Geisler Study Guide Sys Theo I

Study Guide-1
Study Guide for

Systematic
Theology I
Professor Mark E. Hardgrove, D.Min.
This Guide corresponds to:

Geisler N. (2002).Systematic Theology Vol. 1: Introduction,
Bible. Minneapolis: Bethany House.
Study Guide-2
To complete this guide, you must read Geisler’s

Book. The tests will be from this guide and class
lectures.
Study Guide-3
Study Guide for Norman Geisler, Systematic Theology, Vol. 1, Chapter
One
Fill in the blanks and use this as a study guide for your mid-term exam.
_____________________________- is the introduction to theology. It deals
with the necessary preconditions for doing systematic theology.
Theology is a rational discourse about ______________.
_________________ theology is a discourse about God that maintains that
here are certain essential beliefs. These include, but are not limited to:
1. _________________ and ________________ of the Bible
2. The _________________ of God
3. The ______________ _____________ of Christ
4. The ________________ of Christ
5. The all-sufficiency of Christ’s atoning __________________for _________
6. The __________________ and ________________ resurrection of Christ
7. The necessity of salvation by _____________ alone
8. The _________________ and _____________ return of Christ to the earth

Study Guide-4
9. The eternal ______________ bliss of the saved and eternal ____________ of
the unsaved.
Three categories of theology are:
1. ____________ Theology—a study of the biblical basis for theology
2. ____________ Theology—a discussion of the theology of the great
theologians of the Christian church.
3. ____________ Theology—an attempt to construct a comprehensive
and consistent whole our of all revelation from God, whether, special
(biblical) or general (natural) revelation.
The Basic Divisions of Systematic Theology
List and define the basic divisions found on page 16 of Geisler.
1. _____________________ is the study of __________________
2. _____________________ is the study of __________________
3. _____________________ is the study of __________________
4. _____________________ is the study of __________________
5. _____________________ is the study of __________________
6. _____________________ is the study of __________________
7. _____________________ is the study of __________________
8. _____________________ is the study of __________________

Study Guide-5
May also include:
9. Christology which is the study of ________________________
10. Pneumatology which is the study of _____________________
The Preconditions of Evangelical Theology
Evangelical theologians believe that the Bible is an __________________,
absolutely ______________ communication in human language that came from
an _____________________, _________________ and morally
__________________ God.
This belief presupposes that many things are true—most of which are
challenged by our current _________________.

Study Guide-6
Study Guide for Norman Geisler, Systematic Theology, Vol. 1, Chapter Two
The existence of a ______________ God is the foundation of Christian
theology.
Theism is the __________________ precondition for evangelical theology.
___________________ is the study of being or reality. It is the study of being
as being, as opposed to studying being as physical being.
The name given for the view that God created everything else that exists is
______________ (God created all), as opposed to ______________ (there is no
God at all) and __________________ (God is all).
Theism and the Opposing Worldviews
List and define the seven major world views listed by Geisler
1. ________________: ____________________________________________
2. ________________: ____________________________________________
3. ________________: ____________________________________________
4. ________________: ____________________________________________
5. ________________: ____________________________________________
6. ________________: ____________________________________________
Study Guide-7
7. ________________: ____________________________________________
___________________ holds that more than one being exists.
___________________ asserts that all reality is one—that there is only being.
__________________ believes that there are many beings in existence.
The Alternatives to Monism
List the alternatives to Monism as listed by Geisler and the definitions:
1. ___________________ :
___________________________________________
2. ___________________ :
___________________________________________
3. ___________________ :
___________________________________________
4. ___________________ :
___________________________________________
Of these alternatives, which one is consistent with the Christian view?
The Four Arguments for God’s Existence
First: The Cosmological Argument for God’s Existence

Study Guide-8
The cosmological argument come in two basic forms: ____________________
and ___________________.
The Horizontal Form of the Cosmological Argument
1.) Everything that had a beginning had a _____________

2.) The universe had a ______________________
3.) Therefore , the universe had a ______________
The Vertical Form of the Cosmological Argument
The argument from contingency
1). Whatever exists but can/could not exist needs a ______________ for its
existence, since the mere possibility of existence does not explain why
something exists. There mere possibility of something is
_______________.
2.) But ______________ cannot produce __________________.
3.) Therefore, something necessarily exists as the ground for everything
that does exist but can not exist. It is a violation of the principle of
causality to say that a _________________ being can account for its own
_______________.
The argument from change
1.) Whatever changes passes from a state of ________________ (potency) for

that change to state of being __________________ (act). That is, all
changing beings have act(uality) and potency in their very being. If not,
then all change would involve annihilation and re-creation, which is
Study Guide-9
impossible without a _____________, since nothing cannot produce

something.
2.) But no ________________ can _______________ itself, any more than the
potential for steel to become a skyscraper can actualize itself into a
skyscraper.
3.) If no potency can actualize itself, and yet at least one being is actualized
(e.g., me), then ultimately there must be something that is __________
________________ (with no potentiality), otherwise there would be no
ground for why something now exists that has the potential not to exist.
If we deny the possibility of infinite regress of causes, then we must accept the
fact of the _________________ ________________, which scientists desire to
avoid.
The Argument form Present Depenance of Every Part of the Universe
1.) Every part of the universe is right now _________________ for its
existence.
2.) If every part is right now dependent for its existence, then the who universe
must also be right now ________________ for its ________________.
3.) Therefore, the whole universe is dependent for its existence on some
____________________ ____________ beyond itself.
Second, The Teleological Argument for God’s Existence
1.) All designs imply a _________________.

2.) There is ___________ design in the ______________.
3.) Therefore, there must have been a __________________ _______________
of the universe.
Study Guide-10
A support of the teleological argument, the ________________ principle states

that from its very inception the universe was fine-tuned for the emergence of
human life.
Third, The Ontological Argument for God’s Existence

The first form of the ontological argument
1.) God is by definition and absolutely ______________ ____________.
2.) ________________ is a perfection.
3.) Therefore, God must ______________. If God did not exist, then He would
be lacking one perfection, namely existence. If God lacked any perfection
He would not be God, because God by definition absolutely perfect Being.
The second form of the ontological argument
1.) If God exists, we must conceive of Him as ___________________ Being.
2.) But by definition, a ___________________ Being cannot NOT exist.
3.) Therefore, if a ____________________ Being can exist, it must exit.
While the ontological argument cannot prove God’s ____________________, it

can prove certain things about His _________________, if God does exist.
Fourth, The Moral Argument for God’s Existence

The heart of the argument follows this basic structure:
1.) ________ law implies a __________ Lawgiver
2.) There is an objective _________ law.
3.) Therefore, there is an objective _____________ Lawgiver.
Study Guide-11
Study Guide for Norman Geisler, Systematic Theology, Vol. 1,

Chapter Three
Evangelical theology is built on the __________________________.
Two Definitions of Miracles
The weak view is that miracles might not be ______________________ at
all; it could simply be a natural event for which the observer, as yet, has not
natural explanation.
The strong view is that a miracle is beyond nature’s power to produce and
that only a supernatural power (God) can do.
__________________ law is understood as the usual, orderly, and general
way that the world operates.
Miracles are ____________________ but not anti-_________________.
Three Old Testament Words for Miracles
1.) ____________ (Heb. oth) usually carries a supernatural significance,

namely, as something appointed by God with special assigned meaning.
2.) _____________ (Heb. mopheth) sometimes used synonymously with signs,
the word has a special, supernatural (divine) significance.
Study Guide-12
3.) _____________ (Heb. koak) is sometimes used of human power, very often
of divine power, often in direct connection with events called “signs” or
“wonders” or both.
Three New Testament Words for Miracles
1.) ____________ (Grk. semeion) is used seventy-seven times in the New

Testament. Most often it is reserved for what we would call a miracle.
2.) ____________ (Grk. teras) used sixteen times in the New Testament, almost
always refers to a miracle.
3.) ____________ (Grk. dunamis) is used to refer to human power or abilities,
of satanic power, and of often of God’s power, and is often translated
“miracles.”
The Purposes of Miracles

The Bible states at least three purposes of a miracle:
1.) To _____________ the ______________ of God (Jn. 2:11; 11:40)
2.) To ______________ certain persons as ___________________ for God (Ac.
2:22; Heb. 2:3-4).
3.) To provide _______________ for belief in God (Jn. 6:2; 14, 20:30-31).
The Various Dimensions of Miracles

1. Miracles have an ____________________ ___________________
2. Miracles have a _____________________ ____________________
3. Miracles have a ____________________ _____________________
4. Miracles have a ____________________ _____________________
5. Miracles have a ______________________ ___________________
Study Guide-13
Miracles, in the strictest sense of the word, are possible only in a

____________ world.
Be familiar with the objections, and the answers to the objections against
miracles.
Study Guide-14

Four
The Prerequisites for Divine Revelation
1.) A Being capable of _______________ a revelation.
2.) A being capable of _______________ a revelation.
3.) A _____________ through which a revelation can be given.
God’s General Revelation –Nature, Humans, History, Arts, & Music
_______________ revelation refers to God’s revelation in nature, as
opposed to His revelation in ________________________ .
True or False: General revelation is NOT integral to Christian
apologetics.
God is revealed in nature in two basic ways: as _________________ and
as _________________. He is the cause of the ______________ as well
as the _________________ of the universe.
God is revealed in human being is His ________________ and
______________ (Gen. 1:27); consequently, something about God can be
learned from studying human beings.

Study Guide-15
God is revealed in history, which is call _____-_______. It is the
_____________ of God in the sands of time.
The Bible declares that God is _________________ and so is His
creation. Geisler extrapolates from this that God is revealed in art.
Human can both ____________ beauty and they can also ____________
beautiful things.
Likewise, Geisler argues that God’s general revelation can be seen in
music. He writes, “We learn something more about God’s nature through
human ___________, a God-ordained instrument of music.
Fill in the comparison blanks comparing General and Special Revelation
General Revelation Special Revelation
God as _________________ God as ___________________
Norm for _________________ Norm for ___________________
Means of Means of
____________________ in ______________________ in
____________________ ____________________
Special revelation contributes uniquely to Christian _________________,

for the Bible alone is both infallible and inerrant.
Study Guide-16
The Role of Special Revelation
1. The Bible Alone is _____________________ and ____________________
2. The Bible Alone _________________ God as _______________________
3. The Bible Alone has the _____________________ of _________________
4. The Bible Alone is the _______________ Norm for ___________________
The Role of General Revelation
1. General Revelation is ______________ than Special Revelation
2. General Revelation is Essential to Human __________________
3. General Revelation is Essential to Human __________________
4. General Revelation is Essential to Christian _________________
Human reason is necessary for two things:
1.) It puts _____________ on the general ______________ law.
2.) It aids us in _______________ what it means to utilize in order to attain the
_____________ end.
• Geisler states that the Bible is always ____________, but our

________________ of it is not.
• God’s revelations in His Word and His world never _______________ each
other.
Study Guide-17
• Whenever there is a real conflict, it is between human __________________ of

God’s Word and human ___________________ of His world. Either one or
both are wrong, but God has not erred.
Study Guide-18
Study Guide for Norman Geisler, Systematic Theology, Vol. 1, Chapter Five
Logic deals with the methods of valid thinking; it reveals how to draw
proper __________________ from ___________________.
FUNDAMENTAL LAWS OF THOUGHT

There are three elemental laws of all rational thinking:
1.) The Law of _____________________ (A is not non-A)
2.) The Law of ___________________ (A is A)
3.) The Law of _____________ ______________ (either A or non-A)
Without the law of noncontradiction we could not say that God is not
_______________.
If the law of identity were not binding, we could not say that God is
_______________.
If the law of excluded middle didn’t exist we could not affirm that it is either
God or ________ _________ that we are speaking about.
THE LAWS OF RATIONAL INFERENCE

Deductive Logic
The device by which one proposition can be correctly drawn from others
is called a __________________. Deductive logic comes in three forms:
1.) _______________ syllogisms
2.) _______________ syllogisms
3.) _______________ syllogisms
Study Guide-19
Categorical Syllogisms
A categorical (__________________) syllogism is one where a
categorical (________________) proposition is deduced from two other
categorical propositions. For example:
1.) All human being are sinful.
2.) John is a human being.
3.) Therefore __________ is _____________.
Propositions
A proposition is a _____________________ sentence that
_____________ or _____________ something. A proposition is
composed of a subject, a predicate, and a copula.
In the example above, identify the
Subject _____________________
Predicate ____________________
Copula ______________________
The subject can be ________________________ or

_______________________.
Propositions can be either _____________________ or
____________________.
Seven Rules of Categorical Syllogisms

1.) There must be only ______________ terms
2.) The middle term must be distributed at least ________________
3.) Terms distributed in the _______________ must be distributed in the premises.
4.) The _________________ always follows the weaker premises.
5.) No conclusion follows from two negative ___________________.
Study Guide-20
6.) No conclusion follows from two ______________ premises.

7.) No _________________ conclusion follows from two affirmative premises.
Fallacies of Categorical Syllogisms
1.) _________________________ is the fallacy where the major term is
distribution in the conclusion but not in the premise.
2.) ________________________ is the fallacy where the minor term is
distributed in the conclusion but not in the premise.
3.) _______________________ is the fallacy where the middle term is not
distributed at least once.
4.) ______________________ is the fallacy where there are not three and only
three terms in the syllogism (includes the fallacies of “ambiguous middle”
and “equivocal middle.”
Hypothetical Syllogisms
Hypothetical syllogisms are an “____ . . . _______. . .” type of reasoning.
If A, then B follows. For example:
1.) If God is all-just, then He must punish all sin

2.) God is all-just
3.) Therefore, He must ______________ _____ _________.
There are only two ways to draw valid conclusions from a hypothetical
syllogism:
1.) Modus pollens: Affirming the ____________________ (the part of the
sentence that coming before “then”).
2.) Modus tollens: Denying the __________________ (the part of the sentence
coming after “then”).
In the example above, is the syllogism a modus pollens, or a modus tollens?
Study Guide-21
Disjunctive Syllogisms
A disjunctive syllogism is an ________________/_________ type of
reasoning. For example:
1.) It is either A or not A (but not both)
2.) It is not non-A
3.) Therefore, it is ______.
A theological example:
1.) Either God is existent or He is nonexistent.
2.) God is not nonexistent.
3.) Therefore, God is _____________.
There are two ways to draw a valid conclusion from a disjunctive syllogism:
Either by denying one ________________ or by denying the other
_______________. An alternate is the statement on one side or the other of the
“or.”
Exercises:
In the examples below, identify the type of syllogism, and if it is a
categorical syllogism identify whether it is modus pollens, or modus tollens.
After identifying the type of syllogism, insert the conclusion that must
follow the premises.
Type of
Syllogism
Major If I lie, Either I If you If I pay

Premise then I’ll be should study, then now, then
sorry exercise or you learn I’ll save
I should
diet
Minor I’ll lie I should You didn’t If I save,

Premise not learn then I’ll
exercise have
money
Study Guide-22
later
Logical
Conclusio
n
INDUCTIVE LOGIC
Broadly speaking, deductive reasoning is from the ________________ to the
____________________, while inductive reasoning is from the
_______________ to the ______________________. Inductive logic
begins with any number of particulars and makes a generalization about
them.
Rules of Inductive Logic

The validity of the generalization from inductive reasoning is evaluated by
asking the following questions:
• How many ________________ were ______________________?
• How _____________________ was the ____________________?
• How _________________ was the evidence ______________________?
• How does the ____________________ gained ____________________
with other knowledge?
Kinds of Probability
A priori probability is _____________________ in nature, dealing with
the advanced likelihood or odds of an even occurring. In other words,
the probability or likelihood of an event occurring is
hypothesized/theorized based on previous examples.
A posteriori probability is probability __________ the fact. In science, it

is _____________________ probability, also called scientific probability.
Study Guide-23
A posteriori probability offers varying degrees of certainty that something

is true based on an examination of the available evidence.
Sample Test Question:

True or False: The belief that the sun will come up tomorrow is based on a
priori probability.
Degrees of Probability
According to the inductive method, there are various degrees of probability,

depending on the kind and extent of evidence available. These range from
virtually _________________ on the one end to virtually
_________________ on the other end.
LOGIC AND GOD
God does not merely choose to be rational and consistent. He is

______________ by his very nature.
While God is prior to logic in order of being (__________________),

nevertheless, logic is prior to God in the order of knowing
(______________________).
Good reason does not subject God to ______________ minds, but rather
subjects our ______________ minds to His infinite Mind (2 Cor. 10:5; 1
Cor. 1:21).
Sample Exam Questions:
True or False: According to Geisler the Scriptures declare that there are
many things that are impossible for God to do.
True or False: God created the laws of thought.

Study Guide-24
True or False: God can transcend the laws of logic.
True or False: The laws of physics are created and can be transcended by
God like everything else that was created.
Given the laws of logic, be prepared to defend the Orthodox view on the
topics of: The Trinity, the Incarnation, and the doctrine of predestination/free
will.
Study Guide-25
Study Guide for Norman Geisler, Systematic Theology, Vol. 1, Chapter Six
Christianity makes ________ claims
However, all true statement must be __________________ they must make

sense.
The objectivity of truth is dependent on the objectivity of

____________________.
The dominant view in the contemporary world is opposed to an

_______________ embrace of meaning.
The dominate view is called ___________________________, which maintains

that all meaning is relative to changing situations; meaning is arbitrary and
varies according to context.
Conventionalism is an overreaction to Platonic ______________________.
Essentialism, as proposed by Plato, insists that there is a

___________________ or _______________ relation between our statements
and what they mean. According to this view, language is not arbitrarily related
to meaning; rather, there is a one-to-one ___________________ between them.
Wittgenstein, a proponent of conventionalism, offers an alternative view of

meaning that employs:
1.) ______________ resemblance

2.) Language _________________
3.) Forms of _________________
According to the Wittgensteinian view of conventionalism, God-talk is

_________________.
___________________ language can have only one meaning (look in
footnotes)
Study Guide-26
___________________ language is based on similarity or analogy

___________________ language is ambiguous, having two or more
meanings.
Religious beliefs have ____________________ force; that is, they orient our
lives.
Critique of Conventionalism’s Theory of Meaning
• First, conventionalism is ____________-_______________

• Second, if conventionalism were correct, then _____________________
statement would not necessarily translate into all languages as
_______________ statements, but they do.
• Third, if conventionalism were true there would not be any _____________
truths in any language, but there are.
• Fourth, if conventionalism were true, we would not know any truth
_____________ of and/or prior to knowing the conventions of that truth in that
language.
• Fifth, the laws of logic are not based on human conventions; they are true apart
from all __________________ conventions.
• Sixth, conventionalism confuses the _________________ source of meaning
with its ultimate _________________.
• Seventh, if conventionalism were ________________, then no meaning would
be possible.
• Eight, conventionalism has only an ________________ criterion for meaning,
such as coherence.
• Ninth, conventionalism involves a _______________ argument.
Study Guide-27
• Tenth, conventionalists of the distinguish between _________________ and

__________ grammar to avoid certain problems, such as those just given.
• Eleven, no truly ___________________ knowledge of God is possible in a
conventionalist view of language, since in conventionalism, language is simply
based on our experience.
REALISM:
AN ALTERNATIVE TO ESSENTIALISM AND
CONVENTIONALISM
This alternative avoids the rigidity of ____________________ and the

relativism of ______________________.
Realism contends that meaning is ____________________, even though our

symbols are culturally relative, for meaning transcends our symbols and
linguistic means of expressing it.
Understanding the Meaning of Meaning
The six causes:

1.) Efficient Cause—that ___ ______ something comes to be
2.) Final Cause—that ___ ______ something comes to be
3.) Formal Cause—that ___ ______ something comes to be
4.) Material Cause—that ____ ___ _______ something comes to be
5.) Exemplar Cause—that _____ ________ something comes to be
Study Guide-28
6.) Instrumental Cause—that __________ ________ something comes to
be
Note how Geisler applies these six causes to the meaning of a written text (pp.
105-106).
Words in themselves have not actual meaning; they have only

________________ meaning.
Words are only parts of a whole (the whole __________________), which does
have meaning.
The Locus of Meaning
• A text’s meaning is not found _______________ the text (in the author’s mind)
• A text’s meaning is not found _______________ the text (in the mystic’s mind)
• A text’s meaning is not found ________________ the text (in the author’s
unexpressed intention).
• A text’s meaning is found ________ the text (in the author’s expressed
meaning).
The Unity of Meaning
Since the meaning of Scripture comes ultimately from an objective Mind

(God) and is found in an objective text that uses terms with the same
meaning for both God and human beings, it follow that there is only
___________ meaning in a biblical text—the one given to it by the
________________. Of course, there can be many ________________ and
Study Guide-29
___________________. Indeed, it can be expressed in different ways in the

same language.
Thus, while the ____________ ___________ (one sense) view is correct

when it affirms only one meaning to a text, there is, however, a __________
___________ (full sense) in terms of implications and applications.
The Objectivity of Meaning

Human languages vary, but _______________ does not.
• ___________________ insists on a one-to-one correlation between the

meaning and the expression.
• __________________ contends there is a many-to-one correlation between
meaning and the expression.
• _________________ affirms that there is a one-to-many correlation.
The objectivity of truth that Christianity embraces is based on the premise

that meaning is _____________________.
The usages of ___________________ and ________________ do change,

but the meaning properly expressed by them does not.
Study Guide-30
Seven
Another important precondition of evangelical theology is the nature of
________.
Up to modernity, orthodox theology held the _________________ view of

truth, which maintains that truth is what corresponds to the objects of its
affirmations.
The Bible claims to be ____________. The psalmist declared, “Your law is

___________” (Ps. 119:142), and Jesus prayed, “Sanctify them by Your
___________, Your ____________ is truth” (John 17:17).
____________________ truth, is true for everyone, everywhere, always.
Christianity claims that there is _____________ truth and also insists that truth
is that which ____________________ to the way things are.
THE DEFINITION OF TRUTH

What Truth is Not
Truth is not “That which works” This is known as the pragmatic view of
truth
Truth is not “That which coheres”
Truth is not “That which was intended”
Truth is not “That which is comprehensive”
Truth is not “That which is existentially relevant”
Truth is not “That which feels good”
Study Guide-31
What Truth Is: Truth Is That Which Corresponds to the Object

Truth is found in __________________. Truth is what corresponds to its
____________ (referent), which this object is abstract or concrete. As
applied to the world, truth is the way things really are.
Philosophical Arguments for a Correspondence View of Truth
• First, noncorrespondence view of truth are ________-___________.
• Second, even ________ are impossible without a correspondence view of
truth.
• Third, without correspondence there could be no such thing as
_____________ or _____________.
• Fourth, ______________ communication would break down without a
correspondence view of truth.
• Fifth, even the ___________________ theory depends on the
correspondence view of truth.
Biblical Arugments for a Correspondence View of Truth

First, the ___________ commandment is predicated on a correspondence
view of truth.
Second, the Bible gives numerous examples of the correspondence view of
truth. Examples: Joseph, Moses, Solomon, Micaih, etc.
Third, the biblical use of the word _______ does not support the
intentionalist view of truth, since it is used of unintentional “errors” (cf. Lev.
4:2; 27, etc.).
Study Guide-32
The Bible consistently employs a ________________________ view of

truth. A statement is true if it corresponds to the _____________ and false if
it does not.
SUMMARY OF TRUTH’S DEFINITION
There is a difference between what truth ______ and what truth
__________. Truth is _______________, but truth has certain
________________.
THE NATURE OF TRUTH AS ABSOLUTE

Not only is truth correspondence, truth is also _______________________.
Evangelical theology is predicated on the premise that the Bible is ________
truth (John 17:17), not just _____ truth.
The Relative View of Truth

The relative view of truth maintains that some things are only truth for
_______ people but not for ______ people. Another relative view of truth is
that some things are true only for some ___________ but not for all times.
A third view is that some things are true in come _________ but not in all
places. On the other hand, the absolute view of truth is that truth is true for
all __________, at all ____________, and in all ___________.
The problems with the relative view of truth:

1.) Relativism is _________-_______________
2.) Relativism entail a world filled with __________________________
3.) Relativism means no has ever been _______________ about anything
Exam Question Example:

Study Guide-33
Please answer the objection to absolute truth that it is too narrow.

Study Guide-34
Eight
_________________ is the belief that every religion is true, that each

provides a genuine encounter with the Ultimate. One may be better than the
others, but all are adequate.
________________ is similar to pluralism, claiming each religion is true to

the individual who holds it. Relativists believe that since there is no
objective truth in religion, there are no criteria by which one can tell which
religion is true or which religions are false.
_______________ claims that one religion is explicitly true, and all others
are implicitly true.
______________ is the belief that only one religion is true, and all others
opposed to it are false.
Christianity is exclusivistic, claiming to the _________ true religion.
John Hicks argues for _____________________. He claims that all

religions hold the same core moral values, i.e., love and concern for others.
He claims that statements similar to Christianity’s ______________
_____________ can be found in other religions.
Geisler counters with the following points:
First, it is debatable that anything the “______ of the Spirit” can be found in
other non-Christian religions.
Study Guide-35
Second, moral equality of practice does not prove that there is no moral
______________ in the teaching of Christianity over other religsions.
Third, Hicks assumes a moral common denominator to argue that all

religions are ________________. He thus has to negate the superior aspects
of Christian morality or teaching in order to show that Christianity is not
superior.
Fourth, the moral manifestation of a _____________ does not settle the

truth question. Being a good moral Mormon does not prove the truth of the
historical assertions of the Mormon Bible.
Fifth, in the final analysis, the moral superiority of Christianity does not rest
on our _______________ as Christians, but on Christ’s unique
__________________.
REDEMPTIVE EQUALITY OF ALL RELIGIONS
Hicks argues that humanity’s redemption is achieved in “a gradual

___________________ from the natural self-centeredness to a radically new
orientation centered on God and manifest in the “fruit of the Spirit.” As
such, Hicks argues that “salvation is taking place within all of the world
religions.”
A Response to Redemption Equality
First, it’s based on the __________________ that all religions have a proper
relation to what is truly Ultimate.
Second, Hicks assumes that all religions are merely a ______________

response to the Ultimate.
Study Guide-36
Third, this denial of the truth of any particular religion is itself a form of
_______________, for it favors the worldview known as pantheism in order
to deny the particularity of the worldview known as Christian theism.
Fourth, the pluralist view often __________________ to the position that

whatever is sincerely believed is true.
Fifth, the argument for redemptive equality implies that all truth claims are a
matter of _________/_________and not __________/__________.
THE ALLEGATION THAT CHRIST IS NOT UNIQUE
Hicks argues that Jesus never claimed to be unique, but that this was the
view of the writers who portray Jesus.
Geisler argues that the New Testament documents are ________________

reliable, and their historicity has been abundantly attested.
Hick also argues that it is impossible for Jesus to be God incarnate. He asks,
rhetorically, “Is it really possible for infinite ___________________ to be
housed in a finite human ____________?”
Geisler answers that the Incarnation is not a logical _________________,

and as such there is no demonstrated incoherence in the view. Second,
Hicks view of the Incarnation assumes the unorthodox
__________________ view, which confuses Christ’s two natures.
THE ALLEGATION OF INTOLERANCE
The argument of the pluralists, is that the exclusivist view of Christianity is

bigoted and ____________________.
Study Guide-37
Geisler responds that pluralists are themselves ______________________ to

any argument that does not embrace their worldview.
Other allegations against the Christian exclusivist view is that it is narrow-

minded, and that it promotes intellectual imperialism. The problem with
these allegations is that they can be equally true of pluralists, but that they
are not true of Christianity.
CHALLENGEABLE PRESUPPOSITIONS OF PLURALISM
Pluralists generally deny any ________________________ binding moral

law. If there is no such universal moral law, then it is impossible to judge
the religions from any standard beyond them. This it is impossible to judge
Christianity as inadequate or to claim that Christianity cannot be exclusivist.
By what moral law does one make such a claim if no such moral law exists.
Beneath the pluralist’s attack on exclusivism is a ____________________

presupposition that all religious phenomena can be explained naturalistically,
that is, without any appeal the supernatural.
Study Guide-38
Study Guide for Norman Geisler, Systematic Theology, Vol. 1, Chapter Nine
Evangelicals believe that the Bible is God’s Word in _______________
words.
True or False : A precondition for doing evangelical theology is the belief

that finite human language is capable of meaningfully expressing the nature
of the infinite God of Christian theism.
True or False : Evangelicals accept the fact that it is impossible to speak

meaningfully about God.
Three possible views with regard to “God-talk”
1.) It is ______________ (totally different from the way God actually is).
2.) It is _____________ (totally the same as God actually is).
3.) It is _____________ (similar to the way God actually is).
Evangelicals have defended versions of both ________________ and

_______________. However, Geisler argues that only through some form
of ______________ is God able to communicate with us.
Analogous Language and Special Revelation (Scripture
The Bible is emphatic about two things in this connection. First, God is
beyond our __________________ and ________________ in that our finite
can never fully comprehend the infinite.
Second, human language is adequate for expressing the

___________________ of God.
Study Guide-39
But if God is both _________________ expressed in human language and

yet ____________________ more than human language can express, then at
best the language of Scripture is only ____________________________-.
Analogous Language and General Revelation (Nature)
First, arguments for God’s existence are arguments from

__________________ to the efficient ____________________ of their
being. Since effects get their actuality from God, they must be
___________________ to Him.
Second, Pure _________ (God) cannot create another Pure ________. It is

impossible to create an _____________________ Being. Thus every
created being must be composed of _____________________ and
_______________________. All created beings have _________________
because they actually exist, and they have ______________________
because they have the potential not to exist. Anything that comes into
existence can pass out of ______________________.
The linguistic precondition of evangelical theology is that we do have some

positive ________________ of God.
Study Guide-40
Study Guide for Norman Geisler, Systematic Theology, Vol. 1, Chapter Ten
Hermeneutics: 1) the science and methodology of interpreting texts,

especially the books of the Bible; 2) the branch of theology that is concerned
with explaining or interpreting religious concepts, theories, and principles.
Subjectivity: 1) interpretation based on personal opinions or feelings rather

than on external facts or evidence; 2) the philosophical argument that
nothing can be proven factually; therefore all of reality is the nothing more
than the individual interpretation. As a hermeneutic, it argues that trying to
discover the intended meaning of the author is pointless, if not impossible.
Instead every hermeneutic is nothing more than the individual response to
the text.
There are many forms of subjectivism in hermeneutics, but that all involve
self-defeating statements, and any attempt to deny an objective interpretation
implies that one is possible, namely, the one by which the subjectivist’s view
is expected to be understood.
Objectivity: 1) the ability to perceive or describe something without being

influenced by personal emotions or prejudices; 2) the fact or quality of being
accurate, unbiased, and independent of individual perceptions; 3) philosophy
the actual existence of something, without reference to people's impressions
or ideas.
Study Guide-41
OBJECTIVITY IN HERMENEUTICS
The Basis of Objective Hermeneutic
1.) The existence of an absolute _________________ (God)

2.) The absolute nature of _________________________.
3.) The analogy between _____________________ understanding and
___________________ understanding
4.) The ability of ______________ minds to understand the ________________
revealed by God.
PRINCIPLES OF OBJECTIVE HERMENEUTICS
1.) Look for the ___________________ meaning, not the _________________.

2.) Look for the Author’s meaning (____________________) not his purpose
(______________).
3.) Look for meaning in the _______________, not beyond it.
4.) Look for meaning in ____________________, not ____________________.
THE FOUR MAIN HERMENEUTIC PRINCIPLES FOR

INTERPRETING NATURAL (GENERAL) REVELATION
1.) The principle of _______________________

2.) The principle of _______________________
3.) The principle of _______________________
4.) The principle of _______________________
Study Guide-42
Eleven
Historical Christianity is inseparably tied to historical events. Thus, the
existence and _____________________ of certain historical events are
essential to maintaining biblical Christianity.
The Overall argument in defense of Christianity is based on the
_______________ of the New Testament documents.
Epistemological Objections to an Objective History
The Unobservability of History
Response: It must be possible to be “________________” because they

claim to have it. How could they know everyone’s knowledge of history is
not objective unless they had and objective knowledge of it by which they
judge others? “Objective” means “__________________ and adequate”
The Fragmentary Nature of Historical Accounts
Response: The fact that accounts of history are _____________________

does not destroy historical objectivity any more than the existence of only a
limited number of fossils destroys the objectivity of geology. History need
Study Guide-43
be no less objective than ________________________ for depending on

fragmentary accounts.
The Axiological (Value) Objection
The historian cannot avoid making value judgments.
Response: One may grant the point that ordinary _____________________

is value-laden and that value judgments are _______________________.
This by no means makes historical objectivity impossible. Objectivity
means to be fair in dealing with the facts; it means to present what happened
as accurately as possible. Fairness, implies a value and thus objectivity is
seen to be demanding value judgments rather than avoiding them.
The Methodological Objections

The Selective Nature of Historical Methodology
Response to the problem of Historical Conditioning: It does not follow

that since the historian is a ________________________- of his time, his
history is also purely a _______________________ of the time.
The Need to Select and Arrange Historical Materials
Response: That historians must select his materials does not automatically
make history purely ______________________________. Jurors make
judgments “beyond reasonable doubt” without having all the
_____________________.
The Metaphysical (Worldview) Objections

The Need to Structure the Facts of History
Study Guide-44
Response: There is no reason to assume that the historian cannot arrange the
historical materials without _________________________- the past.
The Unavoidability of Worldviews
Response: Without a worldview it makes no sense to talk about

_______________ meaning. Meaning is system-dependent within a given
meaning, but within another system it may have a very different meaning.
This points to the necessity of establishing a worldview in order to attain
_________________________.
Miracles Are by Nature Supernatural
Response: Even if the objectivity of _________________________ is

accepted, many historians object to any history that contains
____________________. The secular rejection of miracle-history is often
based on __________________ principle of analogy. The argument is that if
something from history cannot find an analogy in the present (regular
pattern of existence) then it must be rejected as _______________.
However, the testimony for regularity in general is in no way a testimony
against an unusual event in particular. Repeatability and
________________________ are needed to establish scientific laws or
general patterns (of which miracles would be particular exceptions), but
what is needed to establish historical events is credible testimony that these
particular events did indeed occur.
Miracles Are in Principle Historically Unknowable
Response: The supernatural occurs _________ the historical but it is not a

product _________ the natural process. There is not good reason why the
Christian should yield to the radical existential theologians on the question
Study Guide-45
of the objective and historical dimensions of a miracle. A miracle can be

identified within an empirical or historical context both ______________
and _________________, both objectively and subjectively. Miracles are
historically grounded—they are more than historical, but they are not less.
The Psychological Objection
History recorded by persons with religious motives cannot be trusted—their

religious _______________________ obscures their historical objectivity
and they tend to reinterpret history in the light of their religious beliefs.
Response: 1) There is not logical _______________________ between

one’s purpose and the accuracy of the history he writes.
2) Other important writers from the ancient world wrote with
_______________ similar to the Gospel authors.
3) Complete religious ___________________ literature, such as some critics
see in the New Testament, was actually unknown in the ancient world.
4) Unlike other early accounts, the Gospels were written, at a maximum,
only ____________________ after the events.
5) The historical confirmation of the New Testament writings is
________________________.
6) The New Testament writers take great care to distinguish their words from
the ________________ of Jesus.
7) Luke, for example, states a clear interest for historical _______________.
8) The existence of religious __________ is no guarantee of historical
inaccuracy.
9) The New Testament is ______________________ to be historical by the
same criteria applied to other ancient histories.
Study Guide-46
10) If the historicity of an event must be denied because of the strong

motivation of the person giving it, then virtually all eyewitness testimony
from the survivors of the ______________ must be discounted.
The Hermeneutical Objections
No history can be written without bringing the material into a “coordinated

whole” under some “unifying _____________________,” and Hayden
White believes these concepts are chosen from poetry.
Response: The relativity argument presupposes some objective knowledge,

otherwise they would not be able to identify the subjective. They speak of
needing to select and arrange the facts. “Facts” represent some objective
________________________. If the relativists believe that one’s worldview
can distort how one views history, then it implies that there is a correct way
to view it.
Response: As matter of fact, total relativity is _______________________.

How can one know that history was completely unknowable unless he knew
something about it? It is an admission that history is objectively knowable
and as such cannot eliminate the possibility that Christian claims of history
are knowable. Historical evidence for the central _________________ of
Christianity is more amply supported by historical evidence than for almost
any other event from the ancient world.
Response: The heralds of the historical relativist view sometimes attempt to

write _________________________- history themselves.
Response: The ability to recognize ________________ history implies

objective knowledge.
Study Guide-47
Response: Like science, history employs normal _____________________

measures that render the facts knowable.
GENERAL REMARKS ON THE OBJECTIVITY OF HISTORY
First, absolute objectivity is possible only for the ____________ Mind.

Finite minds must be content with systematic __________________, that is,
fair but revisable attempts to reconstruct the past based upon an established
framework of reference that comprehensively and consistently incorporates
all the facts into the overall sketch provided by the worldview.
Second, even with this absolute perspective, an adequately objective, finite

interpretation of history is ________________, for the historian can be as
objective as the scientist.
Third, in reality neither the scientist nor the historian can attain objective
meaning without the use of some ________________ by which he
understands the facts.
Study Guide-48
Study Guide for Norman Geisler, Systematic Theology, Vol. 1, Chapter Eleven
_________ theology is done will determine ______________ the theological

conclusion will be.
VARIOUS KINDS OF THEOLOGICAL METHODS
The Reductio Absurdum Method
Zeno (c. 495 – c. 430 B.C.) Argued that nothing existed except one solitary
________________-. Nothing, he argued could move from point A to point
B, since there are an infinite number of points between them, and it is
impossible to traverse the __________. Therefore, by reducing pluralism to
the _______________, he believed he had proven monism (that all is one.).
The method itself does not necessitate any view contrary to Christian belief.
The Socratic Method
Socrates (c. 470 – 399 B.C.) This could better be called the _____________
method or the method of interrogation, for it is based on the simple
technique of discovering truth by asking the right _____________. The true
Socratic Method is based on the belief in _______________; however,
others have abstracted this methodology from the belief in
_______________ and use it to lead a mind down the path of truth by asking
the right questions.
Study Guide-49
The Deductive Method
Aristotle (384 – 322 B.C.) Credited with being the first to record the canons
of deductive logic (Prior Analysis). These deductions are done by way of
logical ___________________-, which take on either a categorical,
hypothetical, or disjunctive form. In the categorical form the conclusion
follows from the truth of the _________________________. In the
disjunctive form, the conclusion is true if one of the two disjuncts
(statements on either side of the “or “in the premise) is negated.
The Inductive Method
Francis Bacon (1561 – 1626) He developed the inductive logic and

____________________ logic, known popularly as the _______________
method. These were put in their current form by John Stuart Mill (1806 –
1773). There are two categories of induction: imperfect and perfect. Perfect
induction are possible with regard to biblical teaching, since the Bible
contains a ______________________ and manageable amount of material, a
high degree of certainty is obtainable in a perfect induction.
The Cartesian Method
Rene Descartes (1596 – 1650) He developed a method for discovering truth

that began in systematic and methodological ____________________. It
began with “I doubt, therefore I think,” and it concluded with “I exist, God
exists, and the world exists.” Descartes outlined a method by which one
could obtain certainty.
Study Guide-50
1.) The rule of ________________: Only indubitably clear and distinct

ideas should be accepted as true.
2.) The rule of ________________: All problems should be reduced to their
simplest parts.
3.) The rule __________________: All reasoning should proceed from
simple to complex,
4.) The rule of ________________: One should review and recheck each
step of the argument.
The Euclidian Method
Euclid (fl. 300 B.C.) Developed a system of ______________________ that

began with certain basic definitions and axioms held to be self-evident.
From these all other postulates and theorems were deduced logically and
systematically. Using this method, Spinoza developed an entire
philosophical system, including proofs for __________________ as well as
descriptions of the creation and nature of human beings, free will, and ethics.
From deductive rationalism Spinoza also deduced that miracles were
_______________ and began the first systematic effort at negative higher
criticism of the Bible.
The Transcendental Method
Immanuel Kant (1724 – 1804) Credited with the development of

transcendental method. It is neither deductive nor inductive; it is more
_______________________, arguing back to the necessary preconditions of
something being the case. The transcendental method seeks for necessary
_________________ of a given state of affairs, not an actual ___________
of them.
Study Guide-51
The Abductive Method
Charles Sanders Pierce (1839 – 1914) is credited with developing the

abductive method. An abduction is more like an _______________ or
_____________________ flash that provides one with a model for doing
science or theology. Sometimes this abduction comes as in intelligent
__________________ and other times in a dream or a vision. It is an
intelligent insight into the situation.
The Retroductive Method
A retroductive theology is where additional insight is gained from further

_____________________. In this way, the more one knows, the more one
know what he knows better. Sometimes this movement is described as a
____________________. But it is considered a benign circle, not a vicious
circle; in the discipline of interpretation it is called “the ________________
circle.” This is the process by which one understands the whole in the light
of the parts and the parts in light of the whole.
The Analogical Method
Joseph Butler (1692 – 1752) is best known for his famous Analogy of
Religion. It is a presentation of the plausibility of Christianity in terms of
the analogy between _________________ and ________________ religion.
1.) The Use of Probability: Argued that our knowledge of nature is only
_______________. From this he concluded two things in the defense of
Christianity. First, since this is the case, “one is always in the position of a
potential ______________________, and so one never can posit what one
knows of nature as the standard to judge what is natural.” Second, probability,
Study Guide-52
which is the guide to life, supports the belief in a ______________________

revelation from God in the Bible and the miracles of Christ.
2.) The Objection to Deism: He who believes the _____________________ to

have proceeded from Him who is the Author of nature, may well expect to find
the same sort of difficulties in it as are found in the constitution of
_________________. [Therefore,] he who denies Scripture to have been from
God, upon account of these difficulties, may for the very same reason deny the
world to have been formed by him. Thus if the Deists concluded that God
created the world, which they do, then they would be forced by their own logic
to accept the possibility that the Scriptures were from God as well.
3.) A Religion Should be Judged as a Whole: Another result of Butler’s analogous

argument is that a system of religion must be judged as a whole, and not simply
from attacks leveled against specific _____________.
4.) The Relation of Natural and Supernatural Revelation: Butler agrees that God is
the Author of ________________ and that Christianity contains a republication
of this original revelation. He writes: “The essence of ____________________
religion may be said to consist in the religious regards to “God the Father
Almighty”: and the essence of revealed religion as distinguished from the
natural to consist in religious regard to “the Son” and to “the Holy Ghost.”
5.) The Defense of Miracles: In Butler’s words: “No presumption, from analogy,
against the general Christian Scheme; for (1) although undiscoverable by reason
or experience, we only know a ________________ _______________ of a
vast whole; (2) even if it be unlike the known course of _________________-,
(a) the unknown may not everywhere resemble the ___________________;
(b)we observe unlikeness sometimes in _________________; (c) the alleged
Study Guide-53
unlikeness is not complete. Thus no presumption lies against the general

Christian scheme, whether we call it __________________________ or not.
The Dialectical Method

Karl Marx (1818 – 1883) Consists in opposing a _____________ with an
_________________ and making a synthesis of them.
F. C. Baur (1792 – 1860) claimed that that first century’s supposed tension
between Peter’s Judaistic form of Christianity (thesis) and Paul’s anti-
Judaistic form of Christianity (antithesis) found its reconciliation (synthesis)
in John’s second-century gospel. The tragedy has been that this dialectic
tended to determine the facts rather than discover them, and it has led to an
overlooking if not rejecting of the evidence that points to a much earlier date
for John.
Karl Barth (1886 – 1968) employed a dialectical method, stating that the
thesis of ____________________ was opposed by the antithesis of
_______________________ that he synthesized into neo-orthodoxy.
The Pragmatic Method

William James (1842 – 1910) According to James, “Truth happens to an
idea. It becomes ___________________, is made true by events . . . ‘the
true,’ to put it very briefly, is only the expedient in the way of our
______________________, just as ‘the right’ is only the expedient in the
way of our ___________________.”
According to pragmatism, we know what is true by whether or not it

_________________.
The Experimental Method

Study Guide-54
John Dewey (1859 – 1952) More popularly known as experimentalism, this

is an _______________________- contribution to the discipline of
methodology. One discovers the truth by doing, and the final vote is cast by
whether or not our experimentation produces _______________________.
TOWARD DEVELOPING
AN APPROPRIATE THEOLOGICAL METHODOLOGY
Step 1: An Inductive Basis in Scripture
Evangelical theology is based on a belief that the Bible and the Bible alone
is the only _______________________, infallible and inerrant revelation
from God; as a result, any adequate methodology must be based on sound
exposition of ______________________. Using the Socratic method of
interrogation of a piece of literature we might ask:
______________ wrote it?
______________ did he write it?
______________ were they located?
To _____________ was he speaking?
______________ was said (or done) according to the text?
Step 2: A Deduction of Truths From Scripture
Systematic Theology draws certain logical conclusions from the premises

provided by a biblical _________________.
Step 3: The Use of Analogies

Study Guide-55
The method of analogy can be used to derive and refine an understanding of

God’s revealed truth. Since God has revealed Himself in both
______________ and _____________________revelation, systematic
theology can make use of analogies from either to help explain and expound
truth.
Step 4: The Use of General Revelation
God has revealed Himself in all of nature, including ________________-

nature. Indeed, every _____________________ in creation, wherever it is
found, is similar (analogous) to God, since He cannot produce what He does
not possess; He cannot give to creation what He does not have to give.
Step 5: The Retroductive Method
This step involves use of all the ________________________ gained in step

4 in order to help refine, nuance, and fill out our ______________________
of what is meant in the teachings of steps 1 through 3.
Step 6: Systematic Correlation ( of all information into a fully orbed

doctrine through the use of the laws of logic that insist that all truth
must be noncontradictory)
The Bible is the ______________ and _______________Word of God in the

_________________ text (not in all copies). In accord with a good analogy,
it is like Christ (the Word of God) in that both have a divine and human
dimension, yet without error. However, the Bible should be understood in
terms of the literary forms in which it is expressed, its own phenomena
(data), and in accord with other revelation from God in nature.
Step 7: Each Doctrine is Correlated with all Other Doctrines

Study Guide-56
The word systematic in systematic theology implies that all the teachings of
both general and special revelation are _________________ and
________________. The entails the use of another methodology—logic.
The law of _____________________________ affirms that A is not non-A.
To two truths can be contradictory, which is why all biblical truth and
extrabiblical truth must be brought into a consistent whole.
Step 8: Each Doctrine is Expressed in View of the Orthodox Teachings

of the Church Fathers
Systematic theology is a ___________________ discipline; only the Bible is

an infallible guide for faith and practice. However, theology should not be
done in a vacuum—just as we can see farther spatially if we stand on the
shoulders of giants, we likewise can see further theologically if we stand on
the shoulders of the church __________________. Considering seriously
the enduring teachings of the orthodox Fathers of the past is essential in
constructing a viable evangelical systematic theology for the present.
Step 9: Livability is the Final Test for Systematic Theology
True Christianity is not merely ___________________; it is also ethics. It is

not simply theoretical; it is practical. Its goal is not only to satisfy the
_____________ but also to shape the _____________. Therefore, it must be
livable; its truths must be effective in a pragmatic way. Of course, not all
that works is true, but what is true will work.
Study Guide-57
BIBLIOLOGY
Study Guide for Chapter Thirteen
The Bible claims to be a book from God, a message with divine

__________________.
Two basic texts on Revelation and Inspiration: _________________________

and ___________________________.
The biblical authors were ___________________ and ________________of

God.
Short Essay Question:

Support the position that the Bible is the “the inspired, authoritative Word of
God.”
The extent of divine authority in Scripture includes:

All that is ________________—2 Timothy 3:16
Even the very ________________—Matthew 22:43; 1 Corinthians 2:13
And the _____________and ___________—Matthew 22:32; Galatians 3:16
Even the _____________________ parts of words—Matthew 5:17-18
Study Guide-58
The locus of revelation and inspiration is the written

____________________, not simply the idea or even the writer.
Biblical inspiration is not only verbal (located in the words), but it is also
_________________________, meaning that it extends to every part of the
words and all they teach or imply.
The inspiration of God includes not only what the Bible teaches explicitly,
but also what it teaches _____________________,, covering not only
spiritual matters but factual ones as well.
While everything is the Bible is equally _______________, not everything

is equally __________________________.

Define “inspiration” as it applies to the Bible.
While the Bible was not dictated by God to secretaries, the final product is
as ____________________ and _____________________ as though it were
dictated.
Study Guide-59
Study Guide for Chapter Thirteen
The Hebrew godesh and Greek hagios both mean _____________ or

_______________, which means “to be set apart.” As an attribute of God,
holiness means to be totally and utterly set apart from all creation and from
evil.
Holiness is used of God’s Word similarly to the way it is used of God,

namely, to be set apart from other things, to be _______________, to be
________________.
God’s Word is not only holy itself, but it is able to make us

__________________.
As the Word of God, the Bible has divine authority.
The word _______________________ is not used in Scripture of itself;

however, other statements are used of the Bible that imply its infallibility.
Jesus declared that the Bible is _________________________.
The Bible has __________________________ power—it cannot be worn

out; it is tireless and inexhaustible.
The Bible has the quality of being __________________________; that is,

it cannot be overcome, made void or ineffective—it always accomplishes its
purpose.
Study Guide-60
SAMPLE ESSAY QUESTION:
Give and support one argument (Geisler offers three) that shows that the
Bible is without error.
Study Guide-61
Study Guide for Chapter Fifteen
The Bible is not only of _________________ origin, it also has

________________ authors, and therefore it is a human book. Indeed, it is a
_____________________________ book.
SHORT ESSAY
Defend the proposition that in addition to being a book of divine origin, it is
also a human book.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
There is one human characteristic that the Bible does not have;
_______________.
The logic of inerrancy is as follows:

God cannot err
The Bible is God’s Word
Therefore, the ____________ cannot ______________
Study Guide-62
Christians claim that God breathed out everything in the

___________________ text, not everything in the _______________.
The degree of accuracy between copies is greater than that of any other book
from the ancient world, exceeding _____________ percent.
Both ___________________ and Scripture are

_________________________.
It should be noted, that the Bible is not ______________, and should not be
______________________.
Worshipping a book is known as bibliolatry, or “idolizing the book.”

Study Guide-63
Study Guide for Chapter Sixteen
Whatever Jesus taught about the ______________ is the last word on the
topic.
Jesus’ words apply __________________ only to the Old Testament;

however, since He also made certain promises the apostles about New
Testament truth, and since the apostolic writings were considered on par
with the Old Testament, then what Jesus taught about the divine authority of
the Old Testament applies __________________ to the New Testament.
Over and over Jesus declared, “It is _____________” (Matt. 4:4, 7, 10).
With respect to what Jesus taught about the Old Testament:

1.) Jesus Affirmed Its Divine __________________
2.) Jesus Affirmed Its __________________
3.) Jesus Affirmed Its __________________
4.) Jesus Affirmed Its Ultimate __________________
5.) Jesus Affirmed Its Factual __________________
6.) Jesus Affirmed Its Historical __________________
7.) Jesus Affirmed Its Scientific __________________
Jesus employed several terms that refer to the Old Testament as a whole:
First, “law and __________________” its equivalent
Second, the term “the __________________”
Third, Jesus used a phrase equivalent to our “from Genesis to
__________________”
Study Guide-64
Not only did Jesus confirm the Old Testament to be the Word of God, He
also promised the same for the New Testament, affirming that the Holy
Spirit would __________________ the apostles “all things” and
__________________ them into “all truth.”
Paul cited the words of Jesus from the Gospel of Luke, calling them
“__________________” right alongside the Old Testament.
Peter acknowledges the letters of __________________ as Scripture.
Christ and the Critics
 Jesus affirmed that Daniel was a __________________, not a mere

__________________.
 Jesus confirmed that God __________________ Adam and Eve
 Jesus confirmed that __________________ was swallowed by a great
__________________
 Jesus verified that the world was __________________ by a
__________________
 Jesus maintained that there was __________________ Isaiah not
__________________
 Jesus confirmed that __________________ wrote Psalms ascribed to him
According to the accommodation theory, Jesus was merely

__________________ Himself to the accepted Jewish belief of the day with
Study Guide-65
respect to the divine authority of the Old Testament. Geisler proves this
false on my counts:
Accommodation to error is contrary to the __________________ of Jesus’ life.
Accommodation to error is contrary to Jesus’ __________________
Another critical hypothesis is the __________________ theory, which

argues that because Jesus was fully human, His knowledge was limited and
thus His words could not have been considered divine authority.
While Jesus was fully human, He was also fully __________________.
Jesus had a __________________ knowledge even in His human state
Christ possessed complete and final __________________ for whatever He
taught
Study Guide-66
Study Guide for Chapter Seventeen
The history of the Christian church is in overwhelming support of what the

Bible claims for itself, namely, to be the divinely __________________,
__________________, and __________________ word of God.
Epistle of Pseudo-Barnabas This work cites the gospel of Matthew after

stating that it is what “God __________________”
Epistle to the Corinthians He quotes the Synoptic Gospels after calling

them “__________________.”
Epistle to the Philippians He referred to the New Testament several times in

his epistle, introducing Galatians 4:26 as “the word of
__________________”.
Papias Wrote five books titled Esposition of the Oracles of the Lord, which
is the same title given to the Old Testament by the apostle Paul in Romans
3:2, revealing Papias’s high regard for the New Testament as the very
__________________ of God.
Justin Martyr He spoke of the Gospels as the “__________________ of

God”
Tatian He called John 1:5 “__________________”

Study Guide-67
Irenaeus He referred to the divine _________________ of the New

Testament.
Clement of Alexandria He called the gospel “__________________” in the

same senses as the Law and the Prophets.
Tertullian Never wavered in his support of the doctrine of

__________________ of both the Old and New Testaments.
Hippolytus Exhibited the same deep sense of __________________ toward

Scripture as his teacher Irenaeus
Origen Held that God “gave the law, and the prophets, and the
__________________, being also the God of the apostles and the of the Old
and New Testaments.
Cyprian Appeals to the Gospels as __________________, referring to them

as the “commandments of Christ.”
Eusebius Held to the __________________ of the Old and New

Testaments.
Athanasius Was the first to use the term “__________________” in

reference to the New Testament books, which he called “the foundations of
salvation.”
Study Guide-68
Cyril Offered what he called a summary of the “whole

__________________ of the Faith” that has been built up strongly out of all
the Scriptures.
Ambrose In his Letters Ambrose cites Matthew by using the familiar

introductory statement for a __________________ inspired writing.
Jerome His writings include many references to the “Holy

__________________” and to their authority.
The Syrian School at Antioch They viewed the Holy Spirit as providing the
content of __________________ and the prophet as giving it appropriate
expression and form.
Augustine of Hippo He completely endorsed the claims of the New

Testament for its __________________.
Gregory I Refers to Hebrews as “__________________”
Anselm of Canterbury He continued to state the __________________

view of inspiration.
The Victorines Their respect for Scripture was based on the belief of their
predecessors—that the Bible is the __________________ inspired Word of
God.
Study Guide-69
Thomas Aquinas In his Summa Theologica states, “The

__________________ of the Holy Scripture is God.”
Study Guide-70
Study Guide for Chapter Eighteen
On the nature of Scripture, there are no substantial __________________

between the views of the Reformers and the great early and medieval
__________________ of the church.
Martin Luther did not depart from the doctrine of Scripture held by his great
mentor, Augustine. He firmly adhered to the divine __________________,
__________________, and __________________ of Scripture.
John Calvin was just as repeatedly emphatic about the divine

__________________ and __________________ of Scripture as were
Augustine, Aquinas, and Luther.
Ulrich Zwingli held on to __________________ and __________________

of Scripture.
The Westminister Tradition Inspiration and authority of Scripture is affirmed

in “The Article of the __________________ of the Holy Scriptures for
Salvation”
The Weslyan Tradition In The Twenty-Five Articles of Religion, Article II,

“The Sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures for Salvation” affirms the absolute
__________________ and total __________________ of the Bible.
Study Guide-71
The Anabaptist and Baptist Tradition In the introduction to his Treatise

Against the Anabaptists, even Calvin acknowledged that “this sect
__________________ the Holy Scripture, as we do.”
The Roman Catholic View on Scripture The Council of Vatican I proclaimed

the __________________ of Scripture.
The Eastern Orthodox View of Scripture The Eastern Church has maintained
a high view of the __________________ of Scripture, in line with both the
Roman Catholic and Protestant view.
Study Guide-72
Study Guide for Chapter Nineteen
The word _________________ simply means “to execute judgment.”
There are two basic kinds of _________________ criticism: lower and higher.
_________________criticism has to do with the _________________ of

Scripture.
_________________ criticism has to do with the _________________ of the

text.
Higher criticism can be divided into two categories: positive and negative, also
called _________________ and _________________.
Destructive criticism is based on the presuppositions that are opposed to the

Bible and to _________________ theology.
One of the most persistent and unjustified presuppositions of negative biblical

criticism is _________________.
Associate the name with the philosophical view:
Inductivism: _________________
_________________: Thomas Hobbes
Antisupernaturalism: _________________
_________________: David Hume
Agnosticism: _________________
_________________: Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
Scientism: _________________
Study Guide-73
_________________: Spencer and Darwin
Roots of Destructive Biblical Criticism

Pietism: Stressed the primary importance of _________________ over “cold
orthodoxy.”
Liberalism: Friedrich Schleiermacher

The basis of religion is found in _________________. Religion is found in
_________________, and doctrine is only a form of feeling. The aim or
goal of religion is love of the ______, the World-Spirit. Religion is neither
true or false.
Existentialism: Soren Kierkegaard

It should be noted at the outset, that Kierkegaard’s personal faith can be
described as _________________, and he sought a form of piety that sought
to experience God rather than just to know about God. Other’s took his
writings and went beyond Kierkegaard in their application of his philosophy.
For him Christianity is a faith, first and foremost, and when this faith is
founded on Christ neither the rational affirmations of the truth of Scripture
nor the criticism of Scripture could diminish the experience one has with
God through Christ.
The subjective and experiential form of religion eventually gave way to

rationalism. Some of the more notable proponents of destructive biblical
criticism include:
Ferdinand C. Baur: Postulated that the Gospel of John must be a second-

century _________________ between the thesis of Peter and the antithesis
of Paul.
Study Guide-74
Rudolph Bultman: Developed an antisupernatural form of

_________________ of the New Testament.
Study Guide-75
Study Guide for Chapter Twenty
The rise of modern _________________ undermined the historical orthodox

view of Scripture.
THE CLASSICAL LIBERAL VIEW OF SCRIPTURE

L. Harold DeWolf’s View
Antisupernatural
Cultural _________________
Favor of the _________________ view
The Bible is not the _________________ of God
The Bible is _________________ and errant
The origin of Scripture is not _________________
Harry Emerson Fosdick’s View

Antisupernatural bias
Naturalistic _________________
The Bible is fallible and _________________
The Bible contains _________________
The Bible has scientific _________________
Some the acts ascribed to God in the Old Testament are immoral
THE NEOCLASSICAL LIBERAL VIEW OF SCRIPTURE

Schubert Ogden
God is not _________________, all-knowing, all-powerful
Revelation is not _________________
Rejects that what the Bible says, is what __________ says
Study Guide-76
None of the New Testament, in present form, was written by an

_________________ or one of his disciples
The Bible has authority only to the extent that it brings _____________ to
us
An Evaluation of Liberal Views of Scripture

Some Positive Aspects of the Liberal Views
The emphasis on the _________________ element of Scripture
The focus on matters of _________________ criticism
An understanding of the need for _________________
The emphasis on the need for biblical _________________
Some Negative Aspects of the Liberal Views

Liberalism’s belief is contrary to the claim of the ______________
It is contrary to the claim of _________________
It is contrary to the historical claim of the _________________
It is based on the wrong view of _________________
It is based on an unjustified _________________
It is _________________ with its own assumption
Study Guide-77
Study Guide for Chapter Twenty-One
The neo-orthodox view of Scripture arises out of a reaction to dead

____________, as well as out of reaction to dead _________________.
KARL BARTH: THE FATHER NEO-ORTHODOXY

The Origin of Scripture
___________ is the source of the Bible
The Threefold Word of God

Barth said there are three levels to the Word of God
Primary level of the Word of God is ____________, the Living Word of God
Secondary level of the Word of God is the _______________, which is a
witness to God’s primary revelation in Christ.
Tertiary level of the Word of God is the _____________ of the Word.
The Purpose of the Bible

The Bible is an _____________ through which God reveals His Word.
The Bible is a Record of Revelation

It is merely a ______________ of God’s revelation in Christ.
A Witness to the Word of God

The Bible is a _________________ witness to God’s revelation in Christ.
The Bible is Fallible and Errant

There are obvious overlappings and _________________, for example,
between the Law and the prophets, between John and the Synoptics, etc.
Study Guide-78
AN EVALUATION OF THE NEO-ORTHODOX VIEW OF

SCRIPTURE
The Positive Aspects of the Neo-Orthodox View

Rejection of mechanical _________________ theory of inspiration
Emphasis on the _________________ of Christ
Rejection of _________________ (worship of the Bible)
Stress on the need for personal _________________ with God
The _________________ of God in His acts/works
Focus on the need for _________________
The Negative Aspects of the Neo-Orthodox View

This view of Scripture is biblically _________________
This view of the Bible is _________________ unsupported
This view of the Bible is _________________ inconsistent
This view of Christ is _________________
This view of Scripture is _________________ misplaced
This view is filled with logical _________________
This view of Scripture is practically _________________
Study Guide-79
Study Guide for Chapter Twenty-Two
The Neo-Evangelical view is named this because it is a deviation from the
longstanding Evangelical teaching on Scripture.
REPRESENTATIVES OF NEO-EVANGELICALISM
G. C. Berkouwer
Berkouwer believed that in the Bible we can distinguish between the Word
of God and the words of man. The ________________ of God could be
heard within Scripture—a confession that falls short of the clear orthodox
proclamation that the Bible is the Word of God and not merely contains the
Word of God.
Berkouwer thought of Scripture more as a result of the ________________

of God than as a ________________ work of God.
Berkouwer believed that inspiration is ________________ (that is, that the

Bible is inspired as a ________________, but not necessarily in all its parts),
but verbal and plenary.
Berkouwer believed that the Bible is inspired in its ________________, i.e.,

the divine message of salvation, but again, not in verbal or plenary
inspiration.
Study Guide-80
Berkouwer was willing to accede that the Bible had human

________________, such as error, like any other human writing.
Berkouwer believed that the Bible has ________________ accommodations

that must be viewed as relevant only for the cultural in which it was written.
As such, he would not grant that the Bible is culturally transcendent.
Likewise, Berkouwer believed that the Bible contains ________________

accommodation, meaning that it reflected the human understanding of
science during the time in which it was written, and as such contains error.
Additionally, Berkouwer held that the Bible contains historical

accommodation, reflected in the fact that the writers “use certain _______-
_________ conceptions in their writing.” In this, he says, there are errors in
Scripture, and he uses error in the sense of being incorrect, not corrupt or
willfully deceptive.
In addition to the above accommodations claimed by Berkouwer, he also

believes that the Bible is ________________ even in the worldview it
expresses. He writes, “Scripture bears the marks of the period and of the
milieu in which it was written and shares in part these marks with culture
which in many ways was interrelated to that of Israel.” As such, he would
claim that this Judean/Jewish worldview is limiting and is not applicable
throughout all times, cultures, and worldviews. For example, the current
Postmodern worldview of the Twenty-First Century.
Finally, Berkouwer went so far as to claim there are ________________ in

the Bible.
Study Guide-81
Jack Rogers
Rogers was one of the faculty members of Fuller Theological Seminary who
successfully push through a neo-evangelical view of Scripture, which led to
the departure of several of the notable evangelical faculty members of the
seminary.
Rogers holds that “evangelicals believe the Bible is the authoritative word of
God.” However, he also maintained that it included accommodation to
human finitude and even error is involved in the this process. Follower
Berkouwer, he argued that the nature of inspiration is not verbal and plenary,
it is ________________.
Rogers was willing to speak of the inerrancy of the Bible, but regarded it in
terms of truth being determined by ________________ and not
correspondence. That is to say, the Bible is without error in what it intends
to do, not in all that it actually states. As such, Rogers believes that the
Bible does in fact have historical and scientific errors.
Once inerrancy was defined by ________________, rather than content, the

neo-evangelicals could speak of the saving ________________ of Scripture
with respect to what is meant by inspiration.
Having embraced the hermeneutical perspective of saving purpose rather

than verbal or plenary inerrancy, Rogers is able to accommodate modern
________________ criticism of the Bible.
Rogers proceeded in his ________________ philosophy of church history to

reinterpret the past in favor of his new evangelical view.
Study Guide-82
How does the neo-evangelical view differ from the evangelical view of
Scripture? (See summary on page 197)
C. S. Lewis
Lewis viewed Scripture as the ________________ of God through

________________ distortion. Lewis maintains that there was a constant
divine/human ________________ in the formation of Scripture.
For Lewis, Scripture resulted more from God’s ________________ than

from His supernatural intervention.
With respect to the inerrancy of the Bible, Lewis believed that there is a
________________ between the Word of God and the word of man
contained in Scripture.
Lewis’s view of the New Testament was more ________________ than his
view of the Old Testament. He had no difficulty with the liberal view that
there are myths in the Old Testament.
Study Guide-83
Likewise, he had no difficulty accepting that there were historical

________________ in the Bible. Unlike many neo-evangelicals, Lewis did
not limit the errancy of Scripture to ________________ matters. He found
error, for example in some of the psalms, which he believed were
contemptible and even devilish.
Lewis clearly rejected the orthodox view of ________________ Scripture.
Lewis rejected the traditional ________________ of certain sections of the

Old Testament, including Psalms. In addition, he rejected many of the Old
Testament ________________.
Lewis, was willing to embrace theistic ________________ in direct

contradiction with a literal interpretation of the creation account.
EVALUATION THE NEO-EVANGELICAL VIEWS OF SCRIPTURE
Positive aspects
It emphasizes the ________________ whole of Scripture
It warns against ________________ philosophical view
It takes seriously the ________________ nature of Scripture
It highlights the need for divine ________________
It interacts with contemporary ________________
Negative aspects
It is contrary to the claims of ________________
It is contrary to the ________________ of the Church Fathers and Reformers

Study Guide-84
It is based on a ________________ view of truth
It undermines the divine ________________ of the Bible

Study Guide-85
Study Guide for Chapter Twenty-Three
THE EVANGELICALS ON THE BIBLE
The evangelical view of Scripture is a continuation of the historical

________________ view as expressed in the Bible. Evangelicals affirm the
full ________________ and factual ________________ of the Bible.
NOTEABLES
Francis Turrentin
The authority of Scripture depends on their ________________. They are

from God, therefore, they must be authentic and divine.
Turrentin held that the Bible is both ________________ and

________________. The Bible cannot err because: 1) The Scriptures are
inspired of God; 2) If the integrity of Scripture cannot be maintained then
they cannot be regarded as the sole rule of faith and practice.
Turrentin believed that the ________________ Hebrew and Greek texts are
without error. He also believes that the Hebrew and Greek texts are the
standard and rule to which all ________________ should be applied.
Turrentin believed in __________ ________________, which means he

believes that the Bible is the only written authority for believers.
Turrentin believed in the ________________ of Scriptures, that is, that God

has insured that copies of Scripture have been providentially preserved by
God.
Study Guide-86
Jonathan Edwards
Edwards believed that the Bible was the very ________________ of God.
Edwards believed that the Bible was also a ________________ book. When
Edwards refers to the divinely authoritative product of inspiration and not to
the human means by which it was produced.
THE OLD PRINCETONIANS

Charles Hodge
C. Hodge argued that “all Protestants agree and teach that ‘the word of God,
as contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, is the only
________________ rule of faith and practice.’”
Hodge affirmed that “the Scriptures are infallible, i.e., given by

________________ of God.
Hodge opposed ________________. He calls the theory of evolution

“atheistic . . . the exclusion of design from nature is . . . tantamount to
atheism.”
A. Hodge and B. B. Warfield
These men believed that the Bible is the Word of God; it is not merely the
thoughts but the very ________________ of Scripture that are infallible.
They do not deny the ________________ element in the Scriptures and this
“obvious humanness” eliminates any notion of a “mechanical” or “verbal
dictation” view of inspiration.
Study Guide-87
They believed in the ________________ inspiration, and absolute

errorlessness in all it affirms. The Bible is therefore, verbal, plenary,
infallible and inerrant. What the sacred writers affirm is infallibly true.
In response to negative biblical criticism their position remained consistent

with the basic ________________ teaching about Scripture.
Evangelical Theological Society (ETS)
Their view is consistent with that of Hodge-Warfield.
THE EVANGELICAL VIEW OF SCRIPTURE
Acceptance of the long-standing ________________ view of the full

inspiration and factual inerrancy of Scripture. This orthodox view has been
rejected in modern times because of an unnecessary and unjustified
acceptance of antisupernaturalism and the uncritical and unsubstantiated
acceptance of alien philosophical presuppositions.
Evangelicals reject ________________. God Himself is supernatural, to

believe in God presupposes the possibility of the supernatural intervention of
God by way of miracles and spiritual manifestations.
Evangelicals reject the insertion of ________________ philosophical view

into the theological discussion. They reject the attempt to insert baseless
philosophical premises, antisupernaturalism, evolution, progressivism, and
secular existentialism.
Study Guide-88
Study Guide for Chapter Twenty-Four
Many contemporary theologians who call themselves fundamentalists accept

the same view as expressed in the “________________” position. Both groups
trace their roots back to C. Hodge, A. A. Hodge, B. B. Warfield, and J. G.
Machen.
Historical Fundamentalism
Historic fundamentalism held the standard ________________ view of
Scripture, the view of the Fathers and Reformers of the church.
Contemporary Fundamentalism
Current fundamentalists do not hold a ________________ view of Scripture.
They range from the standard evangelical view to a verbal dictation and
even beyond to a KJV only view.
VERBAL DICTATION VIEW

The Verbal Dictation View of John R. Rice
Rice embraced what he called “________________ dictation,” meaning that
there is a human side to the Bible in its style, language, composition, history
and culture.
THE INSPIRED KING JAMES VERSION VIEW

Most fundamentalists were reared on the KJV Bible. They appreciate the
beauty rhythm, cadence and descriptive power is indicative of
________________ style language.
However, some have taken things too far by ________________ this

aesthetically pleasing translation. They have frozen the truth of the original
Study Guide-89
Hebrew and Greek text of the Bible in this seventeen-century book as time
has passed them by.
CRITIQUE OF THE INSPIRED-KJV CLAIM
The choice of version is ________________. Why a Bible in English rather

than in German, or French, or some other language?
Why choose only this ________________ Bible as inspired? Why not some
other English translation, such as the more popular NIV?
Why are recent edition of the KJV? Why not the ________________ one?
Even the two editions issued in 1611 differ from each other.
The original KJV had the ________________ books in it. They were not
taken out until the 1629 edition.
To hold to the KJV as an inspired translation is to confess that many things

in it are ________________ and/or false. Some of the Old English words
have lost their meaning, or actually now mean the opposite of their original
—for example, “let” in 2 Thess. 2:7 now means “hinder” and not the modern
meaning of “let,” i.e., “allow.”
BIBLICAL DOCETISM—DIMINISHING SCRIPTURE’S

HUMANITY
Biblical docetism is an unorthodox view of Scripture, since it too diminishes

the Bible’s ______________ side. Denying biblical humanity is a failure to
recognize one or more of the following human characteristics of Scripture:
Scripture has human ________________, some forty in all.

Study Guide-90
The Bible was written in human ________________ —Hebrew, Aramaic,

and Greek.
The Bible utilizes different literary ________________ —from down to

earth to sophisticated.
The Bible uses different human ________________ —poetry, narrative,

parable, etc.
The Bible reflects different human ________________ —from shepherd to

prophet, to pastor.
The Bible reveals human thought ________________ and processes,

including human reasoning.
The Bible reveals human ________________ —including sorrow, anger,

joy, etc.
The Bible manifests specific human ________________.
The Bible expresses human ________________, basically Semitic.
The Bible utilizes other written human ________________, some of which

are not in the Bible.
Study Guide-91
Study Guide Chapter Twenty-Five
Christianity is a historical religion, and the main events on which it is based,
such as Creation and the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, claim
to be space-time events in the _______________ world.
The historicity of the Old Testament is based on two major factors: The
reliability of the Old Testament text, and the reliability of those who put the
text together.
THE RELIABILITY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT MANUSCRIPTS
The _______________ of Old Testament Manuscripts

Thousands of ancient manuscripts exist for the Old Testament
The _______________ of the Old Testament Manuscripts
Conservatives place the last book of the Old Testament around 400 B.C.
The _______________ of the Old Testament Manuscripts
The accuracy of the Old Testament manuscripts was attested in the discovery
of the _______________ Scrolls provide a cross-check on how accurately
manuscripts were copied during a thousand year period and the results
confirmed the accuracy of later manuscripts.
The Historicity of Particular Sections of the Old Testament

W. F. Albright wrote: “There can be no doubt that the archaeology has
_______________ the substantial historicity of the Old Testament tradition.”
Study Guide-92
Historicity of Adam and Eve

First, they are presented in Genesis 1-2 as _______________ persons.
Second, they gave birth to _______________ children.
Third, the phrase, “this is the _______________ of,” is used to record later
history.
Fourth, later Old Testament chronology of historical persons place

___________ at the top of the list.
Fifth, the New Testament places Adam at the beginning of

_______________ literal ancestors.
Sixth, _______________ referred to Adam and Eve as the first actual “male
and female.”
Seventh, the book of _______________ declares that literal death was

brought into the world by a literal man.
Eighth, in comparison of Adam with _______________, 1 Corinthians 15:45

manifests that Adam was understood as being historical.
Ninth, Paul’s declaration that “_______________ was first formed, then

Eve”
Tenth, logically there had to be a first real set of human being, male and
female to account for present _______________.
The Historicity of Noah and the Flood
First, the account presents itself as _______________, not mythological.

Study Guide-93
Second, it is part of a broader _______________ account, being linked by

such literary connectives as, “this is the account of Noah” (Gen. 6:9).
Third, it is immediately followed by a listing of _______________ and cities

know to come from that area of the world.
Fourth, Noah and his sons are listed in a later ___________ record in 1
Chronicles.
Fifth, Isaiah the prophet referred to ________ and the Flood as historical
events (54:9).
Sixth, during the time of Ezekiel the prophet, Noah was still considered one
of the great figures of _______________ history.
Seventh, _______________ affirmed that Noah, the Flood, and details

surrounding the Flood are historical (Matt. 24:37-38).
Eight, the writer of _______________ places Noah in the great Hall of Faith
along with other historical figures like Abraham, Moses, and David (Heb.
11:7).
Ninth, the apostle _______________ twice refers to Noah and the Flood as a
literal person and event (1 Pet. 3:20; 2 Pet. 2:5).
Tenth, there is abundant _______________ evidence that the water once

covered the entire earth, including mountains and the poles.
Eleventh, the worldwide existence of Flood stories in diverse

_____________ and _______________ is testimony to the historicity of
Noah and the Flood.
Study Guide-94
Historicity of the Tower of Babel
The _______________ archeological finds of this area support the

historicity of this text.
Historicity of the Patriarchs
Law codes have been found from the time of Abraham that show why the
Patriarch would have been hesitant to throw Hagar out of his camp, for he
was _______________ bound to support her.
The discovery of the _______ letters reveals such names a Abam-ram,

Jacob-el, and Benjamites. These to not refer to the biblical character, but
demonstrate that these names are consistent with names of that time and
place.
Historicity of Sodom and Gomorrah
Evidence has revealed that all five cities mentioned in the Bible (Sodom and
Gomorrah and three other cities in the area) were in fact centers of
_______________ and were geographically situated as the Scriptures say.
Be prepared to support the historicity of the Mosaic period, the

monarchial period, and the captivity and post-captivity accounts in
short answer form.
Study Guide-95
Study Guide for Chapter Twenty-Six
Few scholars have denied the complete _______________ of the New

Testament. Even Bultmann, who denied the miracles and attempted to
“demythologize” Scripture, said, “By no means are we at the mercy of those
who _______________ that Jesus ever lived.”
The historicity of the New Testament is basically the historicity of the

_________, the book of _______, and the early epistles of ______.
THE RELIABILITY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT
The _______________ of New Testament Manuscripts
The early ________ of the New Testament Manuscripts
The _______________ of the New Testament Manuscripts
The _______________ of the New Testament Manuscripts by Early Church

Fathers
THE RELIABILITY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT ACCOUNTS
The Historicity of Acts
The date and authenticity of the book of Acts is crucial to the historicity of
early Christianity and, thus, to apologetics in general. If Acts was written
before _______________ while the eyewitnesses were still alive, then it has
great historical value in informing us of the earliest Christian beliefs.
If Acts was written by A.D. 62 (the traditional date), then it was written by a
_______________ of Jesus (who died A.D. 33).
Study Guide-96
Five strong reasons, given by Colin Hemer for accepting the traditional early
date of Acts:
There is no mention in Acts of the crucial historical event of the fall of

_______________ in A.D. 70, which places Acts before that event.
There is no hint of the outbreak of the _______________ in 66 or of any

serious or specific deterioration of relations between Romans and Jews,
implying Acts was written before that time.
There is no hint of the more immediate deterioration of Christian relations

with Rome involved in the _______________ persecution of the late 60’s.
There is no hint of the death of _______________ at the hands of the

Sanhedrin in c. 62, recorded by Josephus.
Since the apostle _______________ was still alive (Acts 28), it must have
been written before his death (c. A.D. 65).
Historicity of the Gospel Accounts
Arguing for the historicity of one of the _______________ Gospels is to

argue for the historicity of all the three (Matthew, Mark and Luke), Geilser
shows strong support for the historicity of Luke because there are numerous
arguments to support his historicity.
The author of Luke is known to be an accurate _______________, as

evidenced by his writing the book of Acts.
The Gospel of Luke was written by about _______________, which was

within 30 years of Jesus’ ministry.
Study Guide-97
Luke states that he researched for writing this account:

He is aware of other earlier _______________ accounts of Christ’s life
The gospel of Luke is based on “_______________” testimony
He had “carefully _______________ everything from the beginning”
The archeological confirmation of the Gospels
The Gospels breathe the same air of first-century ____________ culture.

The mention of __________, Sadducees, Jewish traditions, customs, and use
of Aramaic words affirm that they were written during the first century.
References to ___________, topography, lakes, land, etc. all point to the
authenticity of the Gospels.
The accurate portrayals of historical ______________ such as Caesar
Augustus, Quirinius, King Herod, etc. strongly support the historical
accuracy of the test.
Archeological discovery of specific places, such as the Siloam pool, pool of
Bethesda, the foundation of ____________ temple, etc. are consistent with
the accounts of Scripture.
Like the rest of _______________, the life of Christ portrayed in the
Gospels fits perfectly into the known facts unearthed by the archeology of
this period.
Evidence for the Historicity of Paul’s Early Epistles

There is general agreement, even among _______________ critics, that Paul
wrote 1 Corinthians adjourned A.D. 55.
First Corinthians presents the same basic information about Christ found in
the _______________, but some five years earlier than Luke.
There is strong internal evidence for Pauline authorship, as well as strong
external evidence, namely _______________ of Rome, the Epistle of
Study Guide-98
_______________, the _______________, and the Shepherd of

_______________.
Paul rests the very truth of Christianity on the historicity of the
_______________, and as such provides lists of living witnesses to Jesus’
resurrection, including Paul himself.
Confirmation of the New Testament from the Basic Facts Position

Professor Habermas lists “at least twelve separate facts that are agreed to be
knowable history” by “practically all critical scholars”:
Jesus died by _______________
Jesus was _______________
His disciples _______________
The tomb was later found _______________
The disciples believed they later saw literal appearances of ___________
They were transformed from doubters to bold proclaimers of His
_______________
This message was the center of their early _______________
They preached this in _______________ shortly after it happened
The church was born and grew _______________
_______________ was their primary day of worship
James was converted from _______________ to belief in the resurrection of
Jesus
A few years later Paul was _______________, proclaiming that he had seen
the resurrected Christ.
Given this “knowable history” it can be argued that no purely naturalistic
theory explains all these facts and that the actual _______________
resurrection of Jesus is the best explanation of all the facts.
Study Guide-99
Strong Internal Evidence for the Historicity of the Gospels

There is no attempt by the Gospel writers to _______________ (make them
agree with one another on every point) their accounts. If this was a fraud,
one would expect them to try very hard to get their accounts to agree 100
percent.
The Gospel writers have passages that appear to put Jesus in a
_______________, such as not going immediately to heal Lazarus, instead,
allowing Lazarus to die, and then going to raise him. Further, they record
the negative gossip concerning Jesus, i.e., that He was a drunkard, a
madman, that He was demon possessed, and that His own brothers did not
believe in Him. If these writers were trying to perpetrate a fraud, they would
have omitted these negative reports, and only cast Jesus in a positive light.
The Gospel writers leave _______________ passages in their text. If they
were trying to fabricate historical facts about the life of Jesus, they would
have smoothed out difficult passages rather than leaving them in.
The Gospel writers include reports that cast ______________ (the disciples)
in a negative light. Again, one would not expect this in a false account.
By all accounts, the Gospel writers did not deny their testimony, even under
threat of _______________.
The Gospel writers claim to have based their account on _______________,
a claim that could easily have been proven wrong if it were not true.
Study Guide-100
Study Guide Chapter Twenty-Seven
The doctrine of inerrancy is not directly taught in Scripture, although it is

_______________ implied. Two things are directly taught:
Premise 1). The Bible is the _______________ of God
Premise 2) God cannot _______________
Conclusion: The _______________ cannot _______________
DEFINITIONS:
_______________ means “breathed out by God, what comes from God

himself.”
_______________ means “what has divine authority, what cannot be broken.”
_______________ means “what is without error, wholly true.”
What is inspired is _______________, since inspired means to be breathed out

by God, and what is God-breathed cannot be in _______________. However,
not everything inerrant is divinely _______________.
The Bible is God-Breathed
__________ declared that “all Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for

teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” (2 Tim. 3:16)
The Nature of a Prophet

Study Guide-101
The Bible claims to be a _______________ writing (Heb. 1:1; 2 Peter 1:20-

21), prophets, as mouthpieces of God, spoke only what God put in their
mouths.
The Divine Authority of the Bible
Jesus said God’s Word was exalted above all _____________ authority
(Matt. 15:3-6).
The Bible is “What God Says”
What the Bible _______________, God _______________.
The Bible is Called “The ____________ of God”
This very phrase or its equivalent is used many times of the Bible in part or
as a whole.”
God Cannot Err
Every moral law has a Moral _______________
There is an _______________ moral law
Hence, there is an absolute _______________ Lawgiver
The argument from Scripture
“. . . it is impossible for God to __________” (Heb. 6:18)
Paul speaks of the “God who does not lie” (Titus 1:2), a God who, even “if
we are faithless, he will remain _______________, for he cannot disown
himself” (2 Tim. 2:13).
Study Guide-102
God is truth (John 14:6), and so is His Word; Jesus said to the Father, “Your
Word is _______________” (John 17:17).
The Psalmist said, “All your __________ are true” (Ps. 119:160; cf. Rom.
3:4).
Therefore the Bible Cannot Err
Truth is ___________________ with the facts. Therefore when we speak

abou the inerrancy of the Bible we mean that it is actually and factually
correct in whatever it affirms.
The Bible has no _______________ of any kind. Whatever God affirms is

true, is true no matter what the subjects; He cannot err on any topic.
THEOLOGICAL DEFINITION OF INSPIRATION AND

INERRANCY
Inspiration is the supernatural _______________ exerted on the sacred

writers by the Holy Spirit of God, by virtue of which their writings are given
divine trustworthiness.
Six Crucial Elements in a Complete Definition of Inspiration and

Inerrancy
Its divine _______________ (from God);
Its human _______________ (through men);
Its written _______________ (in words);
Its original _______________ (in autographs or original text);
Its final _______________, normative (for believers);

Study Guide-103
Its inerrant _______________ (without errors).
Objection that Inerrancy is Contrary to Fact. It Makes the Following
Mistakes
Mistake 1: Assuming that the unexplained is not _______________
Mistake 2: Presuming the Bible _______________until proven innocent
Mistake 3: Confusing _______________fallible interpretations with
_______________infallible revelation
Mistake 4: Failing to understand the _______________of the passage
Mistake 5: Neglecting to interpret difficult passages in the light of
_______________ones
Mistake 6: Basing a teaching on an _______________passage
Mistake 7: Forgetting that the Bible is a _______________book with
_______________ characteristics
Mistake 8: Assuming that a partial report is a _______________report
Mistake 9: Demanding that New Testament _______________of the Old
Testament always be exact quotes

Study Guide-104
Mistake 10: Assuming that _______________accounts are false ones
Mistake 11: Presuming that the Bible approves of all it _______________
Mistake 12: Forgetting that the Bible uses _______________, everyday
language
Mistake 13: Assuming that the _______________numbers are false
Mistake 14: Neglecting to note that the Bible uses different
_______________devices
Mistake 15: Forgetting that only the original text, __________ every copy of
Scripture is without error
Mistake 16: Confusing general statements with _______________ones
Mistake 17: Forgetting that later revelation ______________previous
revelation
Mistake 18: The allegation that _______________irregularities are errors
First, there is no _______________standard for grammar.
Second, grammar as such does not deal with _______________but is only
the form through which verbal truth is expressed.

Study Guide-105
Third, irregular grammar is often a more _______________expression of an
idea as slang reveals

Study Guide-106
Study Guide for Chapter Twenty-Eight
_______________means rule or norm, and as used of the Bible it means which

books are the normative books for Christian faith and practice.
Judaism, Catholicism and Protestantism agree over the common

_______________ (Jewish) cannon, which consists of thirty-nine books
(numbered twenty-four in Jewish Bible). This can be called the
_______________ canon.
Although the Roman Catholic canon has _______________more books than the
Protestant Bible, only _______________extra books appear in the table of
contents of Roman Catholic Bibles.
A Response to Catholic Arguments in Favor of the Apocrypha
There may be New Testament allusions to the Apocrypha, but there are no
clear New Testament _______________from them—not one.
The fact that the New Testament often quotes from the Greek Old Testament
in no way proves that the apocryphal books contained in Greek manuscripts
of the Old Testament are _______________.
Citations by the church fathers in support of the canonicity of the Apocrypha

are _______________and misleading. What one church father accepted,
another church father rejected. There is no unanimity on the fact that the
apocryphal books should be viewed as canonic.
Study Guide-107
Although some individuals in the early church had a high esteem for the
Apocrypha, there were many individuals who vehemently
_______________it.
As even many Catholic scholars will admit, scenes from the

_______________do not prove the canonicity of the books whose events
they depict.
None of the great Greek manuscripts contains all of the

_______________books.
There are some important reasons why citing these church councils does not
prove the Apocrypha belonged in the canon of the church.
First, these were only _______________councils, not binding on the whole

church.
Second, these books were not part of the Christian (New Testament period)
writings, and hence, they were not under the providence of the Christian
_______________to decide.
Third, the books accepted by these Christian councils may not have been the
_______________ones in each case,
Fourth, the local councils of Hippo and Carthage in North Africa were
influenced by _______________, who is the most significant antiquated
voice that accepted the same apocryphal books later canonized by the
Council of Trent. However, his position is ill-founded.
The Greek Orthodox Church has not always accepted the Apocrypha, nor is
its present position _______________.
Study Guide-108
At the Council of Trent the _______________ proclamation was made

accepting the Apocrypha as the part of the inspired Word of God. However,
the “infallible” decision at Trent came a millennium and a half after the
books were written and in an obvious polemic against _______________
and the Reformation.
Apocryphal books appeared in Protestant Bibles prior to the Council of

Trent, and they were generally placed in a separate _______________
because they were not considered of equal authority.
The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls at Qumran included not only the
community’s bible (the Old Testament) but also their library, with fragments
of hundreds of different books. There were some Old Testament apocryphal
books, but there were no _______________ on any of the apocryphal books,
only on canonical books.
Argument in Favor of the Jewish/Protestant Old Testament Cannon
The true test of canonicity is _______________, which determines

canonicity for Old Testament books. God determined which books would be
written in the Bible by giving their message to a prophet. So only books
written by a prophet or an accredited spokesperson for God are inspired and
belong in the canon of Scripture. Of course, while God _______________
canonicity by propheticity, the people of God had to _____________ which
of these books were prophetic.
No apocryphal book claims to be written by a _______________.

Study Guide-109
There is no _______________ confirmation of any of the writers or the

apocryphal books.
There is no predictive _______________ in the Apocrypha.
There is no new _______________ truth in the Apocrypha
Even the Jewish community acknowledged that the prophetic ____________

had ceased in Israel before the Apocrypha was written.
The apocryphal books were never listed in the _______________ Bible.
Never once is any apocryphal book cited authoritatively by a

_______________ book written after it.
No canonical list or _______________ of the Christian church accepted the

Apocrypha as inspired for nearly the first four centuries.
The _______________ rejected the canonicity of the Apocrypha.
Incorrect and Correct View of Cannon
Incorrect View of Canon Correct View of Cannon
Church _______________ Church Discovers Canon

Canon Church is Child of Canon
Church is ____________ of Church is ____________ of
Canon Canon
Church is Magistrate of Canon Church ______________ Canon
Church Regulates Canon Church is Servant of Canon
Church is ____________of
Study Guide-110
Canon
THE NEW TESTAMENT CANON
The Evidence for the Completeness of the New Testament
The reasons for believing that the _______________ books of the current
New Testament and those alone, belong in the Christian canon are very
strong.
The Promise of Jesus

First, Jesus was the full and complete _______________ of the Old
Testament (Matt. 5:17)
Second, Jesus chose, commissioned, and credentialed twelve

_____________ (cf. Heb. 2:3-4) to _____________ this full and final
revelation that He gave them (Matt. 10:1f.), and before He left this world He
promised these apostles to guide them into all _____________, saying, “the
Holy Spirit . . . will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I
have said to you” (John 14:26).
Third, the apostles of Christ lived and died in the first century, consequently
the record of this full and final revelation of Christ to the apostles was
completed in the _______________century.
Study Guide-111
Fourth, so that there would be no doubt as to who was authorized to teach

this full and final revelation of God in Christ, God gave special supernatural
_______________ to the apostles (who in turn gave them to their associates
—Acts 6:6; 8:15-18; 2 Tim. 1:6). [Note: Geisler’s view here is a cessationist
view, which holds that the miraculous gifts of the Spirit ended with the
completion of the New Testament. Further, the argument is that only the
apostles (and associates) exercised these gifts. This is not a view which the
Pentecostal community shares.]
Fifth, there is only one _______________ record of apostolic teaching in

existence, and that is the twenty-seven books of the New Testament. All
other books claiming inspiration were written in the second century or later.
The Providence of God

God, who is omniscient and omnipotent, would not inspire books for the
faith and practice of believers down through the centuries that He did not
_______________. Lost inspired books would be a lapse in God’s
providence.
The Preservation by the Church
First, a _______________ of these books was made from the earliest times;
even within the New Testament itself this preservation process was put into
action.
Second, the _______________ of the apostles show a concerned awareness

of their mentor’s writings, quoting from prolifically.
Study Guide-112
Third, when _______________ by heretical teaching, such as that of

Marcion the Gnostic, who rejected all but part of Luke and ten of Paul’s
epistles, the church responded by officially defining the extent of the Canon.
Proclamation of the Church

Eventually the Christian church came to pronounce _______________ on
the twenty-seven books of the present New Testament canon. There has
been no significant debate on this since around AD 400.
The New Testament Apocrypha

The New Testament Apocrypha includes: the Epistle of Pseudo-
_______________; the Epistle to the Corinthians; the Gospel According to
the _______________; the Epistle of _______________ to the Philippians;
the _______________, or Teaching of the Twelve; the seven Epistles of
_______________; the Ancient Homily, or the Second Epistle of
_______________; the Shepherd of Hermas; the Apocalypse of Peter; and
the Epistle to the Laodiceans.
Reasons for Rejecting the NT Apocrypha

First, none of them experienced any more than a local or temporary
_______________.
Second, most of them had at best a quasi-canonical status, being merely
_______________to various manuscripts or listed in tables of contents.
Third, no major canon or church council _______________them as part of
the inspired Word of God.
Study Guide-113
Fourth, their limited and temporal _______________is explainable on the

ground that they were believed wrongly (1) to have been written by an
apostle, or (2) to have been referred to in an inspired book.
THE COMPLETENESS OF THE BIBLICAL CANON

There is no evidence that any inspired book has been __________. This is
confirmed by
 The _______________ of God
 The immediate and careful _______________ of the church
 The absence of any evidence of any other _______________ or apostolic
book.

Alleged contrary examples are easily explained as either
_______________ works to which the biblical author made reference, or
Inspired works contained in the sixty-six inspired books but with another
____________.
CONCLUSION
The Bible is the only _______________ written revelation of God to man.
It is complete and as such is sufficient for _______________ and
_______________; nothing more is needed; the spiritual guide to life needs
no new chapters. The Author inspired a complete manual from the
beginning and has _______________ all of it, intact.
Study Guide-114
Study Guide for Chapter Twenty-Nine
The Bible cannot be the Word of God, unless there is a God_______________

nor can the Bible be supernaturally confirmed to be the Word of God unless
there are special acts of God, such as _______________.
Scientific Evidence for a Supernatural Cause of the Universe

Everything that comes into existence has a _______________; modern
science has shown that the universe must have had a Cause, since the
material universe came into existence.
Scientific Evidence for a Super-Intelligent Cause of the Universe

The _______________ principle states that the universe was fitted from the
very moment of its existence for the emergence of life in general and for
human life in particular.
Theistic Implications of the Anthropic Principle

The conditions that gave rise to the anthropic principle are such that would
lead one to believe that the universe was “_______________ crafted” for our
benefit.
Intelligent Design Explains the Origins of Complex Life—Microbiology
Life does not arise from purely non-intelligent _______________ laws.
Microbiology has demonstrated,
The _______________ code of life is mathematically identical to that of a
human language
The specified complexity of a one-celled animal is equal to thirty volumes
of the Encyclopedia Britannica.
Study Guide-115
ADVANCED SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE IN THE BIBLE
The order of _______________ of creation are known by modern science

and they correspond to the biblical account.
Just at the Bible affirmed long before science demonstrated it to be true,
everything reproduces after its own _______________.
Science has shown that human bodies are indeed made of the
_______________; the minerals and compounds are found in the
composition of the earth.
Rain water returns to its _______________ through a cycle of evaporation
and precipitation. The Bible declared this before science understood it.
The earth is _______________ and hangs in space, just as we now know.
The life is in the _____________, a fact well attested to by a loss of blood
bringing death.
The sea has ____________ and boundaries. The continental shelf that
makes this possible is a fairly recent discovery.
The laws of _______________ were instituted in the Moasic Law long
before humanity knew anything of microbes.
THE TESTIMONY OF THE SCROLLS

The New Testament _______________ are more numerous than the ancient
classics which have survived.
The New Testament manuscripts were written much _______________ to
the actual events, and as such less likely to have been corrupted.
The New Testament Manuscripts are more _______________ copied than
any other ancient texts. One hundred percent of the message of the New
Testament has been preserved in its manuscripts.
Study Guide-116
The New Testament manuscripts were written by _______________ and

eyewitnesses of the events.
THE TESTIMONY OF THE SCRIBES

The nature of the prophet as a _______________ of God
Prophets claimed to be _______________ by the Spirit of God
“Thus _______________ the Lord”
The Scriptures claim to be _______________ out by God
What the _______________ says, God says
The Bible claims to be the “_______________ of God”
THE TESTIMONY OF THE SUPERNATURAL

Supernatural _______________ in the Bible
Supernatural _______________ in the Bible
THE TESTIMONY OF THE STRUCTURE OF THE BIBLE

First, it was written over a period of some _______________ years or more.
Second, it is composed of _______________ different books.
Third, these books were written by some _______________ different
authors.
Fourth, it was composed in _______________ languages—Hebrew, Greek,
and Aramaic.
Fifth, it contains hundreds of different _______________.
Sixth, it was written in a variety of different literary _______________,
including history, poetry, didactic, parable, allegory, apocalyptic and epic.
Seventh, it was composed by authors of many different _______________.
Study Guide-117
Yet, in spite of all this vast diversity, the Bible reveals an astounding
unity
First, it is a _______________, unfolding drama of redemption.
Second, the Bible as one _______________theme: the person of Jesus Christ
Third, the Bible has one unified _______________: humanity’s sin and
salvation through Christ.
THE TESTIMONY OF THE STONES
The rocks cry out in support of the historicity and authority of the Bible. No
archeological find has ever _______________ a biblical claim.
Wm. Albright said, “There can be no doubt that archaeology has

_______________ the substantial historicity of the Old Testament tradition.”
For Acts, the confirmation of historicity is _______________.
THE TESTIMONY OF THE SAVIOR

Jesus _______________ to be the Son of God (John 8:58; Matt. 16:16-18;
26:63-64) and was confirmed by acts of God (John 3:2; Acts 2:22). Jesus
said the _______________ is the Word of God, therefore either the Bible is
the Word of God, or Jesus is not the Son of God.
Jesus confirmed the Old Testament to be the _______________ of God.

Jesus _______________ that the New Testament would be the Word of God.
THE TESTIMONY OF THE SPIRIT

Study Guide-118
No amount of evidence apart from the work of the _______________ will

convince anyone of the significance of the fact that the Bible is God’s Word.
THE TESTIMONY OF THE SAVED
The _______________ power of the Bible is widely know. On chief

example is Saul of Tarsus who was transformed from being a hater of
persecutor of Christ and Christians, to becoming a preacher of the gospel,
even to the Gentiles.

Geisler Study Guide Sys Theo I

Diunggah oleh

Informasi Dokumen

Hak Cipta

Format Tersedia

Bagikan dokumen Ini

Bagikan atau Tanam Dokumen

Opsi Berbagi

Apakah menurut Anda dokumen ini bermanfaat?

Apakah konten ini tidak pantas?

Hak Cipta:

Format Tersedia

Geisler Study Guide Sys Theo I

Diunggah oleh

Hak Cipta:

Format Tersedia

Study Guide-1

Study Guide for

This Guide corresponds to:

To complete this guide, you must read Geisler’s

Study Guide for Norman Geisler, Systematic Theology, Vol. 1, Chapter

_____________________________- is the introduction to theology. It deals

with the necessary preconditions for doing systematic theology.

Theology is a rational discourse about ______________.

_________________ theology is a discourse about God that maintains that

1. _________________ and ________________ of the Bible

2. The _________________ of God

3. The ______________ _____________ of Christ

4. The ________________ of Christ

5. The all-sufficiency of Christ’s atoning __________________for _________

6. The __________________ and ________________ resurrection of Christ

7. The necessity of salvation by _____________ alone

8. The _________________ and _____________ return of Christ to the earth

9. The eternal ______________ bliss of the saved and eternal ____________ of

Three categories of theology are:

1. ____________ Theology—a study of the biblical basis for theology

2. ____________ Theology—a discussion of the theology of the great

theologians of the Christian church.

3. ____________ Theology—an attempt to construct a comprehensive

(biblical) or general (natural) revelation.

The Basic Divisions of Systematic Theology

List and define the basic divisions found on page 16 of Geisler.

1. _____________________ is the study of __________________

2. _____________________ is the study of __________________

3. _____________________ is the study of __________________

4. _____________________ is the study of __________________

5. _____________________ is the study of __________________

6. _____________________ is the study of __________________

7. _____________________ is the study of __________________

8. _____________________ is the study of __________________

May also include:

9. Christology which is the study of ________________________

10. Pneumatology which is the study of _____________________

The Preconditions of Evangelical Theology

Evangelical theologians believe that the Bible is an __________________,

absolutely ______________ communication in human language that came from

an _____________________, _________________ and morally

challenged by our current _________________.

The existence of a ______________ God is the foundation of Christian

Theism is the __________________ precondition for evangelical theology.

___________________ is the study of being or reality. It is the study of being

as being, as opposed to studying being as physical being.

______________ (God created all), as opposed to ______________ (there is no

God at all) and __________________ (God is all).

Theism and the Opposing Worldviews

___________________ holds that more than one being exists.

___________________ asserts that all reality is one—that there is only being.

__________________ believes that there are many beings in existence.

The Alternatives to Monism

List the alternatives to Monism as listed by Geisler and the definitions:

Of these alternatives, which one is consistent with the Christian view?

The Four Arguments for God’s Existence

First: The Cosmological Argument for God’s Existence

The cosmological argument come in two basic forms: ____________________

The Horizontal Form of the Cosmological Argument

1.) Everything that had a beginning had a _____________

The Vertical Form of the Cosmological Argument

The argument from contingency

The argument from change

1.) Whatever changes passes from a state of ________________ (potency) for

1. _ and of the Bible

3. The __ _ of Christ

5. The all-sufficiency of Christ’s atoning __________for _

6. The __ and resurrection of Christ

8. The _____ and _ return of Christ to the earth

9. The eternal __ bliss of the saved and eternal of

1. ___ is the study of

2. ___ is the study of

3. ___ is the study of

4. ___ is the study of

5. ___ is the study of

6. ___ is the study of

7. ___ is the study of

8. ___ is the study of

an _____, _ and morally

(God created all), as opposed to (there is no

Miracles are ____ but not anti-_.

as ___. He is the cause of the as well

God is revealed in history, which is call _-___. It is the

God as _ God as ___

Norm for _ Norm for ___

1. The Bible Alone is _ and

2. The Bible Alone _ God as _______

3. The Bible Alone has the _____ of _

4. The Bible Alone is the _ Norm for _____

1.) It puts _ on the general __ law.

proper from _.