Tag Archives: skeptic

General Apologetics, New Testament Reliability, Skeptics

Is Historical Evidence Convincing to Skeptics of Christianity?

21 Comments

Post Author: Bill Pratt

Only if the skeptic is open to the existence of a God who can intervene in the affairs of the world.

I have discussed the historical reliability of the New Testament with many skeptics over the years.  The skeptics I typically speak to inevitably dismiss or downplay much of the historical evidence that I present.  They argue that ancient writers didn’t understand the difference between history and myth, that mythical stories of gods were rampant in the ancient world, that ancients were credulous and unsophisticated, and so on.

As soon as I respond to one of these arguments, they have another one along the same line.  It turns out, however, that the reason most of them don’t believe the Bible is historically reliable is because they don’t believe the miracles included in the Bible could possibly have occurred.  They don’t believe the miracles could have occurred because they don’t believe a God exists who can perform miracles.

Obviously, if no God exists who can perform miracles, then miracles cannot occur!

On the contrary, those who are open to the God of Christianity existing often find the historical evidence to be quite impressive.  Why?  Because they believe that a God who can perform miracles might exist.  They may not be totally convinced, but they don’t dismiss it out of hand.

My advice to any Christian who is discussing the historical reliability of the Bible with a skeptic is to pause and ask the skeptic if they believe in the real possibility of a God who can intervene miraculously in the world.  If they don’t, you need to drop back and discuss that issue first.  Otherwise, you may very well be wasting your time.

General Apologetics, Skeptics

Why Are You a Skeptic of Christianity?

16 Comments

Post Author: Bill Pratt

Apologist and author Bill Foster has just written a new book entitled Meet the Skeptic.  I was unfamiliar with Bill before reading this book, which was given to me by one of our church staff.

I have read a truckload of books on apologetics, so I was a little bit dubious that there was anything new here, but I was pleasantly surprised.  Bill certainly covers some familiar ground, but the difference between his book and others is that he attempts to model skepticism by placing modern skeptics of Christianity into four categories, based on their worldview.  He then describes the “root idea” of each of these worldviews and gives readers some suggested approaches to conversing with each of these kinds of skeptics.

The first kind of skeptic is the spiritual skeptic.  The root idea is: “Good works get you to heaven.”

The second kind of skeptic is the moral skeptic.  The root idea is: “People should decide for themselves what is right and wrong.”

The third kind of skeptic is the scientific skeptic.  The root idea is: “The natural world is all there is.”

The fourth kind of skeptic is the biblical skeptic.  The root idea is: “The Bible is man-made.”

As I have conversed with skeptics over the years, I have certainly encountered all of these.  In fact, in some cases I have interacted with a skeptic who could be placed in multiple categories.  It is always helpful to have a mental framework of where a person is coming from when speaking to them about Christianity, and this book will nicely serve that purpose.

One caution, however.  Every skeptic is an individual, and they will not always fit neatly into a category.  Most people can’t stand being labeled, so anyone using this book needs to be careful that they don’t come across like a Christian label-maker.  I’m sure Bill Foster would agree that these categories serve as guidelines, but we always need to truly engage with a person and learn about them as a unique individual.   

A couple questions for our blog readers.  Do these categories seem right to you?  If you are a skeptic, what is your reaction to these four categories?

Something just occurred to me.  Maybe the skeptics have written a book called Meet the Apologist …..