The previous post on discerning God’s voice is here Recently I was turned from subject to object, from evangelist to evangelized. As is my custom on the golf course, I got talking with my playing partners about the topic of religion. They were an older couple bubbling with good humor and grace. Their identification on the 6th hole as “Jehovah’s …
The View from 40 years in campus ministry, Part 3 of 5: The Heart of Road Work
The prior post on “The Heart of Your Calling” is here. I’ve spent the last eleven years (of 40) as an itinerate evangelist/apologist (and evangelism trainer) to campuses around the country. Here are two observations from my time on the road that constitute the “heart” of road work. 1. Everything is not as it appears I show up to one …
Must Religious Beliefs be “Right?” Part 2 of 2
In the prior post I mentioned how Ben, an international student in Chicago, voiced the “lottery objection” to faith in Jesus. To summarize: Picking the right religious beliefs out of the thousands available is like winning the lottery. There’s a lot of luck involved. Either God should make “right belief” more obvious to humanity or he shouldn’t hold anyone accountable …
Must Religious Beliefs be “Right?” Part 1 of 2
Recently I enjoyed an extended conversation with a group of students in Chicago. They voiced many questions and objections regarding Christianity. One international student I’ll call Ben said, “I’m against the idea that you have to have the right religious beliefs in order to be accepted by God. I don’t see how this is fair, since people all over the …
Do Christians Have to “Be Right?”
I saw a quote recently from a Christian author who was disavowing the ministry of evangelism because it meant Christians had to “be right” about everything. And if you’re certain you’re right, then everyone else must be wrong, and it’s your job to convert them to your viewpoint, lest they wind up in hell. If that was biblical evangelism I’d …
Index of 8 Posts, Invitation to Consider the Trustworthiness of the Gospels
Hi, welcome to this series. Each post is a five-minute read, and builds upon the prior post, so I recommend starting at Part 1 and working your way through. Thanks for taking time to read. Part 1: Evidence and Faith Part 2: Monotheism and No New Gods Part 3: Multiple Sources Part 4: An Apology to the Wounded Part 5: …
Invitation to Consider the Trustworthiness of the Gospels, Part 8 of 8: The Telephone Game
(Go to the first post on the Trustworthiness of the Gospels) In the prior post I did a bit of preaching about God’s ways of relating to human beings, suggesting that God’s nature and methods are often the opposite of what we might expect. In this post: One of the objections I hear on college campuses about the Bible is …
Invitation to Consider the Trustworthiness of the Gospels, Part 7 of 8: Me Preaching A Bit
The prior post on Embarrassing Material is here. In the process of writing this series of posts I found myself getting preachy at times. So I thought automatically to exclude that material because I promised in the first post to refrain from such. But then it occurred to me that certain readers might appreciate a more passionate voice from a …
Invitation to Consider the Trustworthiness of the Gospels, Part 6 of 8: Embarrassing Material
Again, I want to pause and say thanks if you if you’ve been following along in these blogs but don’t think of yourself as a Christian. I truly hope they are helpful to your spiritual journey. This is part six in my series of short arguments for the historical Jesus. In the prior post I asked what we are to …
Invitation to Consider the Trustworthiness of the Gospels, Part 5 of 8: Differences
In the prior post I paused to reach out to those who’ve been put off by the church. And I talked about evaluating miracle claims, suggesting that philosopher David Hume’s “doctrine” of skepticism would blind a person to a true miracle if it occurred. In this post: What can be said about the disagreements between the four Gospel accounts? If …