fusionatl

I had a conversation that touched something that has been heavy on my heart in recent months. That is, the lack of the ability to articluate why we believe what we believe as Christians. 1 Peter 3:15- states "But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have."

When subtle distortions of the Core elements of our Faith arise, I have found that many of us (myself included) are unable refute them because we do not know what the truth is, or least do not know it well enough to expose the flaws.

I am talking about things such as

The Inerrancy of the Bible

The Truth of the Resurection

The Deity of Christ

Original Sin just to list some

I just want to see if we can all discuss the topics and see if we can all gain a better undesrstaning of topics like these. Because these elements of our faith are under attack the most.

I 100% believe that Wendell. I think we have to know how to "defend the faith" & I think we are grossly ill-equipped as to how to do that. Let's have those conversations & get armed & built up in our faith.

One thing I would caution against though is the thought that this scripture mandates this (I used to think that for a long time). I honestly haven't deeply dived into the scripture you quoted so there might be hidden meaning in it, but I think it's important to look at what this is saying verbatim. It says to "be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have." I think that's really important. It doesn't say to be prepared to give an answer for the reason they should believe. It says to be prepared with your answer. That's your story, your experience, your scriptures, that God used to reach you.

Like I said, I am convinced like you that we "lack the ability to articulate why we believe what we believe as Christians" to a strong degree. EX: "I was raised in church... so I've always been a Christian." or "I don't know... Jesus is just God I guess." We can't really explain why we believe what we believe (that's a reason why I posted the topic "Why are you a Christian?")

But I really think there's a difference between that and, "Well, here's why the Bible is inerrant" or having a theology of original sin. I say that b/c I used to read a lot into 1 Peter 3 and kind of feel condemned that I wasn't a professional in apologetics, but I don't think that's what that scripture is saying. We have to know our story... period.

But still, on top of that, absolutely, we all better be learning how to win people to Jesus & strengthen our own faith. And getting some answers to those questions you posed will definitely strenghten our faith! So YES, let's have that talk about some of the big talking points of evangelism & faith discussions (just don't feel like God is disappointed with you if you don't have all the answers... the only answer you must have is your story, what God has done in you).

So I'm really interested to see what people think about those questions you asked. Inerrancy of the Bible???? Whooo!!!! Look out!

Can someone restate the question/discussion please? I’m a bit confused. Iserve- do you want to know my opinion of the topics you listed (what I do/don’t believe regarding those topics), or what scriptures we can find on them?

I’ll talk about the verse for now ….I really like 1 Peter 3:15 "But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have." I see the words “give the reason for the HOPE that you have.” It’s interesting that the word is translated hope and not faith. I don’t think that this verse has anything to do with doctrine or even what you believe. Why do I have hope? I have hope because of who Jesus has been/is in my life and all the times when He was my only hope. I have hope because of the times when Jesus came through for me when no one else did. I have hope because of who He is, not what I believe…

Well, I'm not really hoping that everyone will get a PHD in all these areas but I'm believe that we need to have strong understanding of these topics and others like them. I believe it will help us in telling our perseonal story. I definitely don't want smash people over the head with scripture but we need to be very informed about scripture so that we can convey the truths of these doctrines to people in a way they can grasp. We have to connect the dots of why we need a savior to the bible, why we look forward to suffering for Christ to the resurrection and so on. By no means should we hit people with more Church Jargon. But I think we could use a lot more effort especially since the world goes to every length to prove that there is no God or at the very least they don't need Him.

Hey Ginic, I understand your response, but Hope has everything to do with what we believe. If the credibility of the bible can be impeached, which the world thinks it can be, then Jesus is not who he said he is, and by extension your relationship is not what you say it is.

Again, If the bible is flawed as people say, then Christ is not who he said he is, and as far as the resurrection goes...they consider it just another myth passed down through the ages. If all of that is not true, the bible isn't perfect. Our Faith, our beliefs, are all tied to our hope.

So lets say someone has a flawed view of Christ, and sees him as just another man. Can your testimony carry the same weight?

What if they won't listen to you because they believe he never rose from the dead. Surely, you can't argue them into the kingdom but if you give a reasonable answer for why the resurrection is true, perhaps they will begin to listen. Perhaps you can plant the seed.

So what's the question?

Well its not just one question.

But we can start with this.

How do you defend the resurrection? This is ultiamtely something that God has to reveal to a person but, people have so many walls up around their minds. When people attack this claim by attacking the veracity of the bible or other means, how do you display that the bible is telling the truth?

I’ve been thinking about this one and the only answer I can give you is that I can’t give you an answer. I can’t prove to anyone that the Bible is infallible or that Christ literally rose from the dead. That’s why I think one’s personal story is worth more than gold. I can argue theology with someone all day, but you can’t argue with someone who’s been delivered from something.

Last year they were strung out on some drug, but then Jesus…
10 years ago the pastor standing before you was a Frat boy just looking to score, but then Jesus…
There are scars on her arms from where she cut herself, but then Jesus…
You can’t argue the evidence displayed in someone’s life story.
If I could prove the validity of the Bible (or Christ’s resurrection), there would be no atheists.

Hey, how did you know that 10 years ago I... Ohhhh, you were just giving an example!

Found an article & thought it'd be helpful/thought-provoking:

Defending Inerrancy: Don't Be a Liberal Bible Critic
John Piper

Suppose that you are a liberal critic of the Bible. By liberal, I mean unfettered by commitment to the inerrancy and authority of the Bible. And suppose that you find in an early letter of the apostle Paul these words: "Concerning you, my brethren, I myself also am convinced that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge." And then suppose that you find in a letter written near the end of his life the words, "You are able to admonish one another." And suppose that, as a liberal, you are not inclined to find old-fashioned unity in Paul's various teachings, but rather are somewhat excited when you can construct new theories about how the diversity of Paul's teachings emerged.

So you infer that there was an "early Paul" who was enthusiastic and optimistic and perfectionistic. And you prove it with the early words, "You yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge." You argue that "full of goodness" and "filled with knowledge" clearly imply that Paul believed these people "had arrived." They had reached a state of perfection. They didn't need any teaching or any correction. They were "full of goodness." This is the "early Paul." But you also infer that Paul's thinking developed over time. He changed his mind and the "later Paul" emerged. Reality had settled in over the years, and Paul's optimism had been dashed by people's imperfections; and so he had adjusted his theology to something more realistic.

Perfectionism had given way to process. And you prove it with the later words, "You are able to admonish one another." You reason, "Clearly, if they had to admonish one another, they were not yet perfect." In fact, with scholarly flourish, you observe that the verbs "are able" and "to admonish" are both in the present continuous tense, implying ongoing action. And you argue that the imperfections must be fairly constant, because they require continuous admonition and correction.

From all this, you proclaim, with liberal "courage," over against conservative commitments to the inspiration and coherence of all apostolic writings, that Paul cannot be inspired by an all-knowing God, and his writings are limited and sometimes mistaken by his ordinary human perspective. He has to correct himself when experience proves his earlier efforts erroneous.

Now here is one of the problems with such an imaginary scenario. Romans 15:14 combines both of those words (the so-called early and the so-called later) in one verse: "And concerning you, my brethren, I myself also am convinced that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able also to admonish one another." In other words, there is nothing, in Paul's mind, inconsistent in saying both of these things about the same people at the same time. Being "full of goodness" and "filled with all knowledge" is not meant to imply perfection. It does not mean that the people are beyond the need for admonition and correction. The "fullness" is not a fullness of sinless perfection, but fullness of sufficiency for ministry, that is, the church in Rome had all the goodness and knowledge it needed to minister effectively to each other through admonition and correction.

Here's the point. When you find two parts of Scripture that may seem to be in tension with each other, don't make the liberal mistake of jumping to the conclusion that the Bible is inconsistent or self-correcting or in process of moving from enthusiastic error to realistic truth. Instead, picture the things that seem in tension as spoken by a person who means both of them, and regards both of them as true. Then work toward a coherent understanding of them as best you can. This will take you much deeper into the reality of God's truth. And you will honor the divine Author of Scripture.

Loving God's inerrant word with you,

Pastor John

From: http://www.crosswalk.com/root/root/devotionals/1401542/page0/

Thanks Laura!

Let me jump back in this......

My heart is for learning and helping others learn about the bible because as odd as it may seem, we profess belief in God yet are unsure that the bible is the only accurate record about human history without question. Every other account must fall in line with the bible. However, our society has duped us into assuming that the bible is outside of reason and rational thought. The truth is that Faith and Reason are in Harmony but since spiritual truths are discerned spiritually, most people can only go as far as reason can take them. Now consider the world's "reasoning" of reality........... Also, we know Faith takes us further than reason alone.

I say that to say this...Faith and Reason overlap one another in the bible. There is a misconception that the bible is only allegory, myths, and legends, or a collection of "good teachings" It is our resposibilty to meet people at their limit when it comes to questions about the bible. Let me stress this isn't about converting souls by reason. This is about strengthing the believers Faith in the Word while at the same time dispelling lies and distorted perceptions of the bible.

Basically, we need to be able to say more about the bible than we are currently able to, especially when it is challenged or dismissed.

Any thoughts?

What in the bible do you doubt? or are uncertain of?? Anybody???
If we really believed everything the bible says we do a great job of acting like we don't. I am a grade'A' perpetrator. Let's be honest.