Tag Archive for: Church

Young People are Leaving the Church… Is Apologetics the Answer

Young People are Leaving the Church… Is Apologetics the Answer?

By Jeremy Linn

Over the past few months, I’ve been promoting an Apologetics conference which will equip young people to understand and defend the Christian worldview.

As I’ve talked to local church leaders about the conference, questions have come up about its effectiveness. Do young people really need to attend an Apologetics conference at this stage in their lives? Will Apologetics actually help them stay grounded in their faith as they enter into college?

In order to determine if there is a need for young people to be trained in Apologetics, three questions related to young people leaving the church need to be addressed. Before getting to these questions, I should clarify that leaving the church is not a sure-fire indicator of someone leaving Christianity, but consistent church attendance is an indicator of a growing Christian.

With that said, let’s start going down the list.

1. Are young people actually leaving the church upon entering college?

Yes, many are

Recent studies done on this topic indicate that a majority of young people who grew up in the church leave it for at least a year upon entering college.

For example, a 2017 study by Lifeway Research indicated that 68 percent of Protestants ages 18 to 22 who went to church regularly in high school stop attending church on a regular basis for at least a year after they enter college. Some percentage of those people do eventually come back to attend church. But the 68% figure still indicates many do leave permanently.

2. Why are young people leaving the church?

Multiple reasons, including life transition and intellectual barriers

There are multiple reasons why young people are leaving the church, which makes this question a less obvious one to answer. The same Lifeway research study from above indicates that a change in life situations and priorities is the main reason young people leave the church, at least for a time. In fact, the study indicated almost all young people who stopped attending church did so for this reason.

This study doesn’t give the full picture, though. The young people polled could only pick from a preselected list of reasons to explain why they left the church. Other studies give young people a chance to provide their own reasons for leaving, giving us a deeper look into what is causing them to leave.

An extensive study done by Barna gave young people an opportunity to list their “barriers” to the Christian faith. A few of the top answers they gave were intellectually focused. From the young people polled:

  • 29 percent indicated that they have a hard time believing a good God exists when there is so much evil in the world
  • 20 percent indicated that science refutes too much of the Bible.
  • 19 percent indicated they don’t believe in fairy tales (aligning with the common Atheist mantra “The Bible is just a bunch of fairy tales”)

So while the transition to college and changes in life priority play a large role in young people dropping out of church, specific intellectual difficulties can also play a role. These findings bring me to the final question.

3. Is Apologetics the answer to the problem of young people leaving the church?

Not exactly… let me explain

If there is one “answer” to the problem of young people leaving the church, it’s the Holy Spirit. As Christians, we can’t ignore the Spirit’s power in leading young people them into a dynamic relationship with Christ. The Spirit is an important answer, but there are several other answers that can help young people continue in their Christian faith once they enter college.

One of these answers is an emphasis on a strong Christian community. Of course, youth groups are set up to promote a strong community among young people. But churches can also help young people grow in community with other generations through opportunities like mentorship or church-wide events. When young people see the benefit of a strong Christian community, they will be more likely to seek out a similar community when entering college.

Another answer comes through the role of parents to lead and teach their children. By teaching their children what Christians believe and why they believe it, along with modeling the character of Christ through moral actions, parents can help their children build up a strong foundation for their faith that will last.

Okay… But what about Apologetics?

To move to Apologetics, let’s look back at the intellectual barriers to Christianity that many young people listed in the Barna study mentioned above. These barriers involve topics like:

  • The Problem of Evil (How can a good God exist when there’s so much evil?)
  • Science and Faith (Doesn’t science conflict with the Bible or even faith in general?)
  • Historical Investigation (Isn’t the Bible just a bunch of fairy tales?)

These topics have been thoroughly addressed by numerous people and ministries engaged in Apologetics. The Problem of Evil is perhaps the most difficult topic to address since there is a strong emotional side to it, but people like C.S. Lewis and Ravi Zacharias approach the topic in a way that touches on both the intellectual and emotional sides. The Science and Faith topic has been extensively covered by organizations like Reasons to Believe for many years. And Historical Investigation of the Bible is covered in depth by authors like NT Wright and Richard Bauckham, and covered in a more accessible way by Lee Strobel and J. Warner Wallace.

These people and ministries provide only a taste of the library of Apologetics resources available to young people. Resources that will:

  • Help them dig into their intellectual barriers to Christianity.
  • Give them reasons to think that Christianity does describe the way the world actually is
  • Show them the relevancy of the Christian worldview to their lives

When we have an abundance of Apologetics resources that do these things for young people, why wouldn’t we connect them to those resources? At the very least, Apologetics provides some benefit to young people. And more optimistically, it can play a primary role in keeping their faith grounded as they move into college and beyond.

Apologetics is not the all-encompassing answer to the problem of young people leaving the church. But it certainly is one of several key answers. And that is reason enough to support a conference that connects young people to some of the best Apologetics resources out there.

 

Jeremy is the co-founder of the ministry Twin Cities Apologetics and is an accountant for a law firm in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He’s also going to Bethel Seminary for a graduate degree in a program called Christian Thought (basically Apologetics!). Outside of Apologetics, Jeremy enjoys sports, playing guitar, and making videos.

Original Blog Source: http://bit.ly/2F2VyM7

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Meet the New Apologists (Part 2_ Advice)

Meet the New Apologists (Part 2: Advice)

By Jordan Apodaca

In the last post we met seven “new apologists.” Now, we ask them crucial questions about how to start and run a young apologetics ministry.

What advice would you give to newer apologists about finding their niche/focus? How important is it? How does one find a niche?

Here is Scott Olson’s case for why it is so important to find a niche:

  • Scott Olson (Free Thinking Ministries): I think it’s incredibly important to find a niche. I hesitate to say that the apologetics community is oversaturated because I would hate to discourage anyone from doing apologetics, but if you just start up another generic apologetics ministry, your voice is going to be drowned out. In all good marketing strategies (which is what you’ll need in order to grow your ministry), you need to be known for solving a problem. When people think of your ministry, they should immediately associate it with the specific apologetics problem you’re trying to solve. For example, when people think of Freethinking Ministries, they immediately think of free will and Molinism. We talk about other things on the website, but we’re known for those two issues. If you’re resistant to niching down, I’ll say this: build your “brand” by focusing on a specific niche, and once you’re happy with the size of your audience, then you can begin to branch out and focus on other things. It’s extremely difficult to build a brand by trying to be all things to all people. People have psychological tendency to need to categorize every person they meet. If they can’t put you in a box, you’ll just confuse them and never attract them as an audience member. As far as choosing a niche, I would browse through Facebook groups and other ministries and try and find something that you feel hasn’t been properly addressed. Chances are, there are a lot of people who feel the same way, and you can grow your ministry with them.

This isn’t about becoming someone you’re not. It’s about being who God made you to be:

  • Cameron Bertuzzi (Capturing Christianity): Be yourself. Seriously. Don’t try to be anyone else. Don’t try to be the next William Lane Craig. Don’t try to be the next Greg Koukl. Be the first you. When I was just starting my blog I had no idea that photography and apologetics could go so well together. In fact, I initially thought it would mean people wouldn’t take me seriously (who wants to listen to what some random photographer has to say?!). But once I embraced that identity, and didn’t shy away from it, beautiful things started to happen (pun intended). Yourself.

Another easy way to find a niche is to focus on a specific geographical location, like Jeremy Linn and Matt Slama have done with Twin Cities Apologetics. Matt Slama also adds another insight on finding a niche: “I would suggest just looking at where there is a need. Wherever there are people, you will have bad thinking. Atheism is at its root, bad thinking. It is evident from what God has told us that people know that God exists. (See Romans 1:19.) So, just start helping people think correctly. God will help you and be with you.”

What are some potential apologetics ministry ideas that you’d love to see some young, bright apologists run with?

Several answered that we should focus on evangelism:

  • Scott Olson: I would love to see a ministry that primarily focused on the integration of apologetics and evangelism. It can be quite difficult to figure out where to sprinkle in your apologetic arguments when evangelizing to someone, so I think that might be a good idea to run with.
  • Matt Schmidt (Engage 360): For me and the Engage 360 team, it almost always comes back to, “How do we better equip people in the church to know their faith, share their faith, and grow in their faith?”  There are numerous ways we can do that. I would love to see a lot more resources designed to help the untrained Christian to be able to have more spiritual conversations in their lives.  This could be quick reference guides, guided learning, interactive training, etc.

Other ideas:

  • Cameron Bertuzzi: We need way more Christian YouTubers. And don’t just start a YouTube channel without a plan. Research best practices. Learn marketing strategies. Reach out to other successful Christian YouTubers like Mike Winger and ask for advice. Don’t reinvent the wheel!
  • Jeremy Linn: Well I’d like to see Apologetics incorporated with music more but that’s something that is just an out-there idea I’ve been thinking of for a while.

Evangelism, YouTube, and music! Go after it!

What are the top three mistakes that new apologists often make?

Tim Stratton:

  1. I think many new and young apologists try to “be” someone else. That is, they try to BE Dr. Craig or J.P. Moreland instead of simply being themselves. Be comfortable in your own skin. Don’t try to be someone else.
  2. Know your audience and communicate to them. I struggle with this since I often communicate to high school students and I am also currently working on a PhD dissertation. As far as FTM goes, I have formed a team to try and offer a range of content so that together we can reach beginners, intermediates, and advanced folks. I am finding that there are pros and cons to this approach. I’m learning on the fly!
  3. Related to (2), if you are talking to a beginner (for example) make sure to use language they understand and speak in a manner they can follow. If you must use technical jargon, make sure to define your terms in ways they can grasp. Timothy Fox blogs for FreeThinking Ministries and has this down to an art form.

Scott Olson:

  1. They try to appeal to everybody.
  2. They worry too much about the little things, like picking a name and designing the perfect logo.
  3. They don’t worry about marketing and messaging.

Matt Schmidt:

  1. Think way too much of themselves.
  2. Think that because they know Apologetics they also know Theology and Philosophy (usually mostly just repeating the positions of their favorite apologist).
  3. Learn how to bring apologetics to a practical level for everyday people in the Church.

Cameron Bertuzzi:

  1. Aesthetics,
  2. Marketing,
  3. Treating people like humans.

Travis Pelletier:

  1. Fail to network. Don’t be a nerd in your basement. Get involved in your church and in your community. If you’ve never been involved in church before, then you shouldn’t be surprised if your leadership doesn’t just jump for joy when you ask to teach on a relatively difficult and potentially controversial topic like apologetics. Also, network with other apologists. There are apologetics nerds in almost every church. Find them. Get together with them. See if you can encourage them to become involved.
  2. Application: Every apologetics lesson should be connected to real life. Don’t just teach a lesson on the problem of evil as an abstract idea. Bring it home to people. For example, you could talk about someone who walked away from the faith because they didn’t get a good answer to this question. Or you could talk about how you struggled with this issue. At the end of the lesson, ALWAYS give some practical tips on how to actually engage with people in everyday life. Don’t let apologetics be some ethereal abstract philosophy – it’s about loving the people we meet, loving them enough to engage with them and give them good answers.
  3. Always have grace – This has been a struggle for me. Whether it’s the atheist who is being idiotically pigheaded in order to avoid the divine, or whether it’s the Christian who uses the word “Faith” as an excuse for intellectual laziness, apologists need to realize that everyone is at a different place, and that we must love the people who frustrate us, and we must love them enough to not always have to force the argument to end with us on top. Apologists often feel that we must “win the argument”. But we don’t. All we should try to do is to get them thinking, and if we behave graciously then the door will be open to more conversations in the future.

Jeremy Linn:

  1. SOCIAL MEDIA – this is huge if you are focusing on content and want your apologetics platform to grow. You need to know how to best utilize each platform. I was quite bad with SM right away but developed skills and got better over time (and still am)
  2. I’m guessing most don’t make the personal connections with people that they should, and form partnerships that will help with their ministry. That is something I have a hard time with, and could put more time emphasis on.
  3. Tailor posts to their audience, whatever that may be. That especially means the title of a blog post or video should appeal to whoever you want your content to appeal to. Same with the caption on social media. Those two things are some of the main things that will drive people to content, along with having a picture that looks good and is not cut off (need to use the right sized picture for Facebook, in example).

Matt Slama:

  1. Addressing questions that people are not asking. Often times we know our material and know what problems a majority of people have with Christianity. However, we need to address the individual and the question/argument posed.
  2. Letting other people get away with putting the burden of proof on you. There is a clear method of determining burden of proof. Some people don’t understand the reason for burden of proof. When one is making a claim, they need to uphold the burden of proof not the other way around. It is interesting how this so easily gets swapped around. Be level headed and just think through the conversation. Take your time even if it might feel a little awkward. Bad thinking = bad conversations.

(Matt Slama doesn’t follow the rules.)

What are the top three things new apologists should focus on in order to thrive?

Tim Stratton:

  1. I would encourage new apologists not just to repeat the work that others have already done, but strive to occasionally develop new and unique arguments.
  2. Build off of the work of the “giants” who have preceded you, stand on their shoulders, and take it to new heights. Dr. Craig recently told me that I was helping to fulfill one of his dreams because he said “You are taking my work, reflecting on it, making it your own, and running with it.” I encourage others to do the same. For example, take the work of guys like Mike Licona or JP Moreland and continue building on what they have already accomplished.
  3. Don’t feel like you have to be doing apologetics as a profession to be a good and effective apologist! Be faithful with the little platform you might have and do the best with what you’ve got, trying to reach as many people in your circle of influence as possible. Let God handle the rest!

Scott Olson:

  1. Find that area within apologetics in which you can become the expert.
  2. Build your online presence by having a website and being on social media.
  3. Be able to clearly articulate the goal of your ministry, and make this goal a solution to a problem that your audience has. For example, if you wanted to create a ministry focusing on Christianity and neuroscience, maybe articulate your goal as “ensuring that Christians remain capable and effective when talking about neuroscience” or something along those lines. This clearly defines your target audience (Christians interested in neuroscience) and what the problem is you’re going to solve (ineffective apologetics related to neuroscience).

Matt Schmidt:

  1. Keeping things practical.
  2. Learning how to talk apologetics to non-apologetics people.
  3. Rounding out with solid Theology, Bible, and Philosophy training.

Cameron Bertuzzi:

  1. Finding your niche and sticking to it,
  2. Marketing,

What advice would you give to an aspiring apologetics ministry trying to equip local churches? How do you build trust with pastors? How do you even begin the conversation?

  • Tim Stratton: Just this morning I met with two local pastors from churches that I do not attend. I offered them my services. I told them that whenever an apologetic or theological issue might arise to give me a call and that I will do the research for them that they do not have the time to do. I told them that I am sure they will occasionally disagree with me, but that I will strive to tell them what I think on a specific topic, and then give them other options to consider if they did not find my approach satisfying. I think it builds trust when you offer to serve churches in this manner. It also builds trust when you give them permission to disagree with you but tell them that you will point them to other possible solutions as well.
  • Scott Olson: The absolute best thing you can do is volunteer at your local church. Get involved helping set up or tear down, serving coffee, serving on the worship team, anything to show that you’re a team player and you genuinely care about serving your local church. Believe me, you’ll inevitably meet some of the “power players” within the church and you can ask them out to lunch or coffee in order to talk to them about your interest in equipping the church with apologetics. Frame your conversations in such a way as to illustrate the problem you see in your local church, and how your apologetics ministry will help solve it.
  • Matt Schmidt: Don’t use the word apologetics!  Focus on how you can serve and aid the church in bringing the life changing the truth of Christianity to their local community.  Don’t make it about you and how much you know. Keep whatever you do as interactive as possible. Very few people can sit and listen to a lecture, and even fewer can do so then put something into practice from it.  We could argue that people in the Church need to mature and be able to handle that, and you might even be right. However, we have to live in reality and figure out how to bring people up more than complain that they can’t handle things we thing they should be able to.
  • Travis Pelletier: Let them know that what the goal of your ministry is, and ask the pastor how you can be of service to him. Don’t just tell him what you want to do; ask him how you can help him.
  • Jeremy Linn: Personal connection beats email every time. Even phone calls are better than emails. The majority of head pastors won’t respond to emails regarding ministry connections, from what I understand. Youth pastors tend to respond more often.

What advice would you give to an aspiring apologist trying to teach apologetics in a small group/class setting? What are some teaching tips, some things to definitely do and some things to definitely not do?

Here is some advice on how to teach well:

  • Tim Stratton: (1) Make sure you know your material! For example, don’t teach the Ontological Argument unless you have a strong understanding of it yourself. (2) Do not speak over their heads! Know your audience! (3) Do your best to avoid “Christianeeze” and “Apologeticeeze.” (4) Take the subject matter seriously, but don’t take yourself too seriously (have fun)!
  • Scott Olson: Use stories to get your point across. People don’t retain bullet points of information very well, but they do understand stories. Illustrate how you would use an argument in a hypothetical (or experiential) story. Trust me, that’s what they’ll remember.
  • Matt Schmidt: Keep things interactive and hands-on to the highest degree possible.  I have made this mistake myself many times so I am not throwing stones here.  Over time it has become clear that you can engage more people and have them take more away if you keep things interactive.  For instance, rather than merely lecture and power point my way through some basic evangelism training I am currently using videos from a Boghossian disciple using “street epistemology” to try and deconvert Christians.  I, or the class members, can stop the video at any time and we use what is happening in the video and the context for guided discussion. I have a class of sixty members (in a church of 250) that are almost all engaged and giving input each week.  In fact, they are so engage we go over 90 minutes every week. Think about the last time you gave a 90 minute lecture to a church and most of them stuck with it!

Cameron and Jeremy give advice about how to not brand your group:

  • Cameron Bertuzzi: Definitely do not paint yourself or your class as overly intellectual. I started an apologetics class at my church, but once the word was out that it was “intellectual,” our numbers slowly decreased until we were down to just 2 members (not including myself). Don’t use apologetics in the name; don’t make it sound like you have to be smart to attend.
  • Jeremy Linn: There is a strong tendency for people who like apologetics to go to apologetics classes… When you are “teaching” people who already know the content, it can become more of a social club. This is not a bad thing as we know “Iron sharpens iron.” However, to be most effective, we need to draw people in who don’t normally have this bend.

How can a new apologetics ministry be evangelistic? What do you do to share the Gospel yourself, and what do you do to get others to share the Gospel? 

  • Tim Stratton: Always try to show how an argument for the existence of God is best explained by biblical data. For example, I like to appeal to the Kalam Cosmological Argument to eventually reach the conclusion that it is possible for the person listening to my presentation to have a personal relationship with the “Cause of the universe” without appealing to a single Bible verse. Then I follow that by noting that although I have not touched a Bible to reach my conclusion, that the Bible says the exact same thing – it is possible to have a personal relationship with the Cause and Creator of the universe. Then I say, “Perhaps we should take the Bible seriously.” I follow that with: “But wait, there’s more! The Bible doesn’t just tell us that it is possible to have a personal relationship with the Cause and Creator of the universe… it also tells us exactly how to do such a thing through Jesus Christ!” (Watch my sermon: “Doesn’t Science Disprove God?“) With that I am off and running with the Gospel. We can seamlessly transition from apologetic syllogisms to sharing the biblical message of salvation!
  • Scott Olson: Hopefully, being evangelistic is the goal of all ministries. In particular, get good at transitioning conversations from superficial topics into deeper ones. Trust me; everyone wants to tell you what they think about the important issues (like religion). Don’t try and force apologetics into a conversation, rather ask them about their beliefs and try and get them to see why their beliefs might be wrong. When you ask someone his or her thoughts on something meaningful, 95% of people will absolutely love it. Think about it, would you rather have someone ask you what you do for a living, or would you rather have them ask you your thoughts on religion?
  • Matt Schmidt: As much as possible bring everything back to the core elements of the faith.  The authority of Jesus, the reliability of Scripture, the integrity of the eye-witness testimony of the apostles, the biblical definition of key terms, the way we can reach people of different backgrounds, etc.  I am very comfortable with evangelism when opportunity arises in life (i.e. sitting next to someone on a plane, having a door opened in conversation with a co-worker, etc.). What I struggle with is intentional outreach as I am more of a shy extrovert.  To overcome this, I will go to a bookstore and hang-out it a relevant sections that will be a good context for a spiritual conversation. When someone pulls Deepok Chopra off the shelf I ask them about the book and off we go!
  • Cameron Bertuzzi: Good question. I think we need to spark up way more conversations with people in real life. I notice that online I’m ready to talk about anything but when I meet people at the grocery store, for example, I never think twice about stopping and asking them a couple questions. Why not? These people (a) need apologetics just like everybody else, and (b) are probably a lot more open to what we have to say. I would cite the fact that I’m naturally introverted, but actually that’s a lie. I’m more of a selective introvert. People in my inner circle I have no issue reaching out to, even if I barely know them. I need to do better at enlarging that circle.
  • Jeremy Linn: Connect up with local organizations doing evangelism, or create an evangelism event yourself. Those are the two main options I know of. I go out and have some way to start asking people questions, like to approach people and say you’re doing a survey of people’s thoughts about spiritual things, and asking permission to ask questions. One Apologetics group takes a whiteboard and writes a question on it and talks to people walking by in their city.

What advice to you have for ministries that are primarily focused on building an Internet presence? (Should every apologist try to have an online ministry?) How do you go about building a website and making an impact? What are some major mistakes apologists make in this area, and what are some of the opportunities? Do you have any recommendations on what platform to use (Wix, WordPress, etc.)?

  • Tim Stratton: In today’s world if an apologist does not have an online presence then they are probably either wasting their time or simply hoping to reach a very small number of folks. Now, this does not mean that everyone needs to have an expensive website. I got my start simply by treating my Facebook account as a website. I would also seek to debate or argue (respectfully) whenever I had the opportunity. I use WordPress and I like it a lot!
  • Scott Olson: The biggest mistake I see on websites today is that they have wayyyy too much stuff on their website. From the minute someone gets to your website, it should be clear what you do, how it will make their life better, and how they can interact with your content. Anything else on the front page of your website is really just unnecessary clutter that can be moved elsewhere.
  • Cameron Bertuzzi: Huge questions here! We use WordPress. That’s what I’m familiar with and it gets the job done. Apologists usually do poor in the website area because they don’t have a background in design. Here’s what I recommend: PUT DOWN THE PLANTINGA AND PICK UP A BOOK ON DESIGN! It’s not impossible to do design well, even if you aren’t naturally inclined to it. It’s a skill that can be learned, as with anything. There are rules and formulas; it’s a lot more analytic than it might seem. And while you’re at it, pick up a book on growing a website, another on marketing, and another still on social media. Read and study them. Do that and you’ll already be way ahead of the curve! Here are some book recommendations:

Where should I focus my attention on Social Media? Facebook? Instagram? YouTube? How do I use those productively? What social media tips and tricks would you give to a beginner?

  • Scott Olson: Facebook is really a fantastic tool for creating an online community. Obviously, it’s a great idea to have a “business” page for your ministry that you can use to post. However, Facebook has unfortunately began limiting the reach of business pages, so only about 1-5% of those who like and follow your page actually see what you post. For this reason, I highly recommend creating a Facebook group associated with your ministry. You’ll create a sense of exclusivity and community while having a great place to start conversations about your niche and ministry. YouTube is an area I’d like to begin focusing on a little bit more, as most people are transitioning to video as their primary form of content consumption. My advice for YouTube would be to not be afraid of creating long videos. Don’t feel like you have to stop a video because it’s more than 10 minutes long. Make the video as long as it needs to be. Finally, don’t be afraid to test stuff on social media. Create a bunch of posts throughout the day and see which ones get the most amount of likes and engagement. Keep posting similar content to the ones that do well, and stop posting content similar to the ones that don’t do well. Also, use surveys to figure out what your audience wants from you.
  • Cameron Bertuzzi: YouTube and Facebook are the best places for apologetics. A friend of mine always says that with Facebook, you pay them, but with YouTube, they pay you. And that’s true. On Facebook, be prepared to spend money advertising. It’s not impossible to grow without paying for ads, but unless your content is extremely shareable (think Babylon Bee), it’ll be difficult. If you can’t afford to pay for ads, find somebody that sees your vision and wants to partner. Facebook has been incredible for our ministry. I’m still getting the hang of YouTube, so I can’t comment on best practices there.
  • Jeremy Linn: It really depends what you want to go for. Some Apologetics ministries have focused solely on Youtube, and have had great success on there. Perhaps you want to reach out to the next generation with interactive media. Then Youtube is your go to. With enough focus on there and a built up subscriber base, over time you can earn money off of it (although likely not enough to do it full time). For general Apologetics ministries, a Facebook page is the #1 spot right now. A Facebook group may be appropriate for a ministry like me own where people meet locally. But you can share content more easily on a page, and it tends to grow faster for Apologetics content. Instagram is a valuable place to be especially since younger people are on it and it is really the “cool” place to be right now. However, it takes the most time and commitment out of any of the platforms – from making solid captions to doing Instagram stories consistently (both of which are necessary for growth). If you were going to pick one platform, I would make it the Facebook page. Instagram can do a lot if you are willing to learn what is effective on there. Quick one- or two-words tips:
    • Facebook page: SHORT CONTENT, LINKS TO LONG CONTENT, HUMOR
    • Instagram: 30 HASHTAGS, BE REAL

How can I contribute intellectually and maybe even academically to apologetics? Should I write?

  • Tim Stratton: I encourage apologists to know the content and share it in live settings and in writing whenever possible. However, apologists can raise the standard if we all strive to advance the conversations through research and unique arguments of our own. This is best accomplished through writing. If you don’t have a website send your writings to guys like me who might be interested in publishing your piece on their website. If one is in a position to do so, get a degree in apologetics, philosophy, or theology. This option, however, is not always available. If it is not feasible to get a degree in a related field, then “study to show yourself approved” (2 Timothy 2:15) and educate yourself to be the best apologist possible. Guys like Eric Hernandez, Jonathan Thompson, Evan Minton, Ricardo Martinez, and Chan Arnett (and many more) exemplify this beautifully. None of them have any official letters behind their name, but they are all brilliant minds who can go toe-to-toe with any Ph.D. They push themselves as if they were PhD candidates. I learn much from each of them.
  • Matt Schmidt: My personal answer is most likely not, but maybe.  Though it seems to be the attraction for many people who get into apologetics and philosophy, the greater need (by far) is for average people in the church and outside of it.  We would be better served with more apologists focusing their attention in that direction. That said, there are some who absolutely should pursue higher level academics and higher-level writing.  That percentage is fairly small though. The bottom line is that most academic fields are highly competitive to even get into PhD programs and often a small number of PhD grads are getting solid jobs because of their PhD.  It is not a demotion to serve the church more hands-on (academics can serve the church as well), but it is a different path that requires a different mentality.
  • Cameron Bertuzzi: What I recommend is to pick an argument or subject and stick with it for years at a time. Do you like the moral argument? Great! Learn everything you can about the different versions, various objections, etc. Read everything you can get your hands on. Follow Dr. Craig’s example. He spends years and years studying one topic at a time. Why does he do that? Trying to be maximally informed on everything all at once is too ambitious. Contribute intellectually by taking philosophy seriously.

What kind of person should pursue a solo ministry, and what kind of person should pursue a team-based ministry?

  • Tim Stratton: I can only speak for myself, but although I am the founder and executive director of FreeThinking Ministries, I sure enjoy being a part of a team! Scott Olson is the “voice of FTM” as he cohosts the FreeThinking Podcast. Timothy Fox, Jonathan Thompson, Adam Coleman, Shannon Byrd, and Jacobus Erasmus are a joy to work with as we all do ministry together (two more scholars are slated to officially join the FreeThinking team this summer)! There are also many guest contributors from around the world who have become an extension of the FreeThinking family like Kyle Barrington (world traveler), Johnny Sakr from Australia, John Limanto from Indonesia, Robert Oram from the UK, and Steve Williams from Hawaii (Does Hawaii count?) along with many others. We regularly communicate with each other, bring forth challenges, and work toward sharpening the team as a whole. Think about it: Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor all make great stand alone movies, but combine them as a team and you have The Avengers which is much more exciting! Having a team allows the ministry to cover many more topics than one guy can do alone (unless your name is William Lane Craig)! The key, however, is finding guys that you “click” with.
  • Cameron Bertuzzi: I might step on people’s toes here, but I would say that if you’re not a professional or haven’t gone to school for philosophy/apologetics, you probably need to do team-based. (That won’t apply in every case, but as a general rule.)
  • Jeremy Linn:
    • Solo – you need to be committed to put time in. Are you wanting to do social media? If so, are you task-focused? If not it may be hard to go solo on that. Solo however does allow you to focus on your “x” – that thing that will separate you from other ministries and will draw people in to what you have going on.
    • Team – If you have a group that meets personally this makes perfect sense. Your strengths can build off each other. You can designate areas to leaders, i.e., I am mainly social media, and the other leader is mainly meetings. We couldn’t do all that we’re doing without the team aspect being there.

What is it like having/being support staff?

  • Tim Stratton: I am currently doing FTM full-time and have one part-time guy (Dr. David Oldham) who does research for me and helps to raise finances. We meet one or two times per week to study together. I also have a fantastic board that handles many of the BIG things which frees me up to do more research, writing, teaching, preaching, and ministry in general. As mentioned above, the FTM contributors also act as support staff. As of now, they act as volunteers. It is such a blessing to have this team of guys surrounding me.
  • Scott Olson: Because apologetics is not my main focus, it’s awesome just being able to donate a little bit of my time and expertise to a ministry that I fully believe in.
  • Cameron Bertuzzi: It’s amazing. The guys that help run our ministry on a daily basis are invaluable. Learn to delegate responsibility early on or else you might burn yourself out.

How can a new apologist stay in love with Jesus and not grow cold toward God?

  • Tim Stratton: Always keep Jesus in mind. Talk to Him over a cup of coffee before you begin your studies for the day. Ask Him to teach you. Depend upon Him! This approach has been so beneficial for me. In fact, the more I have increased in my knowledge of apologetics; the more my love has grown with God. For example, I remember the first time I grasped the Kalam – I began to cry tears of joy and I began to praise Him! I saw a bigger and more beautiful picture of God and it brought me to worship. Moreover, make sure to continue to attend, be a member, and serve a local church! Make sure to take part in worship services and do not take for granted the assembly of believers (Hebrews 10:25). Study God’s Word and keep talking to God!
  • Scott Olson: It’s important to always keep in mind why we do apologetics. If the point of us doing apologetics is to make ourselves look smarter or better, then we’ll quickly grow away from God. But, if we genuinely want to equip other believers and ourselves to bring more people into the kingdom of God, then I believe apologetics can only help us in our walk of faith.
  • Cameron Bertuzzi: Plain and simple. Study your Bible, study apologetics, but make sure to spend time in prayer. There is no substitute for a healthy prayer life.
  • Travis Pelletier: Continue the spiritual disciplines of Church, prayer, and devotional time. STUDYING APOLOGETICS IS NOT A REPLACEMENT FOR ANY OF THESE THINGS! Sorry for all caps, but this point is so important that it deserves a yell. Also, it is so helpful to have friends who love Jesus that you spend time with regularly. I mean people who love Jesus, not just people who love theology. Finally, as someone who loves secular music, I’ve found that Christian music can absolutely refocus my mind on Christ in a way that secular music doesn’t.
  • Jeremy Linn: Spending time with God is key, although that can be hard for me as I have late nights some times. Acknowledging and receiving God’s grace when I “screw up” has been helpful too — and also journaling about what God is doing through the ministry and in my life in general. This is most certainly a topic I’m still wrestling through.

Beginning a new ministry often takes a lot longer than most of us want, and we often don’t get to see much fruit right away. What words of encouragement do you have for new ministries?

  • Tim Stratton: It is literally a one-day at a time journey. My son, Ethan, is sophomore and a wrestler on one of the best High School teams in the nation. Although he has been wrestling since he was four-years-old, just last year I encouraged him to have one simple goal: improve by one percent every practice. That does not seem like much, but if one takes this approach in just a few weeks, he will be an utterly transformed wrestler. Ethan took my advice and the improvement we have seen over the last year – since he adopted the “one percent philosophy” – is comparable to the improvement he made over the past decade of wrestling. In fact, Ethan won the KHS Most Improved Wrestler of the year award! All these little “one percents” add up quickly. That is my approach to apologetics too. I have been utterly transformed by the renewing of my mind (Romas 12:2). I look forward to the continual transformation ahead. I have a long way to go but I have already traversed more ground than I ever thought possible. I encourage you to adopt my “one percent philosophy” and see what happens!
  • Scott Olson: Keep any goals you set to 18 months or sooner. Personally, I like 90 day goals. If you try and set 5 year goals, you’re always going to be discouraged by how far away that seems. Besides, no one knows what’s going to be happening 5 years from now. Set 90 day goals for where you want your ministry to be, and every day take some actionable step toward achieving that goal. If, at the end of the day, you’ve moved one step closer to your 90 day goal, you’ve won the day. And if you win every day, you’ll win the week. And if you win every week you’ll win the month. And if you win every month, you’ll win the year. And that’s what winners do: they win.
  • Cameron Bertuzzi: If your ministry has stayed stagnant in terms of viewership, engagement, etc., most likely you’ve neglected the importance of marketing. The good news is that it can be fixed. Pick up some books on marketing. Doing the same thing over and over expecting different results is, as we all know, the definition of insanity. Playing it safe is not what God wants from you. He wants you to use your talents creatively (see the Parable of the Talents, Matt 25:14-30). Ask yourself: are you like the man that doubled what he was given, or are you more like the man that took his talent and buried it? The second route is definitely safer, and requires less effort, but as the Parable of the Talents demonstrates, quite colorfully I might add, that’s simply not an option. Don’t waste your talents but neglecting marketing.
  • Travis Pelletier: Apologetics has often been called “pre-evangelism.” In other words, apologetics prepares people to hear the gospel. This means that apologists often don’t see the results of their work, simply because the result of their work might simply be a change in attitude toward faith which only blossoms much later. So, don’t let a lack of clear fruit discourage you.
  • Jeremy Linn: The fact that you are doing this puts you ahead of like 99.9% of Christians in apologetics engagement. That’s quite significant in itself. Comparing your status with other ministries can be discouraging. Instead, stay in continuous prayer with God and note the things he is doing in your own situation, whether big or small. With social media, consistency is the main thing, and over time people will recognize your dedication and passion to the ministry and will take action as a result.

Final thoughts: do you have anything else you want to say to new apologists?

  • Scott Olson: You have something to contribute. Even if you don’t feel like an expert in anything, trust me, you are an expert to someone. All it takes to be considered an expert is to know more than your audience does about what you’re talking about. If you’ve only studied apologetics for 6 months, then your target audience should be brand-new apologists. You know more than them, and so you can provide them with valuable content. And over time, the number of people you can be an expert for will grow, and thus your ministry will grow.
  • Cameron Bertuzzi: Make sure that your motivations for starting an apologetics ministry are pure. This isn’t about starting a platform that you can use to belittle people. It’s not about intellectual domination. As Paul said to the Corinthians, “If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.” Make sure that you are doing this for the right reasons. And on top of that, have a great time doing it! Oh, and btw, Christianity is true.
  • Travis Pelletier: One warning: Avoid theological hobbyhorses. You may think that eschatology, or reformed theology, or the age of the earth are important. I know that I do. But these issues are NOT the gospel, nor are they required for a defense of the gospel. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t talk about them, just that they shouldn’t be a primary topic in apologetics. Keep the central things the central things.
  • Jeremy Linn: Don’t lose your mission for sake of popularity. Personal connections are important even in online ministry. Know that this is going to be a big commitment but if God has truly given you this passion, the commitment and time is worth it.

 

Jordan is a Christian, the husband of Tarah, an evangelist-apologist with Ratio Christi, a volunteer with Engage 360 and Reasonable Faith, and an aspiring philosopher studying at Southern Evangelical Seminary. His intellectual passions include the study of free will and the doctrine of heaven. His ministry passions are to share the love of the Gospel and to equip ordinary Christians to do the same. Other interests include sports (especially Ultimate Frisbee), time management, veganism, peanut butter, and personality theories.”

Original Blog Source: http://bit.ly/2FXchBv

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How Not Letting Your Children Ask a Question Leads Them to Atheism

How Not Letting Your Children Ask a Question Leads Them to Atheism

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By Michael Sherrard

Time and time again, I hear the story of one who has left their belief in God in the bin of their childhood memories alongside Santa Clause and the Easter Bunny. And more often than not, I’m given one reason that is quite strange. Well, it’s not strange to me anymore because of how often I’m given this answer. Too often, I have people tell me that the reason they do not believe in God anymore is because no one ever let them ask a question.

How Not Letting Your Children Ask a Question Leads Them to Atheism

Just recently a friend of mine had an old college friend who is an atheist find him on Facebook. The old college buddy sent my friend a nice message that said, “I know we had our differences, but I’ve always admired you and appreciated the respectful conversations we had.”

“It was strange to the get the note,” my friend told me. “Too random to not consider that maybe the Lord was orchestrating something here.”

So my friend kept the conversation going, and at one point he asked him, “What is your biggest objection to the existence of God today?”

His friend’s answer is a sad indictment on the state of many churches. He said, “No one would let me ask a question.”

The friend went on to explain how in High School he started to have some questions, and so he brought them to his pastor and other church leaders. And rather than acceptance and a healthy conversation he was practically shown the door. He was told on more than one occasion that believers don’t ask these questions. They just trust God and have faith. He concluded that his questions didn’t have answers and that Christianity is a fable.

This is not a unique story. I hear this all the time.

How many of you have heard or even said yourself, “If we had answers then we wouldn’t need to have faith.” But Jesus welcomed skeptics and questioners and gave them answers and so should we. If we do not, we will affirm the doubts that cause questions and send our children to atheism.

But we are on the side of truth and have nothing to fear. We need to encourage questions and welcome the questioner. So what can we do to encourage and allow teenagers to ask questions so that they don’t have to just ask Siri or Google, or worse, decide that there are no answers to their questions and abandon their belief in God?

There are three things we can do to create an environment that allows teenagers to ask questions.

First, we build relationships. Many articles and surveys are showing that the younger generations want community. They want relationships with adults. And it is our responsibility to create them. It is the burden of the older generations to build bridges to the younger ones. We need to de-segregate the generations in the church. Teenagers need to know people that have answers and they need to trust them enough to be able to ask a question.

Second, respond to the questioner, not just the question. Teenagers and all people for that matter use questions for purposes other than getting an answer. Sometimes they ask a question to rattle you. Sometimes they ask a question to get to know you. Sometimes they ask a question to test the waters so to speak. Your response will often tell them more than your answer. So control your facial expressions, anticipate as many scenarios as you can, and get in the habit of affirming questions by saying things like, “That’s a great question,” “I’ve wondered that myself” or “That is the right question to be asking.”

Third, ask questions yourself. Get teenagers thinking about important things while they are in a safe environment. Don’t let the first time they hear a question regarding the reliability of scripture be in the classroom of a professor who wants to convert your child to naturalism. My goal is to ask my children the questions I know they will have before they have them. And I make it a point to tell my children to never stop asking questions. “The important thing is to never stop questioning” is probably what my kids are going put on my grave marker.

I had such a proud moment the other day. My six-year-old daughter was jumping on the trampoline, and we were talking about taking care of other people. Something happened at school that day, and it was a natural opportunity to talk about protecting the weak and how we always need to be nice and invite other kids to play.

At one point I said, “Sherrard’s always…” and I waited for her to finish. I was expecting her to say, “take care of those weaker than us.” But she blurted out, “Ask Questions!” I smiled very big and slept very good that night.

There does not exist a question for which there is not a good answer. So welcome the questioner and find an answer to their question. Do not be afraid of not knowing everything and being asked a question that you can’t answer. There are countless books and resources. And there are organizations like Ratio Christi that can help train you and point you to the resources that can help you along the way. And there is always me. Always feel free to reach out for guidance or support. I like to do more than write.

 

Michael C. Sherrard is a pastor, a writer, and a speaker. Booking info and such can be found at michaelcsherrard.com.

Original Blog Source: http://bit.ly/2VGJ2Zw

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How Should Christians Relate to Gay Friends, Neighbors, and Family

How Should Christians Relate to Gay Friends, Neighbors, and Family?

By Mikel Del Rosario

Understanding Acceptance, Approval, and Convicted Civility

When I speak at student events, Christian kids ask me, “How should I relate to my gay friends?” Many believers struggle to relate to their LGBT neighbors, friends, and family because they worry about being misunderstood. How do we stick to biblical convictions while loving our neighbors as ourselves? I’ve learned a lot about this area of engagement through my work with Darrell Bock at the Hendricks Center. Along the way, I’ve discovered three key questions many Christians have:

How Should Christians Relate to Gay Friends, Neighbors, and Family

  1. Why does the church seem hesitant to engage?
  2. Is there a difference between acceptance and approval?
  3. How can we challenge people well as ambassadors of Jesus?

Why does the church seem hesitant to engage?

I know it’s tough to stand up for a biblical view of sexuality. But some Christians say relating to their gay neighbors can seem even tougher. Maybe it’s because many of our brothers and sisters grew up with an unhealthy way of separating “church people” from “non-church people.” In fact, I think many people who come from Christian homes may have been raised with a “culture-war mentality” that makes winsome engagement difficult for them today.

But think about this: We all have the same core needs before God. It might be in different areas of our lives, but we all need his grace and forgiveness. This realization should make us question any kind of “us vs. them” mentality we may still have in the back of our minds. After all, everyone’s born with desires and tendencies we never asked for. One way to balance loving our neighbors with holding Christian convictions is to know the difference between acceptance and approval. Because it’s important to make a distinction between the two.

Is there a difference between acceptance and approval?

Just like the kids who approached me at a church event, Christian adults also wonder, “How should I relate to my gay friends or co-workers?” “What about gay family members or their friends?” Parents have asked me, “Will I compromise my stance on biblical sexuality by being kind to my gay child’s partner?” I like Pastor Caleb Kaltenbach’s approach. He grew up in the LGBT community and he talks about the difference between accepting people and approving of what they do:

We’re called to accept everybody as an individual. That doesn’t mean we approve of every life choice somebody makes… Parents of [gay] teenagers who “come out” to them sometimes think, “If I accept my child, that means that I’m approving of a same-sex relationship.”

My point is, no. Anybody should be able to walk through the doors of my church when I preach…I shake hands every Sunday with people that made life choices that I wouldn’t approve of. But that doesn’t mean that I accept them any less…

[At] our church…you can belong before you believe…not saying that we integrate people into the body of Christ without salvation. But we give people a chance to be a part of our community. That’s where we live out that acceptance versus approval.

…We have to own the fact that it isn’t our job to change somebody’s sexual orientation. It is our job to speak the truth into people’s lives.

We need to understand people from their perspective…a lot of Christians are not willing to do that when it comes to certain people, including the LGBT community… [1]

So acceptance means respecting people made in God’s image. Approval is like signing-off in agreement on what someone believes. These are two different things.

Still, everyone’s obligated to obey God’s commands. This brings a moral challenge to the area of sexuality—a space where we all need to be sensitive to objective moral values and duties. Darrell Bock explains the importance of LGBT engagement:

There’s a moral challenge for the way God calls people to live in the standards that he reflects which is a way of saying, “The most efficient, effective, authentic way to live is to live this way.” But you’ve got people who live differently. The very people who you want to challenge with those standards are the very people you want to invite into a new experience with God, who is the solution. If you wall them off from going there, you’ve actually cut [them] off from the solution.[2]

While the church can’t approve of a lifestyle that’s insensitive to God, accepting all people and loving them well mirrors Jesus’ example—challenging people with truth and compassionately serving others. I love how my local church uses the slogan, “Radical inclusivity and profound transformation.” The church should be inclusive, while recognizing that a real relationship with God includes life transformation. This is a great starting point for answering the question, “How should I relate to my gay friends?”

How can we challenge people well as ambassadors of Jesus?

Mark Yarhouse introduced me to something called “convicted civility” which focuses on the relational part of engagement. Our team at the Hendricks Center invited him to share with the students at a DTS cultural engagement chapel. I like how he said:

“We have far too many Christians who are strong on convictions, but you wouldn’t want them to represent you in any public way because… they do it [in a way that is] not very civil in its engagement and loving and caring. Then you have Christians who are so civil, so loving, so caring, that you have no idea what they stand for. There’s this tension that you want to live out.”[3]

So, what’s it look like to balance conviction and civility? Mark told a story about a day he invited a gay activist to his presentation on sexuality. This broke down stereotypes and led to meaningful conversation:

I was making a presentation and a local gay activist contacted our university and said “I’m going [to be there].” Then, he did a YouTube video calling for all of his gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and other friends to come and just sit in the front couple rows and stare me down… so I invited them to come. [I thought], “He’s coming anyway, protesting me!” I invited him to come and meet me and meet my students, and sure enough, they sat down in the front rows and stared at me as I was presenting.

But I talked with him afterwards. He made a video afterwards and said, “You know, I didn’t agree with everything this guy said, but it wasn’t as bad as I thought it was.” And… he was just eviscerated by people within the gay community who felt like he should’ve been tougher on me…

One of the guys who came to protest me, I went out for coffee with him a few times. He was raised in a Christian home. He talked about his upbringing. He said, “Look, I thought when I met you that you were going to have smoke coming out of your nostrils and horns on your head. That’s the way you were depicted to me, and yet here we are having coffee and talking about this.”[4]

Interestingly, the protestor got more push-back from the gay community than he did from Christians who extended a hand to him. The whole idea of “convicted civility” is relational. But it shows there’s no need to give up our convictions while interacting with those who challenge a biblical sexuality.

Engaging with Courage and Compassion

The next time someone asks you, “How should I relate to my gay friends and co-workers?” Think about Paul’s words: “Receive others as you have been received by Christ” (Romans 15:7). When we were far from God, Jesus took the initiative to engage from a heart of compassion. Relating to people on the basis of love can give people pause—even those who disagree with us on moral issues.

Unfortunately, one of the first things many people think about when they hear the word “Christian” is “intolerant bigot” or something like that. A key way to break down this stereotype is engaging with courage and compassion. So that when someone hears the claim that “Christians are intolerant bigots,” their first thought would be “Are you sure about that? I actually know some Christians and they don’t treat me that way at all.” As my friend Sean McDowell says:

The power of individual lives and Christians reaching out to nonbelievers and people of all different stripes is probably the most important way to overturn this cultural stereotype that is affecting the way that we’re seen and relate to people.[5]

So, how can we relate to our gay friends and neighbors while holding to biblical convictions? By understanding the difference between acceptance and approval. By approaching conversations with convicted civility. And extending a hand that offers something way more than just tolerance—the love of Jesus.

Recommended Links

Notes

[1] Table Podcast, Grace and Truth in LGBT Engagement

[2] Ibid.

[3] DTS Voice, What Does Convicted Civility Look Like?

[4] Ibid.

[5] Table Podcast, Truth, Love, and Defending the Faith

 

Mikel Del Rosario helps Christians explain their faith with courage and compassion. He is a doctoral student in the New Testament department at Dallas Theological Seminary. Mikel teaches Christian Apologetics and World Religion at William Jessup University. He is the author of Accessible Apologetics and has published over 20 journal articles on apologetics and cultural engagement with his mentor, Dr. Darrell Bock. Mikel holds an M.A. in Christian Apologetics with highest honors from Biola University and a Master of Theology (Th.M) from Dallas Theological Seminary where he serves as Cultural Engagement Manager at the Hendricks Center and a host of the Table Podcast. Visit his Web site at ApologeticsGuy.com.

Original Blog Source: http://bit.ly/2snkdUX

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Should You Force Your Kids To Go To Church

Should You Force Your Kids To Go To Church?

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By Natasha Crain 

A reader of this blog posed this question on the Facebook page because her boys –ages 10, 12 and 15– are uninterested in church. It’s a very important question that I wanted to address with this post.

At the risk of trivializing the question itself, I’m going to offer a brief rationale for my own answer and then provide an alternative question which I think is more at the heart of the issue.

A home is like a microcosm of society. There are laws (requirements for living there) and freedoms (options you have while living there). Each society/family sets its own laws based on what it feels is most important for its members. The laws a society/family chooses to reflect its core values. As Christian parents, a core value to impart to kids should be that God comes first in our lives. Part of acknowledging that is going to church each week. By classifying church attendance as a law and not a freedom, we are making a statement that God’s priority is a core value in our home. Parents generally don’t care whether a child wants an education or not in determining that going to school is a household “law”; likewise, parents shouldn’t care whether a child is interested in faith or not in determining that going to church is a “law.” Christian parents should not feel church is any different than any other parental choice when declaring, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15).

That said, required church attendance has to be a rule made for the reason stated here (a statement about family priorities) and not because the parents assume it means children will become believers from it, that they will come to salvation from it or that they will even be spiritually changed by it. Church is not a spiritual “cure-all.” If your children don’t want to go to church, there is a much more important question to ask:

WHY don’t your children want to go to church?

The answer to this question is your gateway to impacting the spiritual life of your kids much more than how you go about physically getting them to church.

Perhaps an immediate answer comes to mind. “They just want to do other things,” or, “They think it’s boring.” These answers, however, are really symptomatic of a child’s underlying beliefs about God and his/her relationship to God. Those beliefs must be identified.

I would break underlying beliefs into two categories: 1) They don’t believe in God or 2) They believe in God but don’t think church is important.

1. They don’t believe in God.

Perhaps your child is saying “I want to stay home and play video games”  but what he/she really means is “I don’t really believe all this God stuff,” and doesn’t want to tell you (maybe he/she hasn’t even identified that consciously yet).  What they need most is to have conversations with you about God. They need to know it’s OK to doubt, and that you are willing to talk to them about those doubts.  It might be intimidating to be the one who has to present the case for God’s existence, but if you aren’t going to be that person in your child’s life, who will?

(Need help teaching your kids why there is good reason to believe God exists and Christianity is true? Check out my new book, Keeping Your Kids on God’s Side: 40 Conversations to Help Them Build a Lasting Faith.)

2. They believe in God but don’t think church is important.

It’s not enough to say that church is unimportant – again, we have to understand the underlying premise to address the spiritual issue. Consider these three possibilities:

a. I believe in God, but I don’t believe He’s really involved in my life (therefore church doesn’t matter). 

Theologically, this is referred to as “Deism” – the belief that there is a God, and He probably set this world in motion but isn’t really involved with the world or our personal lives today. From a spiritual standpoint, this isn’t much different than not believing in God in the first place. Even if your child is saying, “Yes, I believe in God, I just don’t want to go to church… “don’t take it at face value. What does your child believe about God? You might be surprised what you find out; it might not be much different than not believing in God at all (see the first category above).

b. I believe in God and believe he cares about my life, but I don’t believe he cares if we go to church.

The reasons Christians should go to church would be the topic for a whole book, but if I could point to a single reason, it would be that Jesus set the example for us. Luke 4:16 says (about Jesus), “…on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom” (emphasis added). If Jesus thought weekly church was important, so should we. Are we in a position to decide that church is not necessary for us when it was necessary for Jesus?

Without going into significant detail on this giant sub-topic, it must be addressed here that church is first and foremost for God (yes, the Bible is clear God wants us to worship). Most people who have the attitude that “God doesn’t care about church” are seeing the value of church in terms of what it gives to them. While church is absolutely necessary for us as well in terms of spiritual growth and fellowship with other believers (Hebrews 10:25, 1 Corinthians 12, 1 Thessalonians 5:11, James 5:16, Acts 2:42, Romans 12:5), church must be seen as being for God’s glory. Timothy Keller, in his book, “The Reason for God,” eloquently addresses this:

“But wait,” you say. “On nearly every page of the Bible God calls us to glorify, praise, and serve him. How can you say he doesn’t seek his own glory?” Yes, he does ask us to obey him unconditionally, to glorify, praise, and center our lives around him. But now, I hope, you finally see why he does that. He wants our joy! He has infinite happiness not through self-centeredness, but through self-giving, other-centered love. And the only way we, who have been created in his image, can have this same joy, is if we center our entire lives around him instead of ourselves.

c. I believe in God, believe he cares about my life, and believe he wants me to go to church, but I don’t want to go to this church because (any number of reasons).

There may be a very real reason why your children want to avoid your specific church. Maybe they don’t fit in with the other kids; maybe there is a disconnect between them and the pastor or youth leader; maybe there are too few other kids their age, and they feel isolated; the reasons are infinite. If it’s a legitimate, overarching issue, it would be reasonable to seek another church out of respect for the faith development of your kids.

The bottom line is this: The underlying reason for kids not wanting to go to church shouldn’t change your “law” that they have to go, but that reason should be searched for in order to best determine how to guide them spiritually at home.

What do you think? Should you force kids to go to church? Is there an age at which they should have a “say” in the matter?

 

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: http://bit.ly/2QeYqfG

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Why the pulpit must be political

Why the pulpit must be political

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By Michael Sherrard 

With all that is going on in the world, my church doesn’t need to be entertained. They need to be trained. We are not in a time of peace. While we creatively plan the stage design for our next sermon series, another group is setting the stage for our removal from society.

Now, of course, it is right to be creative in church. I’m not saying otherwise. But the pulpit doesn’t belong to entertainers. Pastors are not merely MC’s. They are watchmen. And when the enemy is before us, the watchman better not be blinded by his own stage lights while his people are attacked.

Rather than be caught defenseless, pastors must equip their people to engage a culture that is becoming increasingly hostile toward Christianity. And so, the pulpit must be political. Yes, I know that Christ’s kingdom is not of this world. Let’s get that out of the way. I already hear your objection: “We should care more about salvation than society.” Sure, I agree. It is better to lose the world than your soul. But if you think that society can go to hell as long as people don’t, you’ve fallen for an old trick and you’ve misunderstood the nature of the gospel.

A politically silent pulpit is one that is catering to the secularist’s agenda: “Keep your religious beliefs private. They are not wanted in society. They are no good to us.” And for some reason, we’ve bought into the propaganda of those that want to fashion a society after their own values. Somehow they have convinced us that the only good beliefs for society are the beliefs of atheists. But beliefs that are true are true for all and are good for all. It does not matter where they come from. And if the Christian message contains truth, the application of that truth is far-reaching. It does not end at the capital steps.

Christianity is an all-encompassing worldview. Meaning, it is a set of true beliefs that affect all of life. The gospel itself has implications that go beyond ones eternal destination. We see this truth in Paul’s ethics. Pauline ethics might be summed up this way: because Christ humbled himself and died on a cross, so should you be humble and willfully offer up your life for the good of others (Phil 2:1-11). Our faith manifests itself in ways that benefit others if it is a real faith. You must repress your hope in God to keep it private. I doubt you disagree with this.

So why are politics off limits? Why is it right for us to sit back and allow harmful policies be legislated? Why shouldn’t we expose candidates that seek to preserve the right to kill babies? Why do we think we have to let atheists run our country? Are Christian teachings not good? Do they not promote human flourishing? Why do we think a Christian influence equals a theocracy? How have we become so simple minded about our civil responsibility? Pastors we have failed our people. If it is not our job to instruct the people of God on these things, whose job is it?

When politics are ignored in the pulpit the message to the world and the church is clear: Christianity is irrelevant. It tells the world that what we care about is our little club, and it tells those in the club not to worry about what goes on outside. Subsequently, many in the church find it impossible to find fulfillment in life because life itself is apparently not worth redeeming. This leads to self-indulgence and things like “church shopping.” We use the church as a commodity to meet our needs. We consume the church rather than be the church. And the body of Christ becomes a glutton for the work of others instead of being a vessel passing out the common grace of our Lord.

Even though we know that the only way to find life is to give it away, we have sold a product that says otherwise. Let us change that. We understand that we are to seek the good of others. We understand that Christ did not redeem us for irrelevance, but to be agents of renewal. Therefore, let us turn our attention again to society and utilize all the tools at our disposal. As we eagerly await the Kingdom to come, let us not neglect the land we have been given. Let us be political.

 

Michael C. Sherrard is a pastor, the director of Ratio Christi College Prep, and the author of Relational Apologetics. Booking info and such can be found at michaelcsherrard.com.

Original Blog Source: http://bit.ly/2NeFzMt

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Did We Really Not Have A New Testament Canon Till The Fourth Century_

Did We Really Not Have A New Testament Canon Till The Fourth Century?

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By Ryan Leasure

Is it true the New Testament documents weren’t Scripture until the fourth century? That is, the books weren’t authoritative until church councils conferred authority upon them? Liberal scholars make this suggestion since it removes any supernatural explanation for the New Testament canon. To them, a scriptural authority can be explained merely on human terms.

Some of our Roman Catholic friends make a case for the fourth century also, but for other reasons. For them, ultimate authority resides in the church. Therefore, without the church’s stamp of approval, the New Testament wouldn’t carry any authority.

But is this an accurate representation of the New Testament documents? Were they not Scripture until the church pronounced authority on them in the fourth century? In order to answer this question, we need to look at how the early church viewed these documents.

Fourth Century Church Councils

For starters, let me say that no fourth-century councils gave authority to the New Testament documents. The Da Vinci Code was wrong when it said that the Council of Nicea (AD 325), under the direction of Constantine, formed the New Testament canon. The Council of Nicea had nothing to do with the canon.1

In fact, we have no church-wide council from the fourth century that determined which books should be included in the New Testament canon. What we have are; instead, regional church councils affirming the books which had already functioned as Scripture for the church. In other words, these church councils didn’t grant authority to any New Testament books. Rather, they merely recognized which books were already authoritative. This distinction is crucial.

Perhaps you’re wondering what took so long? Why didn’t the church make a list much earlier? One explanation is that for the first three centuries, Christianity was, for the most part, an illegal religion which faced ongoing persecution. In fact, in AD 303, Emperor Diocletian ordered all Christians to sacrifice to the pagan gods or else face imprisonment or extermination. Moreover, he ordered them to hand over all their Scripture to be burned.

For these reasons, the church couldn’t organize empire-wide councils to affirm the New Testament canon. Furthermore, they couldn’t circulate their books lest the Roman officials confiscate them. Once Constantine legalized Christianity in the fourth century, the church could disperse their books freely. At this juncture, all the churches had exposure to the various documents, and therefore, affirmed the authority of the twenty-seven books.

Second Century Church Leaders

The church’s affirmation of the New Testament canon in the fourth century, however, didn’t come in a vacuum. Christians had long viewed these books as authoritative. In fact, a number of second-century leaders affirm the New Testament’s authority in their writings.

Irenaeus (Ad 180)

More than any other church father, Irenaeus addresses canonical issues. For example, he declares that among the many so-called gospels, only four of them carry authority. He writes:

It is not possible that the gospels can be either more or fewer than the number they are. For since there are four zones of the world in which we live and four principle winds.2

Irenaeus elsewhere indicates why these four gospels, and none other, are canonical. He affirms the four Gospels’ because they alone are backed by apostolic authority, while the others were written by second century Gnostics. Given that he was a disciple of Polycarp who knew the apostle John personally, his knowledge of their authorship carries significant weight.

Theophilus Of Antioch (Ad 177)

As bishop of Antioch, Theophilus equates the Old Testament prophets with the Gospels in his writings.

Concerning the righteousness which the law enjoined, confirmatory utterances are found both with the prophets and in the Gospels, because they all spoke inspired by one Spirit of God.3

Not only does he elevate the Gospels on par with Old Testament Scriptures, Theophilus affirms divine inspiration for the Gospels.

Justin Martyr (Ad 150-160)

Justin Martyr, writing earlier than Irenaeus and Theophilus, addresses the Gospels or the “memoirs” of the apostles on several occasions. On one instance, he talks about their role in worship.

And on the day called Sunday, all who live in cities or in the country gather together to one place, and the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read, as long as time permits; then, when the reader has ceased, the president verbally instructs, and exhorts to the imitation of these good things.4

This quote speaks volumes. Justin indicates that the early church thought so highly of the Gospels that they included them into their worship service right alongside the Old Testament Scriptures.

Polycarp (Ad 110)

Polycarp was a student and companion of the apostle John. In one of his writings, he explicitly designates Paul’s writings as Scripture when he states:

As it is written in these Scriptures, “Be angry and do not sin and do not let the sun go down on your anger.”

Writing early in the second century, Polycarp quotes from Ephesians 4:26 and calls it Scripture — long before the fourth-century councils.

A number of other early sources — Ignatius, Clement of Rome, and the Epistle of Barnabas — discuss the New Testament canon as well.

The New Testament Writers

So far, we’ve determined that the second-century church regarded the New Testament writings as authoritative Scripture. But can we go back even further? I believe we can by looking at the New Testament writings themselves.

2 Peter 3:15-16

Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.

In this text, Peter equates Paul’s writings with the Old Testament Scriptures.

1 Timothy 5:18

For Scripture says, “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain,” and “The worker deserves his wages.”

In this passage, Paul quotes Deuteronomy 25:4 “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain,” and Luke 10:7 “The worker deserves his wages,” and calls them both Scripture. In other words, Luke’s Gospel was on the same authoritative level as the Old Testament.

1 Thessalonians 2:13

In this letter, Paul gives the impression that he is consciously aware that his writings carry authority from God.

And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe.

Scripture From The Beginning

Contrary to the skeptic and the Catholic view, the New Testament writings carried Scriptural authority from the time of their composition. New Testament scholar N. T. Wright argues that the authors “were conscious of a unique vocation to write Jesus-shaped, Spirit-led, church-shaping books, as part of their strange first-generation calling.”5 Since these books were authoritative from the very beginning, the fourth-century councils in no way granted authority to them. Rather, they merely recognized their already existing authority — an authority they had since the first century.

 

Ryan Leasure holds an M.A. from Furman University and an M.Div. from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He currently serves as a pastor at Grace Bible Church in Moore, SC.

Original Blog Source: http://bit.ly/2OW5UAc

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How to Get Men to Church

How to Get Men to Church

By Timothy Fox

There’s a critical gender gap problem in America: Christianity’s gender gap. Men attend church far less than women. Why? There are many reasons, from weak, whiny worship to emotions-based sermons. Church isn’t masculine, so men don’t go.

So what’s the solution? Churches create “manly” ministries and boot camps, involving sports and YELLING and other macho stuff. Now, as great as these can be to help form relationships with other Christian men, many men’s ministries are only indirect bridges to the church. How do we get men fully engaged and active within the body of Christ? I think the answer is apologetics, the rational defense of the Christian worldview. Here are three reasons why:

  1. Men are logical

I’m a pastor’s kid. I grew up in church. I always believed in Christianity, but I also always had a major disconnect. Church was completely feelings-based: sensing God’s presence through emotional worship and charismatic preaching. That wasn’t for me at all. I’m a logic guy. I have a B. S. in Computer Science, worked for many years as a software engineer, and now teach mathematics. Like I said, a logic guy. It wasn’t until I discovered apologetics that Christianity clicked for me. I found my place within the church. I finally belonged.

I’m sure many men have the same problem with church that I did. Fortunately, apologetics can show them the rational side of Christianity. We have a deep intellectual tradition that should not be forgotten. Our worldview is not based solely on blind faith and religious experience. There are good, logical reasons to think that Christianity is true. Of course, the affective side of man is important as well, that worship services can – and should – reach the entire person, both mind, and heart. But there is an imbalance in our churches. Apologetics can help fix that and draw in men.

  1. Men need to do something

Do you know any men who always find something to fix, even if it isn’t broken? They’re constantly tinkering here or making a home improvement there. Some guys just need to do something at all times (which is better than being idle!). They want to feel needed and important, to help solve problems. But men see nothing to do at church. It’s mostly passive.

Apologetics can give men a purpose in their church. Teaching a class or helping the pastor research for a sermon. Being a resource, on-call when needed. Apologetics make men a vital part of a church instead of being a passive attendee.

  1. Men need to protect

I found it interesting how many of my male classmates in Biola’s Christian Apologetics program had either military or martial arts background. These men had an instinctive need to protect their country, community, and family, and now sought to protect their church. And that’s exactly what apologetics is: providing a defense for the Christian faith (1 Peter 3:15).

More and more young people are leaving the church. Statistics show that once your children leave for college, they’re probably going to abandon their faith. Men, what are you going to do about that? Are you going to sit back and watch that happen, or are you going to fight for your children’s faith? Studying apologetics will give you the tools to inoculate your children against the false worldviews and beliefs they will certainly encounter in school and on social media.

Conclusion

My argument isn’t that apologetics needs men, although we can always use more (and women too, of course!). No, my argument is that men need apologetics. It meets specific masculine needs that the church is unfortunately lacking. So if you want to get the man in your life to become passionate about spiritual things, introduce him to apologetics.

 

Original Blog Source: http://bit.ly/2Mqpcwn

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Your Kids Will Likely Have No Idea How to Choose Their Own Christian Church as Adults… and That’s a Problem

Your Kids Will Likely Have No Idea How to Choose Their Own Christian Church as Adults… and That’s a Problem

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by Natasha Crain 

I grew up mostly in non-denominational churches, with a Baptist church or two thrown in. For all intents and purposes, my understanding of the world was that there were two types of churches: Christian and non-Christian.

Easy peasy.

If you gave me a label maker, I could have visited every church in town and promptly placed “Christian” or “non-Christian” on each one based on my simplistic understanding.

The church has the word Bible in it? Christian.

The church has the word Christian in it? Of course Christian.

The church has the name of one of the major denominations in it? Christian.

The church has the name of one of the cults from my mom’s giant Kingdom of the Cults book? Definitely not Christian.

The church has a generic name like “[Town] Community Church” that doesn’t seem to be affiliated with any of the aforementioned cults? Probably Christian.

I’d venture to say that this is the understanding of churches that many, if not most, kids leave home with. And that’s a very dangerous thing.

Searching for a “Christian” Church

Like many kids who leave home with a nominal faith, I went off to college and didn’t bother to attend church at all. But after college, my husband (who was my boyfriend at the time) and I decided we should find a church to attend together.

For us, picking a church was as arbitrary as picking a marble out of a jar. In retrospect, I think we had just two criteria: close and “Christian.” There was a beautiful old mainline denominational church down the street that seemed to qualify. We went, and eventually became members.

Over the next three years, I noticed a few teachings here and there that didn’t seem to be the same as what was taught in the churches I grew up in. But my husband and I didn’t realize it wasn’t a biblically sound church until the pastor told us one Easter that it didn’t really matter if Jesus was raised from the dead (you can read more about that problem here).

That was my first experience learning that “Christian” doesn’t always mean what I thought it meant. In many churches today, “Christian” means accepting a lowered view of the Bible, dismissing central tenets of the faith, minimizing the gravity of sin, questioning the need for the atonement, and even rejecting the divinity of Jesus.

My mental label maker was revealed to be naïve.

We moved soon after and again found a “close, Christian” church. We eventually realized that this was another church teaching liberal theology.

After a third move, we tried again and visited a church down the street. We only went once because there were no other young families there, but looking at their website today, it’s clear that this church was no different from the other two we attended.

By God’s grace, we then followed a recommendation for a large non-denominational church in our area. This time, the church had biblically sound teaching, and it was in that church that our faith really grew. We attended there for 10 years before moving to our current (biblically sound) church closer to home.

Here’s what I want you to take from this story: Without even trying, I landed in three churches in a row that weren’t teaching the historic Christian faith.

This isn’t a warning about the existence of one or two extreme churches out there. This is a warning that there are numerous churches today that veer from the historic Christian faith. And if we don’t raise our kids to have discernment in church selection, they can easily fall into dangerous teachings—some of which can be a matter of salvation.

Here’s what you can do.

  1. Have a conversation about the importance of thoughtful church selection.

This is basic, but I think it just doesn’t occur to most parents to have a conversation about discernment in choosing a church. This isn’t just for kids ready to move out on their own—kids of all ages should understand the importance of choosing a biblically sound church and how to do so (more on that in the next point). They should know that in today’s world, “Christian” can mean all kinds of things, and we must be vigilant about choosing a place to worship.

  1. Explain what to look for when selecting a church.

As a fun way to get kids thinking about this, ask them to list as many things as they can that would be important to consider when choosing a church. This will probably include factors like proximity, size of the youth group, the pastor, and so on. Then ask them to rank those things in importance. Use that as an opportunity to discuss what matters most and how selecting a church that adheres to biblically sound teaching should always be our first criteria.

If a church isn’t solid in doctrine, none of the other factors matter.

Finish your conversation by looking at a thorough statement of faith online from a trusted church so kids can see what they should consider.

  1. Teach them about warning signs to watch for when evaluating churches.

A lot could be covered here, but some big red flags include:

  • No statement of faith. This isn’t always true, but in my research, churches which veer from the historic Christian faith tend to not have a statement of faith on their website. Biblically sound churches usually have a menu item for “What We Believe” where you can clearly see their doctrine outlined.
  • A statement of faith that doesn’t clearly identify Jesus as part of the Trinity. Many liberal churches skirt around identifying Jesus as God. They may not come out and say they don’t believe in the Trinity, but if the language doesn’t clearly state as much, there is a good chance they don’t. For example, one church says, “We believe that God’s will and way were revealed in Jesus of Nazareth” and then goes on to explain how they live as followers today. But there’s nothing about his deity, and it’s clear from the rest of the site that this is a church which has abandoned biblical teaching.
  • A statement of faith that implies a lowered view of the Bible. One church, for example, says, “We believe that the Bible is a collection of books, letters, poetry, and other writings written by human beings in order to share their experience of God.” Yes, the Bible was written by humans, but if all a church can say about the Bible is that these writings shared people’s experience of God, they probably have a lowered view of the Bible’s divine inspiration (this is certainly true of this particular church).
  • A list of “core values” that could be found in any organization—religious or secular. In lieu of a statement of faith, one church we attended features a “core values” list on their website that includes things like dedication to a nurturing community, accepting diversity, and service to others. If a church doesn’t explicitly tie their core values to who Jesus was, what the Bible says, and how we should live accordingly, it’s likely a bad sign.
  • Any verbiage that indicates a belief such as, “The Christian faith is our way of being faithful to God, but it’s not the only way.”I took that wording directly from the statement of faith on one church’s website (a church with a very traditional sounding name). This is full-blown religious pluralism—the idea that all roads lead to God—and is not consistent with biblical teaching.

The churches our kids attend as adults will have a major impact on their faith. If we’re not intentional in guiding them in this area, there’s a very real possibility they’ll end up a church that can actually harm their faith.

I know how easy it is…it happened to me three times.

 

Original Blog Source: http://bit.ly/2JheOpk

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Canon Conspiracy

The Canon Conspiracy

By Timothy Fox

I’ve always been intrigued by conspiracy theories. New World Order, Illuminati, stuff like that. Christianity has its own share of conspiracy theories, like the existence of “lost” gospels suppressed by the Church. However, we all must wonder why the Bible contains the books that it does. What if there really are texts purposely omitted from the canon that would have produced a radically different Christianity? Far from being mere conspiracy theory, this is an important claim to explore. So, let’s briefly examine four of the most infamous “lost” gospels:

The “Lost” Gospels

Gospel of Thomas

The Gospel of Thomas is the most popular of all “lost” gospels. It was discovered in 1945 within a collection of texts near Nag Hammadi in Egypt.Thomas seems very primitive, being a collection of sayings with no clear narrative and no mention of Jesus’ death and crucifixion. Thus, its proponents consider it an extremely early gospel source.

However, scholars believe Thomas was heavily influenced by the synoptic gospels, and possibly Paul’s writings and the Diatessaron, another ancient Christian text. Also, gnostic elements within the text discredit an early origin, as gnostic reinterpretations of Christianity hadn’t surfaced until the 2nd century. Thus, Thomas should be rejected as an early, independent account of Jesus’ life.

Gospel of Peter

In the late 19th century, fragments of a supposed Gospel of Peter were found in Akhmim, Egypt. Its proponents argue that Peter contains elements of an older Christian tradition that may predate the canonical gospels. However, documents must be dated by existing textual evidence, not by their hypothetical roots. Peter shows signs of dependence on the synoptic gospels and also contains obvious embellishments, including fantastical elements such as a talking cross and giant angels. Most scholars date it to the late second century, and so Peter is not a reliable, independent witness of Jesus’ life.

Gospel of Mary

The idea that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were lovers was popularized by Dan Brown’s bestselling book, The Da Vinci Code. However, its roots lie in the so-called Gospel of Mary. Fragments of it were found in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries and it advances a radically different message than what is contained in the Bible. Mary’s proponents herald it as proof of the patriarchal suppression of women within Christianity.

But while its small size makes dating difficult, scholars place it at the end of the second century, much too late to be considered reliable. Also, no scholar takes the Jesus-Mary coupling seriously as it is mentioned nowhere else in any other early Christian writings.

Gospel of Judas

A gospel written by the scoundrel who betrayed Jesus?! Now this is juicy. Do we get to see the other side of the story? Sorry, Judas is an obvious fake. In fact, church father Irenaeus smacked down this false gospel way back in 180 AD, condemning it as heretical, Gnostic fan fiction.

General Arguments

Let’s now examine some general arguments and statements concerning “lost” gospels:

Bible “Buzzfeed”

The Internet loves lists, and so did the early Christians. In The Canon Debate, Lee McDonald compares thirty lists of New Testament books ranging from the second to sixth century. And of these, the Gospel of Thomas is the only “lost” gospel to appear on any list, and at that, only on one. That’s right, one. Out of thirty. If the Christians closest to Jesus’ time did not consider these “lost” gospels worthy to be included in the biblical canon, then why should we?

Canon by Chance?

If there really is a God who inspired the Bible, do you honestly think he’d leave its compilation to chance or human opinion? Of course not. We should be confident that the Bible contains exactly the books God wants.

Ehrman Closes the Case

For the final nail in the coffin, let’s turn to Bart Ehrman, agnostic (thus, non-Christian) New Testament scholar. In Truth and Fiction in the Da Vinci Code, he writes:

“The oldest and best sources we have for knowing about the life of Jesus… are the four Gospels of the New Testament, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. This is not simply the view of Christian historians who have a high opinion of the New Testament and its historical worth; it is the view of all serious historians of antiquity of every kind, from committed evangelical Christians to hardcore atheists.”

Conclusion

Theorizing about secret gospels and canon conspiracies may be fun for some, but there is no truth behind it whatsoever. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are the only legitimate Gospels that contain reliable information about the life of Jesus of Nazareth.

 

For a more in-depth examination of these and other alleged “lost” gospels, check out chapter 5 in the updated Evidence That Demands a Verdict, “Gnostic Gospels and Other Non-biblical Texts.”

 Original Blog Source: http://bit.ly/2r6nJWc

 

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