The opening verses of the Bible establish the bedrock upon which the rest of scripture and the Christian faith is anchored. Many Christians, however, find these verses in Genesis difficult to digest and even harder to interpret. Over time, people’s confidence in the text has been eroded by a combination of modern scientific discoveries and assaults against the authority of the Bible by groups such as the new atheists. Do believers really have to make a choice between science and religion? When it comes to philosophy, is Christianity simply ‘beyond the pale’?

‘In the beginning’ is a training day designed to help believers grapple with these difficult topics, so that they might be able to communicate and defend the gospel message more effectively and with a greater confidence.

Featuring

• John Lennox
• Amy Orr-Ewing
• Michael Ramsden
• Tom Price
• Vince Vitale

Find out more and register.

Groom and Best Man

I have just returned from one of my favourite weddings of all time. My best friend married his new best friend in a beautiful ceremony with a fantastic reception in Bristol.

The church was packed out with friends and family keen not to miss this couple, loved by many, make their vows before God. Everyone I talked to agreed it was a top-class wedding, with lots of fun and a deep sense of purpose about the proceedings.

The day belonged to the happy couple; the glory belonged to God.

From the readings in the church, to the message during the service, to the toasts (yes, Jesus got a toast at this wedding) to the speeches,much was made of what God had done and will do through my friends.

It was my honour as Best Man to offer a speech. What could I say of my friend? What should be said? It’s not hard to see the central point of his life as that time when he took Jesus seriously. That decision had serious consequences and marks his whole person. So it was clear, by making much of my friend, I was making much of Jesus and His transformative power.

As an apologist I love to make much of Jesus. The wonderful thing is that this time it went hand in hand with honouring my friend.

In an age when weddings have greater significance that marriages, when money is splashed around in the name of good times with scant regard for the significance of the proceedings there is an opportunity to go with it all, or return to the core and give thanks to God.

People are marked by what they choose to celebrate. It was such an honour to be a part of a very special day where God came first and we could all rejoice together!

For an introduction to Dr. Craig pick up Reasonable Faith

It has been a couple of weeks since William Lane Craig visited the UK. I was privileged to catch Dr. Craig a number of times – twice in London and then at the Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford (see below for the full video of that evening).

Dr. Craig is one of the foremost Christian philosophers of his generation and argues in the Academy that belief in God is credible. It was fascinating to hear first hand from him of the ‘renaissance’ of Christian Philosophy in the last 40-50 years. For more on that take a look at God and the Philosophers edited by Thomas Morris.

Hype

Before Craig came to England an invitation was extended to Professor Richard Dawkins to a debate in Oxford. Dawkins declined the offer, blowing off the evening with contempt. He then penned an article in the Guardian the week prior to the event stating his reasons for not attending.

This article, laced with invective, drew responses from fellow Oxford academics and atheists. Daniel Came responded in the Guardian a couple of days later labelling Dawkins’ refusal to debate as “cynical and anti-intellectual”.

Tim Stanley added to the conversation in the Telegraph, who asks if Dawkins is a coward for his no-show.

Peter Hitchens, who attended the evening at the Sheldonian, sums up the evening from his eyes in An Evening Without Richard Dawkins.

It is encouraging to hear that Christianity is once more being taken seriously in philosophy departments across the world. It is becoming increasingly apparent that Professor Dawkins and his fellow ‘new atheists’ need to catch up to a conversation that is moving at a rapid pace and of a very high quality.

The Take Home

William Lane Craig has devoted his life to defending Christianity through his academic field and has committed to doing it at the highest level. It is a commitment spanning decades and with much toil. Academia is tough. The processes involved are rigorous and require skill and commitment.

His passion isn’t a fleeting feeling or a spur of the moment inspiration. It is born of conviction.

So I ask, what are you called to? What will you spend your life for?

For more on William Lane Craig check out his website. For more audio and video recordings check out Unbelievable? on Premier.

William Lane Craig at The Sheldonian

• 5:45 Off and at ‘em
• 6:30 On the water for river session with Queen’s College Boat Club
• 8:30 Coffee
• 9:00 Chapel
• 10:00 Morning Lecture
• 12:30 Lunch
• 13:30 Afternoon Lecture
• 16:00 Research and writing time
• 19:00 Co-lead Alpha Course
• 22:00 Drink in the pub

They mutter a comment to the tune of, “Isn’t that what you were doing in Hawaii, or something?” Aside from this small revelation (I spent five years in Hawaii and clearly failed to explain what I was doing) and accompanying mental note (keep explaining, keep explaining) I murmur my assent to the correspondence and then frankly ask, “Do you know what Apologetics is?”

“Erm, no – not really. Can you explain?”

Some would say that Apologetics has an unfortunate name in that it’s easy to falsely assume that it is a discipline that has something to do with some kind of apology. Perhaps it’s apologising for the Crusades, or some other tragedy ascribed to the followers of Jesus?

But no, whilst the root is common the derived meaning is very different. An apology can be one of two things. One, an expression of regret. Two, a defence of one’s actions. The first is the more oft used meaning whilst the latter lies alongside the discipline of Christian Apologetics.

The root word here is apologia. This is a Greek word and it means, “to give a defence.” It is a legal term that would be used to describe the explanation a defendant offers in a court of law.

Peter uses it in the Bible. In 1 Peter 3:15 he urges us to, “Always be prepared to give a defence to those that ask for a reason for the hope that is within you.” Being a Christian produces evidence. People change. Hope replaces hopelessness. Meaning shines through pain and both protects and enhances pleasure. This observable transformation naturally provokes curiosity and inevitably questions follow. It is these questions that Apologetics seeks to address.

Questions such as: Aren’t all religions equal? Hasn’t science disproved religion? Where was God on September 11th 2001? Isn’t the Bible just a collection of myths? Isn’t it arrogant to believe that you have the truth?

All these questions and many, many more are the realm of Apologetics. It is an art of persuasion that uses reason to defend ideas. Ideas frame the conversation but the real interest is always the person. Behind every question is a questioner and the skilful Apologist will rejoice not in successful debate but the clear presentation of Jesus Christ and His truth to the person asking.

After Jesus’ death, resurrection and ascension His disciples and the growing number of believers lived Apologetics. They gave a defence of the hope that they had come to know, that others would see and also believe. Today, our charge remains the same.

Coming soon: Why Apologetics?

Related Links 

• The OCCA: What Is Apologetics?
• Brian Auten: A Case for Apologetics

Enter Bespeaking.org. A website “gratefully dedicated to those preparing to speak at Christian Union ‘Lunchbars‘.” If, like me, your idea of a lunchbar was a long table hosting more lunch options than a Starbucks barista attending to your coffee needs you may be wondering what all this is about. It turns out, a lunchbar is a format – typically employed by students – for laying on free food and then providing a talk.

Bespeaking has the tips, ideas and wisdom to guide you through the set up and application of these lunchbars. The ideas travel further than the University setting and may be useful to you in your environment so have a look. The subtle humour alone is worth the visit.

HT Dave Bish

“Schaeffer was the first Christian I met who was concerned to, and capable of connecting the dots and making sense of the extraordinary times that puzzled and dismayed most people.”

From An Interview with Os Guinness on the 25th Anniversary of Francis Schaeffer’s Death.

Some great thoughts and reflections from Dr. Os Guinness. We’ve just been looking at Apologetics and Worldviews in the Reformation Generation seminar.

Francis Schaeffer has been hugely influential in my understanding of how to “think Christianly” and how to engage in this world. I belive that Biblical faithfulness without cultural awareness is useless to those who are lost. I’m reminded of something Schaeffer says in The God Who Is There (US|UK):

“An orthodoxy without understanding or compassion is ugly.”

We are to feel the issues and reality of life and have good answers to speak to the problems we encounter. Answers alone are not enough.

Some recent bloggers I’ve come across with an Apologetics theme (in no particular order):

• Apologetics Guy
• A Faith to Live By
• The Poached Egg
• With All I Am
• Apologetics 315

In the mood for more? Take a look at this Apologetics Blog Directory …

Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology is a core text in numerous seminaries around the world. This week presents a rare opportunity to hear the much esteemed Professor of Bible and Research at Phoenix Seminary reassert and defend the absolute integrity of the Bible in the light of current threats and misunderstandings.

I believe that this week is going to be really useful to me. In my time with the YWAM in Maui, I learnt much on the need to rigorously defend the integrity of the Bible. More than this, we need to be postively asserting the truth of God’s word. We cannot keep quiet on this matter for their are many voices shouting their anti-truth objections, from within as well as outside of the church.

It is also perhaps an interesting week that leads me up to next Sunday when I have a sermon entitled, ‘The Church as an Army.” Armies are trained to fight, and to fight objectively. What will the church in the UK fight for? Will perhaps part of it’s objectives be the defense of the inerrancy, infalliabilty, and ultimate authority of the Bible. Do we realise that if we lose Scripture, we lose Jesus and are left leaderless, hopeless and utterly lost?

I look forward to learning much from Dr. Grudem and posting some of what I have learned here.

During the intertestamental period (400BC to 0AD) the Jewish Scriptures were translated from Hebrew into Greek, and we call this translation the ‘Septuagint’ (from the latin word for seventy, septuaginta). There are different theories for why this translation was undertaken, but what we do know was that the Greek language was fast becoming a widespread language during the expansion of the Roman Empire.

So when Jesus came along we find that the Jewish leaders, and the Temple, were using the Septuagint translation of the Hebrew Old Testament Scriptures to teach from. When we see Jesus quoting the Old Testament (e.g. Matthew 4:4) he would have been quoting in Greek. Also, the writers of the New Testament were all writing in Greek (albeit in different forms) and would use the Greek translation of the Old Testament when making reference to or quoting from it.

More Information

The ESV Study Bible has offered an online trial version of their complete Bible for the month of March. Along with a stellar reference Bible there are several great articles. Two articles of use here are:

• The Septuagint, and
• The Original Languages of the Bible