Apologetics Talk (Part 1) The Dead Sea Scrolls
Here is a proposed script for Apologetics Talk, a series of video teachings I hope to produce one of these days.
I started the Apologetics Talk Vlog to answer some of the many comments I’ve been getting on The Real Jesus videos.
In the past, my videos have been seen mainly by Christians. But now with YouTube I am excited that I’ve had tens of thousands of viewers, many of who are skeptics and non-believers. I wanted you to know that your comments have challenged me to go deeper and examine my own beliefs.
This is where I want to give back some reactions to the comments.
First, let’s talk about the Dead Sea Scrolls.
This was the archaeological find of the 20th century, not only did it tell us some important facts about the ancient Judaism, but it also proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Hebrew scriptures we have today are exactly the same as the scriptures in the centuries before Jesus Christ and the Apostles.
Now some people still don’t get this. For instance:
sirvega280 wrote:The Dead sea scrolls don’t prove anything that Peter Jennings “failed” to mention. The Jewish authorities that possess the Dead Sea Scrolls will not give the academic world access to the Dead Sea Scrolls so that they can analyze it themselves. The Jewish authorities will only tell us what it supposedly reads, and we are supposed to take their word for it, I guess. Or could it be that the Judeo-Christian community does not want us to find out anything that would undermine this religion?
I don’t know where he got this information, but it is wrong.
Photos of the Dead Sea Scrolls have been available to everyone for study for about ten years on the Internet. These are now public documents.
The Dead Scrolls prove that the Bible hasn’t changed in over 2000 years. The Hebrew scrolls of the Old Testament written before the time Christ are virtually identical to the Bible we have today.
Now for years, I’ve been writing in my articles in The Forerunner that the Dead Sea Scrolls prove the reliability and the unchanging quality and the unchanging quality of the Bible. But after getting Sirvega’s comment, I wanted to know for myself.
So I ordered this book, The Dead Sea Scrolls Bible – Translated from Hebrew for the First Time into Modern English. What I found was amazing. Not only did it conform everything I’ve been writing and teaching about on the Dead Sea Scrolls, but it also boosted my faith in the integrity of scripture. It showed me that today’s biblical text is even more accurate than I thought it was.
Consider this. The last of the Old Testament books – Ezra, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi – were written around 400 B.C. so we have copies within about 250 years of the originals. That’s pretty amazing. Besides the Bible, there is no other ancient writing that has surviving manuscript copies within 900 years of the originals.
900 years!
And yet historians accept many of these other ancient accounts of history as accurate. The very existence of the Dead Sea Scrolls is providential – a sign that the scriptures are the Word of God – post dating some of the originals by only 200 years.
So the next time you hear someone say: “The Bible we have today has been changed and altered and we don’t even know what the originals said.”
Tell them to check out this book on The Dead Sea Scrolls and see for themselves what’s true.
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Your comments are welcome!
The Silent Scream (DVD) Eight Languages
“When the lives of the unborn are snuffed out, they often feel pain, pain that is long and agonizing.” – President Ronald Reagan to National Religious Broadcasters Convention, January 1981
Ronald Reagan became convinced of this as a result of watching The Silent Scream – a movie he considered so powerful and convicting that he screened it at the White House. More recently, it was by catching just a glimpse of what this film reveals that Planned Parenthood director and abortion advocate Abby Johnson turned and became a strong advocate for the pre-born.
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Abortion Clinic 911 Calls (DVD)
Exposes the Dangers of Abortion to Women!
These shocking eyewitness accounts expose the dangers of abortion not only to unborn children, but to the health and lives women as well. An antidote to the smokescreens of the liberal media, these six short clips show what really happens in and around abortion clinics.
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Watch these pro-life videos on-line.
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“I was going to have an abortion until I saw your video. Praise Jesus!”
— M. Drew, YouTube Commenter
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God's Law and Society (DVD)
Download the Free Study Guide!
God’s Law and Society powerfully presents a comprehensive worldview based upon the ethical system found in the Law of God.
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Sixteen Christian leaders and scholars answer some of the most common questions and misconceptions related to this volatile issue:
1. Are we under Law or under Grace?
2. Does the Old Testament Law apply today?
3. Can we legislate morality?
4. What are the biblical foundations of government?
5. Was America founded as a Christian nation?
6. What about the separation of Church and State?
7. Is neutrality a myth?
8. What about non-Christians and the Law of God?
9. Would there be “freedom” in a Christian republic?
10. What would a “Christian America” look like?
Perfect for group instruction as well as personal Bible study.
Ten parts, over four hours of instruction!
Running Time: 240 minutes
Watch over 60 on-line video interviews from God’s Law and Society.
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Dr. Francis Schaeffer - How Should We Then Live? (DVD)
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After 40 years of intense study and world-wide ministry, Dr. Francis Schaeffer completed his crowning work of scholarship – to present profound truths in simple film language. Dr. Schaeffer’s brilliant analysis of the past and predictions for current trends have proven so uncannily accurate that this amazing series still feels contemporary almost three decades after its initial release. Ultimately, Schaeffer concludes that man’s only hope is a return to God’s Biblical absolute, the truth revealed in Christ through the Scriptures.
Available for the first time on DVD, this documentary spectacular also includes intimate in-depth conversations with Francis and Edith Schaeffer. With the on-disc study guide, this presentation forms a unique course of comprehensive study. While this series forms an innovative analysis of the past, this outstanding work is more than history. Each episode focuses on a significant era, yet speaks clearly to 21st-century man with answers for modern problems.
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Go Stand Speak (DVD)
With “preaching to the lost” being such a basic foundation of Christianity, why do many in the church seem to be apathetic on this issue of preaching in highways and byways of towns and cities?
Is it biblical to stand in the public places of the world and proclaim the gospel, regardless if people want to hear it or not?
Does the Bible really call church pastors, leaders and evangelists to proclaim the gospel in the public square as part of obedience to the Great Commission, or is public preaching something that is outdated and not applicable for our day and age?
These any many other questions are answered in this documentary.
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