Apologetics. For what reason? 1 Peter 3:14-16 says “But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. AND DO NOT FEAR THEIR INTIMIDATION, AND DO NOT BE TROUBLED, but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always {being} ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence; and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame (my emphasis).” With that being said I ask this question, what is the motivation for one to learn Christian apologetics? Some have said that it is for intellectual achievement. Some have said that it is for one to be able to show others that the gospel is superior to other doctrines and faiths in the world. Others may say that learning the discipline of apologetics allows them to evangelize those who are not believers of Christ for salvation.

Here is my question. Why would you want to learn Christian apologetics? If you are already a student of the discipline, what was the motivation for learning and how do you plan to use the knowledge you are gaining?

Will Olympics Help Chinese Christians?

As concerning the upcoming Olympics being hosted in Beijing, China, I, like most, am looking forward to watching these games which begin this weekend. However, I have mixed feelings about these particular games since persecution of Christians (at least evangelical Christians who don't conform to the official Chinese 'church-state' policies, etc.) as well as other religious groups very much still exists. The current Voice of the Martyrs magazine issue (see website on link-above) is titled "China's Illegal Christians" and the issue documents the ongoing persecution still faced by Christians in China.

I wonder whether the worldwide media coverage (but see the various restrictions which have been placed on the recently arrived reporters for coverage of the games, both in forms of internet firewalls and otherwise) will have the effect of helping to ease persecution of Christians in China. My guess is that visible persecution (most of which happens away from the major urban areas anyway) will ease for obvious reasons, but once the Olympics is over with, and the rest of the world moves on, the oppression will continue.

As most remember, the U.S. boycotted the 1980 Moscow Olympics due to the Soviets invasion of Afghanistan, but at the time the Soviet communist state policy was, like China, officially atheistic and oppressive of Christians throughout the various Russian states. Should we have boycotted these Olympics? My guess is probably not, since the atheletes should not be punished and whether or not the U.S. attends would not greatly affect the human rights situation, although I believe that our current administration needs to be more outspoken than it has been regarding these issues.

Although I hope and pray that the Christians in China will truly be helped by the exposure created by the Olympics, I don't believe much will change for them, unfortunately. I do hope that amongst the din of the spectacle of the games and '24/7' media coverage thereof, at least some mention will be made of the persecution of Christians by some reporters and that their struggle will not be overlooked or forgotten by American Christians during this time.

Suicide Bombers-Irrational Behavior?

Although I do plan to vary the subject matter of my posts, I thought I'd discuss one more subject dealing with witnessing the Gospel to Islam. While talking with my 91 year old grandfather yesterday about his service in WWII in post conquest Okinawa from 1943 to 1945, he mentioned the destructive capabilities wrought by the 'kamikaze' pilots towards the end of the war. While the kamikaze pilots were motivated primarily for 'honorable' death in service for the emperor of Japan, etc., I couldn't help but think about the parallel of the Muslim 'suicide bombers' so ubiquitous in the news these days.

Most news reports on the subject describe the horrible tactic as 'irrational' behavior designed primarily to destroy as many 'infidels' (Americans, Jews, and in Iraq, fellow Iraqis and Muslims who are deemed 'enemies' or 'traitors' etc.) and all in the employ of 'Jihad' or holy war. However, such a military objective may not always be the primary motive. According to the Koran, death by martyrdom in Jihad automatically guarantees entrance to paradise or heaven, although whether the actual act of suicide bombing qualifies as such is of course debated by Muslim scholars. I've read that the Koran does not provide to the Muslim believer, any such assurance of 'salvation' (entrance to heaven as opposed to hell) due to obedience to Allah, good works, etc.., in such a way that the individual person can have total and absolute assurance on his deathbed, for example.

However, if one believes that dying as a martyr in a suicide bombing in a 'righteous' cause against an 'infidel' ensures an entrance to heaven, then however despicable and dreadful such an act is, it is not only not irrational behavior, but eminently rational. As the 17th century theologian Jonathan Edwards or some of the earlier Puritan theologians would have said, the desire to truly avoid hell and to gain heaven is the most rational business any human can undertake, and it is actually the height of insanity to do otherwise or to ignore such a matter. This seems to me, to be, a very useful and wonderful apologetic to the Muslim: namely, that while their desire to gain paradise is rational and normal, it is dreadfully sinful, and that obedience to the true God by believing upon the name of His Son, Christ for their redemption and as propritation for satisfaction from the wrath of God to come, is the only way to heaven, the enjoyment of which begins in this life as we trust in God who richly provides for us.

The Strange Career of Sayyid Qutb

The title of this, my first posting on this blog, may seem a bit cryptic, but the subject has stuck with me ever since I saw it referenced in a book by Brother Andrew. A few months ago during a brief visit to a local Christian bookstore, I ran across a copy of Secret Believers: What Happens When Muslims Believe In Christ, written by Brother Andrew, the famous missionary/evangelist ("God's Smuggler", etc.) and Al Janssen (Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/Secret-Believers-Happens-Muslims-Believe/dp/0800718747). I didn't purchase the book, but as I recall, it recounts the case of an embittered Egyptian intellectual by the name of "Sayyid Qutb" who, in 1949, spent 6 months in America studying at the Colorado State Teachers College, now known as the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, Colorado. Qutb returned to Egypt, became a member of a fundamentalist Islamic sect (Muslim Brotherhood) and wrote books and other material that would inspire the terrible ideals of people such as Osama Bin Laden, among others. He was executed in 1966 for plotting to overthrow the Egyptian government.

Robert Siegel, an NPR contributor, states that "Qutb's writings would later become the theoretical basis for many radical Islamic groups of today -- including al Qaeda." I've heard former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, among others including, I believe, Newt Gingrich, mention the name of Sayyid Qutb as one of the foremost intellectual grandfathers of Al Qaeda and radical Islam as manifested in the world today.

To make a long story short, Brother Andrew (as I recall) in his book, described how Qutb attended an evangelical church and was dismayed by the worldliness, sensuality (at a dance-in 1949!)and the rampant materialism he saw in it. Also, apparently no real effort was made by any (or many) of the people he met to evangelize him with love and concern for his well-being. (As I recall 'Secret Believers' saying- I need to go back and purchase the book) One wonders what would have happened if Qutb had become a Christian and seen the reality of Christ's love and the true Gospel, and how differently history may have turned out.

Anyway, it is an interesting matter and makes clear (to me at any rate) that I simply do not know whom I may come in contact with and what sort of 'career' that person may have based upon (in God's sovereignty of course) my contact and witness on him.

Wait Until Tomorrow

When I was in junior college, I had a Bible teacher who used to tell our class, "You think it is bad today; wait until tomorrow." Maybe that was an escathological statement wrapped in sarcasm. Maybe he embraced a post tribulation view that the church would experience the whole tribulation before the return of Christ. Maybe he was just a pessimistic man. I don't really know, but the sad thing about it, that was almost all I remember of his class. It really gets me thinking about how I am reaching people. Am I allowing God to work through me? Maybe I am letting my pessimistic self get through and rule my life. Is that really the fruit I want remembered? Is that really the fruit I want to answer for one day before God?

Each day I have an opportunity to share God's fruit with others who are in desperate need of nourishment. When I look back on the proceeding days of my life and ministry many times I am ashamed of the bitter fruit I gave to others. I can rationalize it and say, "I just had a bad day." That would be letting myself off the hook. I see sick, scared, hurting and dying people every day. Maybe my days are not so bad. All I have to do is wait until tomorrow.

First Post

Well I have finally entered the 21st century. With the creation of this blog, I finally conquered a fear of blogs (well almost). I want this to be a forum to discuss topics that people are either asking or examining in one's own life or the culture at large. I look forward to the sharing of ideas in our quest for understanding of God's truth.