Apologetics 101: Creation

Recently a young pastor and apologetics person (sorry, don’t know the technical name) Jason Dollar spoke at our church. He really got me thinking, which is what apologetics is supposed to do. So, I thought this would be a great blog question.

The Context:
Jason Dollar (www.jasondollar.net) has developed The Four Squares of Apologetics that center on four topics: Creation, People, Jesus Christ, and the Bible. His thinking is that most theological/apologetics questions can be placed in one of those four categories. Since I did get to hear the first part of his discussion on the Four Squares I will “level the playing field” and share his introductory comments about how the Four Squares work. All squares are related, depend upon, and support one another. Creation and People are on the bottom as a typical starting point. You will notice “theism” is between the two squares. He says that it is possible to prove creation and people by proving that a god, not necessarily the God, is the author of each. “Christianity” is between the Bible and Jesus Christ because it is at this point that proof of Christianity is evident. He did such a better job than I but maybe it makes sense.

The Definition:
Do you know what apologetics is? Honestly, I didn’t. According to Jason apologetics is what we use to “show what we know” about Christianity to an unbeliever. That makes sense. If we really felt like we had it all together we could say it is showing what we know to an atheist.

The Assignment:
Let’s take the four squares one at a time. We will go in the order of Creation, People, Jesus Christ, and the Bible.

So, for this post let’s focus on CREATION: Can you show what you know?

Welcome!

Revolution Event

Island Theology

Suppose a man with no knowledge of God, the Gospel, Jesus, or the Bible is shipwrecked and washes up on a deserted island. He has plenty of food, water, and shelter. However, his only luxury is a complete copy of the Bible (you pick the translation for the story). He spends the next several years studying the Bible. No church, no commentary, just the Bible and God. Through reading he accepts Christ.

One day his “ship comes in” and he is rescued. Excited about his new commitment to Christ he can’t wait to get to America. He arrives on a Saturday night and awakens to go to church the following Sunday morning. He attends First Average Church of America located in Anywhere, USA. He does this for several Sunday mornings.

Here is the question. Do you think what he sees/experiences in our churches in America are similar to what he learned from the Bible while on the deserted island? Compare and contrast.

As a side thought I think the cartoon is interesting as well. If you have such an inclination comment also on the connection with churches and the feeling of “being in a wooden boat with a beaver.”

Sharpen the iron my friends.

Once Saved--Always Saved: Is it Bilbical or is it "self-help?"

Alright guys, this is a big one. We, as Baptist, are just about alone in the "Eternal Security" camp. Many Christians believe you can lose your salvation. So what is the answer? Is eternal security Biblical or is it an “insurance policy” created by man to make us feel better about ourselves? Has the Bible shaped our theology or has our theology twisted what the Bible actually says? This is huge. Can we really afford to miss this one? Let’s hit it!

Time For A New Topic

It's time for a new topic. Got any suggestions?

Cavemen and Dinosaurs

Alright, we have taken some time off from our last post. This will be a fun one.

A question was brought up to me the other day that I thought would be a good question for the Faith Race. It is relatively a simple question that most kids have asked but few adults can answer. Here it is.

On the Bible timeline where do dinosaurs and cavemen fall?

No shortcut answers allowed!
Dig deep and share the knowledge!

The coming evangelical collapse

Within 24 hours this article was relayed to me by two great friends and two great minds. Read this article at the link below and give us your thoughts.

http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0310/p09s01-coop.html

Next Book

Dr. Johnny M. Hunt is the senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Woodstock, GA. Since coming to First Baptist Church in 1987, the church has experienced explosive growth. Under Dr. Hunt's leadership, the church has grown from 250 in Sunday School in 1986 to over 5500 currently. In 1996, Dr. Hunt was elected the President of the Pastors' Conference of the Southern Baptist Convention, and was elected the President of the Southern Baptist Convention in 2008.

March 8: Out Of The Poolroom

March 15: The Making Of A Testimony

March 22: Problems, Potential, Priorities

March 29: Beavers, Fallen Trees, and Dammed-Up Lives

April 5: Grace For The Race

April 12: God's Others

April 19: Pasing The Torch

April 26 : The Rest of Your Life

Church Tycoon

My boys love to play the “tycoon” games. For instance, mall tycoon, restaurant tycoon, and park tycoon. There is actually a Prison Tycoon (we don’t have that game).In those computer games they design and manage these various businesses. Throughout this book we have all listed those things we don’t like about current church practice. Let’s play “church tycoon.” Let’s get real, concrete and down to the brass tacks.

IF YOU WERE GIVEN THE CHARGE OF SETTING UP A CHURCH WHAT DO YOU THINK SHOULD BE THE TOP 10 PRIORITIES?

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