Dinesh D’Souza Debates Christopher Hitchens
If you have not watched Dinesh D’Souza, speaker and author of New York Times Bestseller What’s So Great About Christianity, debate Christopher Hitchens on: Is Christianity the Problem?, you should! Also, be sure to visit dineshdsouza.com for more resources and a much-needed response to the new atheist offensive. Bonus: Check out his most recent AOL News articles titled Atheist Bashing Week (the last paragraph is sharp!) and Ben Stein Exposes Richard Dawkins.
A Simple Christianity in a Postmodern World
Jesus is popular. Everyone has an opinion about Jesus, it seems. This is not a new phenomenon; it has in fact always been the case. In the first century people formed more than a few groups around their opinions of Jesus of Nazareth. Many believed he was God in the flesh; others believed he was a mere wise man; still others believed him to be some sort of Gnostic incarnation of some sort of secret knowledge. Jesus is a historical figure who naturally brings out the strongest opinions in people. This reaction is especially complicated in this postmodern setting we are all living in presently. Jesus merely offers one of many potential ways to be saved in an age wherein meta-narrative has been deemed less than reliable, as far as expansive Truth building is concerned, and personal opinion, in some sort of strange philosophical twist, has been promoted to Truth. Today, perhaps more than ever before, followers of Jesus need to be able to properly differentiate between opinion and the basic truths of the Biblical story. Read More »
Question for Discernment: What is Christianity?
Our increasingly pluralistic and syncretistic secular society will - sooner or later - push the honest inquirer toward one important question regarding their acceptance or rejection of Jesus Christ. This question is, simply: “What is Christianity?” Today, there are so many, many voices claiming to be Christian. So many social and political ideologies masquerading as faith lay claim to the title “The Way.” I am not talking about minor diversity which leads to particular and specific denominations or groups within the rubric of orthodox Christian faith. No, those differences are healthy ones. They do not result in heresy. I am talking about blatant denials of the essentials of historic Christianity while simultaneously perpetuating a faith invested in mere word and what arguably could be referred to as the worship of mere nostalgia. It is exactly here that the question regarding the specific characteristics of Christianity becomes seriously important. One should be well aware of the nuanced choices being presented. Read More »
Series: The Five Propositions of Religious Liberalism
The following statements are quick but very accurate summarizations of five basic theological propositions of religious and/or Christian liberalism (The topic was discussed in a seminary class re: Christianity in America. The points are taken from a class hand-out on the subject). I will be dedicating the next few major posts to each of these five points, individually and chronologically. I will be doing so in a dedicated attempt to not only illustrate the sufficiency of Biblical Christianity, Orthodox/Classical Christian Doctrine, and, of course, Jesus Christ (in contrast to the utter insufficiency of Liberal and/or Christian Liberalism), but also to really flush out the seriously weak presuppositions, assumptions and biases inherent to each point. Read More »
Every System is Inclusive Re: Religious Exclusivity
Ravi Zacharias has to be one of the most important Christian theologians/apologists of our time. His work is beyond relevant for Christians living in our present pluralistic and syncretistic age. He writes, for example, in “Can Man Live Without God,” regarding the idea of “exclusivity” (a negative buzz word in contemporary camps that vehemently condemn Orthodox Christian belief and faith): Read More »
A Proper Hermeneutic for Postmodern Times
A serious problem with liberal religion - and liberal Christianity particularly - is its inconsistent reliance upon a specific form of Biblical interpretation known as “Reader Response Theory.” Postmodernists flock to this approach to Biblical interpretation because it sets up a standard around self and personal experience of self. What else would postmodernism be, if not all about the self and a self’s immediate experience?
The problem with Reader Response Theory can be observed in the liberal Christian attempt to “have cake and eat it too,” for lack of a more articulate and original descriptive phrase. Read More »