All posts by BastionAdmin

Evidence of an Early New Testament Canon

Evidence of an Early New Testament Canon
by Norman Geisler and Shawn Nelson
2015

This is a 64-page book is available as a Kindle e-book at Amazon here:


Description:
Very few laypeople know the story of how the church received the New Testament Scriptures. Christians looking into this important topic for the first time are quickly confronted with alarming claims from critical scholars. Some offer accusations that most New Testament books were written late, forged under the apostle’s names, went through many revisions and were then thrust upon the church through a questionable process four centuries after Christ. This view is not consistent with the church’s long-held belief in inspiration, infallibility and inerrancy.
In contrast this short, easy-to-read book attempts to show that an early New Testament canon is consistent with a high view of Scripture. Evidence is given showing that the formation of the canon would have been a perfectly natural occurrence in the early church. This evidence is based on the fact that Jesus taught the coming of further revelation after his ascension through the apostles he commissioned. These apostles were confirmed through miracles, were aware of their God-given authority, and imposed their writings on the church. These writings were then received by men of God who recognized their divine origin (inspiration). There is finally an overview of events leading up to the formal ratification of the canon in the fourth century.
It is hoped that laypeople will recognize that the central core of the New Testament was already well established after the books were written. And by this, Christians can be all the more confident that the New Testament Scriptures before them today is inspired, infallible and without error.

Contents
Introduction. 4
Definition of Canon. 5
Setting The Stage. 7
Jesus Promised New Revelation. 14
Role of Apostolic Authority. 17
These Apostles Were The Source Of The Writings. 21
The Apostles Imposed Their Authoritative Writings Upon The Church. 29
The Church Received These Writings As Inspired Scripture 34
Towards Final Recognition Of A Closed Canon. 46
Conclusion. 57
Table 1. The New Testament Canon During The First Four Centuries.59
Table 2. Early Citations of the New Testament by The Church Fathers.60
Table 3. Canon Comparison Chart.61

12 Points That Show Christianity is True (in Spanish)

Doce Puntos que Muestran la Veracidad del Cristianismo: Un Manual sobre la Defensa de la Fe Cristiana is the Spanish translation of Twelve Points that Show Christianity is True. It is available as a softcover printed book and as a kindle book only through Amazon.com at this time.

We hope to get it into the MercadoLibre.com distribution system soon, but we’re not sure how to do it and we’re not sure when that might happen.  

12 Points that Show Christianity is True (English)

Available as a printed softcover book and as a kindle e-book at Amazon.

Twelve Points that Show Christianity is True: A Handbook for Defending the Christian Faith

2012

by Dr. Norman L. Geisler

This 200 page apologetics eBook a systematic, methodical, step-by-step defense of the Christian Faith in 12 chapters:

  • Chapter 1: Truth About Reality Is Knowable 9
  • Chapter 2:  Opposites Cannot Both be True 13
  • Chapter 3: The Theistic God Exists 21
  • Chapter 4: Miracles are Possible 47
  • Chapter 5: Miracles Can Be Used to Confirm a Message from God 63
  • Chapter 6: The New Testament Documents are Historically Reliable 73
  • Chapter 7:  In The New Testament Documents Jesus Claimed to be God 116
  • Chapter 8: Jesus’ Claim to be God was Confirmed by a Unique Set of Miracles 128
  • Chapter 9: Jesus was Supernaturally Confirmed to be God in Human Flesh 153
  • Chapter 10: Whatever Jesus affirmed IS True, Is True 182
  • Chapter 11: Jesus Affirmed the Bible is the Word of God 190
  • Chapter 12: The Bible is the Word of God and Anything Opposed to It is False 200

This book was the culmination of over sixty years of Norm’s work in the field of classical Christian apologetics.

Additional books, videos, and instructor-led courses on Norm Geisler’s 12-point apologetics system may be available at NGIM.org. Norm’s Twelve Points book was originally published through Bastion Books in 2013 but then in 2017 or so, Norm transferred the rights to NGIM to republish it and use it as one of their official books to train budding apologists and evangelists around the world.

This book was translated into Spanish in 2018. More information about it may be found here.

This book was translated into Arabic in 2019 and may be downloaded freely from here.


Cómo Conocer a Dios (Free! Por nada!)

Cómo Conocer a Dios
(Spanish translation of How to Know God)

Click here to download as a free PDF file. 

This is essentially an evangelistic tract. But it spans pre-evangelism, evangelism, and touches on discipleship. It begins by using classical apologetics to help the reader what we should know about God. It then proceeds to use scripture to help the reader know more about God. It then explains how to begin a personal relationship with God. Finally it recommends a few first steps for those who have recently begun to know God and want to know him better.

This is a 19-page booklet in PDF file format.

It is NOT available as a printed booklet at this time.

This is written in Spanish. It is also available in English here.

In Defense of the Resurrection

In Defense of the Resurrection, Third Edition

by Norman L. Geisler
2015

This book is available as a softcover at Amazon:

In this book, Dr. Geisler fought battles for the orthodox doctrine of the resurrection and corrected the unorthodox views of other evangelical seminary professors. The book that started the controversy was Murray Harris’s book Raised Immortal (1985). Norman Geisler wrote The Battle for the Resurrection (1989) in response to Harris’ book. Harris responded with another book From Grave to Glory (1990). In 1993, Geisler published In Defense of the Resurrection as a response to Harris.

The first edition of this book was published by Quest Publications in 1991. The second edition was revised and republished in 1993 by Witness Inc (Clayton, CA) is available as a digitized book at Logos.com. This third edition is being published as an e-book by Bastion Books in 2015 with slight revisions in the way the citations are made and a new epilogue added by Dr. Geisler in 2015.

Contents
Abbreviations Used. 6
Foreword. 7
Introduction. 12
1 | Behind Closed Doors 14
2 | The Heart of the Issue. 27
3 | From the Horse’s Mouth. 38
4 | A Word of Praise. 44
5 | Trivial Pursuit 57
6 | Come Let Us Reason. 65
7 | Don’t Read the Labels 78
8 | What Saith the Scriptures?. 88
9 | None Dare Call it Heresy. 99
Epilogue. 110
Appendix 1 | Letter of Resignation. 116
Appendix 2 | A Book Review of Battle for the Resurrection. 119
Appendix 3 | Misrepresentations of Other Major Scholars 124
Appendix 4 | Erickson’s Erroneous Views on the Resurrection. 132
Appendix 5 | On Press Release of Trinity’s Troika. 135

The Jesus Quest (Free!)

The Jesus Quest: The Danger from Within
2014

This book is available for download as a *free* PDF file courtesy of Drs. Farnell and Geisler here. (<< Click to download!)

This book is available as a printed softcover book and as a kindle e-book on Amazon:

This work examines the historical and philosophical strengths and/or weaknesses of current evangelical approaches espousing some forms of post-modernistic historiography and its resultant search for the “historical Jesus.” It demonstrates the marked undermining impact these efforts have had on the biblical text, especially the Gospels, as well inerrancy issues. It compares the Jesus Seminar’s approach with current evangelical practices of searching in terms of their evidential apologetic impact on the trustworthiness of the Gospels. A number of well-known, contemporary evangelical scholars are involved in the so-called “Third Quest” for the historical Jesus. This book raises serious questions about such an endeavor.

CONTRIBUTORS:

Norman L. Geisler, Ph.D., Chancellor, Veritas Evangelical Seminary; Distinguished Professor of Apologetics and Theology

F. David Farnell, Ph.D., Senior Professor of New Testament, The Master’s Seminary

Richard G. Howe, Ph.D., Professor of Philosophy and Apologetics, Southern Evangelical Seminary

Thomas A. Howe, Ph.D., Professor of Bible and Biblical Languages, Southern Evangelical Seminary

William E. Nix, Ph.D., Professor of Historical and Theological Studies, Veritas Evangelical Seminary

William C. Roach, Ph.D., Co-Author of Defending Inerrancy

Dennis M. Swanson, D.Min., Vice President for Library and Educational Assessment

Norman L. Geisler is a world-renown Christian apologist who has written over 80 books. He is Chancellor of Veritas Evangelical Seminary in Murrieta, California. Dr. Geisler was a key founder of the historic International Council on Biblical Inerrancy (1978) as well as the International Council on Biblical Hermeneutics (1982).

F. David Farnell is Senior Professor of New Testament at The Master’s Seminary. He was co-editor of The Jesus Crisis (1998) as well as contributor to other books (e.g. Three Views on Origins of the Synoptic Gospels, 2002). He specializes in the impact of historical-critical philosophical ideologies in New Testament Criticism and Interpretation.

What in Cremation is Going On?

What in Cremation is Going on? A Christian Guide to Post Mortem Decisions
Norman L. Geisler and Douglas E. Potter
2014

This book is available at Amazon here:  


Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION 5
CHAPTER 1: WHAT IN CREMATION IS GOING ON? 7
CHAPTER 2: THE ORIGIN AND PRACTICE OF CREMATION 15
CHAPTER 3: THE HISTORIC JUDEO–CHRISTIAN VIEW ON CREMATION 27
CHAPTER 4: THE REASONS FOR CREMATION EXAMINED 39
CHAPTER 5: IS CREMATION A PROPER PRACTICE? 63
CHAPTER 6: WHAT ABOUT EMBALMING? 73
CHAPTER 7: WHAT ABOUT ORGAN DONATION? 82
CHAPTER 8: WHAT IS CYRONIC SUSPENSION? 87
CHAPTER 9: CANNIBALISM: ARE YOU SERIOUS? 93
CHAPTER 10: ANSWERS TO COMMON QUESTIONS 98
APPENDIX 1: CREMATION STATISTICS IN THE UNITED STATES 108
APPENDIX 2: VARIOUS RELIGIONS ON CREMATION 112
ANNOTATED SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY 115
BIBLIOGRAPHY 117
GLOSSARY 128

The Book of Romans in Logical Form

THE BOOK OF ROMANS IN LOGICAL FORM

By Shawn Nelson

2014

This book is available at Amazon here: 

From the Foreword by Dr. Norman Geisler

In studying the Bible, it is possible to get lost in the forest for the trees. Hence, Bible survey is necessary so that one can see the total biblical context of what is being studied and not get lost somewhere on a leaf on a twig on a branch of some isolated tree.

Likewise, in doing a detailed study of a text it is possible to lose the overall logical flow of the text. One way to counter this tendency is to outline the logic of the passage. No book in the Bible is more suited for doing this than the Book of Romans. It has been long held that the logic of the book of Romans is tight. However, few have attempted to successfully untie the knot. This book is an admirable attempt to overcome that difficulty. One reason for this is the lack of logical skills on the part of many exegetes. Another is the lack of exegetical skills on the part of logicians. Shawn Nelson has combined skills in both areas to produce a valuable tool for students of God’s Word.

Another axiom of interpretation is the failure to understand a text in its context. Here again, the inability to see the logical flow of the text comes into play. Few interpreters have taken the time and/or have the talent to outline the logical form of the passage. But without this, one can easily get lost in a sea of words. The end result of this is, at best, a word study of the text, not a correct interpretation of it. Again, the only cure for this is to have the ability and to take the time to outline the passage in its logical form.

This small but valuable book lays out the logic of the entire book of Romans in a way that is indispensable to properly understand one of the most important books in the Bible. It is truly unique. I highly commend it to all readers of Romans.

Contents

Foreword. 6
Understanding This Book. 7
Categorical Syllogisms. 7
Sorites. 9
Hypothetical Syllogisms. 11
Disjunctive Syllogisms. 12
Dilemmas. 13
Part 1– Simplified Version
Romans 1. 15
Romans 2. 22
Romans 3. 26
Romans 4. 32
Romans 5. 36
Romans 6. 41
Romans 7. 46
Romans 8. 50
Romans 9. 58
Romans 10. 64
Romans 11. 68
Romans 12. 74
Romans 13. 77
Romans 14. 79
Romans 15. 83
Romans 16. 88
Part 2 – Advanced Version (With Symbols and Validation)
Romans 1 (Advanced)93
Romans 2 (Advanced)100
Romans 3 (Advanced)105
Romans 4 (Advanced)112
Romans 5 (Advanced)116
Romans 6 (Advanced)121
Romans 7 (Advanced)126
Romans 8 (Advanced)131
Romans 9 (Advanced)139
Romans 10 (Advanced)145
Romans 11 (Advanced)150
Romans 12 (Advanced)156
Romans 13 (Advanced)159
Romans 14 (Advanced)161
Romans 15 (Advanced)165
Romans 16 (Advanced)171

The Battle for the Resurrection

The Battle for the Resurrection, Revised, Third Edition
by Dr. Norman Geisler
2013

This book is available as a softcover book here: 

This 242 page book is a slight revision of the book originally published in 1992. The second edition of this book is available in softcover printed edition at https://wipfandstock.com/the-battle-for-the-resurrection.html and in the Logos electronic-book format at https://www.logos.com/product/9148/the-battle-for-resurrection.

Overview
First it was the battle for the Bible; now it is the battle for the resurrection. First the question was whether we can trust what the Bible says about itself; now the question is whether we can trust what the Bible says about the resurrection. First it was whether inspiration covered only spiritual matters but not historical and scientific statements. Now it is whether the resurrection body is only spiritual or whether it is material, and historically and empirically observable. Geisler’s powerful book on the resurrection defends and explains this central doctrine in light of recent debate, controversy, and skepticism.
Dr. Geisler fought battles for the orthodox doctrine of the resurrection and corrected the unorthodox views of other evangelical seminary professors. The book that started the controversy was Murray Harris’ Raised Immortal (1985). Norman Geisler wrote The Battle for the Resurrection (1989) in response to Harris’ book. Harris responded with another book From Grave to Glory (1990). In 1993, Geisler published In Defense of the Resurrection as a response to Harris.

Praise for the Print Edition

Since the belief in a purely spiritual resurrection of Christ is prevalent in many cults, those involved in countering the rise and growth of cults would benefit greatly from reading this book.
—Walter Martin, author of The Kingdom of the Cults

Dr. Geisler’s book is effectively designed as [an] antidote to the misery of turning Christ’s factual resurrection into an event outside the bounds of ordinary history.
—Dr. John Warwick Montgomery, author of History and Christianity

Geisler demonstrates not only the danger in the theology of various cults but also the tendency to discount the bodily resurrection of the Lord, even among evangelicals. It is essential reading for every pastor and student.
—Dr. Paige Patterson, author of Song of Solomon

The proclamation that Jesus was raised in the same physical body in which he died is just as important today as it was in the first century. The book signals such a call to the importance of this doctrine.
—Dr. Gary Habermas, Distinguished Professor of Apologetics and Philosophy, Liberty University

===CONTENTS===
Dedication 4
Foreword by Dr. Robert D. Culver 6
Introduction 12
1 | The Battle for the Resurrection 14
2 | It Makes a Difference 22
3 | The Bible on the Resurrection 30
4 | I Believe in the Resurrection of the Flesh 40
5 | Denials of the Physical Resurrection 54
6 | Denials of the Physical Resurrection in the Church 73
7 | Physical Resurrection vs. Immaterial Resurrection 94
8 | Evidence for the Physical Resurrection 113
9 | Lessons to be Learned 125
10 | Drawing the Line 140
11 | A Response to Murray Harris 154
APPENDIX A | Does the Resurrection Body Have the Same articles? 180
APPENDIX B | Resurrection Appearances Were Not Theophanies 182
APPENDIX C | Christ’s Deity and Humanity Before and After the Resurrection 185
APPENDIX D | Physical Continuity of Christ Human Body Before and After the Resurrection 186
APPENDIX E | The Old Testament Jewish View of Resurrection 190
APPENDIX F | When Do Believers Receive Their Resurrection Bodies? 193
APPENDIX G | Was Jesus’ Resurrected Body Essentially MATERIAL? 197
APPENDIX H | A Survey on the Resurrection 201
APPENDIX I | Report of the AD HOC Committee to Examine the Views of Dr. Murray J. Harris 203
Notes 215
A Glossary of Important Terms 239
Select Bibliography 240
More Information 242