God seeks those who worship in spirit and in truth (John 4:23-24), and
we are to sing with the spirit and with the understanding (I Cor.
14:15). I believe God is glorified when these heterogeneous voices join
in harmony, even if the *chord* is one not heard before. May this list
and the ASA continue to reach upward in worship and outward in
proclamation and education, as well as downward into the depths of
detail.
I was quite shocked to read a column in our local daily paper on Sept.
17 by Jill R. Labbe of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, headlined
"[Intolerance:] Don't try to convert those of other faiths." Applied to
science, this would read, "Keep your theories and the results of your
research to yourself." Please e-mail me off-list if you'd like a copy.
I hope I'm not too far off-topic. Carry on.
Dan Eumurian, B. Mus. in Mus. Ed., M.A. in Theol. St.
hope4you@centuryinter.net
La Crosse, WI
ASA member
George Murphy wrote:
> Education as a discipleship tool is certainly important but this has
not, through Christian history, been what "aplogetics" has meant. "In
the history of
Christian theology, this [apologetics] means the defence, by argument,
of Christian
belief against external criticism or against other world views." (_The
Westminster
Dictionary of Christian Theology_, s.v. "Apologetics".) The writings of
the 2d century
"apologists" like Justin Martyr, e.g., are directed against Greco-Roman
paganism &/or
Jewish opposition to Christianity, with the intent of showing the
superiority of
Christianity to those systems.
Of course such arguments can also function to preserve the faith
of recent
converts who might be tempted to return to their old beliefs. But that
isn't the
primary task of apologetics _qua_ apologetics. E.g., the 1st & 2d
apologies of Justin
are addressed formally to the emperor Antoninus Pius & the Roman senate
respectively,
indicating where the primary thrust of the arguments is directed.
There will be considerable commonality between what is discussed
in apologetics
> and in education of Christians but the standpoints are quite different. For Christians
> the task is precisely "faith in search of understanding" rather than the other way
> around, & this will affect how issues like historicity are dealt with.
> Shalom,
> George
>
> George L. Murphy
> gmurphy@raex.com
> http://web.raex.com/~gmurphy/