AnnouncementPlease Xerox the new readings (Third floor

of the library)Our next Long Test (Oral Exam): March 7 till

11No Lecture on January 27

Use the 1 hr and 20 minutes to do a group work and to plan for the project.Assignment: (Submission Feb. 1)

Read William Lane Craig, On Guard: Defending your Faith with Reason and Precision (Colorado Springs: David Cook, 2010) pp. 183-193

Answer this question and submit a at least a on page written report: Why can we say the Gospels give a historically accurate picture of Jesus? What are you disagreements with the article?(Group report)

New ReadingsYes or No? Straight Answers to Tough Questions

about Christianity, by Peter Kreeft The Bible: Fact or Myth? pp 67-78Who is Jesus?, Dialog Six, pp 43-50The Resurrection, Dialog Seven, pp 51-56

Donald Senior, Jesus: A Gospel Potrait (Makati:St. Pauls, 1992) pp. 1-45Knowing Jesus, by Donald Senior pp 7-25

Aric C. Dy ed., Within New Eyes: The World as seen by the Preachers of the Word (Quezon City: Jesuit Communication Foundation, 2001) pp. 63-71

William Lane Craig, On Guard: Defending your Faith with Reason and Precision (Colorado Springs: David Cook, 2010) pp. 183-216

Plan for the next few monthsPlan for the next group consultationsPlan for the Group reports (Feb. 22, 24, Mar.

1, 3,15, 17)Report on an inspiring storyReport on a human experience using a story

in the Gospels /Comparison on human story and a story in the Gospels (i.e. TV series, Movie, A true story)

Passing on the Faith: Scripture and Tradition

Important Perspective

Questions?Truth

New outline for the next two weeks Passing on the Faith: Scripture and Tradition

Knowing Jesus Christ The Main Message: His life, death and resurrection

The main message in Scriptures The Centrality of the Resurrection

The Extraordinary Success of Christianity The Source of Our Stories: The Gospels   Three Stages of Gospel Development

Jesus and his Disciples Disciples and their Community Evangelist (Gospel Writers) and their Community

What are the Gospels? Not Biographies—Faith Testimonies From Faith To Faith A Privileged Source

First Source Normative—Standard

Why do we trust these four Gospels and not the other gospels?: Are the Gospels reliable even if they have internal inconsistencies? Passing on the Faith: Are the Gospels reliable even if they were written two

thousand years ago?

Knowing Jesus

Knowing Jesus?

Knowing Jesus

The main message: His life, death and resurrectionThe main message in

ScripturesOld Testament

Gen. 3:14-15Isa 53:4-6

GospelsMat 16:13-17Mk. 1:14-15Luk 11:18-20Joh 14:1-14

The main message in ScripturesThe LORD God said to the serpent,

"Because you have done this, cursed are you above all cattle, and above all wild animals; upon your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel."

(Gen 3:14-15)

The main message in ScripturesSurely he has borne our griefs and

carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

(Isa 53:4-6)

The main message in ScripturesNow when Jesus came into the district of

Caesare'a Philip'pi, he asked his disciples, "Who do men say that the Son of man is?" And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, others say Eli'jah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.

(Mat 16:13-17)

The main message in ScripturesNow after John was arrested, Jesus came

into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel."

(Mar 1:14-15)

The main message in ScripturesAnd if Satan also is divided against himself,

how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul. And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

(Luk 11:18-20)

The main message in ScripturesJesus said to him, "I am the way, and the

truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me.

(Joh 14:6)

Break

(Digression) Knowing Jesus : An invitation to an experiment!!!

Pray!

The main message: His life, death and resurrectionThe Centrality of

the Resurrection

The Centrality of the Resurrection In a profound

sense, Christianity without the resurrection is not Christianity without its final chapter. It is not Christianity at all. (Gerard O’Collins)

The Centrality of the Resurrection 1Co 15:12-15(12) Now if Christ is preached as raised from

the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?

(13) But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised;

(14) if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.

(15) We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified of God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised.

The Centrality of the Resurrection

The Centrality of the Resurrection (satirical speech if the disciples lied

about the resurrection) “ Let us band together.” the speaker proclaims, “ to invent all the miracles and resurrection appearances which we never saw and let us carry the sham even to death! Why not die for nothing? Why dislike torture and whipping inflicted for no good reason? Let us go out to all the nations and overthrow their institutions and denounce their gods.” (Eusebius of Caesarea, quoted in Knowing the Truth about the Resurrection by William Craig)

Christianity : They Believed in Jesus Christ

They were Fools for dying for it!

Their Claims were False Their claims were True

They knew his claims were False

They made a deliberate Misrepresentation

They were liars

They were hypocrites

They were on the side of the Devil

They did not know Jesus’ claims were

False

They were sincerely Deluded

They were lunatics

Christianity is True

Accept Reject

Myth ('made up')

The Extraordinary Success of ChristianityHere is one of the most surprising

development in history. As we have suggested, from one whose public career was no more than three years, who wrote no book, …who seemingly gave little thought to a continuing organization, and who died in apparent frustration emerged a religion..

The Extraordinary Success of Christianity…that captured one of the major centers of

civilization, developed an organization whose main features have been perpetuated into the twentieth century, ..gave definitions to its basic convictions which continues to be normative, and have modified substantially the culture which was its environment.( Kenneth Latourette, Christianity Through the Ages)

The Extraordinary Success of Christianity

How do we verify that religion and all this about Christianity isn't a fictional work made by some random person in the past?

The Source of Our Stories: The Gospels

Story

The Source of the Story (the

bible)

Plan for the next few monthsPlan for the next group consultationsPlan for the Group reports (Feb. 22, 24, Mar.

1, 3,15, 17)Report on an inspiring storyReport on a human experience using a story

in the Gospels /Comparison on human story and a story in the Gospels (i.e. TV series, Movie, A true story)

The End