"Truth and Proof for the Christian Worldview" a Comprehensive Summary of Christian Apologetics

Kelly J. Walters

Description

If the quest for peace, joy, truth, healing, and purpose is important to you then read this brilliant soul saving book by Dr. Kelly Walters, for we all must eventually make that critical decision about who Jesus Christ really is. Our own free-will choice will determine our eternal destination! Please choose well!

“Why is there something rather than nothing?” That’s the quintessential, philosophical question in mankind’s search not only for the existence of the universe, but also for the existence, meaning, and purpose of life. That question forms the essence for this informative and enlightening book in which author Dr. Kelly J. Walters reveals both the answer (Jesus Christ) and the abundant evidential proof.



Everyone longs to know the answers to universally profound questions like “Is God real?” or “What is the true creation story of the universe and of humankind?” or “Is there an afterlife?” These questions are vast, extreme, and complex. While there are many theories, the ultimate empirical and factual answers are impossible to definitively prove for both theist and naturalistic scientism alike. Both sides require faith.



In Truth and Proof for the Christian Worldview, Dr. Walters offers evidence and rational proof defending the one position that provides the best logical, experiential, and noncontradictory answer for all the above questions: Christianity. Atheist turned Christian, Dr. Walters delves into this convincing evidence, providing an organized and scholarly summary and presentation of the detailed research available for Christian apologetics. He teaches on a plethora of topics, including comparative religion worldviews, key logical arguments and formal proofs for God, the origins of the universe and life, evolution and creationism theories, who is Jesus Christ, what is true Christianity, and more. The evidence related to these theological and scientific topics rationally serve to defend, clarify, and prove the truth for the reality of the one true God of the Bible as creator of the universe and life.

Sujets

• Philosophie
• Philosophie de la religion
• Religion
• Christianisme
• Évolution
• Christianity
• Creationism
• Evolution
• Apologetics
• God
• Philosophy
• Philosophie et théologie
• Religious

Informations

• Publié par: WestBow Press
• Date de parution: 22 novembre 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781664281172
• Langue: English

Extrait

“TRUTH AND PROOF FOR THE CHRISTIAN WORLDVIEW” A Comprehensive Summary of Christian Apologetics
 
 
The who and why behind the question, “Why is there something rather than nothing?”
 
 
 
 
KELLY J. WALTERS
 
 
 

 
 
Copyright © 2022 Kelly J. Walters.
 
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
 
This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.
 
 
 
WestBow Press
A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan
1663 Liberty Drive
Bloomington, IN 47403
www.westbowpress.com
844-714-3454
 
Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
 
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.
 
ISBN: 978-1-6642-8118-9 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-6642-8119-6 (hc)
ISBN: 978-1-6642-8117-2 (e)
 
Library of Congress Control Number: 2022919115
 
 
 
WestBow Press rev. date: 11/22/2022
CONTENTS
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter 1 Worldviews
Chapter 2 Key Philosophical Questions about God, Reality, and the Universe
Chapter 3 Rational Arguments for the Existence of God
Chapter 4 The Creation of the Universe—Cosmic Accident or God-Created?
Chapter 5 How Did Life Originate?
Chapter 6 Evolution
Chapter 7 The Fossil Record
Chapter 8 Many Flaws and Weaknesses in Naturalism’s Theory of Evolution
Chapter 9 What Is Christianity?
Chapter 10 Evidence That Jesus Lived and Was Who He Claimed to Be
Chapter 11 Is the Bible True?
Chapter 12 The Resurrection of Jesus Christ
Chapter 13 The Conversion Experience for Proof of God
Chapter 14 Comparative Theology and Religion – Who is the One True God?
Chapter 15 A Quick Review
Chapter 16 Atheism
Chapter 17 Why Is There Evil and Suffering in the World?
Chapter 18 Heaven, Satan, and Hell
Chapter 19 Concluding Remarks
Bibliography
Notes
PREFACE
An extensive diversity of religions and a significant array of philosophical speculation and debate have existed for many thousands of years in an attempt to understand and explain the truth and reality of the universe and humankind’s place and purpose in it. From antiquity to the present, it is acutely evident that humankind has an innate, deeply spiritual desire that needs to be satisfied. This ancient and universally irresistible spiritual longing is not simply the result of a human fear of nature and the unknown. Instead, it convincingly denotes a profound spiritual awareness, buried deep within our souls—and possibly even our DNA—that testifies to the existence of a transcendent supernatural being/mind and Creator/Designer, which many call almighty God. In fact, God tells us in the Bible that He has revealed Himself as both the Creator of the universe and of humankind through the evidence He has given us in nature, which we now refer to as the discipline of science.
The purpose of this book is to provide convincing evidence, logical proof, and a strong rational defense that Christianity alone provides the best answer for both the existence of God and the existence/creation of our universe and all of our planet’s life-forms. Unfortunately, ignorance and misconception of the historical and theological truth of the Bible (God’s Word) and the Christian faith, as well as who Jesus really is and what He has done for humankind, proves to be a major stumbling block for many non-Christians. I hope to remedy that dilemma in this book.
T hroughout human history, multitudes have asked, as I once did, if there truly is a God, who is this all-powerful and eternal being, Creator, judge, and sustainer of the universe? The purpose of this book, on the defense of the Christian worldview, is to make the logically sound and evidential case that Christianity and the one true living God of the Bible satisfy the unique position of being the ultimate and only truth concerning God and the creation of humankind and the universe. Only this one true God knows the true condition of a person’s heart and soul, and Jesus Christ, the eternal and only Son of God, is the exclusive Savior, Redeemer, judge, and determiner of the final destination of one’s soul. I can make this bold statement only because of the substantial, factual, logical, and intelligent evidence that supports this claim made by Christianity, as compared to other religious philosophies. This includes atheism, which is also a religious philosophy because it makes a theological statement on the existence of God.
Many prominent atheist authors have labeled Christians as ignorant, foolish, brainwashed, or even delusional for having faith in a supernatural God and Creator. Despite these mean-spirited, ignorantly unfounded, and false allegations, however, there are currently (and have been historically) a multitude of brilliant and acclaimed Christian scholars, philosophers, theologians, and scientists. Many have used their vast scientific expertise and wisdom to write and teach about the defense of and proof for God—in particular, the one true living God of the Bible. Most noteworthy, 65 percent of all Nobel Prize winners in the fields of science and technology in the twentieth century were Christians.
This book primarily serves as a review and summary of many of these scholars’, theologians’, and philosophers’ writings and teachings in their respective fields regarding the arguments and proof for the Christian worldview. I hope that this book will answer questions or even resolve misconceptions about Christianity, Jesus, and the Bible that you may have.
Early in my own life, I regrettably allowed pride, stubbornness, and intellectual ego, as well as my love of partying and doing my own thing, to keep me at arm’s length from investigating the God hypothesis for many years. I remained an atheist and religion sceptic until age twenty-nine, which was after I was married and was beginning my long professional career as a dentist. Fortunately, the love, truth, message, and extraordinary evidence for Jesus Christ finally penetrated my thick skull, my egocentric skeptical mind, and my hardened heart.
Thank you for taking this journey. I guarantee that your mind and soul will be challenged and enlightened, and that at the end of the book, you will make a decision for Jesus Christ, one way or the other. We all must!
Note : This book does not necessarily need to be read in sequential order. Each chapter can stand on its own. Consequently, you may encounter some redundancy, but I consider this a good thing—hearing or reading important information more than once helps one to learn, comprehend, and remember the intended message. Although there is a logical progression of chapter sequence, you are free to bounce around, according to your own personal needs and interests. Just go for it!
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This book would not have been possible without the unwavering support and selfless love from my lovely and godly wife, Carol.
Additionally, I would like to give special thanks to Dr. R. C. Sproul, who went home to be with the Lord in 2017. It was through R. C.’s prolific books, podcasts, and DVDs that I first learned about the intellectual and the practical life-changing importance of studying Christian apologetics and theology. R. C. was a gracious and brilliant professor with doctorates in philosophy and theology. He had a special gift for making difficult subjects easy to comprehend, which I much appreciated and needed.
I would also like to thank those who generously gave their time and knowledge to give me valuable feedback on and encouragement for this book. My sincere thanks to Christian book editor and friend Kathy Kunde, apologists Wally Keller and Dave Sidnam, and several of my wise and awesome pastors -- Sean Blount, Dan Hastings, Jim Davis, and Gary Moore.
INTRODUCTION
Have you ever pondered the following questions?
• Does God really exist?
• Do we truly have souls and spirits that will continue to exist after our deaths?
• How does anything exist at all; that is, why is there something rather than not hing ?
• Can science provide us with honest, unbiased, definitive, empirically tested, verifiable, and nonspeculative evidence on how the universe and life began? (Spoiler alert! The answer to that question is an unequivocal no .)
• Is there any realistic and meaningful purpose to our human existence?
• Do absolute, objective moral values exist? If not, how do we establish and define evil and good, and who determines the difference?
• Can evil and suffering coexist in a universe created by a good, loving, and all-powerful God?
• What is truth?
• Does absolute, objective truth exist, or is all truth relative and subjective?
• What supernatural entity or being/mind, if one does exist, can possibly provide humanity with the hope of true peace, joy, truth, freedom, secur