Session 1: Christ on Trial? An introduction to Christian Apologetics

Questions:

Do you think it is alright to ask questions about faith?
What does it mean to be skeptical?
What does it mean to question authority?

Activity: A Biblical comparison: Zachariah and Elizabeth

Read each section together out loud:

Luke 1:5-25
Luke 1:26-38

Compare the two. What is similar? Notice highlights in bold.

How are they different? Do the outcomes differ?
What are some reasons that might explain why the outcomes different?
Was it wrong for either of them to question the angel of the Lord?

Asking the question is not what gets Zachariah in trouble. If asking questions was so wrong, then wouldn’t the Virgin Mary likewise deserved to be punished? Is God partial, unfair? So what is the difference between the two questions and questioners?

Zachariah’s question: “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years.” He is basically saying, “How am I expected to believe this?” He of all people should be aware that God can do these things. He has no excuse for his unbelief. His question is rhetorical, not genuine. Thus his question is not rewarded, and he is unable to respond to the angel or anyone else.

Mary’s Question: “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” is a legitimate question. She is not asking how is it possible for her to believe, but believing it, she asks how it will actually take place. She is receptive to new knowledge, and does not assume she knows it all. Thus her question is rewarded, and she is able to respond affirmatively to God’s will.

Discussion: It’s all in the Questions:

God actually does want us to ask questions, because this is the way we learn things. Matthew 7:7: “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” This is particularly true when it comes to the Truth about Jesus Christ, and why Christians put their faith in Him.

This class will be about asking the tough questions about Christian faith.

Is it possible to be a rational intelligent person and believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, risen from the dead?
Do you have to put aside your mind and accept the Creed on blind faith alone?
Is Christianity actually nothing more than an old superstition that scientists have disproved?
Do you have to believe the Bible literally? What does that actually mean?

Discuss with your group and write down now on an anonymous blank sheet of paper all the possible objections a person might have towards believing in Jesus Christ. These may be doubts or questions you yourself might have experienced or someone you know or have heard. Copy these into your journal for your own notes. Turn in the sheets/ report them out loud to the teacher.

The key to being a good Christian lies in being an honest Christian. If we are unable or unwilling to discuss the challenges to our faith than either we really don’t have any faith in Christ or the faith we have is rooted in the wrong reasons. To be a good Christian means more than doing what your parents taught you. It also means believing in the Lord for the right reasons and in the correct way.

Why do you think most people believe in God and go to Church?
What do you think it would take for most people to believe in Jesus Christ?
What would you say are the biggest obstacles for people believing in Jesus Christ today?

Recently, in Brookfield OH, a middle school student was assigned an essay about the most influential person in his life. When he asked the teacher if he could write on Jesus Christ, the teacher told him, in front of all the students, that he could not because “Jesus is not a real person.” Besides violating the boy’s civil rights and freedom of religion, the teacher’s words revealed a basic ignorance that now exists among Americans about the simple facts of Christianity. Indeed, if Jesus is not a real person, then neither is any other person in history, based on our historical evidence alone! Our hope is that through this class as well as all your camp experience, you will be able to defend your self and your faith against such basic ignorance and be able to teach others the basic facts of Christian faith.

Lee Strobel was once the legal editor for the Chicago tribune. He was a top court reporter in this country and involved in cracking some important cases, very much like the things we see on courtroom drama shows today like Law and Order. Later in life, after being a typical skeptic and unbeliever, he finally came to a faith in Jesus Christ. Being a detective-like reporter, however, he was not satisfied with faith on purely personal basis—because it made him feel good or better or so forth. He set out to apply what he had learned about reliable evidence in a court of law to the question of Christian faith. In effect, he put Christ on Trial to see if he could stand up to the claims that Christians make about Him. He collected the main objections people had and also considered the main types of evidence that are acceptable in a court of law. He interviewed experts in the field to give their professional opinions on the matter. He investigated the documents and the counter arguments. The product of this work was the best-selling book, The Case for Christ: A Journalist’s Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus. In this class we will also be putting Christ on trial and examining the evidence, drawing heavily on this book and others. In the end, each of you should be able to make a rational and informed decision about whether or not you will believe in Christ.

Questions, Questions!

Annunciation to Zacharias (Luke 1:5-25)

5There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.
6And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.
7But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well advanced in years.
8So it was, that while he was serving as priest before God in the order of his division,
9according to the custom of the priesthood, his lot fell to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord.
10And the whole multitude of the people was praying outside at the hour of incense.
11Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense.
12And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.
13But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.
14“And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth.
15“For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.
16“And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God.
17“He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
18And Zacharias said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years.”
19And the angel answered and said to him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and was sent to speak to you and bring you these glad tidings.
20“But behold, you will be mute and not able to speak until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words which will be fulfilled in their own time.”
21And the people waited for Zacharias, and marveled that he lingered so long in the temple.
22But when he came out, he could not speak to them; and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple, for he beckoned to them and remained speechless.
23And so it was, as soon as the days of his service were completed, that he departed to his own house.

Annunciation to the Virgin Mary (Luke 1:26-38)

26Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,
27to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.
28And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”
29But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was.
30Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31“And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS.
32“He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.
33“And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”
34Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”
35And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.
36“Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren.
37“For with God nothing will be impossible.”
38Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.