Apologetics New Generation

The Art of Personal Evangelism: Sharing Jesus in a changing culture By Will McRaney, Jr. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Academic, 2003, 268 pp., $19.99 paper.

Understanding the bible, both in its inspiration and authority, shapes how we decipher the stories in the bible and how we receive messages and revelations from God. Fundamentalists and Contextualists have profoundly different assumptions and perspectives when reading bible stories which impacts the messages they receive. In this essay I will address the point of views taken from a Fundamentalists and Contextualist in regards to the world and the human creation accounts, the miracle stories told in the Gospel writings and the story of Mary near the cross at Jesus’ crucifixion.

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.

Award-winning journalist, Lee Strobel wrote The Case for Christ to retrace and expand his journey toward becoming a Christian. Strobel once declared 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. To relate with his wife he decided to study about this and attend church services with her. Strobel interviewed thirteen leading scholars who defended their views concerning the historical reliability of the New Testament.

Part 1: Make sure you read and understand the Apologetics Application Paper Instructions document before you attempt to complete any part of this form. Attempted submissions that do not use the submission form provided will not be accepted for credit.

Let’s talk about the world about 2,000 years ago. It was a world where the mass of people were illiterate, taxes were extremely high, and the leaders would cheat and kill to feed their ever growing need for power. We all can relate to having a good storyteller in our lives, most were read to at night by their parents or are parents themselves that read to their children. What is the purpose of storytelling? It’s simple, comfort. A good story can ease your psychological unrest as well as offer a moral purpose. Sometimes you can even relate a story to your own life and offer an explanation to something you may be experiencing. This is exactly what the four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were. They told their stories of Jesus to offer comfort to their people in a time when people could not pick up a story and read it themselves. It is part of human nature to have the desire for a good story. This paper will describe several events that were written by great storytellers in the bible.

Tripp, D (2000). “Where did I come from”. Exploring Christianity. Retrieved on June 26, 2015 from www.christanity.co.nz

Charles B. Hodge, Jr., is a prolific writer and a minister of the Church of Christ. He closes each chapter of The Agony & Glory of the Cross with “The Cross…there is no other way!” Thus, I have taken Reverend Hodge’s declaration for the title of this review. He further explains his thesis of the importance of the cross: “Jesus could not save Himself and still be our Savior. There is no way but the cross.” The unique approach to teaching the New Testament – and Christs’ journey to Calvary – requires several readings, analysis, and return to biblical text.

Many people believe that that the motivation of the Christian church is to radically “change the world”. However, through his book To Change The World, James Davison Hunter explains how this common believe is a misconception. Rather, he shows readers that, from a sociological perspective, while Christians thrive in many areas of life by reaching others individually, they fundamentally components of creating cultural change.

Yes, the author is able to support his conclusion through the evidence provided in the book. Though the evidence is provided, it is still up to the reader to fulfill the actions discussed by the authors as to how to live out their faith in a secular Western culture. In order to succeed in this, the readers must also be knowledgeable in the stories of the biblical narrative. This will allow them to represent Christianity as faithful witnesses of Christ’s love.

The aim of the Christian apologist is to appeal to the mind and to the heart of the unbeliever, with the necessary guidance and intervening of the Holy Spirit, by building a good case for the truth of Christianity. The classical method is a compelling approach because the “two-step” method establishes a strong case for the truth of theism and also creates a foundation which builds on the truth of the Christian worldview. This approach engages with natural theology but also recognizes that there are certain truths that can only be known through special revelation from God. Classical apologetics successfully provides an objective, solidified establishment of the Christian worldview in light of logic and reason through which the Holy Spirit uses those arguments and evidences to convict and convince the unbeliever.

The Christian faith is a well-documented and common religion of the Western civilization. However, because Christianity is so fluid and complex, it easier for Christians to be incorrectly interpreting aspects of the bible. In the book “Why Christian?” by Douglas John Hall, and “She Who Is” by Elizabeth Johnson, both examine some of the critical misunderstandings proving problematic within the Christian faith, but in different “lenses”. The book “Why Christian?” addresses the Christian youth who are in doubt of their faith because of inconsistencies engraved in rules set by the higher officials of the Christian community. While “She Who Is” examines the Christian perspective from the underrepresented woman's’ perspective.

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.

Atheists have been relentless in their attack of the Divinity of The Lord Jesus Christ. Apologetics are used in these instances to confront false ideas with the truth set forth in scripture. To be a Christian

Right from the time of the apostles and throughout the history of the Christian Church, believers have been engaged in the defence of the Christian faith. This defence is often referred to a an apology (not to be confused with the typical English meaning of a request for forgiveness). This give rise to a branch of study in the Church called Apologetics. This lesson explores the theological basis for apologetics and its relevance for propagation of the Christian faith. This will be done through an exploration of the meaning of apologetics and the method of doing apologetics.