neither the scriptures nor the power of God" (Matt 22:29). The Scripture as God's own word attests to its own truthfulness within our hearts through the function of the Holy Spirit, for as Paul says, the ministry of the Word is itself a "ministration of the Spirit" (2 Cor 3:8).
REFERENCES:
Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary, 1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers The Bible Exposition Commentary. 1989 by Chariot Victor Publishing Geisler, Norman L. (1976), Christian Apologetics Grand Rapids, MI: Baker. Vine, W.E. (1991), Amplified Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words Iowa Falls, IA: World Bible Publishers 12 Reasons why Homosexuality is Unacceptable, Tract published by The Church of Pentecost General Headquarters McClintock and Strong Encyclopedia, Electronic Database. Copyright 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006 by Biblesoft, Inc. Reid, Linder, et al. 1990, Dictionary of Christianity in America, InterVarsity Press. International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, revised edition, Copyright 1979 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. Galyn Wiemers (2008), Framework for Christian Faith, Signature Book Printing

Apologetic Defense

Загружено:

Сведения о документе

Исходное описание:

Авторское право

Доступные форматы

Поделиться этим документом

Поделиться или встроить документ

Параметры публикации

Этот документ был вам полезен?

Это неприемлемый материал?

Авторское право:

Доступные форматы

Apologetic Defense

Загружено:

Авторское право:

Доступные форматы

ANNAN STEPHEN ENEBELI