RAPID RESPONSE REPORT
DEFENDING HISTORIC CHRISTIANITY IN A POSTMODERN WORLD
Editor: Bill Crouse
DEFENDING THE FAITH: I Pet. 3:13-16. Part Three
In the last two issues we've defined apologetics; we've
discussed and defined "worldview," now we want to take a look at one
of the premier Biblical passages that instructs us in this crucial area of
defending the faith. That would be: I Peter 3:13-16: "Who
is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you should
suffer for what is right, you are blessed. Do not be frightened.
But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give
an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you
have. But do this with gentleness and respect." First
some contextual background: It is highly probable that you-know-who
(Nero) was using Christians as fuel to light the streets of
1. The necessity of being committed to Christ as Lord ("set apart Christ as Lord."): That wasn't an easy thing to do back in early 60's A.D. because Nero was Lord! Neither is it easy in our increasingly PM world (see also II Cor. 10:5). Making Christ Lord in your Heart (the center of your being) will mean several things: (1) There will be no areas of neutrality. (2) There can be no divided field of knowledge, i.e., secular and sacred. All truth is God's truth; all areas are sacred. All of life is theological. Developing a Christian mind means that we strive to think God's thoughts after Him. (3)There can be no autonomous thinking. Despite the importance of reason and experience, Scripture (God's mind), properly interpreted must always be the final court of appeal.
2. The Assignment is to "always be prepared to give an answer." Two things: Your defense must be prepared beforehand, not ad hoc, (not off the cuff.) and it must be a reasoned defense. The Greek for "answer" is the famous Greek word, logos. Here it means "reason" and it is the origin of the word "logic." Logic simply means that your defense should conform to the rules of rhetoric, i.e., the laws of logic. They must be systematic and not contradictory. As we construct these neat arguments we must be careful to remember that arguments alone do not convert anybody, but lack of argument keeps people from hearing the Gospel! We have a good model to follow: Paul's letter to Colosse was a defense of the truthfulness of Christianity against an insidious philosophy that was permeating the Roman empire (gnosticism). We will look at Paul's defense at Athens in another issue.
3. The temperament of the defense: Believe me, in this super sensitive PM culture, how we deliver our defense is of utmost importance! To defend the Christian worldview as a true story (metanarrative) is highly offensive in today's world. Our comportment will make all the difference. This should not be some phony, put on sweetness, but as Peter says, "with gentleness and respect." I like what Paul says to Titus (2:10) about how believing slaves should respond in such a way that their lives are attractive to their non-believing masters: "so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive." I like the imagery of the KJV even better: "Adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things." Francis Schaeffer used to say that "truth without beauty is an ugly thing." The application here should be obvious. If our message is ensconced in an art form, and our manner is decorous we make our words more palatable. Why are we to respond this way? Because we are blessed, not better. We didn't think this up on our own. We've been visited by Grace big time!
(Next: How Would a First Century Christian Defend the Faith?)
BIOETHICS: THE COMING STORM
Jacques Ellul, a Christian French intellectual, wrote back in the '60's that eventually our ability to do would outstrip our ability to decide (The Technological Society, 1964). That time is here, and in a PM world, whose worldview will be the basis for making these monumental ethical decisions? Several weeks ago I read a report where scientists transplanted genes from a spider into the mammary gland of a goat. The hoped-for-result was that the goat's milk would produce the same substance found in the spider's web. Why? Because a rope one inch thick of this substance would be strong enough to hold the weight of a 747 jet! Contemplating the possibilities for genetic tinkering causes me to think more about the Lord's return than the current crisis in Israel. Why? I just wonder about man modifying man and other life forms, and whether or not that usurps God's prerogative as Creator. In Genesis 6 the mixing of seeds seems to have been the basis for the worst judgment the earth has yet seen. How long will God permit this high tech form of human redemption?
Here at CIM we plan to monitor the subject of bioethical controversies, in fact, we are considering an E-Zine just dealing with this specific issue. It doesn't take much imagination to see that in a pluralistic society which has many different conceptions of human value that the discussion will be long and heated. There is already one good website The Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity (www.bioethix.org) This is a good site to bookmark.
To whet your appetite about bioethical issues we recommend this article from our files: Brave New World of Cloning Spawns Ethical Nightmares. http://www.washtimes.com/culture/culture1.html
This article illustrates the kinds of questions that neither the courts, legislatures, nor theologians know the implications; it's "the wild-west of repro-technology."
Here are two other worthy articles to consider from First Things: The Human Genome in Human Context by Stephen .Barr
http://www.firstthings.com/ftissues/ft0011/opinion/barr.html
The article raises some of the conundrums likely to arise with human genetic engineering. If this doesn't get you thinking about Last Days I'm at a loss to know what will!
Finally, First Things has a review of a new book on the subject of bioethics: The Foundation of Christian Bioethics by H. Tristam Engelhardt, Jr. The reviewer is Gilbert Meilaender. http://www.firstthings.com/ftissues/ft0011/reviews/meilaender.html
OTHER ARTICLES OF NOTE
If you read only one of the articles noted in this issue make it this one by Francis J. Beckwith, a professor at Trinity International University. The article is: Deconstructing Liberal Tolerance. This article gives a good feel for the state of PM in America today. If you are looking for good sources and illustrations of relativism this is a good source. Beckwith's article comes from the website of the Christian Research Institute www.equip.org/free/DL104.htm
The Hudson Institute is a good website for articles on contemporary culture. You will find this good article there: Art, Science, and Postmodern Society, by Arthur Pontynen. He says, "Postmodernism is so rampant a cultural contagion that it destroys not only our cultural health but our ability even to perceive our decline. ... By arguing that all statements are political and therefore equally meaningful (and meaningless), Postmodernism undermines our ability to draw distinctions and, of particular note here, to make value judgments. Thus it blinds us to our own decline, and the nation becomes increasingly deaf to concepts such as beauty and justice." This article is quite good. Here's the website: www.hudson.org/american_outlook/articles_nov-dec_00/pontynen.htm
Gene Edward Veith is a scholar I refer to regularly in RRR simply because he has unusual insight into our PM world. I believe this is so probably because of his background in Literature. His Ph.D is in this field, and of course PM is rife in this department at most universities. He has written another insightful article, this time on the subject of education. He says, "The so-called `"constructivist"' educational theory shifts the focus of education from the objective realm to the subjective realm. Students are taught to create their own meanings--making up their own ways of spelling, developing their own opinions, choosing their own values. Students are to spend lots of time in groups sharing their feelings and doing `"fun activities."' The article is from World. www.worldmag.com/world/issue/02-17-01/cultural_1.asp
For Christ and His
Kingdom