This session looks at using questions to engage with those with a more postmodern mindset, requring a re-think of the apologetic methods used in previous generations.  Many of the ideas spring from the book 'Adventures in Missing the Point' by Brian McClaren and Tony Campolo. 

Chapter 1 Salvation

“To Paul, the point of being Christ’s follower was not just to help people be absolutely certain they were going to heaven after they died. Paul’s goal was to help them become fully formed, mature in Christ, here and now- to experience the glorious realities of being in Christ and experiencing Christ in themselves.” (20)

“Salvation doesn’t mean slitting Roman throats and getting power. Salvation means being liberated from the cycle of violence, liberated from the need to be in power. God wants to save you from your present life of hatred and fear, and instead reconnect you with God’s original plan for the descendents of Abraham. Even as an oppressed people, you can be a blessing. Instead of slitting a Roman soldier’s throat, carry his pack for him. Instead of cursing him, pray for him. I am here to save you from the whole system of insult and revenge – not by giving you political victory (as you wish I would), and not by telling you to give up on the is life and instead focus on salvation from hell after this life (as some people are going to do in my name) – but by giving you permission to start your participation in God’s mission right now, right where you are, even as an oppressed people. The opportunity to start living in this new and better way is available to you right now: the kingdom of God is at hand! (25)

Salvation means being rescued from fruitless ways of life here and now, to share in God’s saving love for all creation, in an adventure called the kingdom of God (25).

The salvation that Christ offers involved becoming new persons who live out love and justice in the world. 28)

God’s kingdom is a new society that Jesus wants to create in this world- within human history, not after the Second Coming or a future apocalypse or anything else. But right now. (43)

Evangelism (Art of asking questions)

… There are apologetic questions, and they tend to fall in 5 broad categories.

1. Questions about the existence of God

a. Can the universe with all its mystery order, complexity, life and wonder- including the expansive world of human experience and values – be explained satisfactorily by mechanistic time plus chance plus nothing?

b. Now that science generally agrees hat there is a genesis point – such a the Big Bang – does it make more sense than ever to believe that there is a creator?

c. If there is no God, is it possible to imagine any real basis for values like justice, compassion, beauty, goodness, and truth?

d. Are the spiritual longings of humanity merely an evolutionary fluke, or could the longings themselves be evidence for a spiritual dimension to reality i.e. God?

I.e. Can the problem of evil be solved satisfactorily if there is no God?

f. To questions about the multiplicity of religions: what is the realistic alternative? What else might one expect, given human curiosity and spiritual hunger, combined with our limitations and mixed motives?

2. Questions about how God reveals himself

a. Effective responses to these kinds of questions treat the Bible less as a catalogue of inspired abstractions, and more as a record of people who had authentic spiritual experiences with God.

3. Questions about the behaviour of religious people

a. First we must acknowledge and possible apologize for the way many Christians (including ourselves) have behaved.

b. Then ask people what alternative there might be.

c. Is it realistic that God make everyone instantly perfect upon their conversion, to protect his reputation from their inevitable failures?

4. Questions about specific Christian beliefs and practices

a. Take advantage of the diversity of opinion among Christians

b. Hell: Christians have three different approaches to the subject of hell

c. Deity of Christ: Christians in the first centuries of the faith struggled to articulately and accurately describe Jesus’ identity, because he didn’t fit easily in any existing categories.

d. Trinity: the trinity is an attempt to protect us from making false statements about God the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit; the doctrine is far from a mathematical question that in any way defines the being of God.

e. (These kinds of responses appeal to individuals who are turned off not by Christian doctrine, but by the glib and easy way in which many Christians articulate it – as if there were no difficulties, no controversies, no mysteries.)

5. Practical questions about how to know God

a. Usually reacting to inaccurate or unbalanced sermons or books or careless preachers. It can help to ask them what they’re afraid of, or what they want to avoid.

1. In the recent past we argued about evolution versus faith. In the emerging culture, we may say, “Let’s assume evolution is true, or partially true. Is it possible that evolution itself could be a creation of God, a process which God would create in order to create new life forms?

2. In the recent past we generally began our apologetic by arguing for the Bible’s authority, then used the Bible to prove our other points. In the future we’ll present the Bible less like evidence in a court case and more like works of art in an art gallery. The Bible will become valuable not for what it proves, but for what it reveals.

3. In the recent past we attempted to explain how evil and suffering can exist in a world created by a good and all-powerful God. In the future we’ll return the question to the questioner, maybe something like this: “If you don’t believe in God, then how do you explain evil and suffering – and what meaning or hope can you find in all the injustice? Or “You’re right: evil is intolerable. It shouldn’t exist. There’s no good reason for it, nor can there be. Which is exactly why Christians dedicate ourselves to overcoming it with good”.

4. In the recent past we talked a lot about absolute truth, attempting to prove abstract propositions about God. In the emerging culture, however, we will be much more interested in embodied truth (for instance, how Jesus demonstrated God’s mercy), and we will want to convey real-life stories about God – stories from our lives as well as from the Bible.

5. In the recent past we assumed people would come to faith in a linear way, moving along a predictable path, as isolated individuals. In the future we’ll expect people to spiral in on faith, to approach it from many angles at once, and discover it in community rather than individually. We may well see the process of coming to faith as a wonderful integration of intellect and emotion, experience and reflection, privacy and community, mystery and clarity.

To be a good apologist today you need to offer both standard and innovative responses to common questions.

Word deed and example: it’s important to keep these three integrated.

I’ve wondered how my spiritually seeking friends would advise me about my apologetics – what those who are not yet Christians would say would be more helpful to them. I think they’d say something like this:

1. Build a relationship. People are seldom looking for an answer; they are looking for a mentor. You ask questions and you listen to their answers. You share your own experiences and demonstrate genuine love and concern. You may find this question helpful: Why is that question important to you?

2. Don’t offer a cheap or easy answer for a deep, complex question.

3. Feel free to say you don’t know.

4. Rely on the power of your stories. Tell your stories, tell biblical stories… shared experiences are really important.

5. Keep the conversation going.

6. Encourage your friend to exercise whatever faith they have. For example, I often say something like this to people: “If you were about to enter a dark room, and wanted to find out if anyone was there, you’d call out, ‘Hey, is anybody there?’ I think you can do the same with God.

7. If some questions are beyond you, then introduce your friend to others who can understand, relate, and help.

8. Don’t assume there’s only one right way to answer a question.

9. Be sensitive to God’s spirit at work in the situation.

10. Don’t pressure or rush anyone to believe.

11. Always be respectful and gentle with spiritual questioners.

Over the past few decades, evangelicals have increasingly talked about a holistic gospel that incorporates in its salvation story a Jesus who came into the world to minister to all needs of a hurting humanity – physical and social needs as well as spiritual needs” (103)

“… The reformation and pietism have reduced the gospel to a matter of salvation for the individual”.

“The benefits of salvation are separated from the reason for which we received God’s grace in Christ: to empower us as God’s people to become Christ’s witnesses. This fundamental dichotomy between the benefits of the gospel and the mission of the gospel constitutes the most profound reductionism of the gospel”.

“A missional church is where the people of God – in following Christ – participate in God’s mission through being, word and deed in their daily lives.”

“… The symbols of the missional Church are the way, discipleship, wholeness and everyday life.”

“…The custodians of the missional Church – lay people who dynamically live out their faith in everyday situations”.

“ A missional Church should emphasize meditation, spirituality, presence, genuineness and lifestyle…. We should become personal carriers of the spiritual reality the world longs for.”