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Can Love Lead You to Knowing Christ?
It is well known that love is central in biblical faith. But few are aware that a central argument for Christ and against other worldviews such as materialism (atheism) and pantheism (New Age) is the reality and nature of Christ’s love. “Agape” love could be defined as the sacrifice of self in the service of another. There is no basis to motivate or justify this kind of love in materialism (atheism). Richard Dawkins (atheist) author of The God Delusion calls agape love a “genetic misfiring” or a “Darwinian mistake.” He also writes about The Selfish Gene (the title of one of his books). Darwin maintained that even one act of unselfish love would annihilate his system. Christ’s love and that of many believers after him demonstrate such love. Agape love is utterly unique and acts as a pointer to the truth and reality of Christ’s claims. This lecture develops these themes.
Study Questions
- How will people know Christ’s true disciples?
- Why do so many people not know the reality of Christ?
- Why does pantheism (New Age) necessarily contradict agape love philosophically?
- Why would the existence of agape love prove materialism (atheism) false?
- How does the New Testament emphasis on love contrast with Judaism (of Jesus’ day) and with the Greek religion?
- How does the affirmation “God is love” contrast with other religions throughout history?
- What’s the biggest difference between the Old Testament view of love and that of the New Testament?
Get Your Certificate
This is the final session of the Basic Apologetics Course with Dr. Art Lindsley. Please take our short survey and you’ll receive your certificate from the C.S. Lewis Institute for participating in this course.
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