Problem: Time and time again God reminded Israel that they were the “apple of His eye” (Zech. 2:8), the object of His special blessing (Gen. 12:1–3). Yet here God says, “My soul shall abhor you.” Continue reading →
Problem: Here the people of Israel are told to “dwell in booths.” But earlier in Exodus 16:16, it speaks of everyone being “in his tent.”
Problem: According to this verse the fast associated with the Day of Atonement was to begin on the “ninth day of the month.” But earlier in Leviticus 16:29 they were to begin fasting on the “tenth day of the month.”
Problem: According to Jewish belief, barrenness was a curse (Gen. 16:1; 1 Sam. 1:3–7). Children were considered a blessing from the Lord (Ps. 127:3). The blessing of God in the land was dependent on having children (Gen. 15:5). In view of the stress laid on having children, some have argued that it is not surprising that the OT Law would frown on homosexual activity from which no children come. Thus, they conclude that the Bible is not condemning homosexual activity as such, but only the refusal to have children.
Jane Roe, aka Norma McCorvey, was 21 when the case was filed (Roe v. Wade) and was on her third pregnancy, and actually never had an abortion; she gave birth to a girl, who was given up for adoption.
In a book she wrote, “I am Roe”, McCorvey, a ninth-grade dropout, describes a tough life, explaining that she suffered physical and emotional abuse as a child, spent some time in reform school in Gainesville, Texas, and was raped as a teen-ager. She was later beaten by a husband whom she married at age 16. She also tells of her alcohol and drug abuse, and experiences with lovers of both sexes.
A few of the more radical skeptics deny that Jesus was an historical person. This is called “the Jesus myth.” In 2012, for example, Timothy Freke published The Jesus Mysteries: Was the ‘Original Jesus’ a Pagan God?
Following is a refutation of the myth of the Jesus myth:
Had there been any question whatsoever about the actual existence of Jesus, the opponents of Christianity in the early centuries would have used this to refute Christianity’s legitimacy, but this was never done.
(The following is taken from the Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics, by Norman L. Geisler)
There are differing kinds of apologetics systems, and no universally-acknowledged way to categorize them. Divergent approaches seem to be determined by the perspective of the one categorizing them. Nonetheless, there are some generally understood terms one can employ to view in a meaningful way the distinctives among more popular approaches.