I have had numerous people email me, asking me for names of pastors that I like to podcast.  So, I’ve put a list of 11 pastors I like to podcast on a constant basis. Here is the list:

Pastors:

   David Wilkerson (wherever I can find him)

   Ravi Zacharias (Let My People Think)

   Willie George (churchonthemove.com)

   Ed Young (Fellowship Church & Creative Pastors)

   Mark Driscoll (marshillchurch.org)

   Craig Groeschel (lifechurch.tv)

   Wendell & Judah Smith (thecity.org)

   Josh McDowell (wherever I can find him)        

Russian:

   Alex Shivchenko (pematv.org)

   Genadiy Mohnenko (mostly on invictory.org)

   Vasiliy Botsyan (wherever I can find him)

There are other pastors/ministers that I like to listen to, occasionally. They are:  TD Jakes, John Maxwell, Jenzten Franklin, Focus on the Family, John Bevere, Mark Rutland, Pavel Zhelnavakov, Sergey Vitukov, Matt Chandler, John Piper, Paul Washer, Andy Stanley, and Seminary professors like Wayne Grudem.   

Also, I do listen to radio at times. Here are some people I occasionally to listen to: Dave Ramsey (TOTALLY RECOMMENT IT), Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Shaun Hannity, and Mike & Mike  In The Morning (ESPN Radio).  

There is an old saying, “Leaders are Readers.” But in this day and age, we spend a lot of time on the road. Why not listen to something uplifting, encouraging?

MOST RECOMMEND: Get “The Bible Experience,” Bible read on CD. Just awesome.

Want to recommend someone? Just comment.

Before we get into this week’s lynx links, I want to refer back to something on this blog a few days ago.

When I wrote a post a few days ago questioning some aspects of the Samaritans Purse Christmas shoebox project, I was simply giving voice to some things that were rumbling in the back of my mind.   I was hesitant to formulate much more than a few random thoughts because I really thought I was alone in criticizing a program that is so widely subscribed to by local churches.

I was wrong.   When Sarah’s comment came, I realized I had only begun to scratch the surface of issues raised by the program.   Here’s a reprint of her comment, but I want to strongly recommend you visit the link, which documents why in one Canadian province, a large denomination isn’t encouraging support of the program.   It takes you to a 16-page (.pdf file) report of which pages 4 to 11 are most important and will only take you a couple of minutes.

Thanks for this article–I think all your questions and concerns are excellent. If you’re interested in more, with a powerful eyewitness story about shoebox problems, see http://ucskco.sasktelwebhosting.com/TheGiftMattersSchoolkit.pdf

It shouldn’t be about followup for the giver at all; that’s a form of strings-attached giving.

Additional questions:

Does this encourage children to value Western cultures more than their own?

Do “shoebox” gifts become better than something simpler made lovingly by a family member?

Are they introducing commercial gift-giving into a culture that doesn’t celebrate Christmas in that way?

Do they respect people of other faiths who don’t celebrate Christmas at all?

Do they portray one race/culture as being better or more successful than others?

Most importantly, how do they work to bring about real change, in places where the needs are for justice, peace, and access to the necessities of life?

~ Comment by Sarah Shepherd

Your responses to this can go here or in the comment section of the original post.    If anyone has seen other good pieces online where the program has been critiqued, feel free to put the link in a comment as well.

Other links this week:

• Bill Kinnon looks at youth culture ministry and points out that, “What we win them with, is what we win them to. Win them with entertainment, and you’ve created customers – who expect to be continually entertained.”
• Here’s a book that’s got me curious.   Trevin Wax reviews Chris Armstrong’s book Patron Saints for Postmoderns. “Chris focuses on ten ’saints’ from Christian history and offers insights from their lives that can be learned and applied today.”
• Some of the Christian cartoons I use here are a lot of fun.  This one digs a little deeper, and could only be written by someone with an intimate understanding of life in the Charismatic or Pentecostal environment.  So some of you are going to really, really connect with this, and others maybe not so much.   But if you’ve been in those circles, you won’t want to miss this.   Check out World of Dod’s blog.
• Speaking of all things Charismatic, over a week ago Christianity Today did a really good article on that community’s voice of reason, Charisma magazine editor J. Lee Grady.   I also recommend subscribing to Lee’s weekly e-mail, although it’s bundled with other things from Strang Communications, so it’s an all or nothing subscription.
• Our iKettle still needs the support of our Canadian readers.   Money given to the Salvation Army stays in the donor’s community.   Click here.
• Jessica at the general-interest blog, Indexed accurately sums up why people feel the way they do about their wealth.    It’s all relative.    Ain’t that the truth!
• Paul Stoecklein, author of the general market humor book You Had Me At Idiot, has a very irreverent post about surviving the Thanksgiving holiday in a ‘religious’ family.  Sample:  “Protestants are different. With them, saying grace is like really bad performance art. I swear, I think these people believe that saying grace should have been one of the categories on Star Search…“ Read — if you dare — the whole piece here. [HT: Shallow Frozen Water blog]

• Christian apologist Josh McDowell and coauthor David Sterrett discuss why they wrote a book, titled ‘O’ God, about Oprah Winfrey and why they don’t think Christians are equipped to respond to Oprah’s ‘teaching.’  This link takes you a four minute video on YouTube.
• Speaking of Christian Apologists, New York Magazine profiles Timothy Keller and his Redeemer Presbyterian Church in the Big Apple.  “Although relatively few secular New Yorkers know about it—Keller prefers to keep Redeemer mostly under the media radar… —an Evangelical Christian megachurch is growing in the heart of Manhattan.”
• Carlos Whitaker invites readers at his blog, Ragamuffin Soul, to leave their favorite quotation.   So far, over 80 responses, but plenty of room for you to add yours.

A few decades ago, a lot of scholarly research was dedicated to finding the answer to the question, “Did Jesus really rise from the dead?”  Now, it seems as if everyone in this postmodern, relative society is not asking, “Did he?” but rather, “So what?”

Let’s answer this practically: If a man died from a brutal execution — so much so that his body and face were hardly recognizable as human — and then rose from the dead with a healed and restored body, then this man must be more than just a man.  “So what?” you ask.  Well, if he is more than a man, then he must be loved, honored, and obeyed for who he is, namely God himself.

What do you love, honor, and obey?  Money?  Sex?  Relationships?  Food?  Praise of man?  Hollywood?  Sports?  Status?  Technology?  Cars?  Children?  Body image?  Knowledge?  Religion?  Yourself?

If these things died, would they rise from the dead like Jesus did?

I doubt it.

Irreducible Complexity

Evidentialist Apologetics can be seen as a subset of classical apologetics mainly focusing on all the evidence supporting the Christian faith and its rationality.  Evidentialists can be looked at in three main overlapping categories:  those advocating A. Teleological Argument  B. The Intelligent Design Movement (which borrows from the Teleological Argument)  C.  Those promoting the reliability and historicity of the Bible, Jesus, miracles, and the resurrection.

Teleological

William Paley (1743-1805) was the first to popularize the Teleological Argument by reworking some of Aquinas’ fivefold argument.  The argument is essentially that there is too much order, specialization, and fine-tuning in our world and the Universe for it to have been a product of mere chance.  Therefore, an intelligent and wise being must have created all of these things.  This being is God.  The problem with Paley is that he employed the analogy of God as a watchmaker who set the laws that governed the timepiece in motion.  Paley’s argumentation was critical for a young Darwin in seminary.  The impersonal (nearly deistic) picture painted by Paley, led others (Darwin) to look for naturalistic laws that could in turn replace God.

John Polkinghorne (1930-) has written extensively on the fine-tuning of the universe and has been an advocate of ongoing dialogue between science and religion (see also Michael Polanyi).

Intelligent Design Movement

The intelligent design movement is a movement of scientists, thinkers, and philosophers who are challenging scientific materialism (aka Naturalism or Neo-Darwinianism).  The aim of the movement is to get a seat at the table on the discussion of origins of life.  Many of their arguments are really quite sound science and present very damning (and in my view fatal) critiques of Darwinian macro-evolution.  Michael Behe (1952-) in his book Darwin’s Black Box argues that on the microbiological level many different things have the characteristic of irreducible complexity.  He employs the analogy of a mousetrap which has five pieces to it:  platfrom, spring, hammer, hold-down bar, and catch(cheese).  If you take away any one piece of the mousetrap then you have something that is functionally worthless, and therefore unable to catch any mice.  The mousetrap is irreducibly complex and is in its most simple state with its five components and therefore it has no functional precursor.  Behe then goes on to describe several things that have this characteristic of irreducible complexity, namely, the eye, flageullum, cilia, e. coli, adaptive immune system, and blood coagulation.

Other noteworthy scholars are William Dembski (1960-), Nancy Pearcey (1952-), Michael Denton (1943-), and Phillip Johnson (1940-), many of whom are involved with the Discovery Institute.

Reliability and Historicity of Bible, Jesus, Miracles, and Resurrection

F.F. Bruce (1910-1990) spent his entire life defending the historicity of the Bible against the tsunami of doubt cast by higher and lower Bible criticism.  His New Testament Documents:  Are They Reliable is an absolute classic and a fairly easy read.  Josh McDowell (1939-) has written on the historicity of the person of Jesus in his popular book More Than a Carpenter.   In a similar vein Lee Strobel (1952-) has written on the historicity and Biblicity of Jesus.  N.T. Wright (1948-) has written probably the best defense of the resurrection of Jesus in his terrific volume The Resurrection of the Son of God.  C.S. Lewis (1898-1963) has written many important apologetic works what lands him here is his defense of miracles.

Up next is a look at presuppositional apologetics.

Josh McDowell - Più Che Un Falegname

Un libro cristiano consigliato di Josh McDowell – Più Che Un Falegname -  ecco i capitoli:  Che cosa rende Gesù diverso? Signore, bugiardo o pazzo? Che cosa dire della scienza? Sono attendibili le testimonianze bibliche? Chi darebbe la vita per una bugia? A che serve un Messia morto? Hai mai sentito che cosa accadde a Saulo? Chi riesce a trattenerlo? Si alzi in piedi il vero Messia; Esiste un’altra strada? Ha cambiato la mia vita; Permetti a Gesù di cambiare la tua vita. Blessings In The Name Of Jesus

<a href=”http://genova.bakeca.it/gruppi-musicali-gruppi-sportivi/carla-rivi-dj-mr-kwej8304030″>Carla Rivi e Dj Mr Fox- Musica Cristiana Live + Gospel House</a>

Last week I finished a ten part series reviewing the Top Ten Christian Books for Kids.  The hardest part of putting together the Top Ten Christian Books for Kids was deciding which books weren’t going to make the cut.  So, I put together this Honorable Mention list of the next ten books I considered for the list.  I will limit my input on each one to a sentence or so along with a link to ChristianBook.com and there description of the Book.

11. Little Blessings

This series includes various books which tell the story of the Bible in rhyme for young Children.  Each book includes scripture references at the back for your reference.  Here are some on the books in this series:

• Why Is There A Cross?
• Is God Always With Me?
• Who Made the World?
• What Is God Like?
• What Is the Bible?
• What Is Prayer?
• Are Angels Real?
• God Loves You.
• Who Is Jesus?
• Thank You God
• Questions from little hearts
• What about heaven?

Here is what ChristianBook.com has to say about one entry in this series Why Is There A Cross?:

“This colorfully illustrated book tells the story of the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ in rhyming verse that will delight little eyes and ears. Even the youngest readers can grasp the idea that Jesus loves them and died for them, and older readers will understand the deeper message of how we show our love for Jesus and what He did for us.”

“These delightful new additions to the Little Blessings line help young children understand two more basic truths about God and Jesus. Why Is There a Cross? tackles the difficult subject of Christ’s death. This read-to-me book for children ages 3–6 explains both the how and the why of Christ’s death in simple words and pictures that communicate the wonder of his sacrifice. Is God Always with Me? introduces children ages 3–6 to the idea that God is a part of their everyday lives. This read-to-me book with beautiful illustrations and pleasant rhyming verses conveys the comforting truth that God is with us wherever we go, no matter what.”

12. The Illustrated Bible – New Testament

This Bible contains the complete ICB version of the New Testament illustrated in comic book format.  This one is sure to keep your kids interest as you read to them or they read to you.

Here is what ChristianBook.com has to say about The Illustrated Bible:

“Bring the Word of God to life for your 6- to 10-year-olds with this engaging New Testament. Neely’s frame-by-frame comic-book-style art parallels actual Scripture—not a paraphrase—to help youngsters see who’s speaking and the context of the scene. A great way to encourage learning and find out that it’s fun to read the Bible! 640 pages, 6.5″ x 9.25″ x 1.25″ hardcover from Nelson.”

13. On My Own Reader Bible

When my son first started reading, I bought him this book to read to me every night.  He is eight now and still enjoys reading through this book.

Here is what ChristianBook.com has to say about the On My Own Reader BIble:

Now it’s easy to choose the very best Bible storybook for your child at every age and stage of development with the NLT Story Bible Series.

On-My-Own Reader Bible is designed to meet the specific needs of beginning readers, ages 5-8, by providing:

• layout that supports reading skill-building
• large print and white space between lines
• appropriate story length for primary-grade learners

75 Bible stories selected with new readers in mind

14. The Case for Kids (series)

Lee Strobel’s well known apologetic books are now available in kid sized versions.  This series currently includes four titles for the little apologist in your family or church.

Here is what ChristianBook.com has to say about The Case for Faith for Kids:

“Using kid-friendly language, Lee Strobel shares true examples of how people throughout the world demonstrate their faith in God while answering questions about the nature of God. Ages 9-12”

Here is what ChristianBook.com has to say about The Case For A Creator for Kids:

“Did God create the universe? Or was there a big bang? Author Lee Strobel explains cutting-edge scientific research proving that the universe was designed.

Lee Strobel’s eye-opening bestsellers have been revised by noted children’s author Rob Suggs for young people ages eight to twelve–the age when kids begin asking the complicated questions adults themselves sometimes struggle to answer. These Case for… books are just right for kids who want to stand up for their faith in an unbelieving world. Written in humorous, light-hearted prose perfect for kids this age, these books analyze the evidence and build compelling cases, using historical facts, up-to-date scientific research, and true stories. Recommended for ages 8 to 12.”

Here is what ChristianBook.com has to say about The Case for Christ for Kids:

“Lee Strobel’s eye-opening bestsellers have been revised by noted children’s author Rob Suggs for young people ages eight to twelve–the age when kids begin asking the complicated questions adults themselves sometimes struggle to answer. The Case for Christ for Kids brings Jesus to vivid life, addressing the miracles, ministry, family, and way of life of Jesus of Nazareth. These Case for… books are just right for kids who want to stand up for their faith in an unbelieving world. Written in humorous, light-hearted prose perfect for kids this age, these books analyze the evidence and build compelling cases, using historical facts, up-to-date scientific research, and true stories. Recommended for ages 8 to 12.”

Here is what ChristianBook.com has to say about Off My Case for Kids:

“For kids who are sure of their faith but not sure how to defend it, Off My Case for Kids–a perfect companion or a stand-alone piece–provides twelve real-life scenarios written by Robert Elmer that empower kids to speak up when challenged.

Lee Strobel’s eye-opening bestsellers have been revised by noted children’s author Rob Suggs for young people ages eight to twelve–the age when kids begin asking the complicated questions adults themselves sometimes struggle to answer. These Case for… books are just right for kids who want to stand up for their faith in an unbelieving world. Written in humorous, light-hearted prose perfect for kids this age, these books analyze the evidence and build compelling cases, using historical facts, up-to-date scientific research, and true stories. Recommended for ages 8 to 12.”

15. Veggietale Bible

I’m an huge fan of Veggietales.  Who doesn’t love talking Veggietables.  This NIV version of the Bible is packed full of great Veggietales features.

Here is what ChristianBook.com has to say about The Veggietales Bible:

“Join Bob, Larry, and all the rest of the Veggie characters as they explore the most amazing book of all time! The VeggieTales Bible invites children to experience God’s Word, perhaps for the first time, using the backdrop of familiar VeggieTales characters who remind them that “God made you special and he loves you very much!” It features:

• The complete NIV text along with 32 full-color pages that retell eight favorite Bible stories from the VeggieTales DVDs
• Book Introductions give important information about each book of the Bible
• “Veggie Values” teach lessons from the Bible like forgiveness, trusting God, being helpful, and more
• “Remember This” highlights 100 key verses of Scripture to remember
• Dictionary-Concordance helps kids better understand key Bible words and concepts
• New International Version is the most read, most trusted translation

From this fun-filled Bible, children will learn more about God and how he wants us to live. Recommended for ages 4 to 7.”

16. Jesus Is Alive

From the well known apologist Josh McDowell and his son, this book presented in a Question and Answer form helps give kids a solid foundation for their faith.

Here is what ChristianBook.com has to say about Jesus Is Alive:

“He is risen . . . but curious kids want to see the evidence for themselves! Using an age-appropriate Q & A format, the McDowells clearly present the claims of the Gospel writers and 2,000 years of Christian tradition to help 7- to 10-year-olds discover the proof of Christ’s resurrection and the impact it has on their lives today. 128 pages, softcover from Regal.”

17. How to Study Your Bible For Kids

This book offers great exercises to help teach your kids how to make the Bible their own.

Here is what ChristianBook.com has to say about How to Study Your Bible For Kids:

“The Discover 4 Yourself Inductive Bible Studies for Kids teach children how to find out for themselves what the Bible is all about, and gives them fun and exciting ways to do it! In order to solve The Mystery of How to Study the Bible students must go through inductive detective training. Max, Molly, and their beagle Sam come along to help them examine the scene (context), interpret clues (who, what, when, where, why, & how), unscramble secret messages (memory verses), and use their walkie-talkies (prayer). Many important interpretive skills are covered, even using a concordance and expository dictionary. Recommended for ages 9 to 12.”

18. Beginners Bible

This well known Bible is great for reading to younger children.

Here is what ChristianBook.com has to say about The Beginners Bible:

Introduce children to the stories and characters of the Bible with this best-loved Bible storybook. Now updated with vibrant new art, text and stories, more than 90 favorite Bible stories come to life, making The Beginners Bible the perfect starting point for children. They will enjoy the fun illustrations of Noah helping the elephant onto the ark, Jonah praying inside the fish, and more, as they discover The Beginners Bible just like millions of children before. This hardcover Bible storybook measures 6.25″ x 7.5″ x 1.5″ and has 512 pages. Recommended for ages 2 to 6.

19. Day By Day Kid’s Bible

In under seven minutes a day, this book is set up to let your kids read through the entire Bible in a year.

Here is what ChristianBook.com has to say about the Day by Day Kid’s Bible:

“Popular children’s author Karyn Henley, who wrote The Beginners Bible, has created a unique tool to help children establish Bible reading habits for a lifetime–with an investment of just seven minutes per day. In this revised version of God’s Story, daily Bible readings lead children through the Scriptures in chronological order in just one year. The Day-by-Day Kids Bible bridges the gap between a Bible storybook and a full-text Bible since the scriptures are simplified for young readers. Inside, you’ll find dated Bible readings for every day of the year, two-color interior illustrations and full color pictorial time line of events. Also includes a Presentation Page. This book measures 6.5″ x 8.75″ x 1.75″, and has 900 pages. Recommended for ages 6 to 10.

In this revised version of God’s Story, daily Bible readings lead readers ages seven and up through the Scriptures in just one year. The Day by Day Kid’s Bible bridges the gap between a Bible storybook and a full-text Bible since the Scriptures are simplified for young readers. New features include dated Bible readings for every day of the year, two-color interior, and full-color pictorial time line of events.”

20. Little Princess Devotional Bible

This is another great resource for the little Princess in your life.

Here is what ChristianBook.com has to say about the Little Princess Devotional BIble:

“Every girl is a princess–the daughter of a King! With Sheila Walsh’s God’s Little Princes Devotional Bible, you can help your little girl blossom into the princess she was meant to be. Featuring illustrations of the characters from the picture book series Gigi, God’s Little Princess, and a cover accented with sparkly “jewels,” this devotional Bible is irresistible inside and out! It highlights virtues that create true beauty, such as honor, charity, compassion, sharing truth, fairness, and more. You’ll also find the features:

* Down in My Heart (Scripture Memory)
* Beauty Secrets
* Bible Princesses
* My Hero (Scripture promises)
* Take a Bow (Easy plays that are Bible-focused)
* I Adore You! (Put girls’ energy to use with songs, scripture and worship)
* Royal Truths
* Princess Charming
* Worthy of Love (Ideas to show how to love her royal subjects: family, siblings, friends and those in the community)

With this Bible, little girls will learn about their destiny as a daughter of God and a true princess! Recommended for ages 4 to 7.”

Books I’m currently reading:

1. Susanna Wesley : Servant of God by Sandy Dengler.  So far, about halfway through the book.  Its written in novel form, rather than a sharper, commentary piece.  I’m curious where the author’s research came from, so as to have written the story of Susanna Wesley’s life so full-bodied.
2. The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges.  This is an excellent book, full of practical help in looking at God’s holiness and the holiness that He’s calling us to.  I’m actually highlighting passages of this book.  Something I do VERY rarely.  A book has to be pretty extraordinary for me to break the cardinal rule of “never writing in a book”. 
3. The Case for the Real Jesus by Lee Strobel.  Lee Strobel was a journalist.  He has a very hard writing style that can take some getting used to, but all in all, I’m enjoying this book.  This book takes a hard look at all the “new” evidence that’s being discovered regarding Jesus and finds out if these new evidences have any validity to the REAL Jesus.

Books I’ve finished in September/October:

1. Glories Seen & Unseen by Warren Henderson.  Brother Henderson upholds wearing a headcovering, but he doesn’t feel its necessary for more than public worship.  You can see my views on this subject in my previous posts, Biblical Headcovering: Why do women cover their head today?; Biblical Headcovering: Only Cultural?; Biblical Headcovering: More Questions and Conclusion.
2. A Ready Defense, by Josh McDowell.  I really enjoy reading apologetics.  Mainly because I was raised a Jehovah’s Witness and I like to read what others have to say about dealing with cults.  Too, Brother McDowell’s books are always easy to read and understand with lots of thought-provoking questions and thorough, Biblical answers.
3. The Facts on Halloween, by John Ankerberg & John Weldon.  I’ve never celebrated Halloween, (a blessing of being raised a JW), but my husband, raised in a Christian home, has celebrated this holiday.  We purchased this book, so we could read together the origins of this holiday, learn about dealings of the occult world with regard to this day and to find out if the church should be involved even a little bit (like having a “fall festival” right close to or on that day).  Very insightful.

Z żoną połączyło mnie kilka kwestii. Z pewnością przede wszystkim Bóg. A więc bardzo poważne podejście do naszej wiary z jednej strony, z drugiej zaś nieustająca łaska Stwórcy. Z pewnością również miłość. Ktoś mógłby powiedzieć, że wymieniając Boga, wymieniłem też miłość. Ale to nie do końca jest tak. Bo Bóg jest miłością, ale miłość nie jest Bogiem. Tak, jak kwadrat jest prostokątem, lecz nie każdy prostokąt jest kwadratem. Czyli miłość – jako obustronna, może trochę wariacka, decyzja podjęta na całe życie. Połączyły nas wspólne zainteresowania, pasje, marzenia. Połączyło nas też zamiłowanie do wyłapywania, wyszukiwania w świecie fałszu, kłamstwa, zła i obłudy, ukrywających się pod powłoczką poprawności politycznej, demokracji i równouprawnienia.

W zasadzie nie jestem do końca przekonany, czy we mnie to pierwotnie nie tkwiło mocniej. Ale ja wtedy, gdy żonę poznałem, sam przeżywałem kryzys. Więc może nie było tak, że to ja to w niej zaszczepiłem, może było to w nas i wybudziliśmy to w sobie dzięki sobie nawzajem? Tak czy inaczej hobbystycznie oglądamy TVN (oraz TVN Style), czytujemy Gazetę Wyborczą (zwłaszcza Wysokie Obcasy), zaglądamy na nasz ulubiony Pardon, wertujemy książki (“Bóg nie jest wielki”, “Kod Leonarda da Vinci”), by trochę się powkurzać, po czym sięgnąć do kontr-źródeł i odeprzeć atak. Częstokroć media głoszą tak ewidentne głupoty, że bez zastanowienia wpadamy na argumenty przeciw nim. Nie osiadamy jednak na laurach i z dnia na dzień wzbogacamy swą bibliotekę o nowe książki (lub czasopisma) mogące umocnić nasze stanowisko, pomóc nam odnaleźć drogę między przeszkodami (polecam szczególnie książki Josha McDowella, ale są też inne znakomite pozycje, jak “Oszustwo Kodu Leonarda da Vinci” Carla E. Olsona i Sandry Miesel). Staramy się oczywiście przy okazji nie zaniedbywać modlitwy, by w chwilach intensywnych poszukiwań nie zapominać o Tym, który sam nas do prawdy poprowadzi. I od początku próbujemy dać przykład własnej wiary malutkiemu synkowi, by i on w przyszłości potrafił bez problemu wybrać właściwą drogę.

Ona nosiła się z zamiarem założenia tego bloga od dość dawna. Wreszcie wspólnie zdecydowaliśmy, że będzie to już dobry moment na rozpoczęcie pisania. I tak oto moja żona postanowiła założyć blog, który ma na celu rozpoczęcie polemiki ze wszelkimi bardzo liberalnymi i postępowymi mediami, z którymi się nie zgadzamy. Adres bloga “Tupot płaskich stóp” powstał na zasadzie przeciwieństwa do nazwy “Wysokie Obcasy”. Najbardziej radykalnego przeciwieństwa, jakie udało nam się wymyślić. Tytuł “…punkt widzenia kury domowej” ma zaś podkreślać fakt, że moja żona ma podejście absolutnie antyfeministyczne (w nowoczesnym tego słowa znaczeniu). Niniejszym kończę wreszcie ten nieciekawy wywód i najserdeczniej zapraszam do odwiedzenia strony z twórczością Inki. Link znajdziecie również gdzieś tam, po prawej stronie. Życzę jak najprzyjemniejszej lektury!

WND

Evangelical author Josh McDowell takes on theology of media icon

DALLAS, Texas – “One of the mistakes that human beings make is believing that there is only one way to live, and we don’t accept that there are diverse ways to being in the world. There are many paths to what you call God.”

Oprah Winfrey said it. And when she did, many Americans who love Oprah believed it.

But one of the best-selling living evangelical authors, Josh McDowell, is not about to sit back and let that statement go unchallenged.

The result is a very unusual book – both in Christian publishing and in the world of secular literature.

Get your autographed copy of “O God” exclusively from the team that published it – WND Books and the WND Superstore.

It’s called “O God: A Dialogue on Truth and Oprah’s Spirituality” – and its official debut in bookstores nationwide comes tomorrow.

“As Christian apologists who believe that salvation is by God’s grace alone, through faith alone, and in Christ alone, we wanted to create a fictional, almost Socratic dialogue that would cover many of the themes of Oprah Winfrey’s spiritual teaching in recent years,” explain McDowell and co-author Dave Sterrett in their preface.

Rather than pile on Oprah with Bible verses to contradict her casual New Age proclamations, McDowell and Sterrett use a fictional conversation – or series of conversations – between two female graduate students, both seeking spiritual truth.

The book comes out as Oprah is very much center stage in the news world.

Even in her bid with first lady Michelle Obama to land the Olympics in Chicago, her rhetoric took a markedly spiritual tone.

“I love this city, because this city has been so great to me and I know what this city has to offer,” Winfrey said. “My message is really about my love for Chicago and … the spirit that we know the games will bring and the spirit that the people of Chicago will bring to the Games.”

Oprah is also lending her name to a new movie about abusive relationships called “Push,” for which she serves as executive producer.

“Push” is about an abused, obese teenager in Harlem who is pregnant with her second child and how a teacher at an alternative school tries to pull her out of her situation. Winfrey was inspired by the message of hope that the book and film present.

“What struck me is that you can live in those circumstances and still find hope,” she said. “You can’t do that on your own. Somebody has to show it to you. For me it was teachers.”

It is Oprah’s compassion that lures millions to her TV show and her magazine and the persona that has become an industry. Yet, McDowell and Sterrett explore the possibility that misguided compassion, based on human emotions rather than divine revelation and God’s law, can lead people in dangerous directions.

“If you are a Christ follower who believes, as we do, that God’s salvation is only through Jesus Christ alone, perhaps this book, ‘O God,’ will inspire a conversation with friends who are asking you questions,” they write. “How do you respond when a friend at your work, school, book club, gym or family reunion brings up Oprah Winfrey’s teaching or a form of new spirituality? Do you know how to speak and live the truth in love? This book probably won’t provide every single answer to all your questions about God and spirituality, but we hope it will provide some. Our desire is that ‘O God’ will create friendly and perhaps robust spiritual conversation about the most important things in your life.”

McDowell has authored or co-authored more than 110 books with more than 35 million in print worldwide. His classic “More Than a Carpenter” alone sold more than 15 million copies.

Get your autographed copy of “O God: A Dialogue on Truth and Oprah’s Spirituality” by No. 1 bestselling author Josh McDowell and Dave Sterrett exclusively at the WND Superstore.

I must admit my biases up front.I lean towards a presuppositional apologetic.Seemingly, I would take issue with many of the articles, but I really don’t.The editors sought those who are recognized in the evangelical world for the skill in both philosophical theology and applying the bible to tough questions.They did not let us down.

Pros of the Study Bible:
1. Some of the articles are simply outstanding.I can’t say more.The ones by Frame, Russell Moore, Copan, and Walt Kaiser are quite good.

2.The study notes are decent, if one understands the context.It is not aiming to give an exposition of each passage, but to focus on the apologetical application of passages.Still, it gives interesting historical, archeological, and contra-cultist insights.Interestingly as a side-note, the Study Bible takes a premillennial approach to Revelation 20.

3.Wide margins.I applaud the formatters on this one.This bible has wider-margins than most.This was a huge plus in my opinion.One can legibly write thorough notes in the margin.

Cons:
1.Some of the study notes take an almost facile approach to some really hard questions. For example, Norman Geisler’s attempt to demonstrate how the Apocrypha shouldn’t be in Scripture. The verses he quotes against it not only do not disprove the Apocrypha, but if accepted would also disprove the book of Judges and 1 Samuel!Further, Geisler ignored essentially every good argument against the Apocrypha. This kind of shallow reasoning makes one skeptical of the overall apologetic quality.

Neutral:
The translation is the Holman Christian Standard Bible.This should be evaluated independently of the Study Bible.

The notes of the study bible take a mildly Calvinistic slant.It is not as Calvinistic as R.C. Sproul but is more Calvinistic than Geisler, Moreland, and Lane Craig (even though the last three are contributors).

I have the hardback quality.The binding is very good and quite durable.

Product Description
The Apologetics Study Bible will help today’s Christian better understand, defend and proclaim their beliefs in this age of increasing moral and spiritual relativism.More than one-hundred key questions and articles placed throughout the volume about faith and science prompt a rewarding study experience at every reading. Highlights of this new thinking person’s edition of God’s Word include the full text of the popular Holman CSB® translation, an introduction to each Bible book focusing on its inherent elements of apologetics, and profiles of historic Christian apologists from Justin Martyr to C.S. Lewis.Also featured are valuable contributions from a who’s-who of modern apologists such as Chuck Colson, Norm Geisler, Hank Hanegraaff, Josh McDowell, Albert Mohler, Ravi Zacharias, and many more.
- The best apologetics thinkers of our day in one resource- The study Bible for customers asking the really hard questions about their faith- No other study Bible has the depth of resources that address the hard questions of faith and life- Serious help for Christians of all types- Tears down the obstacles to belief- Shows why the Bible is trustworthy- Allows Christians to dig into false teachings to see why they’re false- Will strengthen the church and give confidence to those who share their faith- Will better equip church leadersTHE BEST APOLOGETICS THINKERS OF OUR DAY IN ONE RESOURCE (100+ CHRISTIAN APOLOGISTS):- Ted Cabal- Lee Strobel
- Chuck Colson- Paul Copan- Norm Geisler- Hank Hanegraaff- Josh McDowell- Albert Mohler- J.P. Moreland- Ravi Zacharias- and many moreFeatures MORE THAN 100 FEATURED ARTICLES IN CATEGORIES SUCH AS- Ethics- Interpreting the Bible in Light of Science- The Impact of Archaeology and History on Our Understanding the Bible- The Bible in Light of Theology- Christian Faith and Non-Christian Belief Systems- Christian Faith and Philosophy- Featured study notes that explain alleged “problem” passages in the Bible- 50 sidebars (Twisted Scripture) focusing on Bible passages misused by cults- Index of special articles for quick and easy access- Book introductions with special emphasis on anything of an apologetics nature- Profiles of key Christian apologists – Anselm – Athanasius – Augustine – Joseph Butler – C.S. Lewis – Irenaeus – Justin Martyr – Origen – William Paley – Blaise Pascal- End of verse Scripture references- Presentation page- Plan of Salvation- Two-column Bible text setting- Topical subheads- Translation footnotes- Holman CSB® bullet notes- Introduction to the Holman CSB®

Book Description
The Apologetics Study Bible will help today’s Christian better understand, defend and proclaim their beliefs in this age of increasing moral and spiritual relativism.

More than one-hundred key questions and articles placed throughout the volume about faith and science prompt a rewarding study experience at every reading. Highlights of this new thinking person’s edition of God’s Word include the full text of the popular Holman CSB® translation, an introduction to each Bible book focusing on its inherent elements of apologetics, and profiles of historic Christian apologists from Justin Martyr to C.S. Lewis.

Also featured are valuable contributions from a who’s-who of modern apologists such as Chuck Colson, Norm Geisler, Hank Hanegraaff, Josh McDowell, Albert Mohler, Ravi Zacharias, and 90+ more contributors. Plus a special lead article from best-selling author Lee Strobel (The Case for Christ, The Case for Faith, The Case for a Creator, and many more) on how “How Apologetics changed my life.”

Click Here to see more reviews about: The Apologetics Study Bible: Understand Why You Believe (Hardcover)

Regular readers of westcoastwitness.com know that I’m not a fan of Oprah.

While I’ll not be joining her book club anytime soon, I’m a big fan of prominent author and seasoned Christian apologist Josh McDowell.

In his latest book co-authored with Dave Sterrett, Josh puts the spirituality of America’s favorite daytime talk show host under a microscope and explains what he finds.

The name of the book is “O” God: A Dialogue on Truth and Oprah’s Spirituality, and is set to be released on October 6 – just a few days from now (you can preorder this book at amazon).

Here’s the promo video:

Normally I’d be sending the publisher a request for a free review copy of this book, but I simply don’t have time for more reading right now between teaching and grad school.

You can bet I’ll be picking this one up as soon as I have a free moment or two. I recommend you do too.

畅销书作者护教学家麦道卫（Josh McDowell）和同伙斯特雷特（Dave Sterrett）最新小说《”O” God：真理和奥普拉的对话》（”O” God: A Dialogue on Truth and Oprah’s Spirituality）将于10月6日发行，以对话方式驳斥奥普拉所传讲的背对真理的教导。

「这个危险是，奥普拉表面上使用一些基督教或与基督教相近的语言，但是实际上他的教导是完全与圣经和传统基督教相反的。」麦道卫和斯特雷特警告说。他们举出了一些例子，比如媒体把奥普拉描绘为现代的葛培理，以及她被选为将于纽约Yankee Stadium举行的911国家纪念礼拜的主持，这些都显示出她所拥有的巨大影响力。

圣经预言这个更时候的现象：「因为时候要到，人必厌烦纯正的道理。耳朵发痒，就随从自己的情欲，增添好些师傅。」（提后4:3，和合本）

《今日美国》记者Cathy Lynn Grossman在近期的文章里曾指出：「今天美国的宗教只是一个色拉吧，他们在这里只是兴起一堆他们喜欢的信念而把素食主义者——像喜欢严格教义的人抛在后面。」

麦道卫和斯特雷特两位作者在前言中道出合着该书的目的：「作为基督教护教学家，我们相信救恩只靠神的恩典、只靠信心、只靠基督。我们想写一本几乎像苏格拉底对话式的小说来讨论奥普拉近年来所提倡的教导。」

《”O” God》一书通过两个女孩的对话反映出很多奥普拉迷们的很多跟随者，他们无意识地把自己的信仰放在奥普拉在流行电视、杂志和网络上所展示的属灵大杂烩中。在最后，一个生命转变的真理在虚拟的教导中慢慢明确具体化。像基督徒作家C.S.Lewis一样，麦道卫和斯特雷特决定用小说形式的叙述来吸引读者，引导他们勇敢拒绝脱离圣经真理的奥普拉错误教导。

麦道卫曾经在84个国家700多个大学向超过一千万位年轻人演讲，他的个人著作及合着共有118本，在美国发行量达3,500万之多。最有名的书有《新铁证待判》、《为什么真爱需要等待》和《正确抉择》等。

斯特雷特是一个教育家、演讲者和作家，并在德州的Probe Ministries International事工工作，他在会议、学校和教会里教导以基督为中心的生活、基督教护教学及真正的信仰等。他致力于学生的护教学圣经学习，并于2010年3月推出由慕迪出版社出版的《为什么相信耶稣？》（Why Trust Jesus?）。

9月中旬，WND Books 出版社将推出网站http://www.ogodbook.com，公众可以看到《”O” God》一书的出版信息以及作者采访，并可以免费下载个人和小组学习课程。

It has been 10 years since I graduated from Liberty University.  After graduation, I left school and flew to Amarillo for the summer before beginning a new job in Jacksonville, FL . Something really cool happened to me as I was walking in the Dallas airport. I saw a man with his wife who looked familiar and sure enough it was Josh McDowell. I walked up to Josh, introduced myself, and insisted on buying him and his family dinner at the airport. He said, “college students have no money, I’ll pay”. I still insisted on paying and ended up buying everyone dinner at McDonald’s!

I felt honored to sit down and discuss youth ministry and culture with a legend in the Christian faith. We sat and talked about youth ministry and he shared some life experience with me. As I left Josh got my address and sent me a copy of his latest book which at the time was “The New Tolerance,” WOW, what a day to remember! Apology for those who know me well—I realize you have it heard this story many times before!!!

Josh McDowell’s son Sean is my age and I’ve had the opportunity to spend some time with him at a couple of camps in the past and hear him speak. Sean is an extremely gifted communicator and author. Apologetics for a New Generation is the book that I am reading by Sean, what a tremendous impact this book has made on me. The third chapter is written by Josh McDowell here are some of the comments he makes in the chapter entitled “Relationships that Transform”.

• The culture we live in is generally uninterested in the truth of the gospel, partly because they are unimpressed with those who proclaim it.
• Some opinions from nonchurchgoers & non-Christians, on average 86% believe the church is judgmental, hypocritical, phony and unreal.
• The bottom line, people are looking for truth in the context of relationships.

When asked the question to non-Christians what would make the Christian faith attractive and irrestible the answer was “I wish the church was a loving place,” and “I wish the church would respect my intelligience.”

After Josh and I had dinner at McDonald’s the last thing he said before I walked away to catch my flight was, “Jody just love those teenager’s.” Amazingly enough he hit the target of what people around us need to see and feel. People need to hear the truth of Jesus Christ and see it modeled before them.

1 John 2:6

Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did.

I recently began reading Apologetics for a New Generation, a collection of essays concerning apologetics for today’s high school and college students.

Image courtesy of Harvest House Publishers

In it, thinkers like Dan Kimball (author of UNchristian), Josh and Sean McDowell, Lee Stroble, Alex McFarland, JP Moreland, and others give their insight on apologetics for today’s culture.

They place emphasis on conversational and relational apologetics as opposed to the traditional “debate-team” style, striving for cultural relevance without sacrificing the truth and power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

While compiling a chapter on culture, an author wrote this:

Bad cultures reward vice while good cultures punish it. Good cultures can make the ideas of Christianity more palatable to many people by preparing their imaginations for it. A person reared on fairy tales, Narnia stories, and Sunday School is more likely to be found in church as an adult than a child whose first touch of wonder is warped by thousands of advertisements, video games like Grand Theft Auto, and pornography on the Internet.

In response, my issue is this: What happens when our youth have equal exposure to Grand Theft Auto and Narnia alike?

There is a great blurring in our youth today between culture that is God glorifying and culture that is of the world. Parents have become indiscriminate providers of entertainment to their children, and youth are incapable of differentiating between a Godly influenced culture and a worldly influenced culture.

Their worldview tells them there is no harm in an inordinate amount of exposure to violent video games, malicious music, and immoral and unethical movies.

Now, I am by no stretch of the imagination an advocate of putting our youth in a closet and sheltering them from the world. In fact, I fully support cultural immersion and the in-the-world-but-not-of-it principal. However, our youth must be prepared for the cultural melee they will experience through that immersion.

Our parents, our youth pastors, our teachers all too often don’t do the job they need to in preparing our youth.

Rather than understanding the relevancy of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in all walks of life, our youth are often left uneducated and unprepared for the spiritual war that wages through the influence of this culture.

Is Postmodernism A Myth?

Sean McDowell

In the early 1990s interest in postmodernism exploded in the church. Books widely appeared as bestsellers and conferences featured seminars about doing ministry in a postmodern world. While people disagreed about exactly what was meant by “postmodernism”-and they still do!-there was considerable agreement that the world was leaving the modern era behind and wading into the unknown waters of the postmodern matrix.

In Postmodern Youth Ministry, for example, Tony Jones argues that postmodernity is the most important culture shift of the past 500 years, upending our theology, philosophy, epistemology (how we know things), and church practice. It is an “earthquake that has changed the landscape of academia and is currently rocking Western culture.” (p. 11). Thus, to be relevant in ministry today, according to Jones and other postmodernists, we must shed our modern tendencies and embrace the postmodern shift.

For the longest time I simply accepted that we inhabit a postmodern world and that we must completely transform our approach to ministry to be effective today. But that all changed when I had the opportunity of hearing philosopher William Lane Craig speak at an apologetics conference not too long ago. “This sort of [postmodern] thinking,” says Craig, “is guilty of a disastrous misdiagnosis of contemporary culture.” (“God is Not Dead Yet,” Christianity Today, July 2008, p. 26). He argues that the idea that we live in a postmodern world is a myth. This may strike you as awfully bold. How can he make such a claim?

For one thing, says Craig, postmodernism is unlivable and contradictory: “Nobody is a postmodernist when it comes to reading the labels on a medicine bottle versus a box of rat poison. If you’ve got a headache, you’d better believe that texts have objective meaning!” (Reasonable Faith, 2008, p. 18) Craig speaks to tens of thousands of (mostly non-Christian) college students around the world every year and his conclusion is that we live in a cultural milieu that is deeply modernist. Reason, logic, and evidence are as important today as ever (although he’s careful not to overstate their importance, too).

Postmodernism and Apologetics

But this is not all Craig has to say! In the introduction to Reasonable Faith, Craig provocatively claims, “Indeed, I think that getting people to believe that we live in a postmodern culture is one of the craftiest deceptions that Satan has yet devised” (p. 18). Accordingly, we ought to stop emphasizing argumentation and apologetics and just share our narrative. Craig develops this idea further:

And so Satan deceives us into voluntarily laying aside our best weapons of logic and evidence, thereby ensuring unawares modernism’s triumph over us. If we adopt this suicidal course of action, the consequences for the church in the next generation will be catastrophic. Christianity will be reduced to but another voice in a cacophony of competing voices, each sharing its own narrative and none commending itself as the objective truth about reality, while scientific naturalism shapes our culture’s view of how the world really is (p. 18-19). 

In a personal email, Craig relayed to me that he believes postmodernism is largely being propagated in our church by misguided youth pastors. While he meant the comment more to elicit a smile than to be taken as a stab in the back, I can’t help but wonder if he is right.

If our culture were so profoundly postmodernist, why have the “New Atheists,” as Wired magazine dubbed them, been so influential? Popular writers such as Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris, and Richard Dawkins have recently written bestselling books attacking the scientific, historic, and philosophical credibility of religion in general and Christianity in particular. Their writings have wreaked havoc on many unprepared Christians. If our culture were postmodern their challenges should have fallen on deaf ears.

Postmodern Youth

While studies show that youth are significantly relativistic when it comes to ethics, values, and religion (e.g., Soul Searching, by Christian Smith, Oxford Press, 2005), they are not relativistic about science, mathematics, and technology. When discussing morality and religion, I have heard many young people say things such as say, “That’s just your truth. I have a different truth.” But I have never heard a young person say this about a claim in the realm of science or math. Modernists believe that science is the sole purveyor of truth while religion and ethics belong in the private, subjective sphere. It seems to me that the thinking of young people is more influenced by modernism (and specifically naturalism) than postmodernism.

Nevertheless, there does seem to be some postmodern influences in our culture. There is a latent cynicism about knowing truth, a deep suspicion of authority, and an awareness that bias affects people more profoundly than we would like to admit. But ultimately I think Craig is right-the claim that we live in a postmodern culture has been greatly exaggerated and oversold to (and by) the church.

I’m going to spend time over the course of the next couple of months perusing the best apologetics resources out there.

Here in San Francisco, many of those I study the Bible with don’t have a basic belief in God, a trust in the Bible, or an awareness of, or belief in, core Christian doctrines.

I would like to prepare myself as well as possible for any encounters with people God may send, and would also like to be able to teach other church members to do the same.

Here are a few questions I’m interested in designing studies for:

Here are a few resources I already own that I’ll be diving into:

Here are a few of good websites I’m aware of:

Here are a few additional books I’m planning to pick up:

And here are a few resource lists from TheResurgence.com:

Am I leaving anything out? If you know of a good resource please let me know.

—-

In other news, remember that finger I slammed in the bathroom door? That injury has born fruit:

A new nail is growing underneath the old one! This is the weirdest thing that has ever happened to a fingernail of mine.

Just thought I’d share … I know you needed to see that. :p

Henderson, Nevada – July 6, 2009 –

The 2009 International Christian Retail Show (ICRS, formerly CBA Show) will open next week in Denver.

The ICRS show promises to be lively with 75 exhibitors presenting for the Christian Bookseller’s Association’s annual showfest.

Among the presenters are best-selling author Richard Foster, Anne Graham Lotz, Matt Maher, and Warren Wiersbe. Also on hand will be Josh McDowell and Joe Gibbs.

The Golden Scroll Awards will coincide with the event as well as The Christy Awards.

Also in the news are the filmmakers of ‘Live Fast, Die Young’, the #1 theatrical Christian movie after ‘Fireproof’, have announced they will let select Christian bookstores in the nation have the early release of the DVD slated for a 2010 street date.

“We want the Christian bookstores to better compete with the giants like WalMart,” said one rep of the film.

The International Christian Retail Show (ICRS) will run from July 12-15, 2009 at the Colorado Convention Center.

Stan Guthrie of Christianity Today recently interviewed Christian writer and apologist Lee Strobel on what Strobel sees as the changing nature of Christian apologetics and his new book, The Unexpected Adventure: Taking Everyday Risks to Talk with People about Jesus. Strobel points out that strategies used to effectively reach the lost maybe ten or twenty years ago no longer work in today’s relativistic, postmodern society. Strobel explains:

They have become more relational, more story-driven. Josh McDowell would go on college campuses and describe why to trust the Bible. And people would come to faith in droves. Then they stopped coming to faith in so many numbers, and he didn’t know why. And now he takes a story approach. “You know,” he says, “I was the son of the town drunk. This is how it affected my life and my relationship with [my dad]. This is what prompted me to seek spiritually. This is the evidence I found. This is how my life was changed. This is how I reconciled with my father.” So it becomes a story. That’s what my ministry is about. I tell my story: I was an atheist. I scoffed. My wife became a Christian. It prompted me to investigate. Here’s the evidence I found, how I received Christ, the difference it’s made. It’s a story. And I found that in postmodern America, people often are willing to engage on the level of story.

Strobel’s assertion that a more personal, relational, and story-driven approach for apologetics and evangelism is nothing new. But Strobel doesn’t stop there. He continues to explain that although telling personal stories are needed in our postmodern society in order to establish authenticity and trust with whoever we are trying to present the Gospel, we cannot abandon the tried and true apologetic tools that have helped evangelistic efforts for a long time. Strobel says:

When I was interviewing a famous scholar for The Case for Christ, about halfway through he said, “By the way, nobody’s going to read your book. Lee, we live in a postmodern world. People don’t care about the historical evidence for Jesus anymore. They don’t care. Nobody’s going to read your book.” And I was so bummed out. But the ironic thing is, The Case for Christ came out, and the biggest group of people who contacted me saying, “God used that book to bring me to faith in Christ,” were 16- to 24-year-olds—the very people who supposedly don’t care about this stuff.

Strobel’s interview is a great reminder to us all that we can’t throw the baby out with the bath water. Those in the emergent church have tried to assert that the need for truth is dead, only experience and story is needed in Christianity for postmodern society. However, what they fail to realize is story a great means to start a conversation and engage with people because it establishes credibility in the eyes of postmodern people, but it cannot stop there. A personal story is going to get people interested, but it is not enough on its own. We have to still present the Gospel, and we still need to defend it. Although people claim to be relativistic, at the end of the day, people cannot really live that way. Postmodernism is a passing cultural and philosophical fad with a thin veneer of practicality that cannot be sustained. People still have questions about the Bible’s reliability and whether Christ really rose from the dead. We still need to know how to answer people’s questions about our faith. Stories alone will not do.

Hans-Peter Royer

Kurz zur Toleranz. Kommt eigentlich aus dem lateinischen “tolerare”=”ertragen” – also ursprünglich hatte Toleranz die Bedeutung, gerade genau das zu ertragen, was man missbilligt. Heute setzt man die Missbilligung an sich fast schon mit Intoleranz gleich, was aber gleichsam eigentlich Blödsinn ist. Ohne gegen etwas zu sein, kann man doch kaum davon sprechen, es zu ertragen. Wenn ich einen schweren Rucksack trage, dann mag ich davon sprechen können, meinen Rucksack zu ertragen, ich bin tolerant meinem Rucksack gegenüber. Aber wenn ich sage, mich stört dieses und jenes nicht, was die Menschen um mich herum so tun, dann kann ich das doch nicht Toleranz nennen, denn dann ist es ja nichts, was man zu tolerieren hat, sondern etwas, dem man neutral oder gar sympathisch gegenüber eingestellt ist. Aber in diesem Falle ist Toleranz ja überflüssig.

Hans-Peter Royer erwähnt im Vortrag teils einen Richard Dawskin. Den gibt es natürlich nicht. Der Mann heißt Richard Dawkins ( ein doch sehr bekannter Vertreter von Religionskritik und Atheismus ) , dann – mein Fehler – Royer spricht auch Von einem “Rafi Sakarias”, den schreibt man natürlich folgendermaßen: “Ravi Zacharias”

Das ganze in voller Länge ( 42 Min. als MP3 und als Script in verschiedenen Formaten )

Dazu auch Buch: Die neue Toleranz u.a. Josh McDowell ( unter dem Link auch als .pdf )