Book Review: Forensic Faith by J. Warner Wallace

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Why Pastors Ought to Be Apologists

https://coldcasechristianity.com/2018/why-pastors-ought-to-be-apologists/

We Are Called To Hold A Reasonable Faith

The God of the Bible does not call his children to obey blindly. The Bible itself serves as a piece of evidence, the testimony of eyewitnesses who provide us with reasons to believe. That’s why the scriptures repeatedly call us to have a “reasoned” belief in Jesus…When we use our minds, investigate the evidence and become convinced, something wonderful happens; we have the courage to defend what we believe. Jesus gave us more than enough evidence to believe that He was who he said he was, and He never asked us to believe blindly. When Jesus asked us to have faith in Him, he asked us to accept what he said on the basis of the evidence that He gave us…The Bible repeatedly makes evidential claims. It offers eyewitness accounts of historical events that can be verified archeologically, prophetically and even scientifically. We, as Christians are called to hold a reasonable faith that is grounded in this way. 

~  J Warner Wallace, Is the Christian Faith Evidentially Reasonable?

Yes, the Christian Worldview Is Supported by the Evidence

http://www.thepoachedegg.net/the-poached-egg/2015/02/yes-the-christian-worldview-is-supported-by-the-evidence.html

The More Science, the More Reasonable the Pro-Life Position

https://coldcasechristianity.com/2018/the-more-science-the-more-reasonable-the-pro-life-position/

The Best Question to Ask When Starting a Conversation About God

~ jwallace

Ever found yourself looking for a way to initiate a conversation about God, but not sure exactly how to start? I’ve been in similar situations with people I don’t know (i.e. on airplanes, while waiting for a seat in a restaurant, or while watching a soccer game), and I’ve tried a number of approaches. I continue to return to one simple, effective question, however, to start the most important of all conversations. I’ve come to believe this is the most essential evangelistic question we can ask: “What do you think happens when we die?”

Continue: http://coldcasechristianity.com/2017/the-best-question-to-ask-when-starting-a-conversation-about-god/

Five Reasons You Can Trust the Story of Christmas Is True (Free Bible Insert)

http://coldcasechristianity.com/2017/five-reasons-you-can-trust-the-story-of-christmas-is-true-free-bible-insert/

Why Shouldn’t We Trust the Non-Canonical Gospels Attributed to Matthias?

~ Wallace

The New Testament describes the Apostle Matthias as the man who joined the remaining eleven apostles and replaced Judas after Judas committed suicide. In Acts 1:21-22, Matthias is described as “one of the men who have accompanied (the disciples) during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among (them), beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from (them).” If this is true, Matthias would have been an eyewitness to the life, ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus. History records at least one ancient text attributed to Matthias, but is this non-biblical text reliable? Was it really written by Matthias? There are four attributes of reliable eyewitness testimony, and the first requirement is simply that the account be old enough to actually be written by someone who was present to see what he or she reports. The ancient texts attributed to Matthias were written too late in history to have been written by the man we know as Matthias, and like other late non-canonical texts, these errant document were rejected by the leaders in the early Church. In spite of this, the manuscripts we are about to examine still contain small nuggets of truth related to Jesus.  Although they are legendary fabrications written by authors who altered the story of Jesus to suit the purposes of their religious communities, much can still be learned about the historic Jesus from these late texts:

The Traditions of Matthias (110-160AD)
The Traditions of Matthias is described by Clement of Alexandria in a letter (Miscellanies written in 210AD) and many scholars suspect that it is the same text known as the Gospel of Matthias and mentioned by Origen, Eusebius, Ambrose, and Jerome. While the manuscript is lost, there are still three small quotes from Clement’s letter that are available to us. The text may have contained a narrative of Jesus’ life along with teachings, but it is difficult to know from what little we have today.

Why Isn’t It Considered Reliable?
Scholars believe that The Traditions of Matthias was written far too late to have been penned by the Matthias mentioned in the Book of Acts. From the few passages available to us in Clement’s letter, it is apparent that it was used by Gnostic believers such as the Basilideans. According to Hippolytus, the leader of the group, Basilides, learned “secret words” from Matthias that had supposedly been passed down to him from Jesus himself. This is consistent with how early Church leaders described The Gospel of Matthias. Eusebius lists The Gospel of Matthias with the Gospels of Thomas and Peter as heretical works known to the early Church. The Gospel of Matthias is also listed as heretical in the Decretum Gelasianum, the Catalogue of the Sixty Canonical Books, and in a list of false books that were used by Nazarene Christians.

Read more: http://coldcasechristianity.com/2017/why-shouldnt-we-trust-the-non-canonical-gospels-attributed-to-matthias/

Wouldn’t a Loving God Make Sure Everyone Gets to Heaven?

http://coldcasechristianity.com/2017/wouldnt-a-loving-god-make-sure-everyone-gets-to-heaven/

Wouldn’t a Loving God Make Sure Everyone Gets to Heaven?

http://coldcasechristianity.com/2017/wouldnt-a-loving-god-make-sure-everyone-gets-to-heaven/