MSNBC publishes an AP story on American Idol contestant Chris Sligh and his fan base in Greenville, Seacoast Church, Bob Jones University and North Greenville College. Story HERE.
Within the Book of Acts is an anthology of apostolic preaching. Among those sermons is Paul’s address to the pagans and philosophers of Athens, what has been called his Areopagitica. [1] Here Paul proclaimed the gospel, not to biblically informed, monotheistic Jews, but to pagans and philosophers of thoroughly unbiblical presuppositions. Here if anywhere we would expect to find insights on how to do apologetics today among secularists with their various isms or among modern pagans. Should apologetics be presuppositional, classical, evidential, cumulative case? Where is the point of contact between belief and unbelief? How should the argument be structured?
Before we attempt a full textbook on apologetics from this single passage, a few preliminary observations are in order. First, the passage obviously summarizes Paul’s message; it does not elaborate on his outline. Second, this preaching like all preaching suits a particular occasion, and some of Paul’s statements may be rhetoric based on details that the passage does not disclose (e.g., audience reactions during the sermon). Third, the message is not so much an argument or back-and-forth debate as a proclamation, Paul answering their question, “What’s this Jesus and resurrection deal all about?” For these reasons and for the basic hermeneutical caution not to make any narrative absolutely normative for today, we should be careful not to decide in favor of any one apologetic methodology based on this one passage alone. read more
Many Christians see the intellect and intellectual activity as second rate at best. To them, the non-rational features of our being are more trustworthy, more receptive to spiritual things, and more alive. When it comes to church life, these believers tend to feel that it’s more important to have our hearts stirred than to have our thinking challenged. When making decisions, they tend to rely on having a sense of peace, feeling a “burden,” or discovering a verse at just the right time.
When preparing for ministry or evaluating the readiness of others for ministry, they tend to view knowledge and skill as relatively unimportant as long as one’s heart is right. In their view, the quality of a person’s or ministry’s work pales in significance compared to the heart behind it. Sometimes “sincere but sloppy” is acceptable.
When they see someone profess faith in Christ but later fizzle, they view the problem as a matter of “head knowledge” rather than “heart knowledge.”
They also tend to feel that God is only at work when the unexplainable happens.
Test All Things
In the spirit of 1 Thessalonians 5:21 (“test all things; hold fast what is good,” NKJV) and Philippians 1:10 (“approve the things that are excellent”), we must consider whether this attitude is a biblical one. read more
Missouri’s new law requiring pictures on driver’s licenses is forcing Mennonite families to move to other states rather than violate their beliefs regarding “graven images”. Story HERE.
Finalists Stacey, Sparks, Doolittle and Sligh are all identified as believers. Stacey is a music minister, Sparks is being touted by MWS, Doolittle is a graduate of Nashville Christian School and Sligh is of BJU and N. Greenville college. Story HERE.
I recently had the privilege of interviewing David Gibbs III, attorney for the Christian Law Association (Seminole, FL). I conducted four interviews with Dr. Gibbs and Matt Davis, another attorney for the Gibbs Law Firm (Seminole, FL).
In this final broadcast, we continue to discuss Dr. Gibbs’ work on the Terri Schiavo case. This month marks the two-year anniversary of her death. I believe that it is helpful to understand the true nature of this case as it speaks to the issue of life, one of our most basic rights.
biblically informed, monotheistic Jews, but to pagans and philosophers of thoroughly unbiblical presuppositions. Here if anywhere we would expect to find insights on how to do apologetics today among secularists with their various isms or among modern pagans. Should apologetics be presuppositional, classical, evidential, cumulative case? Where is the point of contact between belief and unbelief? How should the argument be structured?
When it comes to church life, these believers tend to feel that it’s more important to have our hearts stirred than to have our thinking challenged. When making decisions, they tend to rely on having a sense of peace, feeling a “burden,” or discovering a verse at just the right time.
I recently had the privilege of interviewing David Gibbs III, attorney for the 