By Natasha Crain
A few days ago I felt a rather large, firm lump on my body.
My first reaction was, “What on Earth is that?”… followed closely by, “Oh my gosh. This could be it.”
Honestly, I started to panic. I know I’m at a higher risk for certain types of cancer and I imagined the worst.
My doctor wasn’t able to get me in for five days. I spent that five days consumed by Google research—diagnosing myself, guessing what stage cancer it would be if I had it, and looking at 5-year survival rates for the various stages. Every time the kids were occupied, I would quickly grab my phone to Google something new about the size, shape, and texture of my unwelcome lump.
I eventually concluded that there was a pretty good chance it actually wasn’t cancer given the characteristics of the lump. I was still scared, but the more logical side of me believed it was more likely than not to be benign. When the morning of my appointment rolled around, I went in with the hope of reassurance.
That didn’t happen.
The doctor said he was “pretty” confident it wasn’t cancerous. I asked him if “pretty” confident meant something more like 51 percent or 90 percent, thinking he would say 90 percent. He replied, “More like 51 percent.”
The words hung in the air for what seemed an eternity. This is just as likely to go either way.
The doctor gave me an urgent referral for the various tests needed to determine what was going on later that day. I went home and had some very dark moments.
Fear consumed me. I prayed with desperate, tear-covered pleas for health.
I felt absolutely nothing back from God.
Just a menacing silence.
And at that moment, the voices of so many skeptics filled my head…
Why would God be so hidden at a time like this? Is He really there?
As an apologist—someone who knows well the evidence for God’s existence and the truth of Christianity—I knew what I would say to someone else asking that question. I could talk all about evidence and the philosophical reasons for divine hiddenness.
But at that moment, I didn’t want any more evidence. I didn’t want to make a case to myself for the truth of Christianity. I didn’t want to weigh facts to see what was most reasonable.
I wanted an experience.
I wanted a feeling.
I wanted to be overcome with the presence of God, with a feeling of peace, or with a supernaturally-given reassurance that I was going to be OK.
None of those things happened. And in that darkest of moments, I understood more than ever why experience so often trumps evidence… for both skeptics and Christians.
When Experience Trumps Evidence for Skeptics
Christian apologist Sean McDowell and the “Friendly Atheist” blogger Hemant Mehta were recently on the Unbelievable podcast by Justin Brierley. It was a fascinating discussion on what both Christians and atheists get wrong about the other side. You can watch it here on YouTube or listen through the podcast. I thought Sean was brilliant, and his gracious but pointed comments and questions revealed many of the inconsistencies in Mehta’s worldview.
But one thing stood out to me more than any other. Someone asked what it would take to change each of their minds about what they believe. Mehta (and I’m paraphrasing) said that he’s heard all the kinds of evidence that Christians offer and there’s really no evidence that could be convincing…outside of a personal experience.
This was absolutely intriguing to me. He had spent much of the discussion explaining how he doesn’t believe because there’s no evidence for God’s existence, but when pressed on what would change his convictions, he acknowledged that there’s no objective evidence—evidence outside himself—that would change his mind. It would have to be a personal experience (and he said he would question even that).
His comment made me reflect on years of hearing from skeptics through my blog. Though the reason for unbelief is almost always framed as “lack of evidence,” the comments typically come sandwiched with a list of experiential issues:
I’ve never experienced God doing anything in my life even when I desperately needed it.
God never answered my prayers when I was a Christian.
If God exists, he wouldn’t have let my daughter be born with this disability.
I used to be a Christian, but when I was losing faith I cried out to God for a sign, and nothing happened.
Truthfully, I’ve always mentally responded to such statements with, “but these things, logically speaking, don’t mean God doesn’t exist…we have to look at the objective evidence for the whole picture of reality.” And that’s true.
But I can now better understand that experience can be so powerfully negative that we can become closed to considering any evidence outside of ourselves. We naturally trust our interpretation of our experiences over our interpretation of things like the complexity of DNA.
When Experience Trumps Evidence for Christians
People who are passionate about apologetics often lament the fact that so many Christians don’t understand the need for it in today’s world. What we hear all the time from church-goers is that they already believe, so they don’t need all this “evidence stuff.”
As someone who writes and speaks frequently about all the important reasons why we desperately need this “evidence stuff” to be known in the church today, that’s very frustrating. And it can be even more frustrating when Christians say they don’t need it because they have experiences instead:
They’ve felt God’s presence, so they know He’s there.
They see God in their spouse and kids.
They know God is there from that still, small voice inside.
They see God in the beauty of the mountains.
Why do I say frustrating? Let me put on my apologist hat: because experiences are subjective. In a world that is increasingly hostile to the idea that Christianity is true, Christians need to be able to point to something outside of themselves as evidence for their beliefs. If your child says they don’t feel God, and you say you do, how helpful can your personal experience be to them? But when you can point to the objective evidence for God’s existence in the world around them, the historical evidence for the resurrection, and the evidence for the reliability of the Bible, you’re able to ground their faith in something you can mutually access.
However, just as powerfully negative experiences can trump evidence for atheists, powerfully positive experiences can trump evidence for Christians. What they’ve experienced has felt so certain that the value of outside evidence seems to pale in comparison.
What, Then, Is the Value of Objective Evidence for Anyone?
Through this brief ordeal, I’ve understood more than ever that nearly everyone trusts, by default, their experiences more than objective evidence. And frankly, it’s experience that we desperately want. Fine-tuning arguments schmarguments. We would all rather take a powerful feeling of God’s presence any day.
What, then, is the value of apologetics?
A lot. But I’ll stick with three points.
- For those who have had powerfully negative experiences, apologetics remains a way to compare our subjective experiences to the objective evidence for the truth about reality… when we’re not grieving. Apologetics may be of very little use for most people in desperate times, but that doesn’t negate the longer term need. When we teach our kids to build a faith based on evidence, it doesn’t mean that when difficult times come they will necessarily resort to a simple response of, “No matter how I feel while pondering if I have cancer, I know Christianity is true!” I certainly didn’t. But it does mean that over the longer term they will have the tools needed to assess their personal experiences in light of objective evidence. Ultimately, confidence in the truth of Christianity—grounded in good evidence—gives people well-justified eternal hope that brings perspective to our (often tragic) negative experiences.
- Similarly, for those who have had powerfully positive experiences, apologetics provides a needed check against reality. Having hope without good reason is a delusion. We shouldn’t be content to assume God is there only because we had a powerful feeling while the praise band played. It’s also safe to assume that no one will live an entire life of powerful positive experiences—every Christian goes through times when God seems far. When powerful positive experiences become more distant, it’s easy to doubt their validity. Learning apologetics helps keep us grounded when the experiential highs wear off.
- For those who haven’t had particularly powerful positive experiences, apologetics provides conviction instead of a feeling that the lack of an experience means a lack of God’s existence. When I was a teenager, I went to a youth conference where the speaker stirred up a lot of emotions and many kids in the room were crying. I wasn’t. My youth leader pulled me aside and said, “Natasha, I noticed you aren’t as emotional as the others here. Are you sure you’re close to God?” I’ll never forget that assumption that closeness to God equals a highly emotional experience. If that’s the expectation, and you don’t experience God as you would like, you can quickly assume He just might not be there. When we teach our kids the objective evidence for the truth of Christianity, however, they gain a conviction of their beliefs and realize faith isn’t about waiting for a certain experience to happen.
I eventually got in for all the testing to determine what the lump was all about. It was the longest few hours of my life but ended with the best possible news: it was nothing but a common benign cyst that required no further testing or procedures. I was free to walk out.
I got to my car and cried tears of relief.
And now here I am, back to life as normal… but I want to acknowledge that there are many who don’t get this good news. I have several friends with cancer right now. They are living with the day-to-day uncertainties that consume your every waking second. I almost didn’t write this post because it seems too easy to write when you are no longer in the circumstance. I hope it will be taken in the spirit in which it was intended, however: a simple reflection on something I learned during a (relatively) few moments of desperation.
Natasha Crain administra su blog de apologética cristiana para padres, ChristianMomThoughts.com. Obtuvo su MBA en Marketing y Estadísticas en UCLA y consiguió un certificado de apologética cristiana de la Universidad de Biola. Actualmente reside en California con su esposo Bryan junto con sus tres pequeños hijos.
Original Blog Source: http://bit.ly/2QG02f7
Emotional Doubt and How to Combat It
Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Brian Chilton
In a recent class at Liberty University, it was noted how 80% of a person’s doubts do not stem from intellectual problems with Christianity, but rather from emotional doubt. Emotional doubt is a problem for every person, but it seems to be a tougher concept for men to combat. The reason is that most men abstain from talking about their emotions. Many will suppress the emotional doubt and ignore it. However, such actions do not eliminate the doubt. Emotional doubt may address issues concerning the loss of a loved one, an unanswered prayer, or frustrations in life for which one blames God.
Interestingly, emotional doubt can be combated by a form of biblical cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Some may claim, “Hold up, Brian! You are talking that psychology mumbo-jumbo! What good is cognitive therapy?” Actually, cognitive behavioral therapy is quite a good practice. Paul argues the following:
The believer should focus on those things that build up one’s faith and not on worry and fears which cause anxiety. CBT does just that. Using CBT to combat emotional doubt is quite effective. CBT can also combat depression and anxiety. Biblical CBT follows three steps.
CBT is a biblical practice that all believers need to practice. For too long, we have allowed the devil to steal our joy and hope. Often, we are our own worst enemies as we feel too frightened to take a chance on something for playing the “what if” game. Stop letting fear and anxiety steal the thunder from the grace that God has given you. Always keep in mind that “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but one of power, love, and sound judgment” (2 Tim. 1:9).
Brian G. Chilton is the founder of BellatorChristi.com and is the host of The Bellator Christi Podcast. He received his Master of Divinity in Theology from Liberty University (with high distinction); his Bachelor of Science in Religious Studies and Philosophy from Gardner-Webb University (with honors); and received certification in Christian Apologetics from Biola University. Brian is currently enrolled in the Ph.D. program in Theology and Apologetics at Liberty University. Brian has been in the ministry for over 15 years and serves as a pastor in northwestern North Carolina.
Original Blog Source: http://bit.ly/2PtiUhm
Apologistas, por favor no se olviden del evangelio
EspañolBy Michael Sherrard
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. — ROMANS 1:16
As an apologist, let me encourage you to trust in the power of the gospel. Do not be ashamed to speak freely about the goodness of God’s mercy and kindness. I have said before that most people reject God because of emotional and volitional problems. The intellect simply hides these problems. Even as we talk about evidence, logic, and arguments, apologists must remember that the reason many people will not give themselves to God is because of their hearts. But the love and kindness of God’s grace can soften a hard heart and will draw many to Him.
All people recognize two things: there is a God, and they have broken a standard of morality by which they should be judged (Rom. 1:18–2:16). All people struggle with guilt, and guilt is a powerful force that causes many people to run from God instead of to Him. Guilt often manifests itself in pride and the attempt to rationalize or atone for sin. Sometimes guilt results in depression, feelings of inadequacy, and the belief that no one should love them. Whatever you look at it, guilt is a hindrance to repentance.
But God is greater than our sin. His love is more powerful than our guilt. And His kindness will draw many to repentance. Don’t put your hope in logic, history, science, and argument. Trust in the beauty of the gospel and the mercy of God. Don’t be ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God that works for salvation (Rom 1:16). Share it as much as you can.
The thing most overlooked in apologetics is the Gospel. Apologists tend to never go that far in conversations with unbelievers. Sometimes we think other people won’t believe the nonsense of the Cross. So we resort to talking only about what seems reasonable. But don’t shy away from preaching what in this world is considered nonsense. Remember that apologetics is a servant of the Gospel, and sometimes the servant has to get out of the way of the master.
Apologists, share the gospel with others and tell them how God’s mercy has transformed you. You can offer the hope of a changed life. Tell your story. Explain what it feels like to be forgiven. Speak of your hope for heaven. And speak with joy of the peace of God that now fills your life.
Invite skeptics to know God and enjoy all that comes from life in Christ. Feel free to tell them that you know Him, that you have experienced Him, and that they can too. There is value in your experience and in your personal knowledge of God. Talk to them about that. Some people say you can’t argue with a changed life, but you can; I argue with good, changed Mormons all the time. But there is value in your conversion, in the reality in which God can be known and experienced. So tell them your story and invite them to enter into one for themselves.
Michael C. Sherrard is a pastor, author of Relational Apologetics, and director of Ratio Christi College Prep. RCCP is an organization that seeks to equip the church for effective evangelism by teaching high school students apologetics, fundamental Christian doctrine, and biblical evangelism.
Original Blog: http://bit.ly/2AdotuY
Translated by Italo Espinoza Gomez
Edited by Maria Andreina Cerrada
Jesus Is Risen
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Originally confined to a small circle of believers centered in Jerusalem, Christianity’s stunning transformation into the world’s most popular faith is one of history’s greatest, most miraculous stories.
Frank interviews #1 bestselling author David Limbaugh about his new book Jesus Is Risen, where he provides a riveting account of the birth of Christianity. Using the Book of Acts and six New Testament epistles as his guide, Limbaugh talks about the exhilarating journey through the sorrow and suffering, as well as the joys and triumphs, of the apostles and other key figures as Christianity bursts through the borders of Judea following the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ. You don’t want to miss it.
¿Proviene la Biblia de Dios?
EspañolBy Mikel Del Rosario
Does the Bible really come from God? I recently conducted a workshop on this topic for fifth and sixth graders at Bayside Church in Granite Bay, CA. I wanted to help the Christian kids talk about this topic with their friends. But I knew it had to be something simple to understand and easy to remember. We ended up having a lot of fun with games, activities, stories, and illustrations that helped them stick with these ideas.
After each session, parents told me how much they appreciated the lesson. Another reminder that adults value “simple” things, too.
In this post, I’ll show you a quick way to answer the question, “Is the Bible really from God?” and give you a little reminder so you can remember 3 reasons skeptics should pay attention to the Bible. But first, you should know that when it comes to the Bible, there are only two ways to look at it.
Only 2 options
The Bible says it is God’s message to us (2 Tim 3:16-17). That’s either true or false. So is there any reason to think the Bible is more than a book written by men? What kind of book is the Bible? We have only two answers:
Here’s how I started the kids segment:
3 Reasons Skeptics Should Pay Attention to the Bible
Imagine a UPS truck delivering Bibles, because the letters U, P, and S can help you remember 3 reasons why skeptics should pay attention to the Bible. These are 3 simple discussion points you can share with a friend or even your own children.
Think of it in terms of cause and effect. The Bible is an effect. What is the cause? If the Bible were just a book written by men, it would be pretty hard to explain the following:
The “U” can help you remember the word for unity . The Bible is surprisingly united. When you hold a Bible in your hands, you are holding a collection of 66 ancient documents. They were originally written in 3 languages: Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. We’re talking about 40 different authors, writing over a period of over 1,500 years! Imagine these guys writing in different times, places, languages, and cultures.
And yet the authors agree with each other on highly controversial ethical and religious issues. And most importantly, they all arrived at a single message about God.
The “P” can help you remember the word prophecy. The Bible records exact predictions about the future that came true. A couple of examples are specific prophecies about Jesus and Israel.
Predictions about Jesus
The Old Testament prophets said that the Messiah would be from the tribe of Judah (Gen. 49:10), from the lineage of King David (2 Sam. 7:12-13), and that he would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2). 700 years before Jesus was born, the Jewish prophet Isaiah foretold very specific things about the Messiah (ch. 53). For example:
More than 1,000 years before Jesus was born, King David predicted that the Messiah’s hands and feet would be pierced, but not one of his bones would be broken (Psalm 22). All of these things about Jesus, the Messiah, came to pass.
Predictions about Israel
Isaiah also predicted that the Jewish people would return to their lands for a second time (11:11-16). The first time they returned was in the 6th century with Ezra and Nehemiah. But Israel was expelled in 70 AD when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem. Their second return was when Israel became a nation in 1948. I told the children:
This is something that really happened and maybe some of your grandparents saw it! And if not, your parents must have seen it on the news.
The “S” can help you remember that the Bible is still here ! And why is this so important? Because people have tried to wipe the Bible off the face of the earth and they won’t succeed. Not only that, it’s still the number one best-seller.
This is just the beginning. If you really take the time to look more closely, you will see that we have good reason to believe that the Bible is not just people’s ideas about God written down. The Bible is God’s Word given to people.
Fact or fiction:
Can I Trust My Bible? This workshop was based on lesson 4 of my Accessible Apologetics curriculumfor youth and adults. It includes games, illustrations, PowerPoint, and more. Download a free lesson from the series.
Mikel Del Rosario helps Christians explain their faith with courage and compassion. He is a PhD student in the New Testament department at Dallas Theological Seminary. Mikel is a professor of Christian apologetics and world religion at William Jessup University. He is the author of Accessible Apologetics and has published over 20 journal articles on apologetics and cultural engagement with his mentor, Dr. Darrell Bock. Mikel holds an MA in Christian apologetics with highest honors from Biola University and an MA in divinity from Dallas Theological Seminary, where he serves as Cultural Engagement Manager at the Hendricks Center and host on “the Table Podcast.” Visit his website at ApologeticsGuy.com.
Original Blog: http://bit.ly/2CkdMZi
Translated by Natalia Armando
Edited by Maria Andreina Cerrada
Colossians 2:8 Does Not Condemn Philosophy
Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Evan Minton
Some well-meaning but very misinformed Christians discourage the study of philosophy on the basis of a verse in Colossians chapter 2. In Colossians 2:8, the apostle Paul wrote: “See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits[a] of the world, and not according to Christ.” This verse has become the chief proof-text for anti-philosophy Christians. In fact, even the famous reformed preacher John MacArthur argued against philosophy using this text. In The MacArthur Study Bible, he wrote “You know what philosophers are? They’re doodlers with words instead of pencils. They just make a whole lot of verbal squiggles. Colossians 2:8 says this: ‘Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy.’” Unfortunately, this verse has been majorly misinterpreted.
Keep The Text In Its Context
When you look at the verse in context, what you find is that Paul wasn’t saying “Philosophy is bad”, but rather, he was warning his readers to be on the lookout for bad philosophies.
To really understand what Paul is talking about in this verse, one needs to move beyond the verse itself. One needs to read it in context. That means both the immediate context (the verses before and after it) and its cultural context. Moyer Hubbard of Equip.org writes “Looking now at Colossians and the specific context of chapter 2, we find Paul addressing a local assembly that had been infiltrated by a form of false teaching that threatened to undermine the gospel he preached. Paul does not give us enough information to identify precisely what sect or ‘philosophy’ he is describing. There are some clues, however, that suggest that it was perhaps a syncretistic hybrid of Jewish mystical practices and popular pagan folk-belief: he mentions the observance of special days, including the Sabbath (v.16); visionary experience and the worship of angels (v.18); submission to the “elemental spirits of the world” (v.20);6 and abstinence (vv.21,23). Paul clearly is attacking a peculiar form of religious speculation, but it is impossible to identify it with any of the major schools of philosophy known to us from the Greco-Roman world. In fact, it is important to keep in mind that the Greek word philosophia (and its Latin cognate) had a variety of meanings in this period, and, depending on the context, might be translated ‘religion,’ ‘speculation,’ or ‘investigation.'”[1]
We gain more information on this incorrect philosophy by taking into account how Paul describes it in the 8th verse of Colossians 2: Paul says that it’s founded on “human traditions and the elemental powers of the world, and not on Christ.” The key phrase here is “[based] not on Christ.” Paul was targeting “philosophical” speculations that oppose the truths of Christ.
Moreover, I think the phrase “human traditions,” gives us a clue that this ungodly speculation was Jewish in nature. The phrase “human traditions” appears in only one other place; Mark 7:8, where Jesus condemns the Pharisees as those who reject “the commands of God and hold to human traditions” (cf. Galatians 1:14). Paul uses the term “elemental spirits of the world” similarly in referring to the Galatians’ doing the Torah stuff in Galatians 4:3. As Hubbard commented, “That Paul could refer to this syncretistic Jewish speculation as a ‘philosophy’ is in keeping with how Hellenistic Jews of the period sometimes referred to their faith.”[2] He said that because extra-biblical Jewish writers of the time called their theological beliefs “philosophies”. For example, the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus calls Judaism and its multiple sects as “philosophies”[3] (those sects being the Essenes, Sadducees, and Pharisees)[4]
4 Maccabees refers to Judaism as “our philosophy…teaching temperance, self-control, courage” (5.22‑23). Therefore, it very well could be the case that Colossians 2:8 is referring to Judaism and the Judaisers, employing their terminology when referring to their beliefs. If that is the case, then one cannot use Colossians 2:8 to condemn the study of philosophy as a whole, for Paul is merely warning against philosophical systems that oppose the gospel, in this case; the philosophy of the Judaisers.
Dissing Philosophy Is Logically Self-Refuting
Besides the exegetical fallacies in taking Colossians 2:8, there is a logical problem as well; namely, it’s self-refuting. In any attempt you make to formulate arguments against philosophy, you will be reasoning philosophically about philosophy. Yet if you’re reasoning philosophically about philosophy, you’re engaging in the very thing Paul (allegedly) told us not to do; philosophy! This is why Christians who say “I don’t need philosophy” are frequently met with the retort “Really? That’s a nice philosophy.” and “You shouldn’t do philosophy” with “Is that your philosophy?” Are we to believe that The Holy Spirit would inspire Paul to teach self-refuting…. philosophies?
Conclusion
The Apostle Paul was not anti-philosophy. Those who argue that he was, do so by ripping Colossians 2:8 out of context. Moreover, to say you shouldn’t do philosophy and then proceed to give any arguments for it is self-refuting, as you’re doing philosophy.
I’ll end this blog post with a quote from Dr. William Lane Craig: “the man who claims to have no need for philosophy is the one most apt to be fooled by it”[5]
Notes
[1] “Is Colossians 2:8 A Warning Against Philosophy?” – by Moyer Hubbard, http://www.equip.org/article/is-colossians-28-a-warning-against-philosophy/
[2] ibid.
[3] Flavius Josephus Against Apion 2.47.
[4] Flavius Josephus Antiquities 18.11.
[5] https://www.reasonablefaith.org/writings/question-answer/hawking-and-mlodinow-philosophical-undertakers
Original Blog Source: http://bit.ly/2RFw7oL
What I Learned About Faith While Thinking I Had Cancer This Week
Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Natasha Crain
A few days ago I felt a rather large, firm lump on my body.
My first reaction was, “What on Earth is that?”… followed closely by, “Oh my gosh. This could be it.”
Honestly, I started to panic. I know I’m at a higher risk for certain types of cancer and I imagined the worst.
My doctor wasn’t able to get me in for five days. I spent that five days consumed by Google research—diagnosing myself, guessing what stage cancer it would be if I had it, and looking at 5-year survival rates for the various stages. Every time the kids were occupied, I would quickly grab my phone to Google something new about the size, shape, and texture of my unwelcome lump.
I eventually concluded that there was a pretty good chance it actually wasn’t cancer given the characteristics of the lump. I was still scared, but the more logical side of me believed it was more likely than not to be benign. When the morning of my appointment rolled around, I went in with the hope of reassurance.
That didn’t happen.
The doctor said he was “pretty” confident it wasn’t cancerous. I asked him if “pretty” confident meant something more like 51 percent or 90 percent, thinking he would say 90 percent. He replied, “More like 51 percent.”
The words hung in the air for what seemed an eternity. This is just as likely to go either way.
The doctor gave me an urgent referral for the various tests needed to determine what was going on later that day. I went home and had some very dark moments.
Fear consumed me. I prayed with desperate, tear-covered pleas for health.
I felt absolutely nothing back from God.
Just a menacing silence.
And at that moment, the voices of so many skeptics filled my head…
Why would God be so hidden at a time like this? Is He really there?
As an apologist—someone who knows well the evidence for God’s existence and the truth of Christianity—I knew what I would say to someone else asking that question. I could talk all about evidence and the philosophical reasons for divine hiddenness.
But at that moment, I didn’t want any more evidence. I didn’t want to make a case to myself for the truth of Christianity. I didn’t want to weigh facts to see what was most reasonable.
I wanted an experience.
I wanted a feeling.
I wanted to be overcome with the presence of God, with a feeling of peace, or with a supernaturally-given reassurance that I was going to be OK.
None of those things happened. And in that darkest of moments, I understood more than ever why experience so often trumps evidence… for both skeptics and Christians.
When Experience Trumps Evidence for Skeptics
Christian apologist Sean McDowell and the “Friendly Atheist” blogger Hemant Mehta were recently on the Unbelievable podcast by Justin Brierley. It was a fascinating discussion on what both Christians and atheists get wrong about the other side. You can watch it here on YouTube or listen through the podcast. I thought Sean was brilliant, and his gracious but pointed comments and questions revealed many of the inconsistencies in Mehta’s worldview.
But one thing stood out to me more than any other. Someone asked what it would take to change each of their minds about what they believe. Mehta (and I’m paraphrasing) said that he’s heard all the kinds of evidence that Christians offer and there’s really no evidence that could be convincing…outside of a personal experience.
This was absolutely intriguing to me. He had spent much of the discussion explaining how he doesn’t believe because there’s no evidence for God’s existence, but when pressed on what would change his convictions, he acknowledged that there’s no objective evidence—evidence outside himself—that would change his mind. It would have to be a personal experience (and he said he would question even that).
His comment made me reflect on years of hearing from skeptics through my blog. Though the reason for unbelief is almost always framed as “lack of evidence,” the comments typically come sandwiched with a list of experiential issues:
I’ve never experienced God doing anything in my life even when I desperately needed it.
God never answered my prayers when I was a Christian.
If God exists, he wouldn’t have let my daughter be born with this disability.
I used to be a Christian, but when I was losing faith I cried out to God for a sign, and nothing happened.
Truthfully, I’ve always mentally responded to such statements with, “but these things, logically speaking, don’t mean God doesn’t exist…we have to look at the objective evidence for the whole picture of reality.” And that’s true.
But I can now better understand that experience can be so powerfully negative that we can become closed to considering any evidence outside of ourselves. We naturally trust our interpretation of our experiences over our interpretation of things like the complexity of DNA.
When Experience Trumps Evidence for Christians
People who are passionate about apologetics often lament the fact that so many Christians don’t understand the need for it in today’s world. What we hear all the time from church-goers is that they already believe, so they don’t need all this “evidence stuff.”
As someone who writes and speaks frequently about all the important reasons why we desperately need this “evidence stuff” to be known in the church today, that’s very frustrating. And it can be even more frustrating when Christians say they don’t need it because they have experiences instead:
They’ve felt God’s presence, so they know He’s there.
They see God in their spouse and kids.
They know God is there from that still, small voice inside.
They see God in the beauty of the mountains.
Why do I say frustrating? Let me put on my apologist hat: because experiences are subjective. In a world that is increasingly hostile to the idea that Christianity is true, Christians need to be able to point to something outside of themselves as evidence for their beliefs. If your child says they don’t feel God, and you say you do, how helpful can your personal experience be to them? But when you can point to the objective evidence for God’s existence in the world around them, the historical evidence for the resurrection, and the evidence for the reliability of the Bible, you’re able to ground their faith in something you can mutually access.
However, just as powerfully negative experiences can trump evidence for atheists, powerfully positive experiences can trump evidence for Christians. What they’ve experienced has felt so certain that the value of outside evidence seems to pale in comparison.
What, Then, Is the Value of Objective Evidence for Anyone?
Through this brief ordeal, I’ve understood more than ever that nearly everyone trusts, by default, their experiences more than objective evidence. And frankly, it’s experience that we desperately want. Fine-tuning arguments schmarguments. We would all rather take a powerful feeling of God’s presence any day.
What, then, is the value of apologetics?
A lot. But I’ll stick with three points.
I eventually got in for all the testing to determine what the lump was all about. It was the longest few hours of my life but ended with the best possible news: it was nothing but a common benign cyst that required no further testing or procedures. I was free to walk out.
I got to my car and cried tears of relief.
And now here I am, back to life as normal… but I want to acknowledge that there are many who don’t get this good news. I have several friends with cancer right now. They are living with the day-to-day uncertainties that consume your every waking second. I almost didn’t write this post because it seems too easy to write when you are no longer in the circumstance. I hope it will be taken in the spirit in which it was intended, however: a simple reflection on something I learned during a (relatively) few moments of desperation.
Natasha Crain administra su blog de apologética cristiana para padres, ChristianMomThoughts.com. Obtuvo su MBA en Marketing y Estadísticas en UCLA y consiguió un certificado de apologética cristiana de la Universidad de Biola. Actualmente reside en California con su esposo Bryan junto con sus tres pequeños hijos.
Original Blog Source: http://bit.ly/2QG02f7
Cinco razones por las que Dios desea que las mujeres cristianas hagan apologética
EspañolComo cristianas, Dios nos ha mandado no solo a compartir que creemos en Jesucristo, sino también a explicar el porqué. Aquí presentamos algunas evidencias en las Escrituras de que Dios nos ha llamado a nosotras las mujeres a conocer y a presentar las razones probatorias por las que creemos en el cristianismo, lo que conlleva el ministerio de la apologética. Piensa en estas cinco razones:
Otra relación en la que la apologética puede ser útil es con nuestros hijos. Tito 2:5 describe a las mujeres como “cuidadoras” en su hogar que les enseñan a sus hijos. “Cuidar” implica vigilar o resguardar. El conocimiento de la apologética nos equipa para vigilar y ser de influencia en la cosmovisión de nuestros hijos. Antes de resguardar la cosmovisión de nuestros hijos, debemos saber qué es una cosmovisión, la evidencia que afirma la verdad de la cosmovisión cristiana, las aseveraciones de otras cosmovisiones y cómo responder a tales aseveraciones con el fin de demostrar que el cristianismo tiene el mayor sentido. Eso es la apologética. Entonces, cuando nuestra hija llega a casa de la escuela diciendo que su amiga es hindú, por ejemplo, podremos responderle cuando pregunte por qué los hindúes tienen santuarios en sus casas y los cristianos no.
Nuestra relación con otras mujeres también pueden ser redentoras y edificantes, mientras procuramos presentarles a Cristo a nuestras amigas incrédulas y guiar a las mujeres más jóvenes en la fe para que maduren en su relación con Cristo. Tito 3:2-5 nos manda a nosotras como mujeres maduras a ser “maestras del bien” (RV 1960) para las que vienen tras nosotras. Este llamado no es una opción para nosotras. Las mujeres más jóvenes nos necesitan desesperadamente para que las guardemos bajo nuestras alas y las animemos a que vivan para Cristo en una cultura que cada vez se vuelve más hostil al cristianismo. Finalmente, las mujeres están singularmente equipadas para entablar conversaciones sobre la fe con las mujeres incrédulas. Para algunos grupos de mujeres, nuestra disposición a acercarnos a ellas es la única esperanza que tienen de conocer sobre Cristo de una manera comprensible. Por ejemplo, solo las cristianas pueden alcanzar a las musulmanas que no se sienten cómodas hablando con los hombres.
Así que, cuando alguien nos pregunte por qué creemos que Dios desea que las mujeres cristianas hagamos apologética, podremos compartirle las cinco razones. Podremos explicarles que Dios nos hizo seres racionales y relacionales, nos hizo testigos responsables de la verdad, y nos proveyó el conocimiento con el cual podemos prepararnos y ser renovadas en nuestra mente para compartir las evidencias abrumadoras de que el cristianismo es verdadero.
Blog Original: http://bit.ly/2C9M7Ke
Traducido por Natalia Armando
Editado por María Andreina Cerrada
Is it wrong to impose religious beliefs in politics?
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Frank thoroughly examines a comment by Rachel Bird posted on the New York Times comments section of Tim Keller’s latest article. He dissects the comment and answers the following question: Is it wrong to impose religious beliefs in politics?
Here’s the comment by Rachel:
“As a strong believer in the separation of Church and State, I believe that religion has no place in political discourse. I am sick and tired of so-called Christians and other faith-based groups. using their religious beliefs to influence public policy. You want to pray. Fine. Go to church. You want to live your life in accordance with some religious belief. Fine. Do it in the privacy of your home. But, do not use your religious belief to argue that your right to free speech is infringed upon when you are asked to bake a cake for a same sex couple, provide birth control under your company’s health insurance plan, deny science, etc. In short, do not use your religious beliefs to deny my right to live as I see fit. To influence public policy which denies millions of women, minorities, and children, access to health care, abortion, voting rights, civil rights. I am simply fed up with the hypocrisy to the so-called religious people in this country preaching to the rest of us who simply want to live our lives freely and openly without the burden of dealing with someone’s else’s gods foisted upon us.”
-Rachel Bird
“How Would You Respond to This?”
2. Does God Exist?, Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Timothy Fox
Once people discover that you’re a Christian thinker, they often start coming to you with all of the objections they hear:
“The Bible is hopelessly corrupt.”
“Jesus never existed.”
“Science disproves God.”
Your friends will offer you the objections and ask, “How would you respond to this?” And here is what I always say: “I wouldn’t.” I never respond to objections.
But wait, aren’t I an apologist? Isn’t it my responsibility to provide an answer to people’s objections? Not necessarily. Let me explain.
Offense and Defense
The same way that a football team has an offensive line and a defensive line, apologetics can be divided into offense – giving arguments for the truthfulness of Christianity – and defense – responding to objections against Christianity. So, when someone raises an objection to Christianity, they are trying to put you on defense. And while arguing against other religions and worldviews does take a lot of study, defensive apologetics is a whole lot easier. Here’s why: It isn’t your job to respond to a skeptic’s objection. It’s the skeptic’s job to defend the objection. So in reality, you aren’t on defense, the skeptic is!
Let’s look back at the objections above and ask some simple questions to deflate them:
Skeptic: “The Bible is hopelessly corrupt.”
Me: “Really? How do you know that?”
Now instead of me defending the reliability of the Bible, I’ve turned the tables and put the skeptic on defense. How does he know the Bible is hopelessly corrupt? What does he know about the transmission of the biblical texts?
Skeptic: “Jesus never existed.”
Me: “Why do you think that?”
Jesus mythicism is popular on the internet, but it’s a joke in scholarly circles. So force the skeptic to back up his claims. If Jesus isn’t real, who invented him and why? What do real historians think about this?
Skeptic: “Science disproves God.”
Me: “How exactly does science disprove God?”
Sure, you could have given a lecture on how science points us to a divine Creator, through the cosmological, fine-tuning, and design arguments. But why should you do all the heavy lifting? That’s the skeptic’s job! Let the skeptic try to make a scientific case against God’s existence, and if he can’t, then show how science actually provides evidence for God’s existence. That’s much more impactful.
Defending objections to Christianity is simple once you realize that it isn’t your job to defend against the objection; it’s the skeptic’s job to defend the objection itself.
Now, is it always this easy? Of course not. You may come across a very knowledgeable skeptic with a really tough objection that can’t be easily questioned away. But you can still keep your cool: “Wow, that’s an interesting objection and I’ve never thought of that before. I’ll look into it and get back to you.” Then you do your homework and resolve to never get stumped by the same question twice. But more often than not, some simple questions are all it takes to deflate a skeptic who hasn’t thought very much about his objections to Christianity.
Conclusion
Evangelizing and engaging in spiritual conversations can be very intimidating, especially when people have such a wide range of beliefs and may even be outright hostile to Christianity. But Jesus commanded his followers to go out and make disciples (Matt. 28:19). And when the tough objections come, we are called to defend our faith (1 Pet. 3:15). However, you don’t need hours and hours of study before you can begin sharing the gospel and defending your faith. Sometimes all it takes is a few simple questions.
To learn more about the tactical approach to engaging in spiritual conversations, check out Tactics by Greg Koukl. It’s the #1 book I recommend to anyone interested in apologetics. Seriously, buy it now.
Original Blog Source: http://bit.ly/2Rns5B9
Why the pulpit must be political
Legislating Morality, Culture & Politics, Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Michael Sherrard
With all that is going on in the world, my church doesn’t need to be entertained. They need to be trained. We are not in a time of peace. While we creatively plan the stage design for our next sermon series, another group is setting the stage for our removal from society.
Now, of course, it is right to be creative in church. I’m not saying otherwise. But the pulpit doesn’t belong to entertainers. Pastors are not merely MC’s. They are watchmen. And when the enemy is before us, the watchman better not be blinded by his own stage lights while his people are attacked.
Rather than be caught defenseless, pastors must equip their people to engage a culture that is becoming increasingly hostile toward Christianity. And so, the pulpit must be political. Yes, I know that Christ’s kingdom is not of this world. Let’s get that out of the way. I already hear your objection: “We should care more about salvation than society.” Sure, I agree. It is better to lose the world than your soul. But if you think that society can go to hell as long as people don’t, you’ve fallen for an old trick and you’ve misunderstood the nature of the gospel.
A politically silent pulpit is one that is catering to the secularist’s agenda: “Keep your religious beliefs private. They are not wanted in society. They are no good to us.” And for some reason, we’ve bought into the propaganda of those that want to fashion a society after their own values. Somehow they have convinced us that the only good beliefs for society are the beliefs of atheists. But beliefs that are true are true for all and are good for all. It does not matter where they come from. And if the Christian message contains truth, the application of that truth is far-reaching. It does not end at the capital steps.
Christianity is an all-encompassing worldview. Meaning, it is a set of true beliefs that affect all of life. The gospel itself has implications that go beyond ones eternal destination. We see this truth in Paul’s ethics. Pauline ethics might be summed up this way: because Christ humbled himself and died on a cross, so should you be humble and willfully offer up your life for the good of others (Phil 2:1-11). Our faith manifests itself in ways that benefit others if it is a real faith. You must repress your hope in God to keep it private. I doubt you disagree with this.
So why are politics off limits? Why is it right for us to sit back and allow harmful policies be legislated? Why shouldn’t we expose candidates that seek to preserve the right to kill babies? Why do we think we have to let atheists run our country? Are Christian teachings not good? Do they not promote human flourishing? Why do we think a Christian influence equals a theocracy? How have we become so simple minded about our civil responsibility? Pastors we have failed our people. If it is not our job to instruct the people of God on these things, whose job is it?
When politics are ignored in the pulpit the message to the world and the church is clear: Christianity is irrelevant. It tells the world that what we care about is our little club, and it tells those in the club not to worry about what goes on outside. Subsequently, many in the church find it impossible to find fulfillment in life because life itself is apparently not worth redeeming. This leads to self-indulgence and things like “church shopping.” We use the church as a commodity to meet our needs. We consume the church rather than be the church. And the body of Christ becomes a glutton for the work of others instead of being a vessel passing out the common grace of our Lord.
Even though we know that the only way to find life is to give it away, we have sold a product that says otherwise. Let us change that. We understand that we are to seek the good of others. We understand that Christ did not redeem us for irrelevance, but to be agents of renewal. Therefore, let us turn our attention again to society and utilize all the tools at our disposal. As we eagerly await the Kingdom to come, let us not neglect the land we have been given. Let us be political.
Michael C. Sherrard is a pastor, the director of Ratio Christi College Prep, and the author of Relational Apologetics. Booking info and such can be found at michaelcsherrard.com.
Original Blog Source: http://bit.ly/2NeFzMt