Apologetics – Creation

62 Pages·2015·5.33 MB·English

by  Fr. Shenouda Meleka

Company
St. Mary & St. Joseph Coptic Orthodox
LOGO
Church, Richmond Hill
Servants Meeting
(December 2014 January 2015)
–
Apologetics
– “Creation”
Today’s Culture
A shift in paradigm, values, world-
•
views and ways of life.

A post-Christian and pluralistic age.
•

Historians and sociologist call it the
•

age of "Postmodernism“

It is a world characterized by: rejection
•
of moral absolutes and religious
pluralism.
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Today’s Culture
- Children & Youth servants must have
realized that ATHEISM, for example,
is a major challenge our children &
youth face in society.

- There are many reasons for this:
- Educational system
- Science teachers
- Peers

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Apologetics
Greek root words:
•
APO = "from";
LOGOS
= “word, logic, reasoning”

Two Types of Apologetics
•
Defensive
–
Offensive
–
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Theology -
• الله (cid:993)(cid:992)ع
Anthropology -
• ن(cid:910)سنلاا (cid:993)(cid:992)ع
Christology -
• حيسملا (cid:993)(cid:992)ع
Soteirology -
• صلاخلا (cid:993)(cid:992)ع
Ecclesiology -
• (cid:916)سينكلا (cid:993)(cid:992)ع
Eschatology -
• (cid:917)(cid:910)يورخلآا (cid:993)(cid:992)ع
Angelogy -
• (cid:916)كئلاملا (cid:993)(cid:992)ع
Patrology -
• (cid:917)(cid:910)يئ(cid:910)بلأا (cid:993)(cid:992)ع

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Why Study Apologetics?
1- God's Command
2- Reason's Demand
3- The World at Hand
4- Strengthening our faith
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Why Study Apologetics?
(But sanctify the Lord God in your
hearts, and always be ready to give a
defense to everyone who asks you a
reason for the hope that is in you, with
meekness and fear) 1 Peter 3:15

،(cid:993)ك(cid:757) بو(cid:757)(cid:992)(cid:757)ق ي(cid:758)ف ه(cid:756) ل(cid:756) (cid:758)لإا (cid:911)َّ رَّ لا اوس(cid:757) دِّ ق(cid:756) لب(cid:756)
ْ (cid:758) ْ
(cid:756)
(cid:757) (cid:757) (cid:757) ً (cid:756)
نْ ع(cid:756) (cid:993)كلأسْ ي(cid:756) نْ م(cid:756) لك (cid:916)(cid:758) ب(cid:756) و(cid:756) (cid:910)ج(cid:756) م(cid:757) (cid:758)ل (cid:910)م(cid:758)ئاد(cid:756) ن(cid:756) يدِّ ع(cid:758) تسْ م(cid:757)
ْ ِّ
(cid:756) (cid:757) َّ
ف(cid:755) وْ خو(cid:756) (cid:916)(cid:755) ع(cid:756) اد(cid:756) و(cid:756) ب (cid:993)كي(cid:758)ف يذ(cid:758) لا ء(cid:758) (cid:910)ج(cid:756) رَّ لا (cid:911)(cid:758) ب(cid:756) س(cid:756)
(cid:758) ْ
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Christianity & Science
My Christianity is in NO such danger
•
from the results of science.

Christianity is not about HOW the
•
world works ! Sure, this glorious
cosmos bears witness to the wisdom
of its creator, but Christianity is about
the relationship between God and the
world He created, especially human
beings !

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Christianity & Science
St. Gregory of Nyssa
•

• “As for the question of precisely
‘how’ any single thing came into
existence, we must banish it
altogether from our discussion,
even in the case of things which
are quite within the grasp of our

understanding.”
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Blaise Pascal (1623 - 1662)
French Mathematician,
Physicist & Philosopher.

If God does not exist, one
“
will lose nothing by
believing in him, while if he
does exist, one will lose
everything by not believing
”

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