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Tennessee Apologetics gives you training, community, and access to experts so you can learn to defend your faith.
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19 contributions to Tennessee Apologetics
10d •
What's Your Apologetic Approach?
I’m curious how others here approach apologetics. I lean heavily presuppositional, but I’ve found myself occasionally drawing from classical or evidential methods depending on the context. For those of you familiar with the different approaches, what’s your primary method—and what has shaped that preference?
0 likes • 7d
@Glen Veltum See now that's an evidential framework I can get behind. When two believers are talking there is common ground and common starting points. But we use a different approach with the unbeliever because we have no common ground. See guys? I told you we should keep Glen around.
0 likes • 3d
@Pale Tuvalu Presuppositional apologetics is different from evidential or classical apologetics in that the latter methods tend to start with supposedly neutral facts, neutral reason, or neutral standards, and then try to argue to God from there. Presuppositional apologetics challenges that starting point itself (neutrality and the sufficiency of man's reasoning alone). It asks what must already be true in order for reasoning, facts, morality, science, and knowledge to make sense at all. So its a different approach. For me, the easiest way to think about it is presup is asking the question "what must be true first in order for anything else to be known?" Instead of beginning with man as though he is neutral and can reason his way up to God, it begins with God as the necessary foundation for reason, truth, morality, and knowledge to even be possible.
6d •
Sola Scriptura?
Does Sola Scriptura apply to pre-written text somehow? If so how, if not, how were early Christians "Saved" if they didn't have the "Canonical" text as an authority on the word of God? How do we know our own interpretation of scripture isn't corrupted? Rather, if 2 peoples interpretations disagree how do we know which person is misunderstanding the meaning of the text? Curious if/why "appealing to the holy spirit" is or is not a valid response. EG: we can't just say "God made me King" any more as that's obviously false. In the same manor we can't say, "the holy spirit told me so" as a justification for an incorrect interpretation of scripture, right?
0 likes • 3d
You are right that we can't treat “the Holy Spirit told me” as an automatic, unquestionable trump card. People can claim "God told me" for bad interpretations, and that claim by itself proves nothing. Its valid and invalid at the same time, lol Valid: the Holy Spirit truly illuminates believers, opens blind eyes, convicts, teaches, and causes us to receive God’s word. Invalid: “the Holy Spirit told me” is not a trump card that overrides the actual text. The Spirit does not give private meanings disconnected from Scripture that can't be tested publicly. He inspired Scripture, so He is not now giving interpretations that contradict it.
0 likes • 3d
This is a good question: “How do Protestants know our canon is the correct index?” That is a real question, but the answer isn't, “because the church said so.” lol Protestant would say that the church recognizes the characteristics of God’s revelation: apostolic origin, consistency with prior revelation, reception by the churches, the self-authenticating character of Scripture as God’s word, etc (there are probably more).
23d •
What is Worship?
If option C, then what the heck is going on during Sunday service? Why does THAT (however it's performed) get the elevated title of Worship? And if option B, then shouldn't we all be required or pressured by everyone around us to participate? I'm so tired of looking around and seeing all the Men who "don't/can't sing" sit/stand with their arms crossed while the Women who made them show up demonstrate their vibratos for the poor unseeming souls sitting in front of them 😵💫 Why can't we properly define either what PROPER worship looks like or stop calling whatever it is we do on Sunday what it is (a concert). Even just a concert for Jesus. Lets go to the CCM show this Sunday. Not, "let's all lift our hands in Worship"? Or someone please share with me what I MUST be misunderstanding.
Poll
1 member has voted
0 likes • 12d
Tradition maybe? Bc that has typically been called Worship? That's a good question. I'm not sure. It's how I've always labeled it, too.
0 likes • 11d
Oh yeah, lol, modern CCM is designed to be learned by Bob the plumber that plays in the band once a month. It has to be simple by necessity. I do miss the deep theology of older hymns.
29d •
Real Life Mormon Apologetics Opportunity
I know this is last minute, it's last minute for me, as well. There is an LDS church on Hillsboro Pike having an Interfaith Easter Celebration. This could be an opportunity to go, stand on the sidewalk, and try to witness to Mormons. If you come to this event you do not have to talk to anyone. You can just observe. You can also come when you want, leave when you want. I am imaging 6:30-9:30 would be the max commitment. 4304 Hillsboro Pike Nashville, TN 37215 Friday, Mar 27, 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM If you're interested, please respond in the poll below and i will reach out to you. https://local.churchofjesuschrist.org/en/units/us/tn/nashville-tennessee-stake/events/interfaith-easter-celebration
Poll
4 members have voted
1 like • 24d
It was good. It's a progressive church. I talked to one of the leaders. I pressed him on what Interfaith means and how do you harmonize religions that contradict each other. He's said "If it's good, it's good." So truth wasn't his concern. We did connect with 2 people. I met a guy that was a Baptist turned Mormon. He didn't seem to know anything about LDS theology. That didn't surprise me because of the way the leader talked. I got his number and I'll follow up with him. It was interesting though. I've never seen so many images of Mormon Jesus before. Lol. They're everywhere.
0 likes • 12d
@Cynthia Flint I would go with anyone to a ward. That's essentially what we did on that Friday That guy who had been attending for 13 years didn't know what i would call foundational LDS theology. So there are lots of opportunities.
25d •
Understanding the Trinity (?)
So in my head Jesus === God === Holy Spirit... The only reason humans in 3 dimensions perceive this in a "triune" fashion is for the same reason we could poke our finger through a 2d world and they'd see magic, draw ourselves in their reality and they'd see "us" but not in our full 3d nature. But someone mentioned that's "partialism"? Vs the water analogy being modalism... A question that came to my mind was about whether or not Jesus lived "forever" (the same way God is/does/has) like people talk about how Moses saw the burning bush and it was Jesus, or there's a few other sort of unnamed characters in the OT stories that we could say are Jesus but we won't really know till we die. If Jesus is eternal then it makes sense he's a projection of a 4d (or any higher dimension) God into our 3d reality... Interesting not sure if/how relevant to my question/rhetoric this is? https://youtube.com/shorts/XoGU4_o18sU?si=4xKXFyM5TKam2Ygi I'm less intrigued / distracted by other religions because if the Bible is truth then God is Logic, and if God reveals himself to us then we CAN understand God in so much as he's revealed himself to us. Not that we can ever become God but that he's not unintelligible to us. Esp in that we are created in his image we should have some capacity that is like God (as we are to the animals) but we just don't know everything (or really much of anything in the grand scheme) 😅
0 likes • 12d
Ok yeah, and your question about Jesus. I get what you’re saying, though it depends on what you mean by ‘projection,’ I guess. The Son was eternal and present before the incarnation. But the incarnation is when He becomes flesh. So He’s not the incarnate man “Jesus” (as we think of Him in the Bible) into eternity past. He’s the Son, who takes on flesh, is called Jesus, and from that point forward He takes on human nature and is forever the God-man. I think that's what your asking? Am I understanding correctly?
0 likes • 12d
Noice. I agree about everything making sense once we are in heaven. I think "Ohhhhhh, that's why you did that!" will be the most spoken phrase in heaven. Lol
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@aaron-yost-8300
Founder of Tennessee Apologetics. We prepare Christians for their faith to be challenged.
Active 2d ago
Joined Aug 19, 2025