The One Critical Thing Missing in Most Sermons
As I continue to do the rounds of podcasts and interviews for my new book, Surviving Religion 101, the same question keeps getting asked:
What can parents (and churches) do to help better prepare their kids for the intellectual challenges of college?
In a prior post, I mentioned this issue and offered one solution to that problem: “Parents and churches need to consider ways to introduce their children, at age-appropriate levels, to non-Christian philosophies, arguments, and criticisms, along with a proper Christian response.”
In other words, we need to break out of the theological bubble in which we typically operate, and be willing to critically and substantively engage … Continue reading...
Here Are 5 Tips for Conversations in Our Tense Cultural Moment
OK, so conversations with non-Christians aren’t what they used to be. In years gone by, it seems you could just disagree with someone and everyone was fine with that. You could just shake hands and move on.
But now, in our tense cultural situation, disagreement is regarded as a personal attack. To disagree with someone is to be hateful and unloving toward them.
This is why it can sometime seems like conversations with non-Christians can quickly escalate to DEFCON 1. Before you know it, somehow it’s nuclear war.
As a result, I think Christians have struggled with how to talk with non-Christians in our current culture. Some have decided the … Continue reading...
Are Christians Intolerant Haters? Lessons from the Church of the Second Century
As you now know, my book on the second century has just been released in the UK: Christianity at the Crossroads: How the Second Century Shaped the Future of the Church (SPCK, 2017). It will be released in the US with IVP Academic in the Spring.
Since it has been released, folks have been asking how this book connects to the modern church. In other words, can we learn anything from the Christians of the second century that may help us in our current cultural moment? Absolutely. Here are a few lessons to consider.… Continue reading...
Why Should I Believe Christianity? One of the Best Books on Apologetics This Year
When we think about what might help the church engage with an ever-more-hostile world, the issue isn’t that we don’t have enough apologetic books (we have tons of them). The issue is that we don’t have the right kind of apologetic books.
There is a trend in apologetics today towards what I might call a “minimalistic” approach to defending the faith. Basically this is where someone tries to prove the least amount possible about Christianity in order to get the non-Christian to take one step in our direction. And this is typically done with an evidentialist methodology using the so-called consensus of modern scholars as the main authority.
There are … Continue reading...
Helping Your Freshman Survive His First Year in College: A Radio Interview
On the heels of the TGC video I did on surviving a university religion class, I have had an influx of inquiries into this topic. People have been asking all sorts of questions about how to prepare their high school student for what’s to come, or how to encourage their college student in the midst of struggles.
Last Thursday, I was invited to a radio interview with Chris Fabry Live on Moody radio in Chicago (which is nationally syndicated). We had a fascinating discussion on this topic, and had folks call in from all over the country with their questions. Here is what appeared on the moody radio website, … Continue reading...