Apologetic: Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People?

Topic:

This question can be asked in a couple ways, as it is stated in the title is the most common way. This phrasing usually focuses on the the goodness of people and that those people deserve things in life to be better. Another way to to look at this question could be, “Why does God allow good things to happen to bad people?” This question looks at the badness of people and that those people don’t deserve good things. In light of both questions there is a reality that bad things happen to good and bad people and also that good things happen to bad and good people. What is God’s role in all of this?

Facts and Biblical Foundation:

-Every good thing is a gift not a right. James 1:17-18

-All people are broken and "bad" at their core. If people were truly good, we wouldn’t need a savior. Ecclesiastes 7:20; Romans 3:10-20; Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8

-Trust God’s ways. He knows what we need better than we do. He is faithful and good. Prov. 3:5-6.

-Jesus was the good person and yet he gave himself up as a sacrifice for us. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:21.

-Suffering may serve a purpose

-We can’t know what God is doing in everything Job 38-39

Note: Not all of these things are constructive to say to someone in counseling after finding out a bad situation they are in. These truths are still in play, but may hurt in a counseling setting. They are very applicable discussing the issue philosophically.

Where to Start:

Is a God who only has good thing happen really a God worth following? If this were the reality, God would be no more than a grandfather who spoiled his kids. There would be little need for a personal relationship, just the stuff. The real God is revealed to be more holy and loving in light of the evil in the world. He gives us hope, love, and redemption in dark places. Start with grieving the bad thing the student is experiencing, affirm the badness of it, and guide them to see that God is bigger than the bad things going on and extremely loving to all people even to the point of sending his son who was blameless to take on the sin of the world. Through Jesus, God understands that bad things happen to the good person, yet Christ considered it worth enduring the cross to demonstrate God’s love to people that don’t deserve it (all of us).

Where to Learn more:

http://carm.org/why-do-bad-things-happen-good-people

http://www.gotquestions.org/bad-things-good-people.html

http://412teens.org/qna/why-do-bad-things-happen-to-good-people.php - a question and answer format for students

http://www.everystudent.com/journeys/why.html - a resource designed for students

http://www.peterkreeft.com/topics/evil.htm

Apologetic: How Do We Know God Is Real?

Topic:

The question of God’s reality is a stopping point in many life discussions. Why is there pain or evil leads to questions about whether or not God is real. Morality and moral issues or faith crises also lead to this question. In all of these debates, God is a gentleman. He has made his case in any number of ways and lets the evidence speak for itself. God is not a tyrant or a dictator that demands belief. God has shown grace and blessing to all his creation, as Lord, there will be a day when he holds his creation accountable for believing and trusting in him or rejecting him. What evidence suggests God is real?

Facts and Biblical Evidence:

• God’s power and nature are revealed in the beauty and complexity of creation. Romans 1:20; Psalm 19:1; 97:6; Job 12:7-10
• Through Jesus, God has come to earth. John 14:6-10
• Faith is not a haphazard belief in something (i.e. God). Faith is the result of knowledge and belief that can be trusted. Hebrews 11:1
• The reliability of the Bible is evidence of God’s work across history.
• God worked in the lives of individuals and nations since the beginning of time. We can read stories in the Bible about this, but we hear similar stories of healing (physically, emotionally, spiritually) and transformation today from all around the world and people in our lives. God is still working.
• In every person there is a sense that there is something more and bigger than this universe or life. God has placed eternity on the hearts of man. Ecclesiastes 3:11
• Many people without faith in God point to relationships as the point of life. Genesis 1:26 reveals that God made us in his image with the capacity for relationship that exists within the Trinity.  
• Consider the ways God has worked in your or your students’ life in the past. Acts of God (coincidences) were things worked out better than they should have, answered prayers, transformation, overcoming sin, healing from hurt, worship, and other ways God has ministered to you or your students.

Biblical Foundation:

Psalm 14:1 states that “the fool says in his heart there is no God.” This is not a compelling argument to most non believers or a good conversation point for believers to make, but from this we can consider other accounts of doubt from the Bible such as the king of Egypt who wouldn’t let the Israelites leave until God revealed himself through the plagues. Jesus’ disciples such as Peter and Thomas had doubts that Jesus lovingly responded to and showed them who he was.

Where to Start:

Is there a larger issue such as evil or morality that led to this question. Usually God’s reality is questioned in light of something else. It may be that sin has changed the way God intended things to be, or human free will has led to pain. Address these issues in light of who God is and deal with the bigger question of God’s reality if necessary.

Where to Learn more:

http://www.everystudent.com/features/isthere.html

http://askville.amazon.com/bible-god-real-proof/AnswerViewer.do?requestId=15467000

http://www.gotquestions.org/is-God-real.html

http://www.answersingenesis.org/get-answers/features/thank-god-youre-wrong

http://familyshare.com/are-you-there-god-how-to-know-god-is-real

Apologetic: Is The Bible Reliable?

Topic:

Faith plays a major role in Christianity. Many people criticize this fact, but our faith is not blind. We have knowledge about God from general revelation (nature) and special revelation (those things about God revealed by the supernatural, especially Scripture). We can trust this and have our own experiences with God through our relationship with him. The Bible is foundational in what we know about God. It is often described as his love letter to us that reveals who he is and what he has done. People try to discredit the Bible as a way to disprove God or poke holes in our faith. The Bible is historical and reliable.

Facts:

1. The Bible has 66 books written by 40 authors over 1600 years. 

2. All the books agree with each other and fit in to the same grand story of God. 

3. The Bible was written in Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic.

4. There are over 4000 manuscripts or copies of books of the Bible. Other ancient texts such as Plato and Aristotle are based on a handful of manuscripts from more than a thousand years later.

5. The copies can be traced back to within 35-100 years of when the original would have been written. 

6. There are multiple copies of each book. The “errors” from one manuscript to another can be credited to copying mistakes and do not significantly alter the meaning of what is written.

7. Our modern translations are based on the best and oldest manuscripts of each book and are translated by committees to remain faithful to the original message. 

8. Archeology has continually affirmed the historical accuracy of the Bible. Some places archeologists have discovered were only known about from the Bible.

Biblical foundation:

The Bible is the inspired word of God spoken through people (2 Tim 3:16). The Holy Spirit worked in them (2 Peter 1:21). The Bible can be trusted for salvation through faith in Christ, right beliefs, and growing in God. The Bible is inerrant (without errors) and authoritative.

Where to start:

There is a lot of research and a lot written about the reliability of the Bible and the Gospels. Start with what someone is challenging about the Bible and look into it. You can find solid answers to these concerns and learn a lot more in the process.

Where to learn more:

Most of these cover several topics about the reliability of Scripture. Find one that fits you or your students to learn more:

Why You Can Believe the Bible By Every Student, a Christian organization focusing on answers to questions from teens

What To Say When Someone Says The Bible Has Errors By the Resurgence, the theology branch ministry of Mars Hill Church. A thorough and focused answer.

Is the Bible Reliable? - Seven Questions By Bible.org

Can We Trust The Bible? The Top 3 Reasons the Bible is Reliable (Video) Is the New Testament Reliable? Academic and apologetic articles from Stand to Reason a Christian philosophical organization.

Is the Bible Reliable? By Focus on the Family, a leading Christian based family organization

Apologetic: Creation

Topic:

In popular opinion many people consider evolution to be a mainline belief about the origin of everything. While this is the majority position, many people still affirm creation and have doubts about the big bang starting everything. This topic has been controversial for years, while the Christian view is less prominent than it was, Christians are having better conversations about creation and God’s role in it. Much of this has come from proponents of Intelligent Design a movement to present an intelligent designer as a possible origin of everything alongside evolution in biology classes across the country. The question at the center of this controversy can be boiled down to “Does God exist?” Those who support creation or Intelligent Design(usually, but not always) point to God as the source of everything. People who deny God’s existence have to look for another way to explain how everything came to be and they do this by supporting evolution.

Purpose:

The origin of life and everything in the world is a fundamental place to look for God. In looking at creation we find evidence of God and can strengthen our faith in him. A professor once said “If God could create everything out of nothing, the virgin birth and resurrection are no problem.” Starting with creation gives us a sense of the eternality, power, and sovereignty of God.

Biblical foundation:

The Bible can lead to two conclusions about creation. The majority position is that God created the world and everything in it in a Literal 7 days, meaning that each day described in Genesis is a 24 hour day just as we understand days now. Others come to the conclusion of theistic evolution based on the Day-Age Theory. This theory assumes that the days mentioned in Genesis were not literal days, but periods of time. God was the creator, but creation came to be through evolution during the “age” that was each “day” recorded in the Bible. Genesis 1, Genesis 2, and John 1:1-18 give us the clearest understanding what was going on at Creation. God is understood as the creator throughout Scripture. One of the most clear claims by God about his role as creator comes in response to Job challenging God after he has lost everything. God begins to answer Job by saying “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements—surely you know!” (Job 38:4-5).

Where to start:

In “debating” or discussing this topic respect and grace are important. This topic isn’t limited to the question of origin, but extends beyond religion and science to politics and culture. People can get heated quickly when their views are challenged, which can cause them to stop listening. People can see a car crash and have two different stories about how it happened. The same is true with evidence about creation or evolution. Looking at the same data, people can recognize what supports their view point. Ask probing questions and be willing to listen. Keep in mind that God is the one that transforms people. Your best argument will help plant seeds for faith, but won’t change or save anyone.

What others might say:

Since the implications of this topic (views about God) can bleed into so many areas of life, discussing creation and evolution can get personal and nasty. Recognize that we are all sinners. God’s grace and Spirit in us are changing us, those who don’t know God are still hardened toward God and truth.

Where to learn more:

This subject is debated by some of the smartest people alive. These links will help you understand this topic, but may be a little bit academic.

Intelligent Design: Arguments for a designer

Facts vs. Faith in the debate about Creation and Evolution

Bill Nye Vs. Ken Ham debate. One of the most popular debates on this subject.

Expelled is a documentary looking at how Intelligent Design education is suppressed in favor of evolution. It goes to some extremes, but provides some context for the debate. 

The College Students Back to School Guide to Intelligent Design. This short ebook answers criticism teachers often give of Intelligent Design.

Sharing Your Faith

Topic: 

When you know about something great you want to share it with other people. When you watch the best movie or learn about the newest band you start telling your friends about it and using your influence. Sharing our faith should be the same idea right? A lot of people get shy and scared to talk about their faith with people for a lot of reasons. They are worried about offending people, hurting relationships, or being categorized in the “Christian box.” There could be many other things that come up. Students sharing their faith should come out of caring for others and wanting God to work in others the way he has worked in them. By forcing someone to watch a movie they might be turned off to it, but when you share how great it was and that you think they would like it they are more likely to give it a chance and respect your thinking about them.

Purpose: 

Christians call sharing their faith evangelism. This means telling people about what God has done by sending Jesus to forgive our sins and changing our lives so we live in a relationship with God.

What the Bible Says: 

The Bible is filled with examples of people sharing about the amazing things God is doing in individual lives all the way up what he is doing and will do for nations. After Jesus rose from the dead he told his followers “go and make disciples of all nations (share your faith), baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you (help them grow)” (Matthew 28:18-20). The book of Acts looks at how the disciples, who followed Jesus when he was on earth, share their faith and grow the early church. Read about Peter preaching to thousands of people in Acts 2:14-42.

Where to start: 

Students should start with what God has done in their life. Share how God was changed them. What were they like before you became a Christian? What is their life like now? What is important to them now? What is God teaching them now? Not every conversation had to be about God, but we want our students to be ready to share about him when it comes up so others can be transformed. The people in our students 8 to 15 need hope and forgiveness and our students know where they can find it. Many people life by the motto "Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary, use words." This means that our lives should demonstrate who God is, but sometimes using words helps people get to Him faster.

What others might say: 

It’s okay to not have an answer to every question that comes up. Students may want to share their own questions and doubts and how God has answered them or look for more information with/for them to help their own faith.

Where to learn more: 

You can learn a lot by trying. Have students give sharing their faith a chance. For more details and help check out:

Dare2Share for leaders or for students.

Just Walk Across the Room by Bill Hybels

Tongue Tied No More by Don Ashcraft (Satch has a copy of this)

Why Should I Talk About My Faith At School?

How Do I Evangelize Without Turning People Away?