Why Thinking Matters?  An introduction to Apologetics

SPEAKER: Rodney Lake
WHEN: 7:30pm Wednesday 22^nd 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.

You can also register to stream their anniversary conference (speakers include Greg Koukl, J.P. Moreland, Sean McDowell, Brett Kunkle, Mary Jo Sharp and more) here.

Listen to it via stream or download it here.

If you haven’t already checked out Lennox’s new website, make sure you do.

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 →

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.

Here are the details:

According to the apostle Paul, a minister of the gospel “must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.” (Titus 1:9). It’s not enough to merely explain what Christianity is, Paul argues that it must also be defended. Apologetics is exactly this – providing a rational defense for the Christian truth-claims.

This course is for everyone who wants to dig deeper into the evidence for Christianity, confront honest questions about God and the Bible, and develop tools to talk effectively and meaningfully about the Gospel. Over ten weeks, we’ll examine topics like the evidence for Jesus’ resurrection, why God allows suffering, and how to declare the Gospel in a world that doesn’t believe in objective truth anymore. If you have ever wanted to connect your head with your heart or sharpen your evangelistic witness, this course can help you.

Course Overview:

7 May
01: Getting Started:
What is apologetics and why is it necessary?

14 May
02: Standing for Truth:
How do we declare the Gospel in todays world?

21 May
03: Cosmic Evidence:
For a Creator of the Universe

28 May
04: Design Evidence:
For a Fine-tuner of the Universe

7 June
05: Moral Evidence:
Does the universe need a Moral-lawgiver?

11 June
06: Historical Evidence Part I:
Who did Jesus believe he was?

18 June
07: Historical Evidence Part II:
Did Jesus rise from the dead?

25 June
08: Deliver us from Evil:
Can God and evil co-exist?

9 July
09: The Scandal of Particularism:
Is Jesus the Only Way?

9 July
10: By the Book:
Is the Bible a reliable guide to knowing God?

Course textbook:

On Guard: defending the faith with Reason and Precision

This is available at Manna bookstores or from the www.bookdepository.co.uk (which has free shipping and usually arrives within 7 days). The first three chapters are also viewable online as a google book. The kindle edition is available for about $9.

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.

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 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.

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.

Thinking Matters Tauranga is running a 6 week couse that covers the second aspect, giving a variety of powerful tactics and specific strategies and methods for sound reasoning, clear thinking, and a gracious defence of the Christian worldview.

You will learn specific skills to help you:

• Initiate conversations about God and faith effortlessly
• Present the truth clearly, cleverly and persuasively
• Expose faulty thinking in a gracious yet effective way
• Manoeuvre through mine fields and stop challengers in their tracks

This is based on the small group DVD curriculum by Greg Koukl from Stand to Reason that includes discussions, role play, memory tools, games, competitions, self-assessment quizzes, and recall exercises.

WHEN: Tuesdays – Starting the 9th of April
DURATION: 6 weeks
TIME: 7.30 – 9 pm
WHERE: Bethlehem Community Church, 183 Moffat Road, Bethlehem, Tauranga
COST: $10 (includes 110 page course manual).
RSVP: None – just turn up!

We also highly recommend Gregory Koukl’s book Tactics: A Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian Convictions (check out the online reviews here) as a supplementary course text book.  Copies will be available during the course for $20 each (cash only) while stocks last.

Hope to see you there!