Belief in Christianity comes from preaching the gospel and the supernatural
power of the Holy Spirit in the human heart to convince the human person
that Christianity is the truth, and NOT from our belief in evidences or dependence
on the scientific method to prove to us that Christianity is the truth.
"The Holy Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children."
Romans 8:16
How do we know that we are God's children? Answer: The Holy Spirit tells us that we are.
__________________________________
"For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation
to everyone who believes" Romans 1:16
What is the power of God for salvation? Answer: the gospel
___________________________________
"I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God
so that you may know that you have eternal life."
1 John 5:13
How do we know we have eternal life? Answer: Because of the contents
of the epistle of 1 john . . .
. . . and NOT because we read a work on Christian Apologetics (though
it can be an interesting blessing to read works like that eg. William Lane
Craig's Reasonable Faith which is a major work on Christian Apologetics.)
William Lane Craig, quoting Henry Dodwell, says this:
"Dodwell argues that matters of religious faith lie outside the determination of reason.
God could not possibly have intended that reason should be the faculty to lead us to
faith, for faith cannot hang indefinitely in suspense while reason cautiously weighs
and reweighs arguments. The Scriptures teach, on the contrary, that the way to
God is by means of the heart, not by means of the intellect. Faith is the gift of the
Holy Spirit." __William Lane Craig, Reasonable Faith, page 35
Then Craig says a few pages later, "I think that Dodwell . . . [is] correct that, fundamentally,
the way we know Christianity is true is by the self-authenticating witness of God's Holy
Spirit. Now what do I mean by that? I mean that the experience of the Holy Spirit is
veridical [truthful] and unmistakable . . . for him who has it; that such a person does
not need supplementary arguments or evidence in order to know with confidence that
he is in fact experiencing the Spirit of God . . ."__William Lane Craig, Reasonable Faith,
page 43
So clearly William Lane Craig, one of America's most popular and influential Christian
Apologist, agrees with Henry Dodwell. Then earlier on page 39, Craig says that he agrees
with Plantinga that belief in God is "both rational and warranted wholly apart from an
evidental foundations for belief."
Says William Lane Craig:
"Alvin Plantinga has launched a sustained attack on theological rationalism.
Plantinga maintains that belief in God and in the central doctrines of
Christianity is both rational and warranted wholly apart from any evidential
foundations for belief."__William Lane Craig, Reasonable Faith, page 39
power of the Holy Spirit in the human heart to convince the human person
that Christianity is the truth, and NOT from our belief in evidences or dependence
on the scientific method to prove to us that Christianity is the truth.
"The Holy Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children."
Romans 8:16
How do we know that we are God's children? Answer: The Holy Spirit tells us that we are.
__________________________________
"For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation
to everyone who believes" Romans 1:16
What is the power of God for salvation? Answer: the gospel
___________________________________
"I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God
so that you may know that you have eternal life."
1 John 5:13
How do we know we have eternal life? Answer: Because of the contents
of the epistle of 1 john . . .
. . . and NOT because we read a work on Christian Apologetics (though
it can be an interesting blessing to read works like that eg. William Lane
Craig's Reasonable Faith which is a major work on Christian Apologetics.)
William Lane Craig, quoting Henry Dodwell, says this:
"Dodwell argues that matters of religious faith lie outside the determination of reason.
God could not possibly have intended that reason should be the faculty to lead us to
faith, for faith cannot hang indefinitely in suspense while reason cautiously weighs
and reweighs arguments. The Scriptures teach, on the contrary, that the way to
God is by means of the heart, not by means of the intellect. Faith is the gift of the
Holy Spirit." __William Lane Craig, Reasonable Faith, page 35
Then Craig says a few pages later, "I think that Dodwell . . . [is] correct that, fundamentally,
the way we know Christianity is true is by the self-authenticating witness of God's Holy
Spirit. Now what do I mean by that? I mean that the experience of the Holy Spirit is
veridical [truthful] and unmistakable . . . for him who has it; that such a person does
not need supplementary arguments or evidence in order to know with confidence that
he is in fact experiencing the Spirit of God . . ."__William Lane Craig, Reasonable Faith,
page 43
So clearly William Lane Craig, one of America's most popular and influential Christian
Apologist, agrees with Henry Dodwell. Then earlier on page 39, Craig says that he agrees
with Plantinga that belief in God is "both rational and warranted wholly apart from an
evidental foundations for belief."
Says William Lane Craig:
"Alvin Plantinga has launched a sustained attack on theological rationalism.
Plantinga maintains that belief in God and in the central doctrines of
Christianity is both rational and warranted wholly apart from any evidential
foundations for belief."__William Lane Craig, Reasonable Faith, page 39