Auckland Conference: Science and Faith with Dr C. John Collins

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Much of Western culture assumes that science and faith are foes, that faith and scientific naiveté go hand in hand, and that science has disproved the Bible and made faith irrelevant if not completely indefensible and undesirable.

Come and hear Dr. C. John Collins explain why faith and science are actually friends, how good faith fosters good science, and how good science should actually lead people to be more open to faith and the Bible.

WHEN: Friday 19 July 7pm-9.30pm and Saturday 20 July, 9:00am-4:30pm
WHERE: City Presbyterian Church, 283 Karangahape Road, Auckland
COST: $40 ($20 for Students).

Coffee and tea will be provided but please bring your own lunch. Payment can be made at the door or online (for online payments: City Presbyterian Church 12-3066-0402436-00. Please include your name and “SAF”)
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Schedule:
Friday 19 July

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7pm Registration
7.30am Welcome and Introduction
7.45am Session 1: How good faith fosters good science
8.30pm Break
8.45am Session 2: Genesis 1-11: Poetry, history, science, and truth
9.30am Evening Tea

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Saturday 20 July

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9.30am Session 3: The Image of God And Human Uniqueness
10.15am Morning Tea
10.30am Session 4: Miracles, Science, and God-of-the-Gaps
11.15am Break
11.30am Session 5: Biology, Evolution, Design
12.15pm Lunch (please bring your own)
1.15pm Q&A session
2pm Afternoon tea

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Dr C. John Collins is Professor and Chair of Old Testament at Covenant Theological Seminary. With degrees from MIT, Faith Evangelical Lutheran Seminary, and the University of Liverpool (PhD), Collins is one of the few scholars uniquely placed to address critical issues that arise in our understanding of the Bible and the world.

While Collins’ early studies focused on linguistics and biblical languages, his latest work on miracles (The God of Miracles: An Exegetical Examination of God’s Action in the World), the historicity of Adam and Eve (Did Adam and Eve Really Exist?: Who They Were and Why You Should Care), and the book of Genesis (Genesis 1-4: A Linguistic, Literary, and Theological Commentary) have established him as a leading evangelical voice on the relationship between science and faith.

Professor Collins has served as Old Testament chair on the translation committee for the English Standard Version of the Bible, and Old Testament Editor for the ESV Study Bible. He and his wife have been married since 1979 and have two children.

Auckland Conference: Ancient Truth for Modern Times with Dr C. John Collins

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What is the Bible? What authority if any does the Bible have in the 21st Century? How should the Bible shape the life of the Church and individual believers?

Our approach to Scripture is fundamental to our ability to understand who God is and what he has to say to us. Come and hear Dr. C. John Collins explore the nature, authority, and purpose of the Bible in the 21st Century.

WHEN: Saturday, 13 July, 9:00am-4:30pm
WHERE: City Presbyterian Church, 283 Karangahape Road, Auckland
COST: $20 ($10 for Students).

Coffee and tea will be provided but please bring your own lunch. Payment can be made at the door or online (for online payments: City Presbyterian Church 12-3066-0402436-00. Please include your name and “ATMT”)
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Schedule:

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9am Registration
9.30am Welcome and Introduction
9.45am Session 1: What is the Bible?
10.30pm Morning Tea
10.45am Session 2: What Can We Say About the Bible? The Attributes of Scripture
11.30am Break
11.45am Session 3: What Do We Mean When We Say the Bible is “True”?
12.30pm Lunch (please bring your own)
1.30pm Session 4: How Should We Read and Interpret the Bible?
2.15pm Session 5: How Should We Preach and Teach the Bible?
3pm Afternoon tea
3.15pm Q&A Session
4.30pm Wrap up

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Dr C. John Collins is Professor and Chair of Old Testament at Covenant Theological Seminary. With degrees from MIT, Faith Evangelical Lutheran Seminary, and the University of Liverpool (PhD), Collins is one of the few scholars uniquely placed to address critical issues that arise in our understanding of the Bible and the world.

While Collins’ early studies focused on linguistics and biblical languages, his latest work on miracles (The God of Miracles: An Exegetical Examination of God’s Action in the World), the historicity of Adam and Eve (Did Adam and Eve Really Exist?: Who They Were and Why You Should Care), and the book of Genesis (Genesis 1-4: A Linguistic, Literary, and Theological Commentary) have established him as a leading evangelical voice on the relationship between science and faith.

Professor Collins has served as Old Testament chair on the translation committee for the English Standard Version of the Bible, and Old Testament Editor for the ESV Study Bible. He and his wife have been married since 1979 and have two children.

Tauranga Event: Why Thinking Matters Presentation & DVD Launch

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Wednesday 22nd May 2013

Why Thinking Matters?  An introduction to Apologetics

SPEAKER: Rodney Lake
WHEN: 7:30pm Wednesday 22nd May 2013
WHERE: Bethlehem Community Church, 183 Moffat Rd, Bethlehem, Tauranga.
COST: Free – so bring a friend!

In this live presentation Rodney introduces the idea of Apologetics and makes a case for why it matters in our Christian walk.  He makes both a scriptural and cultural defence for the use of apologetics in the Church today and looks at its outward-facing purpose (its role in evangelism) and its inward-facing purpose (its role in strengthening personal faith) and discusses the spiritual discipline of critical thinking.

He finishes up by looking at some of the reasons why our Christian youth are walking away from their faith – and the crucial role apologetics plays in preventing this disturbing trend in the Christian walk of our young people.

BONUS DVD SET LAUNCH!

We will also be launching the Thinking Matters 2012 Speaking Tour DVD set and have special pricing on the night.  These DVD’s contain the best 8 presentations given by popular US apologists Brett Kunkle, Jay Watts and Amy Hall as recorded last year while on tour in New Zealand.  These are excellent introductory presentations – and well worth showing at home groups or used in your personal study. The four disks include:

  • Evil & Suffering. If God is good, why is there evil & suffering?
  • Defending the Faith. Are you equipped to defend your faith?
  • Only One Way. Is Jesus the only way to God?
  • Truth Matters. What is the nature of Truth?

The DVD’s are available at this special launch event for just $15 each, or you can get all four for $40 (cash and cheque only please).  This is a very good price for such outstanding material so don’t miss out!

If you can’t make it to the event – these Speaking Tour DVD’s will be made available for purchase online shortly.

Are Christians hypocritical to support the death penalty?

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In a previous post on abortion on my own blog, a reader named Matthew Lee raised the issue of how many pro-abortion advocates bring up the death penalty. By doing so, they hope to show that Christians are inconsistent in saying we should never take human life.

Now, in one sense I think this is a non-issue. The objection doesn’t really get off the ground for at least two reasons:

  1. Even if Christians are inconsistent here, that doesn’t make them wrong to oppose abortion. Perhaps they are simply wrong to support the death penalty. So that doesn’t defuse the pro-life argument.
  2. The objection relies on a fallacy. Christians are concerned with unjustly taking a human life. But the death penalty is the taking of a human life precisely because justice demands it. So the objection trades on a pretty flagrant category error.

So this objection doesn’t do anything to shift the burden of proof away from the person arguing for abortion. But still, the death penalty is a pretty important topic, so Christians should have an answer to that. Click here to see how I address the question →

Auckland Event: Introduction to Apologetics with Stuart McEwing

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Earlier this year, I ran an apologetics course for beginners. By popular demand, I will be running this again for the next school term, beginning on May 7. There are no course fees. Your only expense is the course textbook.

All are welcome, even those who are skeptical about Christianity. Each lesson can be understood on its own, so feel free to come to any night that interests you. Of course, to get the full benefit of the course and see the cumulative case for Christianity properly developed, I’d recommend attending all.

Read more →

Christian Morality and the Problem of the Old Testament Wars

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Holy War in the Bible: Christian Morality and an Old Testament Problem comes out next month. Edited by Heath A Thomas, Jeremy Evans, and Paul Copan, the book offers a constructive response to the issue of divine judgment and religious violence by drawing upon biblical, ethical, philosophical and theological insights. We’re excited to see the collection of essays also includes a chapter co-written by New Zealand theologian and philosopher Matthew Flannagan (you can read his chapter online here).

Here’s the full description:

The challenge of a seemingly genocidal God who commands ruthless warfare has bewildered Bible readers for generations. The theme of divine war is not limited to the Old Testament historical books, however. It is also prevalent in the prophets and wisdom literature as well. Still it doesn’t stop. The New Testament book of Revelation, too, is full of such imagery. Our questions multiply.

  •     Why does God apparently tell Joshua to wipe out whole cities, tribes or nations?
  •     Is this yet another example of dogmatic religious conviction breeding violence?
  •     Did these texts help inspire or justify the Crusades?
  •     What impact do they have on Christian morality and just war theories today?
  •     How does divine warfare fit with Christ’s call to “turn the other cheek”?
  •     Why does Paul employ warfare imagery in his letters?
  •     Do these texts warrant questioning the overall trustworthiness of the Bible?

These controversial yet theologically vital issues call for thorough interpretation, especially given a long history of misinterpretation and misappropriaton of these texts. This book does more, however. A range of expert contributors engage in a multidisciplinary approach that considers the issue from a variety of perspectives: biblical, ethical, philosophical and theological.

While the writers recognize that such a difficult and delicate topic cannot be resolved in a simplistic manner, the different threads of this book weave together a satisfying tapestry. Ultimately we find in the overarching biblical narrative a picture of divine redemption that shows the place of divine war in the salvific movement of God.

Auckland Event: Advance 2013

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We are excited to be hosting Dr Glenn Peoples in a couple of locations around the upper North Island this month. We’ll be posting more details about the full tour soon but for now here’s some info on an Auckland conference he’ll be speaking at.

Advance 2013: Exploring the Tough Questions about Christianity with Glenn Peoples

Are faith and reason enemies? Should we take Christianity seriously in the world of ideas? Are there any good reasons to believe in the Christian God? Join us this April as we explore these questions and more with Christian philosopher and popular speaker Dr Glenn People. The conference will also include other incredible speakers such as Dr Chris Tucker (Auckland University), Dr Shawn Means (Auckland University), Sean du Toit (Alphacrucis College), Jacqui Lloyd (Laidlaw College), and theologian Dr Matthew Flannagan. If you’ve ever wanted to dig deeper into the evidence for Christianity or confront serious questions about God and the Bible, this conference is for you.

When: Friday April 26, 9am-4pm
Where: 17A Powell St, Avondale
Cost: $15

Programme:

9-10am: SESSION 1: Glenn Peoples: Why does it matter?

10-11am Workshops Round 1:

-Chris Tucker: Why Does God allow Evil?
-Shawn Means: The Universe, Mathematics, and God

11-12pm SESSION 2: Glenn Peoples: Do we need God to be good?

12-12.30pm Lunch

12.30-1.30pm SESSION 3: Glenn Peoples: Can we have equality without God?

1.30-2.30pm Workshops Round 2:

-Sean du Toit: Can we trust the authenticity of the New Testament Letters?
-Matt Flannagan: How should we read difficult Old Testament Passages?

2.30-3.30pm SESSION 4: Q&A Panel with Glenn Peoples, Matt Flannagan, and Jacqui Lloyd

Dr Glenn Peoples is a graduate in theology (BD) from the Bible College of NZ (now Laidlaw College) and has a Masters degree (MTHeol) and a doctorate in philosophy from the University of Otago. For over ten years he has been writing and speaking on intellectual issues that Christians face, including the place of faith in the public square, justice and human rights, and the reasons for Christian belief. Glenn runs a popular podcast and blog, Say Hello to My Little Friend, and lives in Wellington with his wife Ruth and their four children.

Faith and Evidence

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Zachary Arden, in a guest post at the Kiwifruit Blog, discusses the role of evidence and faith:

Faith is primarily trust in God. Saving faith is not just correct doctrinal belief (for, as James notes, even the demons have this), but requires what I think of as ‘a volitional shift’ towards God. For a fallen human being to trust in God, the action of the Holy Spirit is required, and any knowledge of God requires His gracious self-revelation. The question at issue in discussing the role of evidence is not whether an act of God is required in order to bring about faith, but what means he may use. I contend that he ordinarily operates by ‘ordinary’ means, and that the use of rigorous evidential arguments for the rationality of Christian faith can play a part in this. So, what is evidence? I say it is any fact that, when believed, makes a proposition appear more likely to be true than it did prior to accepting the evidence. A wide range of facts can be considered evidence. In the case of the resurrection, we have testimonial evidence from eyewitnesses, which is corroborated by a host of archaeological and historical considerations, as well as by a broader context including earlier predictions of the event, weighty events leading up to it, and the purported consequences in the subsequent development of the Church. Assessing the context in which the resurrection occurred I think provides evidence for its reality as an event of spiritual significance rather than a mere statistical aberration or inexplicable exception to natural law.

Read the whole thing here.

Auckland Event: Why Defend Christianity? with Matt Flannagan

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The Christian faith seems increasingly at odds with those in the world around us. From the media, to skeptical teachers and unbelieving peers, the gospel seems irrelevant and out of date. How do we talk to others about God and the Bible? Can we really argue people into the kingdom of God? Or should we just focus on compassion and loving others? Next Thursday, Thinking Matters is hosting Christian theologian Dr Matt Flannagan to speak on these questions and more. Matt will examine the Biblical and practical evidence for defending Christianity and show why it is vital to knowing and communicating our faith in the 21st Century.

What: Why Defend Christianity? with Matt Flannagan
When: Thursday April 4, 7.30pm
Where: Auckland Chinese Presbyterian Church, 105 Vincent Street, CBD
Cost: Free

Matt is a theologian and prominent New Zealand Christian commentator, debater, and blogger. He specialises in applied ethics and the interface between philosophy and theology. Currently, Matt works part-time as a teaching pastor and youth group leader for Takanini Church of Christ while he runs the popular blog MandM with his wife Madeleine.