12 December 2008
11 December 2008
12 November 2008
Beyond Opinion: Living the Faith We Defend by Ravi Zacharias
A few clips from the book...
What I did not anticipate was having to give a defense of why I was defending the faith. “You can’t argue anybody into the kingdom.” “Apologetics only caters to pride, you know.” “Conversion is not about the intellect; it is all about the heart.” As the litany of questions runs for why we should study apologetics, so the reasons run as to why we should stay out of it.Read more HERE
Apologetics is a subject that ends up defending itself. The one who argues against apologetics ends up using argument to denounce argument. The one who says apologetics is a matter of pride ends up proudly defending one’s own impoverishment. The one who says conversion is a matter of the heart and not the intellect ends up presenting intellectual arguments to convince others of this position. So goes the process of self-contradiction.
The ultimate calling upon the follower of Christ is to live a life reflecting who he is, and in this book we will highlight three components of discipleship. In part 1, we will look at skeptics’—and believers’—difficult questions. We will suggest that we cannot begin to understand these questions until we ourselves have also wrestled with them intellectually and personally. In part 2, we see that our answers must then be internalized—the essential, lifelong process of spiritual transformation—such that, as seen in part 3, these answers may be lived out with compassion for the lost and a passion for the gospel. These are critical issues, for as I have said many times, I have little doubt that the single greatest obstacle to the impact of the gospel has not been its inability to provide answers, but the failure on our part to live it out.
Sometime in the 1980s, Christians in the West began to label evangelistic techniques and reconfigure church services to reduce the message to the lowest level of cognition in the audience. As nobly intentioned as that was, the end result was the lowest level of writing and gospel preaching one could imagine. Mass media was brought to aid this purpose, and before long evangelicals were seen to be masters in entertainment and minimalists in thought. As this was happening, the intellectual arenas were being plundered and young minds gradually driven away from their “faith” in the gospel message. Christians are paying our dues today and likely will pay for an entire generation.
05 November 2008
Want a better understanding?
A helpful outline that sheds some light on part of the Old Testament can be found HERE
We need to understand the Old Testament simply because we
don’t. There is a system of theology teaching that certain portions of
the Bible are relevant only for a particular time and, therefore, we
don’t have to be concerned with that portion of Scripture. That is
simply not true. The Bible is a reflection of the God of the universe
and, as such, should be studied as a whole.
03 November 2008
What is your group like?
An interesting interview with a college student about what prepared her (and did not) for college...
Read it all HERE
CPYU: As you reflect on your church youth group experience, what are some things you wish your youth group would have done more of to prepare you for college?
Gabrielle: I was in several youth groups in high school and unfortunately found that youth group was too “soft”—we played a lot of games and had a lot of fun retreats, but rarely learned about the fundamentals of faith, why we believe what we believe, and what it is that we do believe. Now that I am in college, my faith is under constant scrutiny and always being tested by scientific concepts and the secular slant of most universities. I wish I had been equipped with a more solid justification for my faith: knowing how to answer the tough questions, how to respond to arguments, and how to stand firm in what feels like a storm against my spirituality.
CPYU: Understanding the challenges that college life brings, what are some things you wish your youth group would have done less of?
Gabrielle: While I loved the friendships I made in youth group, there were far too many social events and not enough deep studying of God’s word. I felt this left me ill-prepared for the questions I would be faced with in college. Also, instead of so much group time, I wish we would’ve had more time one-on-one with a pastor, youth leader, or mentor.
Read it all HERE
20 October 2008
Tolerance
Because of relativism, “tolerance” is another word that gets tossed around a lot in our culture. We’re told that we need to be more tolerant.
Being tolerant used to mean simply putting up with something that you disagreed with. But now because of relativism—and its teaching that there is no such thing as something that’s absolutely true for everyone—when people play the “be tolerant” card, they’re really implying that we should accept all beliefs as true.
But accepting all beliefs as true is impossible because different religions claim that contradictory things are true.
For instance, Christianity teaches that Jesus rose from the dead. Islam teaches that Jesus never died. How can both be true? They’re opposites. They contradict each other. Hindus believe that people’s souls live in cows. Muslims don’t believe that. Either people’s souls live in cows or they don’t. How can both be true? Islam teaches that Allah, the god of Islam, is unknowable and impersonal. But Scripture teaches that Yahweh, the God of Christianity, wants us to know Him on a personal level. How can both of those gods be the one, true, infinite, all-powerful God? It’s impossible.
Relativism is also behind the idea that all religions teach the same thing—that we ought to get along and love each other. But that simply isn’t true. The major world religions—Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, New Age—disagree about practically every major issue, including what God is like, the nature of man, sin, salvation, heaven, and hell. Those are extremely important issues!
Since Christianity is true, it’s actually unloving for Christians to suggest to anyone who holds opposing religious beliefs that their beliefs are true as well. Why? Because if they believe lies, it could cost them eternal life with the God who made them. Jesus is the only way to God (John 14:6), and accepting His death on our behalf is the only way that our sins can be paid for. So acting as if someone else’s beliefs are true when they contradict that essential truth is very unloving.
As followers of Jesus, we are called to love and accept people. That doesn’t mean accepting their beliefs. We can respect the beliefs of others, but we also need to lovingly tell them the truth about Jesus. To not do so is very unloving.
But wait! Isn’t “Don’t judge” a biblical statement? Isn’t it a sin for us to judge other people? A lot of people use Matthew 7:1-5 as biblical backup for why we shouldn’t judge others. But that passage is about judging other people hypocritically. God’s Word actually instructs us judge ideas and beliefs. He wants us to judge, evaluate, and investigate ideas. He doesn’t want us to blindly accept lies. Read Matthew 7:15-23 and 1 John 4:1.
Visit www.ywspace.org and check out the Beliefs charts we made comparing the teachings of Christianity to the teachings of other religions—Islam, Mormonism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, and Jehovah’s Witnesses. The major world religions teach very different things, so they can’t all be true. First and foremost, let’s love the people who ascribe to these beliefs, and as an act of love we can respect their beliefs, but we don’t have to act as if those beliefs are true.
[from YouthWalk e-Devo]
Being tolerant used to mean simply putting up with something that you disagreed with. But now because of relativism—and its teaching that there is no such thing as something that’s absolutely true for everyone—when people play the “be tolerant” card, they’re really implying that we should accept all beliefs as true.
But accepting all beliefs as true is impossible because different religions claim that contradictory things are true.
For instance, Christianity teaches that Jesus rose from the dead. Islam teaches that Jesus never died. How can both be true? They’re opposites. They contradict each other. Hindus believe that people’s souls live in cows. Muslims don’t believe that. Either people’s souls live in cows or they don’t. How can both be true? Islam teaches that Allah, the god of Islam, is unknowable and impersonal. But Scripture teaches that Yahweh, the God of Christianity, wants us to know Him on a personal level. How can both of those gods be the one, true, infinite, all-powerful God? It’s impossible.
Relativism is also behind the idea that all religions teach the same thing—that we ought to get along and love each other. But that simply isn’t true. The major world religions—Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, New Age—disagree about practically every major issue, including what God is like, the nature of man, sin, salvation, heaven, and hell. Those are extremely important issues!
Since Christianity is true, it’s actually unloving for Christians to suggest to anyone who holds opposing religious beliefs that their beliefs are true as well. Why? Because if they believe lies, it could cost them eternal life with the God who made them. Jesus is the only way to God (John 14:6), and accepting His death on our behalf is the only way that our sins can be paid for. So acting as if someone else’s beliefs are true when they contradict that essential truth is very unloving.
As followers of Jesus, we are called to love and accept people. That doesn’t mean accepting their beliefs. We can respect the beliefs of others, but we also need to lovingly tell them the truth about Jesus. To not do so is very unloving.
But wait! Isn’t “Don’t judge” a biblical statement? Isn’t it a sin for us to judge other people? A lot of people use Matthew 7:1-5 as biblical backup for why we shouldn’t judge others. But that passage is about judging other people hypocritically. God’s Word actually instructs us judge ideas and beliefs. He wants us to judge, evaluate, and investigate ideas. He doesn’t want us to blindly accept lies. Read Matthew 7:15-23 and 1 John 4:1.
Visit www.ywspace.org and check out the Beliefs charts we made comparing the teachings of Christianity to the teachings of other religions—Islam, Mormonism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, and Jehovah’s Witnesses. The major world religions teach very different things, so they can’t all be true. First and foremost, let’s love the people who ascribe to these beliefs, and as an act of love we can respect their beliefs, but we don’t have to act as if those beliefs are true.
[from YouthWalk e-Devo]
More on Relativism
Relativism muddies the waters of morality. When there are disagreements about what is right and wrong in certain situations, relativists like to say, “See? There is no absolute morality. It’s all just people’s opinion.” But arguing over what’s right and wrong doesn’t mean that there isn’t an absolute right and wrong in every situation. It just means people disagree about it—even if God’s Word is very clear.
God has promised us that His ways are the truth and they lead to life. Disobedience to His ways lead to death. As Paul explained: “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).
Take, for example, one of the saddest products of relativism—abortion. There are obviously differing opinions about the “morality” of abortion—some people say that a woman has a right to the freedom to control her own body; others think that a woman should not be allowed to end an unborn child’s life. Relativists use these differing opinions to say that there isn’t an absolute moral law in this case, just people’s opinions.
Oddly enough, each side of the argument is protecting what it thinks is a moral value: Those against abortion are defending the value that life should be protected, and those for abortion are defending the value that a woman should have freedom over her body. In the case of abortion, the real issue is about which value is greater or more important—is life more important, or is a woman’s freedom over her body more important? Since the unborn are human beings, a baby’s right to life is the value that should win out because a person’s right to life outweighs a person’s right to individual freedom. Even if there’s a debate on when life actually begins, abortion is still always wrong because it robs the unborn of the opportunity to live.
Even though there may be debate about what’s right, that doesn’t mean that the truth about what’s right and what’s wrong doesn’t exist at all. The disagreement about abortion exists because people are ignoring the Moral Law so that they can do what they want to do.
God has given us the absolute Moral Law in His Word. Moral values are absolute—even if we don’t quite understand how to apply them in certain circumstances and even if we don’t always live by them.
When you’re struggling with what it looks like to honor God in a certain moral situation, ask Him to guide you, and ask some of His faithful followers to help you. He promises that He’ll give you wisdom whenever you ask for it: “If you need wisdom—if you want to know what God wants you to do—ask him, and he will gladly tell you” (James 1:5 NLT).
When you know what is right and true in a situation, don’t let other people’s arguments about the matter sway you. Ask yourself: What are these people looking to get out of this situation? What motivation could they have for disobeying God? Behind their lofty arguments and philosophies will be the fact that they simply want to do what they want to do
[From YouthWalk e-Devo]
God has promised us that His ways are the truth and they lead to life. Disobedience to His ways lead to death. As Paul explained: “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).
Take, for example, one of the saddest products of relativism—abortion. There are obviously differing opinions about the “morality” of abortion—some people say that a woman has a right to the freedom to control her own body; others think that a woman should not be allowed to end an unborn child’s life. Relativists use these differing opinions to say that there isn’t an absolute moral law in this case, just people’s opinions.
Oddly enough, each side of the argument is protecting what it thinks is a moral value: Those against abortion are defending the value that life should be protected, and those for abortion are defending the value that a woman should have freedom over her body. In the case of abortion, the real issue is about which value is greater or more important—is life more important, or is a woman’s freedom over her body more important? Since the unborn are human beings, a baby’s right to life is the value that should win out because a person’s right to life outweighs a person’s right to individual freedom. Even if there’s a debate on when life actually begins, abortion is still always wrong because it robs the unborn of the opportunity to live.
Even though there may be debate about what’s right, that doesn’t mean that the truth about what’s right and what’s wrong doesn’t exist at all. The disagreement about abortion exists because people are ignoring the Moral Law so that they can do what they want to do.
God has given us the absolute Moral Law in His Word. Moral values are absolute—even if we don’t quite understand how to apply them in certain circumstances and even if we don’t always live by them.
When you’re struggling with what it looks like to honor God in a certain moral situation, ask Him to guide you, and ask some of His faithful followers to help you. He promises that He’ll give you wisdom whenever you ask for it: “If you need wisdom—if you want to know what God wants you to do—ask him, and he will gladly tell you” (James 1:5 NLT).
When you know what is right and true in a situation, don’t let other people’s arguments about the matter sway you. Ask yourself: What are these people looking to get out of this situation? What motivation could they have for disobeying God? Behind their lofty arguments and philosophies will be the fact that they simply want to do what they want to do
[From YouthWalk e-Devo]
08 September 2008
Relativism
Relativism. It’s the idea that nothing is absolutely, completely true all of the time and in all places. If nothing is absolutely true, as relativism claims, then how can Christianity be true?
But relativism doesn’t hold water—it isn’t true. It can be demolished by its one foundational claim: There is no such thing as absolute truth.
How can relativism be dismantled by that one statement? Because “there is no such thing as absolute truth” is an absolute statement. But if there are no such things as statements that are absolutely true, as relativism claims, then “there is no such thing as absolute truth”—an absolute statement itself—can’t be absolutely true either.
But the proof that relativism is bogus is way more extensive than that. The reality is that there is such a thing as truth—absolute truth. Truth exists. And we can know it. In fact, God wants us to know it. It’s why Jesus came to earth: “For this reason I was born . . . to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me” (John 18:37).
What is truth? Truth is the way things really are regardless of how anybody feels about it. To combat relativism, we need to know what truth is. Norman Geisler and Frank Turek list several characteristics of truth in their book I Don’t Have Enough Faith To Be an Atheist:
“Truth is discovered, not invented. It exists independent of anyone’s knowledge about it. (Gravity existed prior to Newton.)”
“Truth is transcultural. If something is true, it’s true for all people, at all places, at all times. (2 + 2 = 4 for everyone, everywhere, at every time.)”
“Truth is unchanging even though our beliefs about truth change. (When we began to believe that the world was round instead of flat, the truth about the earth didn’t change, but our belief about it did.)”
“Beliefs cannot change a fact, no matter how sincerely they are held. (Someone can sincerely believe that the world is flat, but that only makes that person sincerely mistaken.)”
“Truth is not affected by the attitude of the one professing it. (An arrogant person doesn’t make the truth he professes false. A humble person doesn’t make the error he professes true.)”
Where did relativism come from? Why does it exist? The bottom line of relativism is this: It’s just a philosophically worded excuse for people to live the way they want to and write God off. Because if nothing is absolutely true then there’s no right or wrong. It’s just what works for you. A lot of people want to live the way they want to so they choose what they believe based on how they want to live. All the while, Truth still exists. And He wants people to know Him.
[From Youthwalk Devo]
But relativism doesn’t hold water—it isn’t true. It can be demolished by its one foundational claim: There is no such thing as absolute truth.
How can relativism be dismantled by that one statement? Because “there is no such thing as absolute truth” is an absolute statement. But if there are no such things as statements that are absolutely true, as relativism claims, then “there is no such thing as absolute truth”—an absolute statement itself—can’t be absolutely true either.
But the proof that relativism is bogus is way more extensive than that. The reality is that there is such a thing as truth—absolute truth. Truth exists. And we can know it. In fact, God wants us to know it. It’s why Jesus came to earth: “For this reason I was born . . . to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me” (John 18:37).
What is truth? Truth is the way things really are regardless of how anybody feels about it. To combat relativism, we need to know what truth is. Norman Geisler and Frank Turek list several characteristics of truth in their book I Don’t Have Enough Faith To Be an Atheist:
“Truth is discovered, not invented. It exists independent of anyone’s knowledge about it. (Gravity existed prior to Newton.)”
“Truth is transcultural. If something is true, it’s true for all people, at all places, at all times. (2 + 2 = 4 for everyone, everywhere, at every time.)”
“Truth is unchanging even though our beliefs about truth change. (When we began to believe that the world was round instead of flat, the truth about the earth didn’t change, but our belief about it did.)”
“Beliefs cannot change a fact, no matter how sincerely they are held. (Someone can sincerely believe that the world is flat, but that only makes that person sincerely mistaken.)”
“Truth is not affected by the attitude of the one professing it. (An arrogant person doesn’t make the truth he professes false. A humble person doesn’t make the error he professes true.)”
Where did relativism come from? Why does it exist? The bottom line of relativism is this: It’s just a philosophically worded excuse for people to live the way they want to and write God off. Because if nothing is absolutely true then there’s no right or wrong. It’s just what works for you. A lot of people want to live the way they want to so they choose what they believe based on how they want to live. All the while, Truth still exists. And He wants people to know Him.
[From Youthwalk Devo]
19 August 2008
Books I dug over the summer...
Calvin for Armchair Theologians
Christopher Elwood
The book is described on google as “An introduction to the life and main teachings of John Calvin (1509-1564), this book blends Calvin's theology into the story of his life to provide those with no knowledge of the Genevan reformer with a concise picture of his key theological views.
This was one of the audio books I explored over the summer. It was so good I listened to most of it twice! Having read some of Calvin’s Institutes and heard lectures on him, I was really seeking a rounded summary of the man and his ideas. I was not disappointed! The fun thing about listening to the audio version was that it is read by a Brit ,which made it sound a bit like listening to Harry Potter books as the reader on those audio books has the same posh, well educated accent. I highly recommend it and in fact discovered that you can read this book online for free! It is a fun and easy read. The armchair series has a variety of people covered. The next one I will be exploring is Augustine.
Christopher Elwood
The book is described on google as “An introduction to the life and main teachings of John Calvin (1509-1564), this book blends Calvin's theology into the story of his life to provide those with no knowledge of the Genevan reformer with a concise picture of his key theological views.
This was one of the audio books I explored over the summer. It was so good I listened to most of it twice! Having read some of Calvin’s Institutes and heard lectures on him, I was really seeking a rounded summary of the man and his ideas. I was not disappointed! The fun thing about listening to the audio version was that it is read by a Brit ,which made it sound a bit like listening to Harry Potter books as the reader on those audio books has the same posh, well educated accent. I highly recommend it and in fact discovered that you can read this book online for free! It is a fun and easy read. The armchair series has a variety of people covered. The next one I will be exploring is Augustine.
18 May 2008
Bittersweet moments
Back at re:generate I stood at the front on Saturday night and announced to the crowd that there was a party going on up in Heaven. I had just been told that one of the girls from Porter Gaud had given her life to Christ. I was more than thrilled because she and her twin sister were two students who had really reached out to my kids at the school . Their bubbling enthusiasm and joy in life was constantly overflowing. I would say to the point that some did not know what to make of it. Now, I don’t think I will ever forget that moment… but a few months ago I did not fully realize it’s significance.
On Friday I attended a memorial service for one of the twins. She and her mother were killed in a tragic car accident. The other twin survived with fairly minimal injuries. It was a tough service to attend. My kids have had a rough time with this death two months after losing their grandfather and it is the second tragic death of a classmate this year. While I sat there surrounded by masses of students and family, the assistant chaplain of the school started the service with prayer. Before praying though he read two letters from the mom that he had received earlier this year. One was a powerful testament to the goodness of the mom. The other expressed deep appreciation for the impact that re:generate had on her daughters. She shared how they came home changed from that weekend with a renewed faith, a desire to read scripture, and a new prayer life. She was thrilled by the spiritual growth that had taken place on re:generate. Needless to say I was a mess at this point with tears of both joy and sorrow filling my eyes. There is nothing more amazing than knowing that a young girl and her mom are in a better place even though we grieve their absence.
The pastor took the time to share a bit of a gospel message in the service. I don’t think any such service should be without this, and am still annoyed that nothing of the sort took place at my dad’s funeral. He relayed what he thought that the mother and daughter would want everyone to know – namely that God did not take their lives (accidents happen in this world), that they are in a better place, and that we can all see them again if we surrender our lives to Jesus. As I left the service I praised God that the gospel is clear in our events and my passion for seeing people come to a saving faith in Christ was renewed once again.
13 May 2008
21 April 2008
09 April 2008
18 March 2008
13 March 2008
11 March 2008
14 February 2008
06 February 2008
http://www.paradise08.com
PARADISE is a gathering of thousands of college and high school students on May 25 in the center of the nation. Called by the Father and empowered by the Spirit, they will assemble before King Jesus to worship Him in all His majesty from sunrise to sunset.
The multitude will surround “the foundation of the heavenly throne,” built in the center of a rural field.
Sixty members of Christian bands and worship teams will use their instruments and voices to lead the multitude in pure praise to the very Son of God. In humility, the musicians will be hidden so all focus will be on Jesus.
Interwoven with music will be times of absolute silence and awe in the presence of His majesty. At other times worshippers will connect with one another to unite their voices in deep prayer.
Nothing will be sold or advertised. The only name called will be Jesus. No agenda will be promoted. No one will become more famous. No organization will make money. The only cause will be His glory and reign.
Like Simeon and Anna, some members of the adult church long to see the full glory of Christ revealed before they die. They may follow the students to the center of the nation in order to intercede over them . . .
. . . and to wonder whether maybe, just maybe, an awakening back to Christ—for all He is today—is about to begin.
The multitude will surround “the foundation of the heavenly throne,” built in the center of a rural field.
Sixty members of Christian bands and worship teams will use their instruments and voices to lead the multitude in pure praise to the very Son of God. In humility, the musicians will be hidden so all focus will be on Jesus.
Interwoven with music will be times of absolute silence and awe in the presence of His majesty. At other times worshippers will connect with one another to unite their voices in deep prayer.
Nothing will be sold or advertised. The only name called will be Jesus. No agenda will be promoted. No one will become more famous. No organization will make money. The only cause will be His glory and reign.
Like Simeon and Anna, some members of the adult church long to see the full glory of Christ revealed before they die. They may follow the students to the center of the nation in order to intercede over them . . .
. . . and to wonder whether maybe, just maybe, an awakening back to Christ—for all He is today—is about to begin.
29 January 2008
23 January 2008
Let's get small...
What do you think about this blog article and the questions it raises about youth ministries?
Read it here
Read it here
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)