In the second presentation of this Apologetics Conference, we delve into a comparison of three major time periods: (1) the age of authority, (2) the age of reason, and (3) the age of authenticity.  We look at how people practiced their faith in each as well as what criticisms apologists answered.  For our post-modern time, I recommend the strategy of discussing a social issue, showing how our society is failing to address it, and how Christianity can offer a solution.  Last of all we try out this strategy on a number of controversial issues, including gun violence, sexual harassment, and  technology use.

Here is the handout I used:

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• Check out the other talks in this Apologetics Conference
• For more, here's an entire Apologetics Class
• Intro music: Jazzy Frenchy by bensound.com. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

Today we are starting something new. I’m very excited to present to you in its entirety, the apologetics conference held in Paducah, KY last June. We’ve got a great line up of speakers for you including Jerry Wierwille, myself, Kenny Willenburg, Dale Tuggy, Kegan Chandler, and John Truitt.

It was a wonderful time of meeting people and working together to figure out ways of reaching the millennial generation with the gospel. As it turned out, a great majority of the presentations focused on understanding the post-modern worldview. This was so helpful, because it’s nearly impossible to discuss important issues if both people are unaware of the fact that they are each coming from incompatible worldviews. Although, for many of us, our natural inclination is to show someone why their underlying assumptions are invalid, a better starting point for evangelism is to work within their post-modern outlook to show how attractive and awesome the gospel is.

In this first presentation, Jerry Wierwille covers a brief history of how major philosophers initiated a movement that led to sequestering away of faith as something personal and private.  Then he shares how to broach spiritual topics with secular people around us. His talk is relatively short, only 34 minutes long, but I also included the questions and comments, which went for another half hour.

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Rene Descartes (1596-1650)

John Locke (1632-1704)

David Hume (1711-1776)

Immanuel Kant (1724-1804)

Georg Hegel (1770-1831)

value/fact divide

humanism

private life (values)

you can have beliefs, but they are private

How much does truth matter to you?  In particular, how should we think about Christians who hold very different views on key subjects?  For example, I’m a biblical unitarian, someone who believes that we should take Jesus literally when he called his Father “the only true God.”  Of course I believe Jesus is God’s only begotten son, the anointed Messiah who died for our sins, but I don’t affirm the fourth century doctrine of the Trinity.  Some Christians would call me a heretic beyond the pale of fellowship or even salvation (even if I do believe the gospel message with all my heart).  Others would say I’m deceived but would have no problem working together in various areas.  Chuck Whitlock, a bible student, husband, and father of five has been wrestling with precisely these questions over the last 5 or so years.  Having grown up in strong evangelical denominations his whole life, he had to rethink his relationship with mainstream Christianity when he began changing several of his key beliefs.  In this interview, we discuss various ways to think about this issue, based on Whitlock’s paper (see below).  He steaks out a balanced position between writing everyone off who disagrees with him and accepting everyone as brothers and sisters without regard for their beliefs.

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Truth matters!

… but how much?

Introduction:

There is a significant distance between the Biblical Unitarian faith and ‘orthodoxy’ in its various forms.

If you haven’t come to this conclusion, just try to advance the idea that Jesus is not God and see what kind of reception this gets:)  Even less divisive topics, such as resurrection or the gospel of the kingdom, meet with great opposition.

The apparent incompatibility between Biblical Unitarianism and ‘orthodoxy’ causes one to wonder what it means that other Christians don’t seem to be interested in the truths we’ve discovered.

Both parties reference the same book and so there is something very familiar in ‘orthodoxy’.

A little scholarship shows us how ‘orthodoxy’ represents the Hellenization of the original Jewish Christian faith.  Most of the terms and characters are retained but the meanings are either co-opted or obscured such that, today, in very real terms, they have a different Jesus, a different God, and a different Gospel. 

How much does that matter?

What does it mean?

Who is saved?:

I recognize that this bumps into the impossible question of who is truly saved.  That s

Are you looking for a Christian blog to encourage you in your faith?  In this short interview Kirk Walden shares about his new website, 1stfaith.com, and the work he and his team are doing to live out 1st century Christianity in the 21st century.  First Faith aims to simplify and strengthen your faith so you can take the next step in your journey with God.

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Kirk Walden has been advocating for the lives of the unborn since 1991 when he became the director of a small pregnancy help center in Auburn, Alabama.  Over the last 17 years, he’s focused on fundraising for Heartbeat International, which supports pregnancy centers, adoption agencies, and maternity homes.  In this interview I ask him about how he talks to both Christians and non-Christians about this sensitive and emotionally explosive issue.  He lays out his case using biblical and scientific reasoning, but what really comes through strongest is his incredible sense of compassion for those who find themselves in this situation.

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This is part 6 of the Calvinism Debate

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

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This is part 5 of the Calvinism Debate

When God calls you, can you say, “No?” According to Calvinism, God’s grace is irresistible, meaning when he determines to save someone, he always achieves his goal. In other words, his call is always effectual.  On the other side, Arminianism teaches that God offers grace, but people can freely choose to accept it or reject it.  His call is general and people respond differently.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

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This is part 4 of the Calvinism Debate

Did Jesus die to make it possible for anyone to be saved or did he only die for the elect? In this discussion between Blake Cortright and Jacob Rohrer, they discuss this important issue and how it relates to evangelism. Blake affirms limited atonement while Jacob argues that Jesus died for sinners in general.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

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This is part 3 of the Calvinism Debate

Does God predestine everyone who will ever be saved before they’re even born?  Blake affirms that not only does God choose whom he will save in eternity past, but he did so without regard to any conditions or qualities of what these people will do.  Jacob denies, arguing that everyone has free will to choose God or reject him.  God does predestine, but in a general rather than specific way.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

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This is part 2 of the Calvinism Debate

Just how fallen are we? What does it mean to be dead in trespasses and sins? Are we so depraved and mired in sin that we cannot even have faith in God? Blake Cortright says answers, “Yes.” Unless God quickens us through his spirit, we are innately unable and unwilling to reach up to him in faith. Jacob Rohrer says, “No.” Though we are fallen, we are still capable of responding to God’s call.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

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