Prior to the twentieth century, theologians limited their discussion of Christ to the views set forth in their respective denominational or confessional traditions.” But, doubt that Christ in tradition was different from the actual Christ created a shift from metaphysical to historical Christology. This sparked the search for the historical Jesus in which two approaches, “Christology from Above” and “Christology from Below arose.
Earley, Dave, and David Wheeler. Evagelism IS...How to Share Jesus with Passion and Confidence. Nashville, Tennessee: B&H Academic Publishing Group, 2010.
In the beginning, Christian had to make many difficult choices, he had to decide if he was going to fallow Christ, or if he was going to listen to the world, which included his wife, and stop reading the Bible, which, caused his burden. A man talked to Christian and encouraged him to run away to the hills where he will
Award-winning journalist, Lee Strobel wrote The Case for Christ to retrace and enlarge his journey toward becoming a Christian. Strobel once atheist, and now Christian, shares how he began to look upon the Bible and God. As an atheist, Strobel lived the life of selfishness and only worried to please himself. When his wife began to go to church he wasn’t very pleased until after he saw the positive and attractive change in her. This is the start of his curiosity and investigation about Christianity. He wanted to understand what changed her like this. He wanted to relate with his wife so he decided to study about this and attend church services with her. Strobel began his journey and interviewed thirteen leading scholars who defended their views concerning the historical reliability of the New Testament. Strobel splits the case for Christ into three basic sections: Examining the Record, Analyzing Jesus, and Researching the Resurrection.
Beilby, James. Thinking about Christian apologetics: what is is and why we do it. Downers Gove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2011.
Another strength, which also seems to be the helpful part of making this article effective and overall worth the read to a Christian as a whole, is seen in his concluding statement of a quote by Timothy Richard of China, “How can we expect an unbelieving world to take us seriously in our talk about a gospel of reconciliation when we remain so obviously un-reconciled to one another?”4
New scientific discoveries not only enhanced man’s comfort in life but also his appreciation of human potential and reason. It was becoming increasingly evident that it was to man’s benefit to reason and understand. With this realization came the need to determine the proper place of human reasoning in man’s life. The philosophies of the early post-Reformation period dealt with this issue—how to relate and balance faith and reason. Gone was the blind, unquestioning faith of the medieval period. Men were now free to doubt and deny. Those who believed in Christ and His claims found themselves increasingly shifting to a defensive stance and trying to accommodate human reason.
• According to Dr. Wheeler, evangelism is lived out through ________________. (Be able to fill in the blank.)
Loving and worshiping God began to be more and more part of my daily thinking, motives, actions, and decisions.
There has also been a decline in spiritual enrichment in churches to its followers which has allowed new religions and new age innovations to come up. Christians convert to these religions trying to look for spiritual enrichment and fulfillment. “Christian knowledge is being challenged with scientific and worldly knowledge. There is no longer the idea of one truth, one correct body of knowledge,” (Bruce, 1996). In a world based on facts, Christians are continually looking for facts of God’s existence and they forget that faith believes in the unseen.
12- “Believers who are amazed by Jesus tell others, and they in turn are amazed.” When we tell others about Christ, great things happen through the power of Christ.
My faith and how I lived in my faith made serves as a lasting example to believers in Christ (Lindslay, 3). In life, I believed that all work that I did was spiritual work for the betterment of the Lord’s kingdom. Whether I was writing, ministering, eating out, or simply talking with friends, all work, all things, all I did was for the advancement of the Lord’s kingdom. For the work of “a Beethoven” or the work of a “charwoman” were all the same in my eyes; for both the workers, their work should be “offered to God” and done “humbly” “as to the Lord” (Eshlemen, 2). Although I struggled with cynicism, this way of living life challenged and brought new meaning to my life (Lindslay, 3). This idea on the life I lived and how I lived the life I was given serves as an example of Colossians 3:17 for Christians who wish to live and long to live in similar fashions (The Holy, 237). This way of living my faith truly required me to be quite public and open with my thoughts and beliefs. My faith was not always outright and public. When I was young, my family was my first spiritual influence (Eshlemen, 5). My faith started when I was young, but was shattered with the death of my mother when I was ten years of age (Lindslay, 1). This tragedy shook who I thought God is. The death of my mother affected me deeply. In fact, in college, I denounced the protestant
Groothuis, Douglas R.. Christian apologetics: a comprehensive case for biblical faith. Downers Grove, Ill.: IVP Academic ;, 2011.
This book “The Art of Personal Evangelism is not to hard to read all of the task of the person who winning to believe in Jesus Christ. McRaney well said about task of evangelism as a practitioner for both the
Randy Newman’s book, Questioning Evangelism, is a book about on how evangelizing is to ask questions, and therefore, letting people communicate with questions about their own truths about God. Newman writes this book hoping that anyone who reads it will gain a better understanding of what evangelism is. Newman’s book is divided into three parts: why questioning evangelism is needed, considering what questions non-believers are asking, and observing why asking questions and knowing answers doesn’t mean a Christian’s own problem like cold-heartedness or anger. Throughout the book Newman brings readers right back to bible scriptures. Even though he appeals to accounts of people like Paul in Acts preaching on Mars Hill, he also shows how the wisdom literature is applied to our evangelistic attempts.