Church of Virgin Mary & St. Athanasius
Prepare to Serve Program
Why Christianity Alone?
May 4, 2025
Apologetics Vs. Evangelism
Apologetics
Evangelism
What is it
To defend false teaching
To bring Christ to those who don’t know Him yet
Biblical Reference
“Go t
herefore and
make disciples
of all the
nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
teaching
them to observe all things that I have
commanded you; and I am with you always,
even to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:19-
20
Books to use
and always be ready to give a
defense
to
everyone who asks you a reason for the
hope that is in you, with meekness and
fear.”
1 Peter 3:15
“But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts,
It’s a commandment;
The world needs it
Why do it?
Any book but the Bible*
* but, you must know the Bible
Mainly just the Bible
The Journey from Atheism to Theism
A creator
How we best describe the universe? Atheist or Theist point of view?
Authenticity of the Bible�
How do we know what we know about Him is true
One Truth
Logic and Logical Fallacies Does A truth exist vs Pluralism?
God
Which god best fit the creator of the universe?
Minor the minors
One off topics: Violence of the OT, Miracles, Noah’s Ark, Homosexuality, Christian dominations
How do we know resurrection is true?
He truly resurrected from the dead
Framework
4
Can more than one religion be the TRUTH?
Strategy
6
Let’s start by a game
It’s either ONLY one person is right, or no-one is right
Two contradicting statements can’t be true at the same time - law of non-contradiction (LNC)
We hear “Most religions are different on the surface, however, they’re the same at their cores”;
Actually, the opposite is true
The university or program I graduated from
When have I started my first job?
Can more than one religion be the TRUTH?
NO
Two contradicting statements can’t be true at the same time - law of non-contradiction (LNC)
We hear “Most religions are different on the surface, however, they’re the same at their cores”;
Actually, the opposite is true
Framework: LAM
9
Logical Argument: “GOD”
G: Goodness Effect ⇒ An absolutely morally perfect, and personal cause created the universe
O: Origin Effect ⇒ Timeless, Spaceless and immaterial cause created the universe
D: Design Effect ⇒ Extremely intelligent cause created and sustains orderly natural laws the universe
Alignment to the universe around us
Authenticity Argument
Historical Accuracy
How early first Gospels were written
Diversity of authors who were in different locations, traditions and times- Yet, they all said the exact same story
They stand to gain nothing from any lies
Authenticity Argument
The New Testament has been preserved in more manuscripts than any other ancient work, having over:
5,800 complete or fragmented Greek manuscripts,
10,000 Latin manuscripts
9,300 manuscripts in various other ancient languages including Syriac, Slavic, Gothic, Ethiopic, Coptic and Armenian.
Rylands Papyri found in Egypt Dated -AD 125, It contains verses of the Gospel of John.
Currently at the John Rylands Library in Manchester, England
Dead Sea Scrolls
Authenticity of the Scripture
Unity of the Bible
63,779 Cross-References
Every single one of the lines on the bottom of the image is a Biblical verse. The length of each line is proportionate to the number of times that verse is referred to in some way by some other verse in the Bible.
In other words, this image is a map. It shows the 63,779 cross-references in the Bible, this massive sweeping text written by 40 authors over 1500 years from a wide variety of different backgrounds in three different languages: Hebrew, Greek, Latin, and Aramaic.
13
Miraculous Argument
Miraculous Argument
The universe had a beginning
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1)
Earth is hung from space
He stretches out the north over empty space; He hangs the earth on nothing” (Job. 26:7 NKJV)
He spreads out the northern skies over empty space; he suspends the earth over nothing (Job. 26:7 NIV)
Scientific reliability
Earth is round
It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.
(Isa. 40:22 NKJV)
The earliest discovery is 300 BC by some philosophers but still 450 years after Isaiah
So why Christianity? Summary
It matches the universe we observe today. It aligns with our expectations of the Creator
It’s been corroborated with external history books
Major characters involved lacked bias and stood to gain nothing out of their writings about Christianity
It hasn’t changed over time
It was documented very early while first-eye witnesses were still alive
Apologetics Tactics - Getting into the Driver Seat: The Columbo Tactic
What do you mean by that?
How did you reach this conclusion?
Did you consider….?
What do you mean by that? Can you tell me the top 10 errors in the Bible?
How did you reach this conclusion? Did you do the research yourself to come up with this?
Did you consider….? The purpose of the Bible vs. science and history books?
What do you mean by that? They don’t have any contradictions between them and all saying the same things?
How did you reach this conclusion? Did you study all other religions to confirm this?
Did you consider….? Since they all contradict each other, that it’s either all of them are wrong, or, one only is right?