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Defending the Faith Part 1

Defending the Faith Part 1. The Nature of Truth. Does truth matter?.

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Defending the Faith Part 1

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  1. Defending the Faith Part 1 The Nature of Truth

  2. Does truth matter? Truth is the most important pursuit!“A displacement is brought about by the ever-increasing demands of the mind, not just for the fantastic, but for the true. The search for truth then becomes all-pervasive, encompassing implications for the essence and destiny of life itself….the search for truth is nevertheless hauntingly present, propelled by the need for incontrovertible answers to four inescapable questions, those dealing with origin, meaning, morality, and destiny. No thinking person can avoid this search, and it can only end when one is convinced that the answers espoused are the truth.” Ravi Zacharias

  3. Truth matters to us in personal and practical ways We need certain things to be true. For example, when we get on airplanes, no matter how nervous we might be, we are trusting in the statistic that it is the safest form of travel. This is a truism based on data.

  4. If we set out to learn a foreign language, we are making an assumption that this language can be learned. This means that objective reality states that this language has definition, and can be learned.

  5. Gravity exists! And we depend on it! Sir Isaac Newton‘s Universal Law of Gravity (F = Gm1m2/r2) Gravity is the force by which a planet or other body draws objects toward its center. The force of gravity keeps all of the planets in orbit around the sun- NASA

  6. What would you do if someone came to you and said this: “It’s nice that you believe in gravity. I’m happy for you. But it’s just not for me. No, gravity doesn’t keep my feet on the ground. I’ve got little invisible fairy people holding my feet so that I don’t fly off into space!”

  7. Understanding Postmodernism This subjective way of viewing reality is present in our world today, and it is called postmodernism.

  8. Towards a definition Postmodernism: “An incredulity toward Metanarratives.” Jean-Francois Lyotard “…a denial of fixed meaning.” Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy Big Picture: Truth is relative

  9. Modernism Knowledge is good and can be obtained through humans using the scientific method. Observation and experimentation are the sources from which our knowledge of truth are built up. Truth is objective and people can discover it in their own efforts.

  10. Big Picture Objective reality versus subjective reality

  11. Marriage Objective:God designed marriage to be between 1 man and 1 woman for life.Common postmodern belief:There is no definition of marriage. It’s what you want it to be!

  12. Do you see the problem? Both statements are actually objective! Neither one is subjective! Both draw lines in the sand. Objective:God designed marriage to be between 1 man and 1 woman for life.Common postmodern belief:There is no definition of marriage. It’s what you want it to be!

  13. Subjective reality is a myth and cannot be truly expressed in any statement. As soon as you declare something, you are accepting the existence of objective truth.Therefore it is insanity to deny the reality of objective truth.

  14. Postmodernism is self-refuting. We cannot get away from the reality of objective truth.

  15. What is truth? Correspondence Theory: Truth is that which agrees or corresponds with reality. For example:Statement: Ice is cold. Is ice cold? Then this is true. Truth is that which is real.

  16. “The first truism to which I wish to draw your attention-and I hope you will agree with me that these things that I call truisms are so obvious that it is almost laughable to mention them-is that the world contains facts, which are what they are whatever we may choose to think of about them, and that there are also beliefs, which have reference to facts, and by reference to facts are either true or false.” Bertrand Russel, British Philosopher and Mathematician, and atheist

  17. Truth is logical Logic presupposes that truth is real. All thought and knowledge requires logic, and logic assumes both the existence of a reality “out there” and ways to describe that reality.

  18. The law of Non-Contradiction This law says that no two opposite statements can be true at the same time and in the same place. Logicians usually express this in the following way:“A” is NOT “non-A”

  19. “A” is NOT “non-A” Example 1: Statement (A): Ice is coldStatement (non-A): Ice is not cold Statement A and non-A cannot both be true.

  20. Example 2: Statement (A): God designed marriage to only be between a man and a woman. Statement (non-A): God designed marriage to be between any two consenting adults, male or female.“A” and “non-A” cannot both be true. God either defines marriage, or He doesn’t.

  21. Example 3:Statement (A): Murder is wrong. Statement (non-A): Murder is permissible “A” and “non-A” cannot both be true. Murder cannot be permissible and wrong at the same time.

  22. Example 4:(A) I was born a man/in a woman’s body (non-A).You cannot be both a man and a woman. Your chromosomes forbid this! “Females have an XX pair of sex chromosomes, and males, an XY pair. A baby’s gender is determined by the sperm cell that fertilizes a woman’s egg. Sperm carry one sex chromosome, either a Y (male) or X (female).” www.gender-baby.com

  23. “It is okay for you to believe in Jesus, He is real for you, but He isn’t for me. My God is Woody Woodpecker and He loves me.”

  24. The Problem of Relativism Either relativists need to deny objective truth fully (even their own position) for consistency’s sake, or they need to embrace that which they are denying. Relativism ultimately comes down to experience or preference, not fact (gender confusion).

  25. Is truth knowable? First Principles provide the basis for all the conclusions drawn in any area of knowledge, whether science or philosophy. James B. Sullivan: “First Principles are the most general judgments conceivable and the most evident, which presuppose no others in the same order for their proof, and are implicit in every judgment.”

  26. First Principles • Self-evident: Not proven from anything else. • Derived from reality: There is a reality outside of our thinking minds, and our thinking does not impact this reality. • Undeniable: I exist.

  27. The law of non-contradiction is a first principle Philosopher Ronald Nash: • If the law of non-contradiction is denied, then significant thinking is impossible. • If the law of non-contradiction is denied, then significant human conduct (ethics) is impossible. • If the law of non-contradiction is denied, then significant communication is impossible.

  28. Truth and Christianity In a nutshell, what all this means, is that objective reality necessarily exists. It must exist for anything and everything in existence to function. Beyond subjective experience (preferences, feelings) there is an objective reality which cannot be denied for to deny it would in itself be an objective statement. The question is, what is objective reality?

  29. Christianity as Objective Reality If we cannot demonstrate that Christianity is objective truth, then we should not believe it. There is no place for blind faith within Christianity. Faith is trust and dependence on the truth

  30. A Saved Doubter • I researched other religions. • I researched the validity of the Bible as God’s book. • I researched the validity of Jesus’ resurrection. Conclusion: Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. I wasn’t crazy for believing in Him. The testimony of God’s word is objective truth.

  31. Q and A

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