Tag Archives: Jesus

Mark Strauss at our church

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This is not going to be another apologetics blog post. Instead, I want to talk about someone who is coming to Emmanuel Faith Community Church in Escondido tonight at 7 to speak on the reliability of the New Testament gospels.

He is Mark Strauss, son of the former pastor at EFCC. Mark’s resume is solid. He is University Professor of New Testament at Bethel Seminary San Diego. That would be enough, but he has done so much more–author or  co-author of twelve books, member of the New International Version of the Bible translation board, and weekly teacher at a church in Rancho Bernardo. Whew! Plus, he’s a family man. Certain people just get more done, despite a limited amount of time. Mark is one of those.

Plus, he’s a great communicator. I’ve heard him speak several times and love his clarity. As an English instructor, I appreciate his organization of material, his ability to keep an audience alert, and his focus on what’s important.

Tonight he will be back at his father’s church to talk about the reliability of the gospels. Skeptics are challenging the idea that the gospels were written by eyewitnesses, so Mark’s  presentation will do much to bolster confidence in the documents we use to understand the life and mission of Jesus. I’m looking forward to his message.

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An Intro to Apologetics

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Last Thursday our first Apologetics 101 class met. We spent quite a bit of time on the basics of apologetics – what it is, where it’s discussed in the New Testament, its value, misconceptions about it, and tactics to use when engaged in it with those who do not share our beliefs.

I defined apologetics as an attempt to answer seekers, equip Christians, and demonstrate the truth of Christianity. The key verse about apologetics is found in 1 Peter 3:15, where the writer says that everyone should be able to answer questions about Christianity but do it in a kind and gentle manner. Peter makes it sound as if everyone needs to be an apologist, not just intellectuals. And we must be able to answer anybody who asks questions about Christianity, from the young to the old, from a coworker to a relative sitting at a Thanksgiving meal. But he emphasizes we must do this with a good spirit. We’re not arguing to win points or to make the other person look bad. Humans are made in the image of God; we must treat this individual we are talking to with respect. There are other verses that also have to do with apologetics – Colossians 2:8 and 4:5-6, 2 Corinthians 5:20 and 10:5, Titus 2:8, and places in Acts where Paul reasons with people (14:15-17/17:2, 4, 17-31/18:4/19:8-10).

We also talked about the value of apologetics. We want to change the culture, show the value of truth, demonstrate that Christians can think, and draw people to Jesus. Of course, this last one is the most important of all.

Unfortunately, there are many misconceptions about apologetics. Some people think it means to argue in an angry fashion, but this is not true as we have seen in Peter’s letter. It’s also seen in that same letter that everyone should be involved, not just intellectuals. Apologetics can’t save people, but it can knock down barriers. One other misconception is that we must have all the answers. Not true – we should just be honest and admit that we don’t know, but that we will find answers. Finally, we often have the misconception that we’re going up against intellectual powerhouses when people challenge us on our beliefs. But honestly many people know very little about what they’re talking about when it comes to spiritual matters.

I will stop at this point and save a discussion of the tactics and apologetics for the next blog.

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