Christian Evidences

417 Pages·2008·1.96 MB·English

WEST VIRGINIA
SCHOOL OF PREACHING
VICTORY LECTURES

October 23 27, 2005
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Denver Cooper, Director
Louis Rushmore, Editor
Published By & Order From
West Virginia
School of Preaching
P.O. Box 785
Moundsville, WV 26041
[phone]
overseen by the elders of
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Louis Rushmore
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Dedication
Preacher to be Honored
In a day when some preachers are
leaving the pulpits, it is especially
delightful to honor a Gospel preacher
who has kept and preached “the faith”
for 61 years. Gene M. Carrell and
Henrietta, his faithful companion for
57 years, represent a loyal service and
sacrificial labor in the Kingdom of
God.
Gene labored fulltime with the Fishinger and Kenny church
of Christ in Columbus, OH for 27 years. He also served more
than 25 years as an elder in that good church.
At age 16, he was encouraged by the late brother R.C.
Oliver to become a preacher. R.C. was the preacher at
Bloomington, IN which was the home town of brother Carrell.
Gene began preaching for various congregations on August
27, 1944.
To Gene and Henrietta were born three daughters, Linda
Gartman (deceased), Louanne Shelton and Lori Alda. Seven
grandchildren and six great-grandchildren also bless the family.
Gene earned his BA degree from Abilene Christian
University and his MS from Butler University, School of
Religion.
Local works include Petersburg, Indianapolis and Terre
Haute in IN; Dearborn, MI and Columbus, OH.
He served 2 years in the Army, has done radio and
television work, directed Wabash Valley Christian Youth Camp
for 3 years, preached over 100 Gospel meetings in IN, OH, MI,
IL, KY, Virginia, WV, FL, OK, PA, TX, CO and Vancouver,
British Columbia. He has also given lectures at Harding
University, Michigan Christian College, Ohio Valley
College, Pepperdine University, Firm Foundation Lectures,
Great Lakes Christian College, Freed-Hardeman
University, East Tennessee School of Preaching and West
Virginia School of Preaching.
The church honored Gene and Henrietta by sending them on
a Bible Lands tour in 1972. They visited Palestine, Lebanon,
Cyprus, Greece, Istanbul and Rome.
Gene also served as instructor of Homiletics, Hermeneutics
and Counseling from 1971 to 1980 at Central Ohio School for
Preachers and Teachers.
The kind, loving and compassionate spirit, coupled with a
faithful stand for God’s Word, has been a great contribution to
the Lord’s work wherever they have labored.
It is with great joy that we dedicate this lectureship book to
them and pray that God may bless abundantly their golden years
in his service.
Denver E. Cooper

Elder to be Honored
Through the years, the church in Pennsboro has been
faithful to the Lord and active in his service. That may be
attributed largely to a loving and dedicated membership and a
godly eldership. The Pennsboro congregation is blessed with
four wonderful elders that are deeply committed to the cause of
Christ.
Steve Hayhurst has been an elder since December 1993.
Having come from a denominational background, Steve’s search
for the truth has led him to be a serious student of the Word of
God. That, combined with his life experiences has enabled him
to develop into a very effective shepherd of God’s people. He
and his faithful wife, Marilyn, are genuine servants in the
church.
Francis Sellers has been a lifelong member of the Lord’s
church and has been a tremendous example of faithfulness. For
the past twenty-two years, he has served as an elder. As such, he
has provided sound and solid leadership, the value of which,
perhaps only heaven knows. Fern, his wife of forty-four years,
has been a faithful companion. Together, they have been a
wonderful Christian team.
Pete Taylor is in his twelfth year of service as an overseer of
God’s flock. He comes from a strong Christian family and his
father also served as an elder in Pennsboro. Pete has never taken
lightly the grave responsibility of watching out for souls. He, and
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his good wife Debbie, have devoted their lives to the good of the
kingdom.
Lynn Wells was appointed to the eldership in 1983. Since
that time he has led by teaching and by example. He, and his
devoted wife Carol, continue to be a great blessing to the church.
Their loving labors are numerous and all who know them are
blessed.
West Virginia School of Preaching would like to take this
opportunity to pay tribute to these men for their years of service
in the kingdom, and for their sacrifice and generosity toward the
school. May God bless them with many more years of healthy
service to His glory.
Terry G. Jones

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Preface
The theme for the 2005, Tenth Annual Victory Lectures of
the West Virginia School of Preaching is “Christian Evidences.”
The lectureship committee is to be congratulated for choosing
this very vital and relevant theme. Those who discern the times
are seeing a great and rapid deterioration of Bible knowledge and
faith among men and women both in the church and in the
world. Perhaps especially true in this regard is confidence in the
Bible. Attacks on things sacred have been constant and
unrelenting. The constant bombardment of schools, institutions
of higher learning, teachers and professors, mass media, and so
forth have spread the destructive germs of evolutionary thought,
destructive criticism, modernism and skepticism. The result has
been devastating to much of the “Christian” world. The continent
of Europe has succumbed to anti-Christian philosophies; atheism
and agnosticism rule the day. America is usually not far behind.
All this has undermined the trust of men of women in God,
Christ and the Bible, and by implication, the faith of future
generations. This state of unbelief among so many is already
being felt by denominations and churches of Christ across
America. Church attendance and involvement have come to a
slow crawl in many areas; conversions are few; teaching
opportunities are scarce. This has resulted in the denominations
(and some of our brethren) seeking ways of being “more
progressive” and making worship services more “appealing to
the masses” to lure people back. Bible believers recognize that
this is not the answer! What are we to do, those who are striving
hard to be loyal and faithful to God?
This lectureship provides a step in the right directionwe
must restore the confidence of men and women in God, Christ
and the Bible! There must be a return among those who are
members of Christ’s Body, to “…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 Pet. 3:15 NKJV). We must be
able to aggressively teach again such subjects as, “Why I believe
in God and how I know he exists;” “Why I believe that Jesus
Christ is God’s only begotten Son, that He is my Savior and
Redeemer” and “Why I believe the Bible to be the inspired Word
of God, that it is credible, trustworthy, reliable and is able to give
me faith and hope in things eternal.” A study of Christian
evidences is greatly needed in our time to help us all to be
confident and sure in our own personal faith and then enable us
to pass this on to others by boldly teaching the Holy Scriptures.
The purpose of this lectureship is to present the objective
evidence (testimony) of the Scriptures and various other sources
to show the many lines of reasoning that establish God’s
existence, that he is the omniscient, omnipotent, omni-
benevolent, holy Being who is responsible for this universe and
all things therein. Material will be presented establishing Jesus of
Nazareth as God’s Sonvirgin born, sinless, the Master
Teacher, the perfect sacrifice for sin, resurrected, ascended and
ruling as King of kings and Lord of lords. Lectures will present
Evidences from Archaeology, the Bible’s Scientific Accuracy,
Answers to Evolution, Answers to Atheism and much more.
There will be studies from Bible texts by men who have taken
great pains to rightly divide the Word of Truth and presenting it
in a clear and understandable manner.
Much is to be gained by those who are in attendance and to
those who read the written, permanent record contained in the
WVSOP lectureship book this year. Our prayer is that all who
hear and read will be strengthened in their faith, increased in
hope, stirred to love the souls of men and zealously affected to
teach them the evidences of the Bible! To God be the Glory!
Emanuel B. Daugherty

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Table of Contents
FAITH AND KNOWLEDGE.................................................10
BY BRAD HARRUB
WHAT ARE CHRISTIAN EVIDENCES?...........................22
BY BRAD HARRUB
THE AGE OF THE EARTH..................................................37
BY BRAD HARRUB
TEXTUAL STUDY OF PSALM 19.......................................50
BY J. D. CONLEY
THE CAUSAL ARGUMENT PROVES GOD EXISTS.....64
BY EDWARD BENESH
THE FAILURE OF UNBELIEF............................................92
BY CHARLES C. PUGH III
THE RELIABILITY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT TEXTS
.................................................................................................120
BY JOHN M. BROWN
JESUS—THE INCOMPARABLE TEACHER..................131
BY BRUCE DAUGHERTY
GENESIS ACCOUNT OF CREATION..............................137
BY BRAD HARRUB
THE INDESTRUCTIBILITY OF THE BIBLE.................153
BY BRAD HARRUB
TEXTUAL STUDY OF ROMANS 1:18-25........................171
BY RICHARD KELLEY
THE MORAL ARGUMENT PROVES GOD EXISTS.....189
BY MICHAEL E. PHILLIPS
THE UNITY OF THE BIBLE..............................................195
BY DAN KESSINGER
ALLEGED CONTRADICTIONS.......................................210
BY CHARLES J. AEBI
DID JESUS RISE FROM THE DEAD?..............................221
BY W. TERRY VARNER
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ANSWERING EVOLUTION...............................................243
BY BRAD HARRUB
PLURALISM.........................................................................257
BY BRAD HARRUB
TEXTUAL STUDY OF ACTS 17:16-31.............................280
BY TERRY G. JONES
THE DESIGN ARGUMENT................................................285
BY JOHN F. BOARD
HOW TO PROVE THE BIBLE IS GOD’S WORD.........303
BY KRISS CECIL-CRIHFIELD
THE MIRACLES OF JESUS...............................................319
BY EDDIE COOPER
ARCHAEOLOGY CONFIRMS DEITY.............................324
BY LOUIS RUSHMORE
THE BIBLE’S SCIENTIFIC ACCURACY........................350
BY DAVID EVERSON
THE INEXHAUSTIBILITY OF GOD’S WORD..............358
BY DENVER E. COOPER
TEXTUAL STUDY OF 2 PETER 1:16-21..........................368
BY KEITH G. BALL
ANSWERING ATHEISM’S ARGUMENT........................377
BY GLENN E. HAWKINS
MESSIANIC PROPHECY PROVES DEITY....................382
BY D. GENE WEST
WILL JESUS FIND FAITH ON EARTH?.........................395
BY WASH MCCALL
THE VIRGIN BIRTH...........................................................396
BY EMANUEL DAUGHERTY
THE CHRISTOLOGICAL ARGUMENT PROVES GOD
EXISTS...................................................................................404
BY STEVE STEVENS
THE GREATNESS OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH..........410
BY FRANK HIGGINBOTHAM
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Faith and Knowledge
By Brad Harrub
Introduction
We all know one. You know, those young kids who can
rattle off questions at speeds that make most Indy drivers
jealous. “Why is the sky blue? Why is water wet? What is dirt
made of? Can worms smell? How do fax machines work?”
While we encourage our young children to imagine and pretend,
we often are rewarded with some very colorful, if not mind-
boggling questions. Most of these questions we either answer
quickly or simply, and then change the subject. Or, we use
alternative strategies like food or videos. But what happens when
our children begin asking us tough questions that have to do with
matters of faith? What happens when our children come home
from school and want to know how dinosaurs fit in with the
Bible? Or what do we tell them upon discovering that their
science class is studying evolution? Oftentimes, these important
questions are left unanswered as our children are instructed to
quickly “wash up and get ready for dinner.” Unfortunately, today
many parents find themselves reacting to questions and topics,
rather than planning ahead. As Christian parents, we need to be
proactive rather than reactive. We need to be on the front line,
teaching our children the truth about the world around us as they
grow, because if we don’t, there is someone out there more than
willing to teach them another version.
Possessing a belief in God is not enough. Our children
(and grandchildren!), need to know how to defend that belief.
The truth is, one day in the not-so-distant future, our children
will find their faith being challenged. Their ability to handle that
situation will greatly affect whether they live a life loyal to God
or whether they abandon him and his teachings. There are
literally thousands of evolutionists currently living who once
espoused a belief in Christianity. Today they are apostates,
placing more faith in science than the Word of God.
Picture for a moment the heartbreaking scene of two parents
sending their young teenage son off to fight in a war. As tears
roll down their faces, they cling to their son, wishing their hugs
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