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APOLOGETICS
Definition: the branch of theology concerned with the defense or proof and/or rational justification of Christianity; a defensive method of argument. It is properly the defence of one's position rather than an attack on another person's beliefs. In this regard, it is in perfect keeping with Scriptural teaching on how we should approach those who oppose our faith. We do not attack theirs, we defend ours. Whatever we do, we do not attack the person to make our point. We defend our belief to make our point. Scripture: Colossians 1:21-23 Colossians 2:4-12 1 Timothy 4:1-16 1 Timothy 6:1-21 2 Timothy 1:13-14 2 Timothy 2:1-2, 8-18 2 Timothy 3 Titus 1:9-2:15 Hebrews 10:23 1 Peter 3:13-17 Jude 1:3-4 The entire book of Matthew is written as an apology or proof that Jesus Christ is the Messiah, spoken of by the prophets of the Old Testament, and as such, should be received by the Jewish people as their Saviour. Stephen, the deacon, defended his faith before his martyrdom in Jerusalem. (Acts 7) Peter & John made defence of their faith before the Sanhedrin. (Acts 4:1-31) Peter & Paul defended the faith before the Judaisers who questioned the validity of those Gentiles who received the Holy Ghost. (Acts 11:1-18) Paul defended his faith before kings and his Jewish accusers. (Acts 22-26) Jesus said,
16 Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. 17 But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues; 18 And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles. 19 But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. 20 For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you. Matt 10:16-20 (KJV)

APOLOGETICS PART 2 How We Got Our Bible During the first 2,500 years of human history, there appears to have been nor written revelation from God. However, some archaeologists believe that there were some divinely inspired writings before the days of Moses, which they assume, formed he basis of the Pentateuch (five books of Moses). These writings are: 1. The Pillar of Black Stone or Diorite; discovered in December, 1901 at Susa, in Persia, also known as Shushan the Palace (Nehemiah 1:1). It contains some ancient laws, the code of King Hammurabi (probably Amraphel - Genesis 14:1), written in what is known as cuneiform writing.

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A. Cuneiform writing used symbols shaped like wedges representing syllables. B. These laws bear resemblance to the Mosaic laws C. The writings date back some five or six hundred years before Moses, probably about the time of Abraham 2. The Chaldean Legends, beautifully written on clay tablets, were buried among the ruins of Nineveh and other cities of Babylonia. A. It purports to give the history of Creation B. The Gilgamesh version of the Legends gives the story of Cain and Abel as well as the Deluge or the Flood. Could Moses have been influenced to write the Pentateuch from these ancient texts? Let's see. 1. The Chaldean Legends - History A. Berosus, a Babylonian priest describes the creation of heaven and earth as follows: i. the deity, Belus, came out and cut the woman (named Omoroka) in half; ii. one half of her was used to form the earth and the other half was used to make the heavens; iii. this same Belus commanded one of the gods to take off his head and to mix the blood with the earth and in that way, form other men and animals iv. all of this information was sourced from a half fish / half man creature or god that came out of the abyss or the sea and spoke these words to the inhabitants of Babylon. His name is Marduk or Dagon. When in doubt, consider the source! Could any part of the Pentateuch be formed from such a legend as this? What is a legend anyway? It is a lie that people like to believe and promote (eg., the legend of Santa Claus) 1. The Laws of Hammurabi A. Consists of arbitrary, moral laws between man and man B. It makes no reference to man's obligation to God C. It makes no provision for the poor D. Throughout the code, respect is paid to status; in other words, preferential treatment was the norm for the rich and powerful, whereas Moses law held no such partiality. E. It has not eternal value ascribed; it is existentialistic or only concerned with the here and now F. Hammurabi was himself and idolater i. worshipped the sun god and other idols Moses could not have received his laws from such a source. Why? First of all, Moses was born and raised in Egypt, some 400 years after the reign of Hammurabi. Moses was not influenced by Assyrian culture. He was schooled in the royal institutions of Egypt, in particular the Scribal and Princes' schools. His education included the study of: Reading & Writing (they used hieroglyphics, not cuneiform) History Math, using a decimal system based on ten fingers Arithmetic and Geometry Astronomy Music Geography Science Medicine Religion Seeing that his education was distinctly Egyptian, seeing that his ancestors had lived in that country, among that society and was familiar with that culture for over 430 years, it is self-evident that he was not the product of Assyrian fables or law. He was familiar with Egyptian culture, system of education and religious rites. Furthermore, he was raised at an early age by his Jewish parent until he was weaned.

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Moses was a Jew that Egypt tried to reform into an Egyptian. That experiment failed under their watch. It is not reasonable to assume that a regime in a distant land to which he had never traveled nor been imprisoned could morph him into the child of Hammurabi. Moses writings are so counter-cultural to that of the Egyptians, that he would have had to have heard directly form God in order to effect deliverance for the Hebrews as he did. It was God himself who taught him what was right and who directed him prophetically as he journeyed through the wilderness with his people. His concept of the creation, Cain and Abel and the flood were not held by any culture in his day. His only influence would have been the oral tradition of his Jewish elders. Clearly, there was no other nation nor culture on earth with these ordinances, commandments or laws -period. None! (Deuteronomy 4:8) In short, we received the words of Moses and the text of the Bible as a whole by divine inspiration. There are 127 verses that attest to this verbal inspiration, where God speaks Moses and Moses speak to God. Here are a few:
Search results for: write Book KJV KJV Description Ex 17:14 Amalek is overcome when the rod of God is held up in Moses' hands Ex 34:27 God makes a covenant with them Context 14 And the LORD said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. 27 And the LORD said unto Moses, Write thou these words: for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel.

Nearly every chapter in Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers opens with these words. If the documents were compiled from other cultural volumes, how then could it be truthfully said that the Lord spoke these words to Moses? Acts 7:38 says Moses received his words from the Lord. Exodus 24:4 says Moses wrote all the words of the Lord. There is no indication that anyone other than Moses had anything to do with the writing of the Pentateuch. The book of Mormon, the Koran and other revered religious texts almost always claim a single author and in some cases they claim that the author received revelation from an angel or even from God. Although their claim of divine or spiritual inspiration can be disputed, the single authorship of their works is not in doubt. Be clear about this, all of these cult leaders who authored religious holy books, received their insights in relative isolation. Absolutely no one else knew of their claims nor could anyone else verify the claims made. Joseph Smith (Book of Mormon, Mohammed (the Koran), all wrote in isolation and in essence came to their religious conclusions in a cultural, historical, scientific and forensic vacuum. Altogether, about 40 persons, in all stations of life, were engaged in the writing of the oracles of the Bible over a 1600 year period. This work began about 1500 B.C., when Moses commenced to write the Pentateuch and ended around 97 A.D. when the apostle John wrote his gospel in Asia Minor. Our Bible was not written in a vacuum nor was it compiled in isolation. It's authenticity can be verified over and over again by God, its writers, their contemporaries and by modern day scholars. It checks out culturally, historically, scientifically and forensically. No other book in the world nor in history has this level of proofs built into its composition. 2 Timothy 3:16 16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 2 Peter 1:20-21 20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. 21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. Hebrews 1:1-2 1 In the past God spoke to our ancestors at many different times and in many different ways through the prophets. 2 In these last days he has spoken to us through his Son. (GW) Hebrews 12:25 25 Be careful that you do not refuse to listen when God speaks. Your ancestors didn't escape when they refused to listen to God, who warned them on earth. We certainly won't escape if we turn away from God, who warns us from heaven. 26 When God spoke to your ancestors, his voice shook the earth. But now he has promised, Once more I will shake not only the earth but also

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the sky. 27 The words once more show clearly that God will change what he has made. These are the things that can be shaken. Then only the things that cannot be shaken will remain. 28 Therefore, we must be thankful that we have a kingdom that cannot be shaken. Because we are thankful, we must serve God with fear and awe in a way that pleases him. 29 After all, our God is a destructive fire. (GW) QUESTIONS Apocrypha Last week, a question was asked of me regarding some lost books of the Bible. This question points to the canonicity of the Bible. I promised I would look into it and this is what I have found. The Bible gets its name from the Greek word, biblios, which means a book or scroll. It consists of 66 books divided into two testaments. On what basis are the 66 books included in the Bible? How do we know that the Word of God consists of these books, no more and no less? These questions now force us to discuss the canon. The Canon: By definition, the books that belong in the canon are the books inspired by God. In other words, inspiration determines canonicity. Human beings do not have the ability to create Scripture. Only God is the Creator of the Scriptures that men have recorded. All men can do today is discover what God has already created. The criteria on which canonicity is based are five in all:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

authorship, was it written by a man of God who was confirmed by an act of God who told the truth about God, man and so on who came with the power of God who was accepted by the people of God.

Read from "God's Infallible Word,": Apocrypha (hidden, esoteric, spurious, of questionable authenticity, non-canonical texts) page 84, pp 1 page 85, pp 2 - page 86

APOLOGETICS Bible Languages & Translations The Old Testament was completed by about 400 B.C. and the New Testament was completed by about 100 A.D. The Bible was originally written in three languages: Hebrew Aramaic Koine Greek These were the languages of the people to whom God initially gave his Word. Most of the Old Testament was written in Hebrew which is a pictorial language. It is vivid, personal, and concrete rather than abstract. It excels in metaphors, dramatic story telling, and poetry. As such, it is particularly well suited for the material of the Old Testament, which presents truths and examples to God's people in every age through historical, biographical and poetic forms. God chose this language to convey his message by design.

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Aramaic, the ancient language of the Syrians and a Semitic language related to Hebrew became the language of commerce in the Middle East during the Assyrian, Neo-Babylonian and Persian Empires. Several biblical passages from that time were written in Aramaic. They include: Ezra 4:7; 4:8-6:18; 7:12-26; Daniel 2:4-7:28. Aramaic was also the local language of Palestine during the time of Christ. It was the language Jesus and his disciples used in everyday conversation. Therefore, most of the dialogue in the Gospels originally took place in Aramaic and a few passages keep the original words: Mark 5:41; 7:34; 14:36 and Mark 15:34. The original language of the New Testament is Greek. It was the official language of the Greek Empire, under Alexander, the Great and it continued to be the language of commerce in the eastern part of the Roman Empire at the time of Christ. Most people in the eastern Mediterranean lands and even in Rome itself, spoke Greek fluently. Ancient, classical Greek was a conceptual, intellectual language and it was highly inflected. In other words, it packed extensive information into individual words by means of various grammatical forms. It was capable of great flexibility and precision. As a result, this language lent itself well to careful doctrinal instruction. The Greek of the New Testament is Koine, or Hellenistic Greek and it was the language of international commerce in the first century A.D. For centuries scholars were puzzled by the difference between New Testament Greek and the literary Greek of the classical poets, playwrights and philosophers. Some even supposed that the Bible used a special "Holy Ghost Greek." However, the discovery of first century letters and business documents from Egypt showed conclusively that the New Testament was written in the vernacular (plain, everyday language of people groups living in a specific geographic area) of the common people of that century. As a supplementary, the Greek New Testament contains a number of words borrowed form Latin, which was the military and political language of the Roman Empire. Words included: legion (Mark 5:9) centurion (Acts 10:1) colony (Acts 16:12)

The History, Art & Science of Written Records Writing was already an ancient art by the time the Bible was written. Cuneiform writing / Sumerians of Mesopotamia / 3500 B.C. Hieroglyphics / Egyptians / 3100 B.C. (400 year difference) Pictograms / Syria & Byblos, eastern Mediterranean / 2500 B.C. (600 year difference) Alphabetic writing / Palestine & Syria around the time of Moses / 1500 B.C. (1,000 year difference) In ancient times people wrote on the following: clay (a stylus was used) an instrument of metal, bone, or the like, used by the ancients for writing on waxed tablets, having one end pointed for incising the letters and the other end blunt for rubbing out writing and smoothing the tablet stone (a chisel was used) papyrus (pen and ink was used to write with) animal skins leather (cattle, sheep, goats, antelope)

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leather (cattle, sheep, goats, antelope) parchment (a water plant or sedge) vellum (a fine parchment made from the skin of calves, lambs or kids) paper made of cotton, hemp, or flax was invented in China 200 years after Christ. Arabian traders introduced it in Europe 1000 years after Christ and it became the material of choice in the late Middle Ages (1200-1500 A.D.) Transitional Languages into English The original languages of the Bible were Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. From the Greek, the Bible was translated into Latin and was used almost exclusively by the Roman Catholic Church beginning 200 years after Christ. At this time in history, Latin superseded Greek and remained for many years the diplomatic language of Europe. The Latin translation was made in North Africa from the Septuagint version of the Old Testament and the original Greek of the New Testament. This version is known as the Vulgate Version. Vulgate means "to make common or public" and it is the origin of our word vulgar. The Vulgate was England's first Bible. It was available only to the very few, namely the learned and rich. After the Latin Vulgate Bible, numerous translations were made. Here is a list, with dates and the human cost: 1. 2. 3. 4. First Anglo-Saxon Testament (620-680 A.D., Caedmon) Anglo-Saxon Psalms & Gospels (700-735 A.D., Venerable Bede) Bible divided into chapters (1250 A.D., Cardinal Hugo) First English Bible, New Testament (1340-1384 A.D., John Wycliffe). Old Testament was completed after his death in 1384. He died of paralysis but was persecuted severely for his work. Forty years after his death, the Roman Catholic Church dug up his bones and burned them, scattering the ashes on the River Swift (Lutterworth, England) Bible in German (1450 A.D., Martin Luther) Luther was persecuted and died of a stroke. New Testament in early, modern English (1526-1526 A.D., William Tyndale) Persecuted, strangled and burned at the stake by the Roman Catholic Church, October 6, 1536. Complete Bible in English (1535, Miles Coverdale) Complete English Bible (1537, Thomas Matthew, aka John Rogers). An associate of Tyndale's was also martyred by the Roman Catholic Church. The Great Bible (1539, Miles Coverdale) The Geneva Bible (1560, John Knox). Translation by committee, italics for words not in the original, modern chapter and verse divisions. It was the Bible of William Shakespeare. Rheims-Douay Bible - Roman Catholic answer to Protestant Bibles (1582-1610). Full of Catholic theology, unfamiliar theological words taken from Latin. It was the only officially approved English Bible for Catholics. King James Version / Authorized Version (1604-1611, King James, Puritan leaders, John Rainolds & six companies of 54 scholars.

5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.

Technical Distinctions by Definition: 1. Translation - a composition put into the words of a different language. 2. Transliteration - is a letter for letter transference. For example, baptizo is the transliteration of the Greek word translated as plunge, dip or immerse. 3. Literal Translation (formal correspondence) - a word for word translation (as much as possible) 4. Dynamic Equivalence - a meaning for meaning translation, with the unit of transference being the phrase or sentence 5. Paraphrase - a free translation, a re-wording of the meaning expressed. It often adds interpretive comments not found in the original. 6. Version - a translation , technically, one from the original language. 7. Revision - a systematic review and correction of a version. 8. Recension - a critical revision of a text. 9. Hermeneutics - the science and art of interpretation (understanding and applying the word of God) 10. Exegesis - bring out of the text the meaning the writers intended to convey and which their readers were expected to gather from it. 11. Exposition - the application of the textual meaning to men and women in a current, historical context.

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Exegesis is the proper basis for exposition (or meaning is the proper basis for application). There three main translation philosophies that affect the outcomes of various versions: Literal (formal correspondence) - KJV, RV, ASV, NASB, NKJV Dynamic Equivalence - NIV, RSV Paraphrase - LB, GNB Use literal translations for study. Use dynamically equivalent versions to get the sense of what is said in more difficult translations. Use a paraphrase for devotional purposes. Hermeneutics: 10 Principles of Interpretation 1. Use the grammatical-historical method rather than the allegorical method of interpreting the Bible. It is also known as the literal method. 2. Use the illumination of the Holy Ghost, also known as divine revelation. 3. The Scriptures are basically clear and meant to be understood. 4. The Bible is adapted to the human mind. 5. God reveals truth progressively from the Old Testament to the New Testament. 6. Scripture interprets Scripture. 7. The Bible is unified and its central focus is Jesus Christ. 8. Truth has several witnesses. 9. Each passage has one primary meaning but can have many applications. 10. We should use sound rules of logic. Applying the Grammatical-Historical Method of Interpretation: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Biblical history Biblical geography Biblical culture Setting Literary mold, genre or type Special literary forms: A. metaphor (Hebrews 12:29) the transfer of the sense of one word to different word to which that sense is not necessarily applicable, without using "as" or "like": "A mighty fortress is our God." B. simile (Exodus 24:17) a common figure of speech that explicitly compares two things usually considered different. Most similes are introduced by "like" or "as." The realization hit me like a bucket of cold water. C. hyperbole (Judges 7:12) obvious and intentional exaggeration. I had to wait an eternity. D. personification (Proverbs 1:20-33) a figure of speech in which human characteristics are attributed to an abstract quality, animal or inanimate object. The moon doth with delight, look round her when the heavens are bare. E. metonymy (Psalm 51:18) a figure of speech that consists of the use of the name of one object or concept for that of another to which it is related, or of which it is a part as "scepter for "sovereignty," or "the bottle" for "strong drink," or "count heads" for "count people." F. synecdoche (Mark 1:5) a figure of speech in which a part is substituted for a whole or a whole for a part, as in "50 head of cattle" for 50 cows" or "the army" for "a soldier." G. irony (1 Kings 18:27, 22:15) the use of words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of its literal meaning: The irony of her reply, "How nice!" when I said I had to work all weekend. Context (immediate literary passage) Word meanings Grammar (syntax) Harmony of Scripture (systematic theology)

7. 8. 9. 10.

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