Apologetics is disclosure, prying into the deepest regions of unbelief and the tension of other claims that they make. The relationship between unbelief and knowledge is much more subtle. We are talking with people living in God’s world. As a result, there are constant paradoxes and conflicts. They know who God is, but their knowledge is unfriendly, covenant breaking. It is not complete ignorance, it is a willful ignorance, it is self-deceptive. But we should never minimize what they know.

Romans 1 says that they are suppressing the truth. Once we find the fatal flaw, we invite the non-Christian over onto Christian ground, for argument’s sake, to show him how thing look from the vantage of the truth. Again, I appeal to his conscious to what he knows deep down to be so. I present him with every argument. Here we seek to explain why things go well when the gospel is there, we also present the basics of the gospel message.

1- the total adequacy of God (prodigal son – God’s intention) – spending God’s gifts, he remembers the servants have better than what he has. Could the father accept him back as a servant? This is a homecoming because God is seeking us. He is all sufficient. Elder brother lived with the same evidence, but he couldn’t see it. He was a religious unbeliever – elder brother as Christ if Christ didn’t do what he was supposed to do…

2 – We preach the total adequacy of God, and focus on Jesus.
– Liar, Lunatic or Lord – choose what they believe in Christ. You can’t just say he was a great teacher because he claimed to be God. He was either one of the greatest deceivers of all time or a liar, Who is Jesus?
- or why he came? Many people are embarrassed about Jesus. Called him scandalously particular. How could a first century Palestinian Jew live a short time and put to death as a common criminal be key to life to all of humanity?
- When we look at evil, God looks at it so seriously that he had to send his son to remedy it. Only the bloody sacrifice of God himself could remedy it.

3 – the arena of moral guilt.
-The concept of moral guilt and sin is difficult in this generation. Consider Woody Allen and Billy Graham interview – there is acknowledgement of evil, but not to personal sin.
-GK Chesterton – What is wrong with the world? “I am.”
- Anselm on the seriousness of sin. Cosmic treason is repaired. “Why the God man?” If sin were not so serious, we would not need

4 – The impact of Christainity on history
Show how Christianity impacted history – controversial…
- Note how Europe subdued by the taming talisman, the cross of Christ (Heinrich Heine). Jesus Christ brought some degree of civility and peace to an otherwise barbarous
group of people. If God is dead (nietzsche) what will happen? – if you try to live a moral life when God is dead,
- Rise of modern science or other arts. Modern science and flourishing of arts owes to the Christian worldview. It was because God is the creator, they realized the implication for research through the world. CS. Lewis paradox – it is a faith in a dying savior that gives rise to the most life. It is when Christ takes on what is wrong with the world that his followers are free to live in the power of his resurrection.
- ex. Galen’s plague – 3rd century wiped out a tenth of the roman population. Christians had authentic fellowship and friendship that was there for one another. Wellborn, lowborn, rich, poor – the power of the romans could not unite this. Christians had compassion to bring sick people and dead to their homes and family. Church provided healthcare that the romans could not do.
-ex. Historians largely agree on – in most cases in Europe, where countries embraced protestant reformation, there was less violence when it changed to modernity. democracy vs. revolution. See Billington’s theory. – look at Italy, Russia, France, etc. Compare that to England, North Germany, North America, Switzerland – where debate and vigorous talks… the passage was a lot easier.
- these are method that is different, wisdom arguments, truth arguments that are different than