Evidential apologetics or evidentialism is an approach to
Christian apologetics
Christian apologetics (, "verbal defense, speech in defense") is a branch of Christian theology that defends Christianity.
Christian apologetics have taken many forms over the centuries, starting with Paul the Apostle in the early church and Pa ...
emphasizing the use of
evidence
Evidence for a proposition is what supports the proposition. It is usually understood as an indication that the proposition is truth, true. The exact definition and role of evidence vary across different fields. In epistemology, evidence is what J ...
to demonstrate that God exists. The evidence is supposed to be evidence both the believer and nonbeliever share, that is to say one need not presuppose
God's existence
The existence of God is a subject of debate in the philosophy of religion and theology. A wide variety of arguments for and against the existence of God (with the same or similar arguments also generally being used when talking about the exis ...
. Evidential apologetics is not necessarily evidentialism, however many associate them as the same. Evidential apologetics method looks at the
New Testament
The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...
's historical documents first, then upon to
Jesus' miracles in particular the
resurrection
Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions involving the same person or deity returning to another body. The disappearance of a body is anothe ...
which evidentialists believe points to
Jesus Christ
Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...
as the
Son of God
Historically, many rulers have assumed titles such as the son of God, the son of a god or the son of heaven.
The term "Son of God" is used in the Hebrew Bible as another way to refer to humans who have a special relationship with God. In Exo ...
. Some of the top supporters of this method include
Gary Habermas,
John Warwick Montgomery
John Warwick Montgomery (October 18, 1931 – September 25, 2024) was an American-born lawyer, academic, Lutheran theologian, and author. From 2014 to 2017, he was Distinguished Research Professor of Philosophy at Concordia University, Wisconsin ...
,
Clark Pinnock, and
Wolfhart Pannenberg
Wolfhart Pannenberg (2 October 1928 – 4 September 2014) was a German Lutheran theologian. He made a number of significant contributions to modern theology, including his concept of history as a form of revelation centered on the resurre ...
.
See also
*
Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry
*
Evidentialism
Evidentialism is a thesis in epistemology which states that one is justified to believe something if and only if that person has evidence which supports said belief. Evidentialism is, therefore, a thesis about which beliefs are justified and whic ...
*
Presuppositional apologetics
Presuppositional apologetics, shortened to presuppositionalism, is an Epistemology, epistemological school of Christian apologetics that examines the presuppositions on which worldviews are based, and invites comparison and contrast between the res ...
References
External links
* .
* http://coldcasechristianity.com/category/writings/evidence-writings/
Christian apologetics
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