By Richard Howe
A distinctive feature of Southern Evangelical Seminary that the reader has seen displayed throughout the argument of this pamphlet is a commitment to Classical Apologetics [1] . To say that an apologetic method is “classical” is to say something about how SES does apologetics. It offers an answer to the question “what is the proper way for Christians to defend the truth of the Christian faith?” The SES commitment to Classical Apologetics arises from what SES believes about the nature of God and how he has created us in his image, including how we reason as humans and how we know truths not only about God, but about the rest of his creation.
The Biblical Basis of Apologetics
In a slight irony, Christian apologists sometimes find it necessary to make an apologia for apologetics. Sometimes we are asked to defend the fact that defending the faith is actually biblical .
The Bible is clear about defending the faith
In several places, the Bible commands us to defend the faith. I Peter 3:15 tells us to “sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you to give a reason for the hope that is in you, but do so with gentleness and respect; ” (NASB) [2] . Jude 3 says, “ Beloved, while I was eagerly waiting to write to you about our common salvation, I felt compelled to write to you and exhort you to contend earnestly for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” (NASB). Another passage that is rarely cited in this context is Titus 1:10-11. “ Now there are many rebels, charlatans, and deceivers, especially those who are partisans of circumcision. Their mouths must be stopped …” (NIV). The pressing question here is exactly how we are going to stop the mouths of the unsubmissive. I maintain that it is through sound argument that He can leave them with nothing to say in response. We see several examples of this very thing in Jesus’ encounter with the Sadducees. Matthew 22:23-24 recounts the incident in which Jesus was challenged to explain whose wife a woman would be in the afterlife if she were married to more than one man in this life. After instructing them in sound reasoning and biblical interpretation, the narrative observes that He had “ silenced the Sadducees ” (NIV). In another instance we find, “ So they could not catch Him by what He said in public. Instead, they were astonished at His answer and fell silent” (Luke 20:26 ESV).
Being able to respond convincingly in certain situations is one of the distinguishing characteristics of a church elder. In the passage from Titus, just before the passage quoted above, we learn that the overseer must be able “ both to exhort and to convince those who contradict ” (Titus 1:9 ESV). Convincing those who contradict involves defending the truth claims of Christianity [3] .
The Apostles dedicated themselves to defending the faith
We can also see that the Apostles themselves served as a model for us in defending the faith. A chain of references throughout the book of Acts shows how they often confounded, tested, had dissensions and disputes, reasoned, explained, demonstrated, spoke boldly, persuaded, and solemnly testified with Jews and Greeks in the synagogues, the marketplace, and the schools about things pertaining to the Kingdom of God [4] . Several observations can be made about how the apostles reasoned. Note that they were confronted both by those who took into account the authority of God’s written word (the Jews) and those who did not (the Greeks). Sometimes that biblical authority was appealed to (Acts 17:2) and other times by other sources (Acts 17:22-33). Reactions ranged from some who believed (Acts 17:4, 12), to others who did not believe (Acts 17:5), to others who wanted to hear more (Acts 17:32).
The anatomy of classical apologetics
Since the biblical mandate for apologetics is clear, how exactly is the task to be undertaken? Classical Apologetics is characterized by three levels of demonstration: the philosophical foundation, the existence of God, and the truths of Christianity. The order is deliberate, as the first level makes possible the second and third steps, and the second step makes possible the third.
Philosophical foundation
The first level holds that philosophy is essential in establishing the foundation for dealing with unbelievers who might raise certain challenges, including the challenge that truth is not objective or the challenge that only the natural sciences are the source of truth about reality. Thus, when encountering the unbeliever (and sometimes even a fellow believer), the Christian should (if the occasion demands) argue that reality is knowable, that logic applies to reality, and that morally fallen human beings have some capacity to intellectually understand (even if they morally reject) certain claims of the Christian faith. It might also be necessary, depending on the unbeliever’s assumptions, to delve into questions concerning the nature of reality itself . [5] The apologist would not necessarily have to deal with these questions insofar as many unbelievers (and believers) already work with these normal, rational commitments. Only in those cases where the unbeliever (or believer) has been unduly influenced by postmodernism (the idea that truth is relative to the individual or culture or is in some way qualified from its classical understanding) [6] or by scientism (the idea that only the hard sciences can offer the truth about reality) [7] or by some other false philosophical system, would the apologist need to address these issues. Thus, unless his listener is open to the tools and principles of objective logic and reasoning, it will be impossible to engage with him in a defense of the faith.
Philosophy is also essential in dealing with certain issues of Bible interpretation. Two areas readily come to mind. The first has to do with the principles of biblical interpretation (hermeneutics), considered in general. The second has to do with specific interpretive issues having to do with the nature of God himself.
Every reader of the Bible has some method (conscious or unconscious) for interpreting the Bible, that is, every reader of the Bible has some hermeneutic. The question is this: Where do you get the principles of hermeneutics? It is impossible to get the hermeneutical principles from the Bible itself. This is because, if you could understand the Bible in order to get these hermeneutical principles, then you understand the Bible before you have your principles of understanding the Bible (which means you would not need the principles you sought to get from the Bible). On the other hand, if you think you cannot understand the Bible without some principles of understanding the Bible (I would say you have to), then that means you could not understand the Bible well enough to get the principles themselves (if you were committed to the notion that you get those same principles from the Bible). In either case, you are in an impossible situation. So we see that it is impossible to get all the principles of interpreting the Bible from the Bible itself, even if you can get some of them. Instead, they have to come from somewhere else.
The reader might expect me to argue here that these principles must come from philosophy. This is not my position. Rather, these principles of hermeneutics are grounded in the nature of reality itself. Certainly, reality is what it is because God is who He is, and creation is what it is because of how God created it. In all of this, I am not suggesting that one has to do an in-depth examination of reality in order to somehow excavate the principles of hermeneutics in order to then begin to understand one’s Bible. Rather, I am arguing that in many (if not most) cases, such principles of understanding are quite natural to us as rational creatures created in the image of God (analogous to how we naturally perceive the physical world around us with our sensory faculties). However, there are times when a deeper philosophical examination of the issues is warranted. This is increasingly the case as false philosophies increase their influence on people’s thinking.
The second interpretive issue has to do with the details of what the Bible says about the nature and attributes of God. As we have said, without a sound philosophy, the student of the Bible would be unable to substantiate the classic attributes of God, including his immateriality and infinity. The problem is not merely academic. There are teachers within the ostensive Christian community who embrace such heresies as that God is a finite and limited being. Consider these words from Word of Faith teacher Kenneth Copeland:
“The Bible says [Isa. 40:12] that He measured the heavens with a span of nine inches. Now the span is the difference, the distance between the end of the thumb and the end of the little finger. And the Bible says—in fact, the Amplified Translation translates the Hebrew text that way—that He measured the heavens with a span of nine inches. Well, I took a ruler and I measured mine and my span is eight and three-quarters of an inch. So God’s span is a quarter of an inch longer than mine. So you see, that faith didn’t come waving out of some giant monster somewhere. It came out of the heart of a being that is very strange in the way that it looks a lot like you and me—a being that’s about six-two, six-three, that weighs about a couple hundred pounds, a little better, has a wingspan of eight and, I mean, nine inches across—he stood up and said, ‘Let there be!’ and this universe was created.” placed, and it was set in motion. Glory to God! Hallelujah!” [8]
The same problem is also exemplified by Finis Jennings Dake, the editor of the Dake Annotated Reference Bible. [9] Dake is of the opinion that God is a person “with a personal spiritual body, a personal soul, and a personal spirit, like that of the angels and like that of man, except that His body is of spiritual substance instead of flesh and bones” [10] . Dake also argues that “God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are present wherever there are beings with whom they have dealings; but they are not omnibodies, that is, their bodies are not omnipresent. All three go about bodily, as do all other beings in the universe” [11] . This is no doubt said by how he takes the verses that speak of God in bodily terms. He argues,
“God has a personal spiritual body (Dan. 7:9-14; 10:5-19); form (Jn. 5:37); shape (Phil. 2:5-7); image and likeness of a man (Gen. 1:26; 9:6; Ezek. 1:26-28; 1 Cor. 11:7; Jas. 3:9). He has bodily parts such as, parts of the back (Ex. 33:23), heart (Gen. 6:6; 8:21), fingers and hands (Ps. 8:3-6; Heb. 1:10), mouth (Num. 12:8), lips and tongue (Isa. 30:27), feet (Ex. 24:10), eyes and eyelids (Ps. 11:4; 33:18), ears (Ps. 18:6), hair, head, face, the arms (Dan. 7:9-14; 10:5-19; Rev. 5:1-7; 22:4-6) and other parts of the body” [12] .
One should take careful note of how many verses of Scripture Dake has cited. I suspect that if one were to challenge Dake that God does not literally have these body parts, his response would be that he is the one who is taking the testimony of Scripture seriously, since that is what the text seems (to Dake) to clearly say. The only way to answer Dake is by appealing to sound philosophy [13] .
The existence of God
The second level of the Classical Apologetics method holds that God’s existence can be proven by a series of proofs and arguments. The way this step figures in the general case of Christianity should not be overlooked. Classical Apologetics holds that God’s existence must be affirmed before specific evidence for the truth of Christianity in particular can be made sense of. Demonstrating the specific truths of Christianity involves, among other things, appealing to miracles. This is because God used miracles to vindicate the message proclaimed by his prophets and apostles and by his own Son. But miracles are only possible because God exists. This is because miracles are supernatural acts of God. There can be no acts of God if there is no God who can act. Therefore, God’s existence must be demonstrated (in those cases where his existence is doubted or denied) before specific arguments for Christianity can be advanced. If the metaphysics of Thomism is employed, it is not simply a general theism. On the contrary, such sound metaphysics is the only way to prove the classical attributes of God that the Church has cherished throughout its history. Moreover, as sound philosophy has been eroded from the broader Christian philosophical community, so too are these classical attributes being eroded.
The truth of Christianity
Once the existence of God is demonstrated (and thus the possibility of miracles established), specific arguments are given for the truth of the Christian faith, including arguments from manuscript evidence, archaeology, and other historical evidence corroborating the historical reliability of the Bible, arguments from the Bible and other sources for the identity of Jesus as the Son of God, and arguments from the teachings of Jesus for the inspiration and inerrancy of the Bible. [14]
In conclusion, it can be seen that there is, in fact, a scriptural mandate to engage in apologetics. According to the Classical Apologetics approach, demonstrating the truth of Christianity requires the tools of sound reason and logic that can be employed to build the case that God exists and has certain attributes and that God has revealed himself in history through his prophets, apostles, and ultimately through his Son Jesus Christ. This mandate has been built into the very DNA of Southern Evangelical Seminary.
Grades
[1] Some of the material in this article appeared in Richard Howe’s “Classical Apologetics and Creationism,” Christian Apologetics Journal 11, no. 2 (Fall 2013): 5–31.
[2] The context of this passage is important. Peter is encouraging his readers to endure suffering and persecution. He apparently expected his readers’ godly response to that suffering to engender questions from others about what enables them, as Christians, to endure suffering. Peter expected observers to ask what the reason for their hope is. In response, Christians should be prepared to defend their response.
[3] I am indebted to Simon Brace for helping me see the apologetic application of this verse.
[4] Acts 9:22, 15:2, 17:2-4, 17:17, 18:4, 18:19, 19:8-10, 28:23-24.
[5] These questions would include the nature of universals, the essence/existence distinction, the hylomorphic (form/matter) composition of sensible objects, and the relations of the metaphysical constituents of sensible objects, including substance, accidents, and properties.
[6] Some postmodernists mistakenly think that any contemporary emphasis on logic and reason (as can be found, for example, in contemporary disputes over the inerrancy of the Bible or in Classical Apologetics) is due to the unfortunate influence of Modernism (as they mistakenly understand it). Robert Webber claims that “the question of modernity has been one of reason.” [Robert E. Webber, The Younger Evangelicals: Facing the Challenges of the New World (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2002), 98.] The fact is that Classical Apologetics’ commitment to sound reason finds its roots back to (and indeed, beyond) Aristotle, who said (regarding the definition of “true” and “false”), “To say of what is, that it is not, or of what is not, that it is, is false, while to say of what is, that it is and of what is not, that it is not, is true.” [Metaphysics, IV, 7, 1001b26-29, trans. W.D. Ross in Richard McKeon, The Basic Works of Aristotle (New York: Random House, 1941).
[7] Atheist Richard Dawkins argues: “The presence or absence of a creative superintelligence [i.e., God] is unequivocally a scientific question, although it is not practically—or not yet—a settled question.” He continues: “There is an answer to every one of these questions [about miracles], whether we can practically discover it or not, and it is a strictly scientific answer. The methods we should use to settle the question, in the unlikely event that relevant evidence ever became available, would be purely and entirely scientific methods.” [Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2006), 58, 59.]
[8] Kenneth Copeland, Christianity in Crisis Audio Tape (Eugene: Harvest House Publishers, 1993).
[9] Finis Jennings Dake, The Dake Annotated Reference Bible (Lawrenceville, GA: Dake Bible Sales, 1991).
[10] Dake, Reference Bible, New Testament, 97.
[11] Dake, Reference Bible, in the “Complete Concordance and Cyclopean Index,” 81.
[12] Dake, Reference Bible, New Testament, 97.
[13] Lest anyone think these examples are extreme, this question of God’s attributes is increasingly troubling even within evangelical circles. A survey of systematic theologies and other sources dealing with theology proper over the past 150 years shows a marked shift away from the classical attributes of God. This drift (or, in some cases, deliberate migration) is illustrated by the dispute over open theism. Gregory Boyd, in discussing certain passages of Scripture that describe God as experiencing regret or uncertainty about future outcomes, comments: “It is, I hold, harder to conceive of God’s experiencing such things if the future is exhaustively set in his mind than if it is partly composed of possibilities.” [Gregory A. Boyd, “Neo-Molinism and the Infinite Intelligence of God,” Philosophia Christi 5, no. 1 (2003): 192.] Time and space will not permit me here to examine the status of other attributes of God that are fading in evangelical circles, such as simplicity and impassibility. Nor will time and space permit me to go into the details of why they are important. The question one must ask, however, is how one might respond to the aberrant or heretical thinking of Finis Jennings Dake and others. I submit that it can be answered only by sound philosophy and sound principles of hermeneutics (which are in turn defended by sound philosophy).
[14] I am indebted to R. C. Sproul for this template (basic reliability of the New Testament, who Jesus is, what Jesus teaches about the Bible) in his “The Case for Inerrancy: A Methodological Analysis,” God’s Inerrant Word: An International Symposium on the Trustworthiness of Scripture (Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1974), 242-261.
Recommended resources in Spanish:
Stealing from God ( Paperback ), ( Teacher Study Guide ), and ( Student Study Guide ) by Dr. Frank Turek
Why I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist ( Complete DVD Series ), ( Teacher’s Workbook ), and ( Student’s Handbook ) by Dr. Frank Turek
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Richard G. Howe is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy and Apologetics (B.A., M.A., Ph.D.) Dissertation: A Defense of Thomas Aquinas’ Second Way. He is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy and Apologetics at Southern Evangelical Seminary in Charlotte, North Carolina. He holds a B.A. in Bible from Mississippi College, an M.A. in Philosophy from the University of Mississippi, and a Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Arkansas. Dr. Howe is a past president of the International Society for Christian Apologetics (ISCA). He is a writer as well as a speaker and debater at churches, conferences, and college campuses on topics related to apologetics and Christian philosophy. He has spoken and/or debated at churches and colleges in the United States and Canada, as well as in Europe and Africa, on topics related to the defense of the Christian faith.
Original Blog: https://cutt.ly/1RLwKH4
Translated and edited by Yatniel Vega García
Cosmic Chemistry | with John Lennox
PodcastOne of the greatest myths regarding God and science is that science has somehow disproven God. The exact opposite is actually closer to the truth. If science has disproven anything, it has disproven atheism. How can that be? The Great Dr. John Lennox, Professor at Oxford University, joins Frank to offer answers by discussing his new book Cosmic Chemistry. They address questions such as:
Dr. Lennox is his usual cogent and winsome self-offering analogies that help us all understand complex subjects.
Don’t miss this one and make sure to get his new book here: https://amzn.to/2YEp1ZU
For his movie “Against the Tide” click here: https://amzn.to/321wPqd
If you want to send us a question for the show, please email us at Hello@CrossExamined.org.
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What Does It Mean That God Is “Jealous”
2. Does God Exist?, Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Al Serrato
The Old Testament contains passages in which God is described as “jealous.” For instance, in Exodus 20, God’s Ten Commandments to the Israelites include the admonition not to worship false idols, with God explaining that “I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God.” Similar passages can be found elsewhere in the Bible. Joshua, for example, refers to God as both holy and “jealous.” Joshua 24:19. On first glance, this may seem a rather odd term to use, and make little sense to us, as we do not view jealousy to be an attractive, or appropriate, character trait. Certainly, it is not what we would expect of a perfect being. Indeed, theists often use these passages to make the case that a “jealous” God is petty and not worthy of our love or respect, let alone our worship.
But let’s take a closer look at what is at play. When we hear the word “jealousy,” it usually carries the connotation of a feeling of envious resentment, often brought on by another person’s rivalry or success. We are jealous of people whose accomplishments are well-respected, or who have found the means to acquire things that we too wish to possess. In some instances, it suggests a desire to possess exclusively, as in completely controlling a romantic partner. But even here, the underlying dynamic is that the person feeling jealous fears the loss of the loved one, or fears being made to look foolish if their loved one is unfaithful.
How, then, could such feelings apply to God? At the outset, it is important to recognize that our understanding of God is of necessity limited. We cannot fully know him. However, applying reason to our observations of the universe supports the belief that he is immensely powerful and intelligent, that he is a personal being (since he acted to bring us into existence), and that he transcends space and time. Reason also suggests that such a being must embody perfection. As St. Anselm once formulated in the Ontological Argument, God must be “that being a greater than which cannot possibly be conceived.” He is the ultimate, the supreme; the creator of all there is, was or ever will be. If this is indeed the case, then reason also tells us that there is nothing –simply nothing – that God wants or needs, for there is nothing that he does not already possess.
But there is another definition of “jealous” that makes a bit more sense in context, and interestingly the dictionary lists it as the “biblical” definition: “intolerant of unfaithfulness or rivalry.” But, the atheist may challenge, why should God be “intolerant?” This too seems to suggest that He is injured or diminished when his creatures turn away from Him to worship idols, when they reject him. But how can a perfect being experience injury, hurt… or even, for that matter, sad feelings?
I would suggest that there is another perspective from which to view these passages. Yes, God is “intolerant” of our worship of false idols, but he is so not because of any pettiness on his part or because of any need he experiences. Our turning away from him does indeed cause damage, but not to him; the damage caused is to us. When we make idols of things, we substitute the proper worship of God with the worship of lesser things. This causes us to turn away from God, and from the redemptive work He has planned for us. We were meant to spend eternity with God, but in our rebellion, we shake our fist at him and demand to have things our way. When we die in that rebellion, when we die with the worship of lesser things consuming our hearts and minds, we end up eternally separated from God.
Idol worship no longer involves figures made of gold. In its modern manifestation it involves love of career, success, wealth, possessions, power, sex… the list goes on and on. But the effect is always the same, to turn us away from the one true source of goodness and life. Idol worship points us back toward ourselves, as we grow increasingly selfish and separated from others, who we begin to view as means to our selfish ends, or perhaps as threats to what we have. God is not “intolerant” of this behavior because of some deficit in him. Instead, this intolerance is reflective of what is necessary for us. Loving us, he wants us to choose wisely, but because love requires free will, he will not coerce our choice.
Satellites like the one pictured above can derive energy from the Sun. But to do so, the satellite must first deploy its solar panels fully and in a particular way, and then orient them so that they are completely facing the Sun’s rays. This is not to accommodate the Sun, or to meet some “need” that the Sun has. Instead, it is to allow the thing in need of the Sun’s energy to be in the proper position, relative to the Sun, to receive what it needs.
So too with people. Only by re-orienting our hearts away from ourselves and instead toward the source of all life – the Son of God – can we hope to attain all the good that is promised to those who place their trust in Him.
Resources related to the topic:
How Can Jesus Be the Only Way? (mp4 Download) by Frank Turek
Was Jesus Intolerant? (DVD) and (Mp4 Download) by Dr. Frank Turek
Can All Religions Be True? mp3 by Frank Turek
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Al Serrato earned his law degree from the University of California at Berkeley in 1985. He began his career as an FBI special agent before becoming a prosecutor in California, where he continues to work. An introduction to CS Lewis’ works sparked his interest in Apologetics, which he has pursued for the past three decades. He got his start writing Apologetics with J. Warner Wallace and Pleaseconvinceme.com.
Should You Criticize Moral or Religious Beliefs?
PodcastIs it wrong to criticize someone’s moral or religious beliefs? Many people think so. Frank takes this assertion head on and reveals that it is self-defeating, impractical, and unbiblical. For example, those who claim we can’t judge anyone’s moral beliefs are judging themselves and asserting a moral belief. If we can’t criticize someone’s moral beliefs then how can we say the Nazis were wrong or the Jihadists on 9-11 were wrong? How can you say your position on LGBTQ issues, racism, or climate change is right? How can we follow the teachings of the prophets and Jesus and the apostles? Tune in. There’s a lot of ground covered in this one!
If you want to send us a question for the show, please email us at Hello@CrossExamined.org.
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Cómo la comprensión de la omnisciencia divina ayuda a la ansiedad
EspañolPor Brian Chilton
Aunque la apologética es uno de los principales objetivos de mi vida, sólo se ve eclipsada por el amor a la teología. Soy un tipo de visión general. Por eso la teología sistemática siempre me ha intrigado. La teología sistemática examina los principales temas de las Escrituras y los organiza en patrones y estructuras. Se podría decir que me he vuelto un poco loco con mis estudios teológicos. Mientras que tengo más de 18 horas de posgrado en apologética, estudios bíblicos e historia de la iglesia; tendré más de 30 horas en estudios de posgrado de teología para cuando termine mi doctorado. Se podría decir que me gusta un poco la teología.
Otro aspecto de mi vida que es importante señalar para este artículo es que también sufro ataques de ansiedad. Mi ansiedad no es grave. Sin embargo, es algo que he combatido durante años. La agorafobia es uno de ellos. Me encanta la gente. Me encanta estar en el ministerio. Sin embargo, las reuniones sociales prolongadas me agotan, especialmente si esas reuniones son ruidosas y bulliciosas.
Quizá te preguntes: “¿Por qué este tipo habla de teología y de ansiedad?”. La teología tiene un gran efecto tranquilizador cuando una persona comprende ciertos aspectos de la naturaleza de Dios. Uno de esos atributos calmantes es la omnisciencia de Dios. Omnisciencia es una palabra compuesta por dos palabras latinas: Omnis, qué significa “todo” o “de todas las cosas”, y Scientia, que significa “conocimiento”. Así, la omnisciencia indica la capacidad de conocer todas las cosas. Dios es el único Ser que puede poseer este nivel de conocimiento. Millard Erickson relaciona la omnisciencia de Dios con la naturaleza infinita de Dios. Por infinito, quiere decir que “No solo que Dios no tiene límites, sino que es imposible de limitar”. En este sentido, Dios no se parece a nada de lo que experimentamos” (Erickson, Christian Theology, 243). Cuando se vincula el conocimiento de Dios con su naturaleza infinita, se observa que el “entendimiento de Dios es incalculable” (Erickson, Christian Theology, 243).
La omnisciencia de Dios significa que Dios conoce todo lo que hay que conocer y todo lo que se puede conocer. Entonces, ¿Cómo ayuda la comprensión de la naturaleza divina omnisciente de Dios con la ansiedad? Sostengo que ayuda en tres áreas.
Jesús enfatizó en la paz que se deriva de la comprensión de la omnisciencia de Dios, señalando que si Dios podía vestir a las flores del campo y alimentar a las aves del cielo, entonces Dios seguramente cuidaría de los suyos de manera más intensa (Mt. 6:25-34). Si Dios sabe todo lo que hay que saber, si Dios conoce todo lo que hace todo el mundo, si conoce nuestro futuro y se preocupa por nosotros; entonces ¿Qué tenemos que temer? Porque, si Dios está por nosotros, ¿Quién puede estar contra nosotros? (Rom. 8:31) La ansiedad humana se derrite ante la brillante seguridad de la naturaleza omnisciente de Dios.
Recursos
Erickson, Millard J. Teología cristiana. Tercera edición. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2013.
Recursos recomendados en Español:
Robándole a Dios (tapa blanda), (Guía de estudio para el profesor) y (Guía de estudio del estudiante) por el Dr. Frank Turek
Por qué no tengo suficiente fe para ser un ateo (serie de DVD completa), (Manual de trabajo del profesor) y (Manual del estudiante) del Dr. Frank Turek
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Brian G. Chilton es el fundador de BellatorChristi.com, el presentador de The Bellator Christi Podcast, y el autor del Layman’s Manual on Christian Apologetics. Recibió su Maestría en Divinidad en Teología de la Universidad Liberty (con alta distinción); su Licenciatura en Estudios Religiosos y Filosofía de la Universidad Gardner-Webb (con honores); y recibió la certificación en Apologética Cristiana de la Universidad Biola. Brian está inscrito en el programa de doctorado en Teología y Apologética de la Universidad Liberty y es miembro de la Sociedad Teológica Evangélica y de la Sociedad Filosófica Evangélica. Brian ha estado en el ministerio durante casi 20 años y sirve como pastor principal de la Iglesia Bautista de Westfield en el noroeste de Carolina del Norte.
Fuente Original del Blog: https://cutt.ly/fR4s0ZH
Traducido por Yatniel Vega García
Editado por Carlos Flores
The Fast But Quiet Creeping of Everyday Cancel Culture: 3 Things Christians Need to Know
Apologetics for Parents, Culture CrossExaminedBy Natasha Crain
Last month, the CEO of video game maker Tripwire Interactive was made to step down from his job just 53 hours after he tweeted support for the new Texas abortion law (which banned abortion after the baby’s heartbeat can be detected). Here’s the offensive tweet that apparently warranted the loss of his job:
That’s it.
That’s it.
He merely stated his view that he supports protecting unborn babies from being killed. But having a different view was too much for cancel culture to handle. The pressure came quickly. A co-developer, Shipwright Studios, tweeted a statement the next day in which they said they would be canceling any existing contracts with Tripwire Interactive because they could not in “good conscience continue to work with Tripwire under the current leadership structure”:
Almost unbelievably, Shipwright Studios’ About Us page has a section called “Moral Compass.” It states:
I’m guessing you didn’t hear about this particular story, or if you did, you shook your head and moved on with your day. Maybe that’s what you’re doing right now.
Similar actions are taking place every day across nearly every (if not every) industry. People are losing jobs for publicly sharing views that differ from what’s been deemed acceptable by secular culture.
This also happens in academia.
And Hollywood.
And in the press.
And even—if not especially—in personal relationships. Numerous people have been canceled by friends or family in the last couple of years simply because of what they believe (including myself).
You might collectively call all this “everyday cancel culture.”
Yes, there are still high profile cancel culture examples that grab sustained public attention, but it’s the everyday cancel culture that picks off person after person without national attention that’s far more insidious because the cumulative seriousness of what’s happening isn’t obvious to many people.
Meanwhile, everyday cancel culture rolls on with major implications that Christians need to understand. Here are three important things to know.
1. Cancel culture is deeply rooted in today’s pervasive secular social justice ideology, so it’s not going away any time soon.
It might be tempting to chalk all this up to mere social hysteria—a “this too shall pass” phenomenon. But that’s a really dangerous and incorrect assumption to have.
To see why, you have to understand that cancel culture’s major ideological roots grow several decades deep; this isn’t something freshly springing out of society’s top soil. And those roots are called Critical Theory.
Critical Theory as an academic subject is quite complex, but in its popular manifestations, here’s the basic idea (which is a worldview unto itself). The world is divided into two groups: those who are oppressed (the powerless) and those who are oppressors (the powerful). Those who are in the identity groups considered to be oppressed—for example, women, people of color, and the LGBT community—are victims of the social structure that has empowered the oppressors. You’ve probably heard quite a bit in the media, at least in passing, about Critical Race Theory in particular, but that’s just one Theory in the Critical Theory family—the one that deals with race-based oppression specifically. (For more on Critical Theory and its relationship to Christianity, see my article here.) The basic ideological structure of Critical Theory has become the de facto lens through which secularists view social justice, and it’s becoming entrenched in nearly every major cultural institution.
So what does that have to do with cancel culture?
That brings us to an important second point. But the bottom line in this one is that Critical Theory and cancel culture are integrally related concepts, and because Critical Theory is becoming firmly entrenched in society, cancel culture is likely here to stay as well.
2. Cancel culture sees itself as taking the moral high ground.
Those who aren’t steeped in the views of Critical Theory typically see cancel culture as a bad thing; it’s a dictatorial shutting down of opposing viewpoints. But if you understand it in the context of Critical Theory, it suddenly makes sense why proponents of cancel culture see it as a good thing:
When everything is framed either implicitly or explicitly in terms of a fight against evil oppression, a lot of leeway will be given to what’s considered to be acceptable action.
The problem is how one defines oppression. Note that Shipwright Studios—the company that “canceled” Tripwire for having a pro-life CEO—said in their so-called “Moral Compass” statement that they want to lend their “voice to further causes that promote diversity and inclusion.” From a Christian perspective, it’s hard to imagine how they can’t see the irony in claiming they champion diversity and inclusion while canceling a relationship with a company whose CEO has a different view on the sanctity of life.
But once again, understanding cancel culture’s Critical Theory roots sheds light on why people like the Shipwright leadership don’t see it as ironic at all. They believe they have the moral high ground on this issue because they see it as a matter of reproductive justice. Within the framework of Feminist (Critical) Theory, it’s unjust for a woman to not have the choice to have an abortion.
In other words, the pro-life view is seen as oppressive to women.
Shipwright and others like them literally see themselves as the moral heroes and moral protectors of society, based on their own secular standard of justice (clearly, they don’t consider the injustice done to the preborn infant who is killed). When they say in their statement that they cannot “in good conscience” continue to work with Tripwire, they’re making it clear they believe they’re the good guys. And when they say would be doing the industry a disservice to “allow” a fellow industry CEO to have a public pro-life viewpoint, they’re making it clear they think canceling people for so-called oppressive views is actually a moral obligation.
3. Cancel culture will ultimately be at odds with Christianity because it has a different standard of justice.
Cancel culture proponents can make it sound like a good thing given the Critical Theory-based train of thought we just looked at. But Christians need to understand that it will continually be at odds with Christianity because secular culture has a different standard of justice (as we began to see in the last point).
Take, for example, these words from an article by progressive Vox writer Aja Romano: “The idea of canceling began as a tool for marginalized communities to assert their values against public figures who retained power and authority even after committing wrongdoing…In similar ways, both ‘wokeness’ and ‘canceling’ are tied to collectivized demands for more accountability from social systems that have long failed marginalized people and communities…Taken in good faith, the concept of ‘canceling’ a person is really about questions of accountability.”
Some people have tried to recast cancel culture as “consequence culture” to emphasize this idea of mere accountability. But accountability assumes a standard to be accountable to, and therein lies the problem.
As I explain in my upcoming book Faithfully Different (in which I have two chapters on social justice and cancel culture):
“One of the biggest problems with secular social justice from a biblical perspective is that it lacks an objective standard for defining justice in the first place. In secular social justice, oppression is often defined with respect to how people feel about dominant groups imposing their norms, values, and expectations on society as a whole, and that doesn’t necessarily correspond with what would be considered oppressive from a biblical perspective. As a result, people today are often being canceled for stating ideas that are wrong in the eyes of the world but not wrong in the eyes of God. When a person like Romano states that cancel culture is really just about accountability for when people ‘say or do bad things,’ it sounds reasonable on the surface, but it’s actually a very dangerous idea. It implies people are accountable to a mob that’s ready to take action as soon as someone’s words or actions stray from the mob’s own standard of justice.”
The mob’s standard will never be the same as God’s standard.
So where does all this leave Christians?
Given the factors discussed here, we can expect cancel culture to affect us personally and indefinitely. This mentality isn’t going away. We should just expect to be canceled in some way for stating what we believe because we’re seen as the bad guys now.
In fact, it means the opposite.
We need to be bolder than ever.
Bold enough to speak when people call us oppressors (by their own standard) and cut us off from relationships, positions, and opportunities.
Bold enough to act when people move to stop us in every way.
Bold enough to love according to what God wants for people rather than what they want for themselves.
It’s time for “salt and light” to really mean something. It’s not a cutesy phrase to put on the back of a t-shirt. It’s our calling to preserve truth in a decaying culture and shine light in a dark world. Let’s be sure we fear God more than we fear the temporal cancelation weapons of man.
For more on my upcoming book, Faithfully Different, check out pre-order details here! I wrote it to help Christians gain clarity about what it means to believe, think, and live differently as a worldview minority in a secular culture. Cancel culture and secular social justice are two of many subjects covered.
Recommended resources related to the topic:
Letters to a Young Progressive by Mike Adams (Book)
Counter Culture Christian: Is There Truth in Religion? (DVD) by Frank Turek
The Case for Christian Activism (MP3 Set), (DVD Set), and (mp4 Download Set) by Frank Turek
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Natasha Crain is a blogger, author, and national speaker who is passionate about equipping Christian parents to raise their kids with an understanding of how to make a case for and defend their faith in an increasingly secular world. She is the author of two apologetics books for parents: Talking with Your Kids about God (2017) and Keeping Your Kids on God’s Side (2016). Natasha has an MBA in marketing and statistics from UCLA and a certificate in Christian apologetics from Biola University. A former marketing executive and adjunct professor, she lives in Southern California with her husband and three children.
Original Blog Source: https://bit.ly/3m6p4Xi
Confronting Homosexuality in a Culture of Identity (Part 3)
Culture CrossExamined, Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Josh Klein
As we enter into the final section of critiquing the objections to the orthodox view of homosexual activity as a sin, it is important to note, again, why I am spending such a significant amount of time on these particular points. The rallying cry for the liberal theologian has been grace, mercy and love, but as I established in part one (HERE), I believe that true grace, mercy and love must be based on the Truth established in God’s word. In order to have proper compassion we can not entertain falsehood.
We intrinsically know this to be true. If your child believes with all his heart that he can fly and climbs to the top of your house to prove it do you let him jump because it is unloving or unmerciful to tell him he’s wrong? Or do you do whatever it takes to keep him from jumping even if it makes him cry, get angry, or hate you? A good parent does not even need to consider the problem. The correct response to the situation is natural.
In the same way, we must address sinful habits in our own lives and untruths in the world. We cannot be compassionate to the child by allowing him to plummet to his death and we cannot be compassionate to fellow believers as we watch them plunge their lives into unrepentant sin. That would be unloving. So we must first establish what is true and then we can place true empathy and compassion on top of that foundation.
The following are just a sampling of other objections I have interacted with in my time in ministry. I believe we should answer each with grace and truth and any subsequent argument ought to be handled the same way. I have attempted to do so here. I pray to God that he has empowered me to succeed in that endeavor. I answered one of the more technical objections in last week’s article that you can access by clicking here.
Homosexuality is just as much a sin as eating Shellfish in the Bible
This argument ignores New Testament scriptures on the topic completely, it is also incredibly flawed theologically and is primarily used only as an argument with which to denigrate those of the faith as inconsistent or hypocritical.
This, of course, is an argument that Christians still eat shrimp and mussels but will not agree that the homosexual act is good/right even though both come from the same book of the Bible. In Leviticus 11 we find that God forbids the consumption of shellfish to his people, likewise, just seven chapters later in Leviticus 18 God forbids men to lie with men and women to lie with women going to far as to call the act an abomination.
The difference in language of these two things is paramount to understand. While the Hebrews are to detest shellfish, they are not ordered to detest those who consume shellfish, just the shellfish itself. Consuming shellfish is detestable, but it is not an “abomination” but God does call sodomy (homosexuality) an abomination. We also find that God removes food restrictions from the believer (as well as eternal restrictions of faith!) to Peter in Acts 10:9-16, but God does not do the same thing for homosexuality.
Perhaps some might try to include homosexuality in the interpretation of Acts 10, however, the early church certainly did not. It seems that Peter and other apostles saw this vision as a twofold allowance of food consumption and God bringing salvation to the gentiles without forcing the gentiles to convert first to Judaism.
Furthermore, God had clearly defined rules for his chosen nation to set themselves apart from those around them. Simply put, part of the prohibitions in the Old Testament were simply made to distinguish God’s chosen people from the gentile nations around them. It is fair (and safe) to assume that God’s prohibition on clearly cultural differences (consuming shellfish, wearing certain fabrics, circumcision etc.) would dissolve over time as he ushered in the church age and Jesus became the fulfillment of what those laws were intended to convey, whereas his prohibition on moral issues (murder, theft, sex outside of marriage, homosexuality) would not change, because they are based on His character and His design for life, not simply on setting a nation apart for himself. There is, believe it or not, a hierarchical structure to the law of God.
Thus Leviticus 18 carries a much more relevant prohibition than Leviticus 11 because one has to do with God’s character and the other with establishing the theocracy of Israel specifically. Much has been written on this topic and I cover it only sparingly here but for a more comprehensive look at the subject the book The End of the Law by Jason Meyer is a good resource.[1]
Homosexual was not even a word in the Bible until 1946
We covered a bit of this argument in part 2, but will look at the lay argument here. Homosexual was not a word in the English dictionary until the late 19th century, first appearing in the English dictionary in 1892. The term was coined by German psychologists in the 1860s in reference to the act of same-sex sexual relationships. Bible translations tend to run behind common vernacular by a significant time gap, thus, the fact that the first use of homosexual in an English Bible was in the mid-40s should not be a significant surprise to anyone if they honestly follow the linguistic history of scriptural translations.
Prior to the 40s the word that is translated as homosexual likely would have been translated as Sodomite or Sexually-Immoral. In fact, as we found last week, I believe those are still better translations than homosexual in many cases since they cover a broader range of sexual immorality rather than simply pointing to a homosexual relationship. However, to say that the word homosexual was not in the Bible until 1946 and that therefore it is a recent addition to the Bible is disingenuous on its face. The intent of the passages was clear prior to the 40s and helped to form the decision to insert the word in the translation history after the 40s. The interpretive history of these passages lent credence to the use of the word initially and, while it is not the best translation currently, I do not believe it to be a poor translation either, though, given the current cultural context of identity, I would still like there to be clarity in translation towards behavior and not simply attraction. My problem with the translation in general is that it is making an interpretive decision for the reader rather than simply translating the word, and this means that the narrowing of meaning could leave out important sin issues such as pedophilia, rape, cohabitation and more.
God Did Not Make a Mistake when He created Me
In fact, God did not make a mistake when he created anyone. However, to continue on the theme of Romans 1 from last week, we find that being born with a proclivity to a certain action does not necessarily make that action or desire good and right.
Being born as someone with a disposition to addiction would not make becoming addicted to pain killers good or right. In the same way, being born as someone who is highly sexually driven that desires multiple sexual partners does not make acting on those desires right and good.
In my opinion, homosexuality is the same sort of sin, but we have turned the discussion on its head. Making homosexuality a matter of identity rather than behavior did no one any good and we are currently reaping the “rewards” for such a miscalculation.
Romans 1 indicates that homosexuality is part of the fall, both for men and women. In fact, the entire first section of Romans 1-4 seeks to help the Roman church understand the depravity of man and why we need a savior. Romans 1 is not meant to indicate personal behavior, but it is meant to be read in the context of all human history.
If we read Romans 1 correctly, we will not argue and bicker about who was born what way and whether or not homosexuality is a choice. The fact of the matter is that homosexuality is a natural consequence of the original fall of man. Sin shattered God’s created order and introduced all sorts of behaviors that could be and have been deemed natural, but are, in fact, evil. (I use the word “evil” in the theological sense here – meaning rebellion against God).
No, God did not make a mistake in creating you. Scripture is clear that you are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14), but scripture is also clear that you are a fallen human being with a natural bent towards sin that needs to be rescued from yourself and your own passions and desires. Romans 6-8 puts this struggle under the magnifying glass. The transition from death to life is immediate and permanent but it is also a process of understanding where we are broken and where we need to be mended by the Holy Spirit.
And as Paul indicates at the end of chapter 7 the only answer is through Jesus Christ, otherwise we are still under the headship of Adam and thus, in sin, and in death. Which is why having a dual identity is so problematic. This means God can remake only part of who we are, because we have eliminated him from impacting our other identity. It is sequestered off in a dark closet that his renovation crew is not allowed to touch. The exclusivity of Christ is of utmost importance in this discussion, but according to a survey recently conducted on supposed “born again” Christians, thus fundamental doctrine is also under attack. Ultimately compassion without adherence to truth ends up there. It is not a slippery slope fallacy if the slope is, in fact, slippery.
So no, God did not make a mistake in allowing any person to be born, but that also does not mean that we are all born perfect either. Two things can be true at once. God can have fearfully and wonderfully made a person and also that person could be irreparably damaged beyond repair with natural bents towards evil and self-destruction unless God intercedes on his/her behalf. All people are worthy of dignity and love because they are image bearers of the Almighty, but all people are also broken image bearers because of sin and must be repaired by their Creator.
I know this, because I am this. No, I am not a homosexual, but I am wickedly depraved. I need a savior, I have one in Jesus. This same savior is available to all who would believe, and he will make them a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17) with the ability to find victory over whatever sinful proclivities they may have been born under, because in Jesus we are offered a completely new identity.
A Homosexual in a Committed Consensual Relationship is Fulfilling a Marriage Covenant
This is the last one we will have room for in this section, and it is the easiest and most difficult to answer. The easiest, because I believe that understanding the actual meaning of Romans 1 and the passages in 1 Corinthians and 1 Timothy will ultimately lead one to the understanding that marriage can only be, and has only ever been, ordained between a man and woman and the marriage bed (Heb 13:4) must not include two of the same sex.
That said, it is the most difficult to answer because my heart genuinely aches for those that have those homosexual proclivities that desire to have a meaningful long-term relationship and have children and experience all that is good about those relationships. But empathy is all I can offer in that regard because scripture seems to be clear on the issue, and I do not know of a married couple that can (or should) abstain from sexual intercourse in order to maintain a pure relationship. If my answers to the previous two sections are biblically accurate, then the answer to this objection becomes obvious.[2] And as we will see next week, there are many professing gay Christians that agree with this.[3] Some resources are footnoted below.[4]
So what then?
I am sure I have not covered every single TikTok take in the previous sections. I am sure there are many more, but let us move on. What then, is the responsibility of the church? In Part 4 I want to look at a better way of handling these things than what the church has done for the past few generations. I believe the church has, and continues to have, fallen short in ministry to those that struggle in this arena and while I do not have all the answers, I do believe we can start down the path of a better way. One thing the book I mentioned in part 3 does get right is this: I believe the church’s handling of homosexuality has been myopic and graceless for many decades, and this needs to change (and it is changing), but it must change without compromise with the Truth.
References:
[1] https://www.christianbook.com/the-law-mosaic-covenant-pauline-theology/jason-meyer/9780805448429/pd/448429?event=AFF&p=1011693&
[2] https://www.amazon.com/Washed-Waiting-Reflections-Faithfulness-Homosexuality/dp/0310330033
[3] https://www.amazon.com/Born-Again-This-Way-Coming-ebook/dp/B0822YXJTC/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=born+again+this+way&qid=1630075251&s=books&sr=1-1
[4] https://www.amazon.com/Holy-Sexuality-Gospel-Desire-Relationships/dp/0735290911/ref=sxts_entity_rec_bsx_s_def_r00_t_aufl?cv_ct_cx=Christopher+Yuan&dchild=1&keywords=Christopher+Yuan&pd_rd_i=0735290911&pd_rd_r=16cfa890-064c-4ddb-ab8a-de32677f69d2&pd_rd_w=ye02G&pd_rd_wg=GblHm&pf_rd_p=923d3ad5-e62b-462e-9474-e4d7cf9b91ea&pf_rd_r=TXGCY9NT2B4VYJBZP87J&qid=1630075278&s=books&sr=1-1-795edd5f-cc24-47c7-9173-701523fd4bcf
Recommended resources related to the topic:
Five Questions No One Ever Asks About Gay Rights (DVD Set), (Mp4 Download), and (Mp3 Set) by Dr. Frank Turek
Correct, NOT Politically Correct: How Same-Sex Marriage Hurts Everyone (Updated/Expanded) downloadable pdf, PowerPoint by Dr. Frank Turek
Was Jesus Intolerant? (DVD) and (Mp4 Download) by Dr. Frank Turek
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Josh Klein is a Pastor from Omaha, Nebraska with 12 years of ministry experience. He graduated with an MDiv in 2016 from Sioux Falls Seminary and spends his spare time reading and engaging with current and past theological and cultural issues. He has been married for 12 years to Sharalee Klein and they have three young children.
Original Blog Source: https://bit.ly/3m6iFLK
Is Atheism Dead? | with Eric Metaxas
PodcastBest-selling author Eric Metaxas (Bonhoeffer, Luther, Amazing Grace, Miracles) joins Frank to reveal highlights of his new book Is Atheism Dead? Eric covers the discoveries pointing to God from science and archaeology, and he does so by telling the stories leading to these momentous discoveries. It’s a delightful read, and it shows how much the script has flipped from science points away from God to now science strongly pointing toward God. On the podcast, Frank and Eric discuss the Big Bang, the fine-tuning of the universe, and the utter futility of trying to find a natural cause for the first life. The universe and life provide compelling evidence for supreme intelligence. They also cite a few of the more prominent archaeological finds, including the home of Jesus and Mary in Nazareth which was just discovered last year.
Get the book here: https://amzn.to/2Zvj5Ta
If you want to send us a question for the show, please email us at Hello@CrossExamined.org.
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¿Por qué la Apologética Clásica?
EspañolBy Richard Howe
A distinctive feature of Southern Evangelical Seminary that the reader has seen displayed throughout the argument of this pamphlet is a commitment to Classical Apologetics [1] . To say that an apologetic method is “classical” is to say something about how SES does apologetics. It offers an answer to the question “what is the proper way for Christians to defend the truth of the Christian faith?” The SES commitment to Classical Apologetics arises from what SES believes about the nature of God and how he has created us in his image, including how we reason as humans and how we know truths not only about God, but about the rest of his creation.
The Biblical Basis of Apologetics
In a slight irony, Christian apologists sometimes find it necessary to make an apologia for apologetics. Sometimes we are asked to defend the fact that defending the faith is actually biblical .
The Bible is clear about defending the faith
In several places, the Bible commands us to defend the faith. I Peter 3:15 tells us to “sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you to give a reason for the hope that is in you, but do so with gentleness and respect; ” (NASB) [2] . Jude 3 says, “ Beloved, while I was eagerly waiting to write to you about our common salvation, I felt compelled to write to you and exhort you to contend earnestly for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” (NASB). Another passage that is rarely cited in this context is Titus 1:10-11. “ Now there are many rebels, charlatans, and deceivers, especially those who are partisans of circumcision. Their mouths must be stopped …” (NIV). The pressing question here is exactly how we are going to stop the mouths of the unsubmissive. I maintain that it is through sound argument that He can leave them with nothing to say in response. We see several examples of this very thing in Jesus’ encounter with the Sadducees. Matthew 22:23-24 recounts the incident in which Jesus was challenged to explain whose wife a woman would be in the afterlife if she were married to more than one man in this life. After instructing them in sound reasoning and biblical interpretation, the narrative observes that He had “ silenced the Sadducees ” (NIV). In another instance we find, “ So they could not catch Him by what He said in public. Instead, they were astonished at His answer and fell silent” (Luke 20:26 ESV).
Being able to respond convincingly in certain situations is one of the distinguishing characteristics of a church elder. In the passage from Titus, just before the passage quoted above, we learn that the overseer must be able “ both to exhort and to convince those who contradict ” (Titus 1:9 ESV). Convincing those who contradict involves defending the truth claims of Christianity [3] .
The Apostles dedicated themselves to defending the faith
We can also see that the Apostles themselves served as a model for us in defending the faith. A chain of references throughout the book of Acts shows how they often confounded, tested, had dissensions and disputes, reasoned, explained, demonstrated, spoke boldly, persuaded, and solemnly testified with Jews and Greeks in the synagogues, the marketplace, and the schools about things pertaining to the Kingdom of God [4] . Several observations can be made about how the apostles reasoned. Note that they were confronted both by those who took into account the authority of God’s written word (the Jews) and those who did not (the Greeks). Sometimes that biblical authority was appealed to (Acts 17:2) and other times by other sources (Acts 17:22-33). Reactions ranged from some who believed (Acts 17:4, 12), to others who did not believe (Acts 17:5), to others who wanted to hear more (Acts 17:32).
The anatomy of classical apologetics
Since the biblical mandate for apologetics is clear, how exactly is the task to be undertaken? Classical Apologetics is characterized by three levels of demonstration: the philosophical foundation, the existence of God, and the truths of Christianity. The order is deliberate, as the first level makes possible the second and third steps, and the second step makes possible the third.
Philosophical foundation
The first level holds that philosophy is essential in establishing the foundation for dealing with unbelievers who might raise certain challenges, including the challenge that truth is not objective or the challenge that only the natural sciences are the source of truth about reality. Thus, when encountering the unbeliever (and sometimes even a fellow believer), the Christian should (if the occasion demands) argue that reality is knowable, that logic applies to reality, and that morally fallen human beings have some capacity to intellectually understand (even if they morally reject) certain claims of the Christian faith. It might also be necessary, depending on the unbeliever’s assumptions, to delve into questions concerning the nature of reality itself . [5] The apologist would not necessarily have to deal with these questions insofar as many unbelievers (and believers) already work with these normal, rational commitments. Only in those cases where the unbeliever (or believer) has been unduly influenced by postmodernism (the idea that truth is relative to the individual or culture or is in some way qualified from its classical understanding) [6] or by scientism (the idea that only the hard sciences can offer the truth about reality) [7] or by some other false philosophical system, would the apologist need to address these issues. Thus, unless his listener is open to the tools and principles of objective logic and reasoning, it will be impossible to engage with him in a defense of the faith.
Philosophy is also essential in dealing with certain issues of Bible interpretation. Two areas readily come to mind. The first has to do with the principles of biblical interpretation (hermeneutics), considered in general. The second has to do with specific interpretive issues having to do with the nature of God himself.
Every reader of the Bible has some method (conscious or unconscious) for interpreting the Bible, that is, every reader of the Bible has some hermeneutic. The question is this: Where do you get the principles of hermeneutics? It is impossible to get the hermeneutical principles from the Bible itself. This is because, if you could understand the Bible in order to get these hermeneutical principles, then you understand the Bible before you have your principles of understanding the Bible (which means you would not need the principles you sought to get from the Bible). On the other hand, if you think you cannot understand the Bible without some principles of understanding the Bible (I would say you have to), then that means you could not understand the Bible well enough to get the principles themselves (if you were committed to the notion that you get those same principles from the Bible). In either case, you are in an impossible situation. So we see that it is impossible to get all the principles of interpreting the Bible from the Bible itself, even if you can get some of them. Instead, they have to come from somewhere else.
The reader might expect me to argue here that these principles must come from philosophy. This is not my position. Rather, these principles of hermeneutics are grounded in the nature of reality itself. Certainly, reality is what it is because God is who He is, and creation is what it is because of how God created it. In all of this, I am not suggesting that one has to do an in-depth examination of reality in order to somehow excavate the principles of hermeneutics in order to then begin to understand one’s Bible. Rather, I am arguing that in many (if not most) cases, such principles of understanding are quite natural to us as rational creatures created in the image of God (analogous to how we naturally perceive the physical world around us with our sensory faculties). However, there are times when a deeper philosophical examination of the issues is warranted. This is increasingly the case as false philosophies increase their influence on people’s thinking.
The second interpretive issue has to do with the details of what the Bible says about the nature and attributes of God. As we have said, without a sound philosophy, the student of the Bible would be unable to substantiate the classic attributes of God, including his immateriality and infinity. The problem is not merely academic. There are teachers within the ostensive Christian community who embrace such heresies as that God is a finite and limited being. Consider these words from Word of Faith teacher Kenneth Copeland:
The same problem is also exemplified by Finis Jennings Dake, the editor of the Dake Annotated Reference Bible. [9] Dake is of the opinion that God is a person “with a personal spiritual body, a personal soul, and a personal spirit, like that of the angels and like that of man, except that His body is of spiritual substance instead of flesh and bones” [10] . Dake also argues that “God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are present wherever there are beings with whom they have dealings; but they are not omnibodies, that is, their bodies are not omnipresent. All three go about bodily, as do all other beings in the universe” [11] . This is no doubt said by how he takes the verses that speak of God in bodily terms. He argues,
One should take careful note of how many verses of Scripture Dake has cited. I suspect that if one were to challenge Dake that God does not literally have these body parts, his response would be that he is the one who is taking the testimony of Scripture seriously, since that is what the text seems (to Dake) to clearly say. The only way to answer Dake is by appealing to sound philosophy [13] .
The existence of God
The second level of the Classical Apologetics method holds that God’s existence can be proven by a series of proofs and arguments. The way this step figures in the general case of Christianity should not be overlooked. Classical Apologetics holds that God’s existence must be affirmed before specific evidence for the truth of Christianity in particular can be made sense of. Demonstrating the specific truths of Christianity involves, among other things, appealing to miracles. This is because God used miracles to vindicate the message proclaimed by his prophets and apostles and by his own Son. But miracles are only possible because God exists. This is because miracles are supernatural acts of God. There can be no acts of God if there is no God who can act. Therefore, God’s existence must be demonstrated (in those cases where his existence is doubted or denied) before specific arguments for Christianity can be advanced. If the metaphysics of Thomism is employed, it is not simply a general theism. On the contrary, such sound metaphysics is the only way to prove the classical attributes of God that the Church has cherished throughout its history. Moreover, as sound philosophy has been eroded from the broader Christian philosophical community, so too are these classical attributes being eroded.
The truth of Christianity
Once the existence of God is demonstrated (and thus the possibility of miracles established), specific arguments are given for the truth of the Christian faith, including arguments from manuscript evidence, archaeology, and other historical evidence corroborating the historical reliability of the Bible, arguments from the Bible and other sources for the identity of Jesus as the Son of God, and arguments from the teachings of Jesus for the inspiration and inerrancy of the Bible. [14]
In conclusion, it can be seen that there is, in fact, a scriptural mandate to engage in apologetics. According to the Classical Apologetics approach, demonstrating the truth of Christianity requires the tools of sound reason and logic that can be employed to build the case that God exists and has certain attributes and that God has revealed himself in history through his prophets, apostles, and ultimately through his Son Jesus Christ. This mandate has been built into the very DNA of Southern Evangelical Seminary.
Grades
[1] Some of the material in this article appeared in Richard Howe’s “Classical Apologetics and Creationism,” Christian Apologetics Journal 11, no. 2 (Fall 2013): 5–31.
[2] The context of this passage is important. Peter is encouraging his readers to endure suffering and persecution. He apparently expected his readers’ godly response to that suffering to engender questions from others about what enables them, as Christians, to endure suffering. Peter expected observers to ask what the reason for their hope is. In response, Christians should be prepared to defend their response.
[3] I am indebted to Simon Brace for helping me see the apologetic application of this verse.
[4] Acts 9:22, 15:2, 17:2-4, 17:17, 18:4, 18:19, 19:8-10, 28:23-24.
[5] These questions would include the nature of universals, the essence/existence distinction, the hylomorphic (form/matter) composition of sensible objects, and the relations of the metaphysical constituents of sensible objects, including substance, accidents, and properties.
[6] Some postmodernists mistakenly think that any contemporary emphasis on logic and reason (as can be found, for example, in contemporary disputes over the inerrancy of the Bible or in Classical Apologetics) is due to the unfortunate influence of Modernism (as they mistakenly understand it). Robert Webber claims that “the question of modernity has been one of reason.” [Robert E. Webber, The Younger Evangelicals: Facing the Challenges of the New World (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2002), 98.] The fact is that Classical Apologetics’ commitment to sound reason finds its roots back to (and indeed, beyond) Aristotle, who said (regarding the definition of “true” and “false”), “To say of what is, that it is not, or of what is not, that it is, is false, while to say of what is, that it is and of what is not, that it is not, is true.” [Metaphysics, IV, 7, 1001b26-29, trans. W.D. Ross in Richard McKeon, The Basic Works of Aristotle (New York: Random House, 1941).
[7] Atheist Richard Dawkins argues: “The presence or absence of a creative superintelligence [i.e., God] is unequivocally a scientific question, although it is not practically—or not yet—a settled question.” He continues: “There is an answer to every one of these questions [about miracles], whether we can practically discover it or not, and it is a strictly scientific answer. The methods we should use to settle the question, in the unlikely event that relevant evidence ever became available, would be purely and entirely scientific methods.” [Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2006), 58, 59.]
[8] Kenneth Copeland, Christianity in Crisis Audio Tape (Eugene: Harvest House Publishers, 1993).
[9] Finis Jennings Dake, The Dake Annotated Reference Bible (Lawrenceville, GA: Dake Bible Sales, 1991).
[10] Dake, Reference Bible, New Testament, 97.
[11] Dake, Reference Bible, in the “Complete Concordance and Cyclopean Index,” 81.
[12] Dake, Reference Bible, New Testament, 97.
[13] Lest anyone think these examples are extreme, this question of God’s attributes is increasingly troubling even within evangelical circles. A survey of systematic theologies and other sources dealing with theology proper over the past 150 years shows a marked shift away from the classical attributes of God. This drift (or, in some cases, deliberate migration) is illustrated by the dispute over open theism. Gregory Boyd, in discussing certain passages of Scripture that describe God as experiencing regret or uncertainty about future outcomes, comments: “It is, I hold, harder to conceive of God’s experiencing such things if the future is exhaustively set in his mind than if it is partly composed of possibilities.” [Gregory A. Boyd, “Neo-Molinism and the Infinite Intelligence of God,” Philosophia Christi 5, no. 1 (2003): 192.] Time and space will not permit me here to examine the status of other attributes of God that are fading in evangelical circles, such as simplicity and impassibility. Nor will time and space permit me to go into the details of why they are important. The question one must ask, however, is how one might respond to the aberrant or heretical thinking of Finis Jennings Dake and others. I submit that it can be answered only by sound philosophy and sound principles of hermeneutics (which are in turn defended by sound philosophy).
[14] I am indebted to R. C. Sproul for this template (basic reliability of the New Testament, who Jesus is, what Jesus teaches about the Bible) in his “The Case for Inerrancy: A Methodological Analysis,” God’s Inerrant Word: An International Symposium on the Trustworthiness of Scripture (Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1974), 242-261.
Recommended resources in Spanish:
Stealing from God ( Paperback ), ( Teacher Study Guide ), and ( Student Study Guide ) by Dr. Frank Turek
Why I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist ( Complete DVD Series ), ( Teacher’s Workbook ), and ( Student’s Handbook ) by Dr. Frank Turek
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Richard G. Howe is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy and Apologetics (B.A., M.A., Ph.D.) Dissertation: A Defense of Thomas Aquinas’ Second Way. He is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy and Apologetics at Southern Evangelical Seminary in Charlotte, North Carolina. He holds a B.A. in Bible from Mississippi College, an M.A. in Philosophy from the University of Mississippi, and a Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Arkansas. Dr. Howe is a past president of the International Society for Christian Apologetics (ISCA). He is a writer as well as a speaker and debater at churches, conferences, and college campuses on topics related to apologetics and Christian philosophy. He has spoken and/or debated at churches and colleges in the United States and Canada, as well as in Europe and Africa, on topics related to the defense of the Christian faith.
Original Blog: https://cutt.ly/1RLwKH4
Translated and edited by Yatniel Vega García
How We Got Our Bible
4. Is the NT True?, Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Ryan Leasure
This article is the first in a series of nine blog posts that will unpack the story of how we got our Bible. That is to say, the Bible didn’t just fall from heaven into our laps. Rather, the Bible is the result of a long process that starts from the mind of God and ends with to our modern English translations.
The process involves inspiration of texts, collecting certain books, rejecting other books, copying of manuscripts, evaluating thousands of manuscripts to recreate the originals as much as possible, translating the Hebrew and Greek texts into English, and then creating translations that are readable in our modern vernacular.
As you may have guessed, this series will deal with some of the more crucial issues surrounding the Bible—issues such as canon, the apocrypha, the Dead Sea Scrolls, pseudopigraphical Gospels, textual criticism, the King James only movement, and so much more. I hope you will follow along with me as we trace the fascinating history of the Bible. If you’re not already a subscriber, click subscribe so you can get updates on future posts.
That said, we begin with Inspiration.
Verbal-Plenary Inspiration
Paul writes, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim 3:16-17). A few concepts are worth noting here.
First, Paul says that Scripture is “breathed out by God” (from the Greek word “theopneustos“). Technically, God “exhales” rather than “inspires” the text. In other words, he is the source behind all Scripture.
Second, notice that God inspires Scripture, not the authors themselves. This necessary distinction means that God’s inspiration extends to the final product of Scripture itself, not the human author’s day-to-day life. Meaning, the authors were fallible while their God-breathed Scripture was not.
Third, Paul notes that ALL Scripture is inspired, not just parts of it. Some have erroneously taught that inspiration only extends to the parts that touch of faith and morals. But that is not what Paul writes. When Paul says “all,” he includes the Canaanite conquests, a talking donkey, and the Levitical Code.
Biblical Authors Affirmed Inspiration
Several times throughout the Old Testament, authors acknowledged that they were writing God’s words. Consider these examples:
“Then the LORD said to Moses, “Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of Joshua”(Exod 17:14).
“Then the LORD put out his hand and touched my mouth. And the LORD said to me, “Behold I have put my words in your mouth” (Jer 1:9).
“The word of the LORD that came to Hosea, the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah” (Hos 1:1).
“On the fifth day of the month . . . the word of the LORD came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi . . . and the hand of the LORD was upon him there” (Ezek 1:2-3).
Furthermore, New Testament authors affirmed the Old Testament’s inspiration:
“And this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet . . .” (Matt 1:22).
“Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David concerning Judas” (Acts 1:16).
“But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled.” (Acts 3:18).
“David himself, in the Holy Spirit, declared, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet” (Mark 12:36).
This last quotation is from Jesus’ lips himself. That is to say, Jesus affirmed the Old Testament’s inspiration.
What About the New Testament?
When Paul writes that “All Scripture is breathed out by God,” he was most likely referring to the Old Testament since the word for Scripture (“graphe“) refers to the Old Testament when it’s used in the New Testament. We must also remember that when Paul wrote this letter, portions of the New Testament had yet to be written. Was inspiration, then, limited to the Old Testament? No it wasn’t.
Notice how Peter speaks of Paul’s letters in 2 Peter 3:15-16: “Just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures.” Peter appears to be lumping in Paul’s letters with the Old Testament and granting them equal authority.
First Timothy 5:18 is another crucial text on this matter. Paul writes, “For the Scripture says, ‘You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,’ and, ‘The laborer deserves his wages.’” Paul quotes two passages in this verse and refers to both of them as Scripture. The first text comes from Deuteronomy 25:4. The second comes from Luke 10:7. That is to say, Paul thought the Gospel of Luke was Scripture on par with the Old Testament.
We even have some clues that suggest the apostles knew they were writing God’s Word. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 14:37, “If anyone thinks that he is a prophet, or spiritual, he should acknowledge that the things I am writing to you are a command of the Lord.” Additionally, Paul declares in 1 Thessalonians 2:13, “And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God.”
Peter also remarks, “You should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles” (2 Peter 3:2). The apostles, then, believed that they spoke authoritatively from God. And they could do this because Jesus promised them that the Holy Spirit would guide them in the process (John 14:26; 16:13).
Mechanical Dictation?
Peter notes, “Knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Pet 1:20-21). Some suggest that the Holy Spirit’s activity sounds an awful lot like mechanical dictation. But this would be a mistake. As I alluded to earlier, inspiration extends only to the final product of Scripture. Meaning, God worked within and through the human authors’ skills, personalities, and experiences as they wrote their various works. In short, the dozens of biblical authors produced their Scripture in different ways.
The author of Hebrews makes this point when he begins, “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets” (Heb 1:1). Notice how he affirms that the prophets spoke “in many ways.” And Scripture makes these different ways abundantly clear. Consider a few examples:
Additionally, biblical authors wrote poetry, wisdom literature, letters, and prophecy. And in doing so, God worked through them in such a way as to not override their unique perspective. At the same time, he superintended the process to guarantee that his exact message was communicated. As the Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy remarks, “We affirm that God in His Work of inspiration utilized the distinctive personalities and literary styles of the writers whom He had chosen and prepared. We deny that God, in causing these writers to use the very words that He chose, overrode their personalities.”1
Evidence of Inspiration
Some argue that inspiration appeals to circular reasoning because we must appeal to Scripture itself to affirm inspiration. While that’s a fair critique, Christians are right to appeal to Scripture because it is our highest authority. If we appeal to, say human reasoning, then we elevate human reasoning to a higher authority than Scripture.
That said, we have good evidence for inspiration in fulfilled prophecy. I could list dozens of fulfilled prophecies, but I will only mention two briefly. First, Isaiah 53 correctly predicts Christ’s crucifixion. Of note is the fact that Isaiah says that he will “pierced for our transgression” (Isa 53:5). This method of death is significant because at the time, Jewish methods of execution were stoning or hanging. How could Isaiah rightly predict the kind of death Jesus would suffer seven hundred years in advance?
Another example is Daniel 9. While I won’t go into detail, Daniel predicts the exact timing of Christ’s arrival. More than that, Daniel says that the Messiah will be “cut off” (killed) just prior to the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. Jesus was crucified in AD 30. The Romans destroyed Jerusalem and the temple in AD 70.
Inerrancy
Inerrancy naturally follows from inspiration. In other words, if God is the author behind the entire Bible, it must all be true because God always speaks truth. Consider the following texts
“It is impossible for God to lie” (Heb 6:18).
“You are God, and your words are true” (2 Sam 7:28).
“Every word of God proves true” (Prov 30:5).
“Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth” (John 17:17).
Notice that Jesus doesn’t just say that God’s word is true, but it is TRUTH. It is the absolute standard of truth. And lest anyone thinks this idea of inerrancy is a modern invention, listen to a few of the church fathers:
“You have searched the Scriptures, which are true and given by the Holy Spirit. You know that nothing unrighteous or counterfeit is written in them.” — Clement of Rome, 1st century
“The statements of Holy Scripture will never contradict the truth.” — Tertullian, 3rd century
“It is the opinion of some that the Scriptures do not agree or that the God who gave them is false. But there is no disagreement at all. Far from it! The Father, who is truth, cannot lie.” — Athanasius, 4th century
In short, while Scripture does not give us exhaustive knowledge of all things (how to change a tire for example), it does not affirm anything that is contrary to fact.
The Next Post
The next post will consider how the Old Testament came to be. Specifically, it will address the unfolding nature of the Old Testament, its authors and editors, as well as its preservation.
Recommended resources related to the topic:
Why We Know the New Testament Writers Told the Truth by Frank Turek (DVD, Mp3 and Mp4)
Oh, Why Didn’t I Say That? Is the Bible Historically Reliable? by Dr. Frank Turek DVD, Mp4, Mp3 Download.
Cold-Case Christianity: A Homicide Detective Investigates the Claims of the Gospels by J. Warner Wallace (Book)
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Ryan Leasure holds a Master of Arts from Furman University and a Masters of Divinity from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Currently, he’s a Doctor of Ministry candidate at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He also serves as a pastor at Grace Bible Church in Moore, SC.
Original Blog Source: https://bit.ly/3BXULYy
Before You Hit Send by Emerson Eggerichs- Audio Book Highlight
Culture CrossExamined, Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Luke Nix
Introduction
If you consume a large portion of your material through audio, it is hard to get past a good deal on an excellent audio book. Twice every year ChristianAudio.com runs a sale on most of their collection, and you can usually pick up these great audio resources for $7.49. The time has come for the first sale of 2021 (and beyond), so I will be highlighting some of my favorite audio books. I’ll include a few of my favorite quotes from the books, my recommendation from my chapter-by-chapter reviews, links to posts that were inspired by the books, and, of course, I will include links to the audio book deal throughout the article. Today, I am highlighting Before You Hit Send: Preventing Headache and Heartache by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs.
Before You Hit Send– My Recommendation
When I found out that he wrote a book on general communication in all relationships and focused on communication in the age of social media, I was ecstatic! As a defender of the Christian worldview, I am constantly engaging skeptics and presenting the evidence for the truth of what I believe. The common passage of scripture that is quoted to support this aspect of evangelism is 1 Peter 3:15: “Always be ready to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you, and do so with gentleness and respect.” This passage emphasizes not merely the content of our defense but also the delivery of the content: “with gentleness and respect.” Learning to be wise communicators is necessary for anyone who wishes to obey Peter’s command in full.
“Before You Hit Send” is an incredible listen. Because of the fact that I have dedicated my life to defending the truth of the Christian worldview, which has eternal consequences for my audience, along with being in constant prayer, I am always looking for ways to ensure that I am communicating my case as persuasively as possible. As we defend the truth of Christianity, we may be removing intellectual stumbling blocks, but we may be introducing emotional ones. Kind, necessary, and clear communication are equally as necessary as true communication. In so thoroughly covering the possible pitfalls in all four aspects of our communication, Dr. Eggerichs has provided an indispensable resource.
The principles discussed, of course, apply to all of our communicative relationships on all topics, whether at home, at work, at church, at the coffee shop, or on social media. We must remember that every time that we communicate with another person, as Christians, we are giving them an impression of Christ, so we must guard that impression to ensure that we accurately reflect Him. Whether we are actively looking for the opportunity to evangelize and defend or not, at some point, we will be called upon to give a reason for the hope that we have to those we have communicated with, and we do not want our past failures to taint the answer that we provide. I highly recommend “Before You Hit Send.” Every Christian needs to listen to this book thoughtfully and prayerfully.
You can read the complete chapter-by-chapter summary review by clicking or tapping here.
Before You Hit Send by Emerson Eggerichs- Favorite Quotes
“When people cannot win on the merits of their performance, products, or positions, they are tempted to cross a line and speak horribly of the opponent, perhaps even lying.”
“Some people enter politics because they derive personal fulfillment from the ‘gotcha’ approach to issues. It isn’t about what is true but about the political chess game. The key is to put a better spin on a matter than the other candidate and to put the opposition in checkmate.”
“It makes no difference if our spin is compelled by our compassion or career advancement or the suppression of opposite positions; little good comes to us when we refuse to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.”
“Being a person who communicates what is true frequently demands tact, and at times it can feel like side-stepping land mines. It takes work to be both truthful and tactful.”
“When you are truthful all day long while being unkind, hateful, and contemptuous, you are making more enemies than friends…Our hostility and disdain close off the spirits of others to the very truth we wish them to hear.”
“Truth carries its own weight, and we should feel confident about this. When we yield to ‘might makes right,’ there is something inherently wrong in what we believe, and we know it.”
“Perhaps in many cases we didn’t know it was untrue. No harm, no foul. Even so, an honest error in judgment does not make it okay, especially when we repeatedly make such mistakes. The real point here is to the lazy and neglectful individuals who keep making mistakes and claim they did not know the truth. They may be innocent, but one becomes guilty of carelessness and inattentiveness. We must aggressively get our facts straight to avoid a routine of ‘honest’ mistakes.”
“The more important the communication the less I can afford making glaring mistakes.”
“Our communication is very important to God. As odd as this sounds, God is reading our mail, and when we are not truthful, we are not truthful with Him. It isn’t that we cannot lie, but we ask, Why would I when I love God and He loves me, and my communication is really a reflection of my communion with Him? This is our deepest mind-set before hitting send. We have an audience of One.”
“Truth without love is comparable to heart surgery without anesthesia.”
“The Golden Rule says, ‘Treat others the same way you want them to treat you.’ (Luke 6:31).. What I find fascinating is that some people—some very smart people—compromise at this juncture. They want to be treated with the Golden Rule of true communication but do not want to be bound by it.”
“Oftentimes, other’ perceptions behind our communications are just as important as our intentions behind what we were sharing. Though we may have spoken truthfully with kindness and respect, and at the necessary time, if the communication is not perceived in the way we intended, then we must ask ourselves if we were as clear as we could have been.”
“When we conclude the other person needs the light of the truth, and we can speak it lovingly, respectfully, and coherently, then we ought to communicate it. We must speak up for the sake of the truth and for the sake of the other person.”
Recommended resources related to the topic:
Proverbs: Making Your Paths Straight Complete 9-part Series by Frank Turek DVD and Download
Is Morality Absolute or Relative? by Frank Turek (DVD/ Mp3/ Mp4)
Does Love and Tolerance Equal Affirmation? (DVD) (Mp4) by Dr. Frank Turek
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Luke Nix holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and works as a Desktop Support Manager for a local precious metal exchange company in Oklahoma.
Original Blog Source: https://bit.ly/3voXcAW