10 point Syllogism for Jesus
1. Truth is absolute and knowable
2. The thiestic God Exists
3. Miracles are possible
4. The New Testament is Historically reliable
5. The New Testament says Jesus claimed to be God
6. Jesus claim to be God was confirmed by His sinless and miraculous life, and His resurrection from the dead.
7. Therefore Jesus is God.
8. Therefore whatever Jesus who is God teaches is true.
9. Jesus taught that the bible is the word of God.
10. Therefore the bible is the word of God. Who disagrees?
Who disagrees with Premise 1? Postmodernists.
Who disagrees with premise 2? Athiests.
Who disagrees with premise 3? Modernists/Naturalists.
Who disagrees with premise 4? Higher Criticism.
Who disagrees with premise 5? No one.
Who disagrees with conclusion 6? Lots of people.
Who disagrees with conclusion 7? Lots of people.
Who disagrees with conclusion 8? Lots of people.
Who disagrees with conclusion 9? Lots of people.
Who disagrees with conclusion 10? Lots of people. Why do they disagree?
Jesus followers have several reasons why they believe in each of the first 4 premises. People who disagree with any one of the first four premises have reasons they disagree. One side believes its reasons are more logically consistent while the other side believes its reasons are more valid. So who is right? Who's premises account for more data with fewer difficulties? Who's lines of reasoning for the premises are most true to reality? These questions reach to the heart of the disagreement. The postmodernist, the athiest, the naturalist, the modernist, the higher critic will always disagree with Jesus. Unless they, change there mind, and believe that everything Jesus said was true. What is a worldview?
Worldview - is a mental interpretative framework by which people view the world. This framework is made up of basic assumptions, values, and allegiances. This framework is the way by which people interpret reality. By our worldview we answer such questions as, What really is real? How do I know? How did humans get on planet earth? How did planet earth get in universe? How did the universe get there? What happens to humans when they die? Do humans have a physical and spiritual nature? How do we know? Is there an absolute truth? Is there a God or gods?
How do I refute Postmodernism?
Postmodernism is a self-defeating worldview. Postmodernism is a reaction to the modernist idea that truth can be fully discovered by using our reason. Modernism has failed! Consequentially, postmoderns came to despair about truth. Strong Postmoderns "know" truth is unknowable. Weak postmoderns simply 'believe' truth is unknowable, and therefore are agnostic. Strong Postmoderns know that humans can't know truth. This is a self-defeating position. To say, "I know the truth that you can not know truth" is a logical fallacy. For if one can not know truth, one can not know that truth is unknowable. If it is true that one "cannot know truth", then it is also true that one "can know truth". Namely, that one cannot know. Therefore, since the position can not be true and false at the same time (since true and false are mutually exclusive) the position is incoherent. How do I refute atheism?
Atheism in its soft form is more like agnosticism. Militant atheism claims to "know" there is no god. This is a self-defeating position. For one cannot know that there is no god, unless one knows all the information in the universe. Since one does not know all the information in the universe, one cannot know that there is no God. One can believe there is no god. However, believing something is different than knowing. In this way Atheism is a religious preference. It is not the "best" option for "thinking" people. For "thinking" people will default to the "I don't know" (agnostic) position before they say they "know" there is no god. For to claim I "know" there is no god, one is simultaneously claiming knowledge of all the information in the universe, which is absurd. How do I refute Modernism/Naturalism?
Modernists/Naturalists assume 'without questioning' that the supernatural is impossible. They will often appeal to the 'LAWS OF NATURE' which they say cannot be violated.
The Modernist Naturalist syllogism
1. The laws of nature are fixed and cannot change.
2. A miracle is a violation of the laws of nature.
3. Therefore miracles are impossible.
There are two problems with the above syllogism. The first is with how the naturalist views the 'laws of nature'. The laws of nature are not prescriptive (as if we created them) but are descriptive (they are observed). The second is that the christian definition of a miracle overrides the naturalist syllogism since our assumption is that there is a God who can intervene into the natural world.
The unspoken assumption of the modernist/naturalist is that 'there is no supernatural.' Therefore to refute a modernist/naturalist we must defend our assumption that 'God exists' against the modernist/naturalist who says 'God does not exist'. How do we defend our assumption that miracles are possible? Argue for God's existence. How do I refute Higher criticism?
Higher critics assumes that the New Testament is unreliable because it speaks of miracles, demons, the virgin birth, the resurrection, etc. The modern critic assumes 'without questioning' that the supernatural is the 'stuff' of myth, legend, fable, and folklore. The unspoken assumption of the higher critic is that 'there is no supernatural.' Therefore to refute a higher critic we must defend our assumption that 'miracles are possible' against the higher critic who says 'miracles are impossible'. How do we defend our assumption that miracles are possible? Argue for God's existence. How do I defend miracles?
A miracle is a divine intervention into the regular course of the natural world. This definition assumes that there is a divine being. Therefore, one must defend the premise that God exists. For if God exists, then He is certainly free to intervene into the regular course of the natural world. To prove that Miracles are possible one must show that the statement 'God exists' is more plausible than its negation 'God does not exist'.