Monday, July 22, 2013

Apologetics used by all except Evangelicals?

(click for larger view)



Last night I watched a Youtube video entitled "The Signs of God's Existence - Documentary [Full Length]" for an hour and a half. It was well put together, using some of the worlds best known Christian apologists, using arguments from cosmology, nano-technology, micro-biology, information science, philosophy and other things. I got to within about half an hour of the end only to find out to my surprise- well horror really- that the God they were promoting was "Allah"! They had copied some of the best speakers, and minds in the world and usurped the Christian position and adapted it all to the promotion of Islam.

Sitting on my desk I have a showy little booklet with an artists impression of DNA with golden light and nice catchy phrases, with the heading "The Origin of Life: Five Questions worth asking" and it's a publication by the Watchtower Society, aka- Jehovah's Witnesses.


So What's My Question?

Why is it that all these apostate organizations recognize the value and effectiveness of Apologetics and the Evangelical Church (at least that part of it that I have had experience with) does not?

This video compilation of Christian works by various well known Christian apologists has creamed some of the best work by the most well known apologists. The first subject up, was cosmological theory and the "Big Bang".  Among them were the man "atheists fear" William Lane Craig. Next up was Oxford Professor John Lennox who reveals the reality that natural laws prescribe and describe how things operate in the universe but they are never responsible for setting things in motion, as someone has written -"Who Lit the Blue Touch Paper?", who put it all in motion? The laws of physics have nothing to say about this. The writings of C.S. Lewis from his book "Miracles" featured and  narrrated by Lennox add further emphasis to the reality of how physical laws fall so short of being an adequate explanation for all that is. 

The documentary takes the viewer through a fascinating journey into the discovery of the Fibonacci Sequence. It traces how this mathematically regulated pattern is found in diverse places from nano-physics through to plant and animal species right up to the structure of Galaxies in the Cosmos.

The theory of Evolution is critiqued by various scientists and Intelligent Design exponent Steven C. Meyers is featured.

Overall this documentary has been cobbled together from very credible sources that are freely accessible but put into harness for Islam.

  When will Evangelicals learn that we are in a battle for the minds and hearts of the world? 
"The Signs of God's Existence - Documentary" video has been watched by- at the time I viewed it- over Three Hundred and Forty Seven Thousand (347,000) people in less than six months, is that not a measure of peoples interest?

Thankfully there are those evangelicals, who are not only committed to the gospel, they are committed to using apologetics according to the clear mandate of the scriptures by which to clear away the detritus of false beliefs that had "blinded.... hearts and minds" from seeing the truth of the Gospel. I received a newsletter from RZIM just this morning telling the story of "Nabeel Qureshi, whose intellectual and spiritual journey from Islam to Christianity changed his life."

Hear now, his story in his own words courtesy of RZIM News:

NABEEL: I grew up in a devout Muslim family with the dual goal of boldly representing Islam while bringing honor and support to my family as a physician. But in the course of pursuing every Muslim mother’s dream, I encountered Christ. He captivated me. His truth overwhelmed me. There was no escaping him, not for me. I became a believer in 2005. After graduating from medical school, I entered into full-time ministry, ultimately pursuing graduate study in the fields of New Testament and Islam.
RZIM: So you were brought up a Muslim?
NABEEL: A simple “yes” would not suffice as an answer. I was passionately in love with Islam. My maternal ancestry is peppered with Muslim missionaries, men who spent their lives preaching Islam. Following their line, it was under the supervision of my mother that I read the entire Qur’an in Arabic by the age of five. By my teen years I had memorized over a dozen chapters of the Qur’an and boldly proclaimed the truth of Islam to my peers, often challenging Christians in their faith. These conversations, in turn, served to bolster my faith. Islam was more than my religion: it coursed through me, defining my being. Islam was my lifeblood.
RZIM: How did you come to know Christ?
NABEEL: I met a friend in college who had studied apologetics, and he was the first person I met who was able to intelligently defend his Christian faith.
We disagreed about pretty much everything, but in the course of our discussions and arguments, we became inseparable friends! Over a few years, we talked about the reliability of the New Testament, the resurrection of Jesus, the Trinity, substitutionary atonement, and other critical Christian issues. I realized that the core of the Christian faith was powerfully evidenced. Turning our eyes to Islam, after a time of critical examination, I found that the case for Islam fell far short. As the weight of my discoveries became unbearable, I turned to God for direct spiritual guidance. God gave me a vision and three dreams that pointed me to Jesus.
Apologetics showed me that, despite everything I was taught about Christianity and everything I believed about Islam, the Gospel is true. Apologetics demolished the barriers that had been erected to keep me from seeing the truth of the Gospel. Once I saw the Truth, it was the Holy Spirit who convicted me to embrace it at all costs. In my evangelism, it is my prayer to present apologetics in a winsome manner that would leave people standing face to face with God. What these souls then do is between them and the Holy Spirit. Regardless, I pray that whether a person accepts or rejects God, they do so because of what God is, not because of what God isn’t. That is the role apologetics plays in my evangelism. (For the full story click here)

When people are strongly committed to a certain worldview, whether it is philosophical materialism so common in Western culture, or that of Islam from the East, it takes a lot of effort, patience and wisdom that is so much a part of what Christian Apologetics teaches, to make the difference and dismantle the many and varied ways by which people are immunised against the Gospel.

Stop Press! Praise the Lord!

The local Churches of our city that might best be described as evangelical have got together with the Ministry of J. John of the Philo Trust. Here is a man who definitely sees the value of Christian Apologetics in an age of increasing hostility towards the Christian message and where more than ever we need to be able to defend our beliefs. In the following video sample courtesy of the Philo Trust J. John asks a series of questions that reflect many of those that an outsider might query of the Christian faith. His collaborator in these series is Joe Boot a young apologist who served with Ravi Zacharias for seven years as an apologist in the U.K. and Canada, working for five years as Canadian Director of RZIM.




For other sample chapters in this DVD series of apologetic questions go to the Philo Trust website here> the DVD is called: "With No Apology"

Here is another sample of J. John's cab-seat discussions with apologist Joe Boot where they discuss the so-called divide between faith and science. This discussion fits quite neatly with a post I have written elsewhere called: The Dirty Little Secret of Scientism- The Problem of Induction where the reality is- that science- far from being absolutely without lapses of logical thinking, also make assumptions in their thinking, something they are always accusing the faith community of doing. In fact, truth be known this "leap of faith" happens all the time in the scientific endeavour. The only difference is, in the case of science it is dressed up in respectable language, it is called by the fancy name of "the Principle of the Uniformity of Nature"- but call it what you will it is a basic belief assumed about nature. While the scientific community, (at least those who espouse the atheistic position of philosphical naturalism) love to make the point that Christians believe without evidence and are always making so called "leaps of faith" the Boot is firmly on the other foot, if you'll pardon the pun.

Towards the end of the sample clip Joe Boot broaches the subject over whether the mind is completely material and therefore is synonymous with the brain, our physical grey matter between our ears- or whether there is indeed a metaphysical "us". This is an important difference between a naturalistic explanation for humanity and the truth of Creation. If we are no more than animals that have advanced to a greater degree of self-consciousness than have other organisms, then that would seem to contradict our ability to discern truth and knowledge, or that we might continue beyond death. The all important question then: Is our brain- the material stuff-  a necessary condition, but not a sufficient condition for the existence of a mind or in more Biblical terms- a soul?  Or to put it another way can humanity be totally comprehended in the statement we are only a physical organism? For further reference to this please refer to this post Professor Alvin Plantinga and the Immortality of the Soul
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Another DVD to look forward to from the ministry of J. John comes from a series called "Facing The Canon" in which J. John speaks with Dr. Michael Ramsden, who has featured on this blog Here> as an introduction to Apologetics. It is called, understandably- "Facing The Canon With Michael Ramsden" unfortunately as at this moment the DVD is in post-production and so we can offer no sample at this point in time.

May I take this opportunity to congratulate the various members of our local denominational community for working together and making use of J. John resources in this new initiative to reach our community for Christ. Participating Churches are: Christian Renewal Church, Crossroads Community Church, Kamo Baptist Church, Mangakahia Christian Fellowship, The Salvation Army, St. James Presbyterian Church, Whangarei Central Baptist Church, St. Andrews Church, Onerahi  Christian Community Church, and Tikipunga Baptist.