Re: have we forgotten who the enemy is?

Jack,

I don't think Anthony Flew is converted. He doesn't, as I understand
it, regard himself as a Christian. The conversion I'm referring is
not just a change of philosophical camp, but a change to saving faith
in Christ. General theism may make him more open to the gospel, but
not necessarily so. It may have put him in a place of
complacency--"now I believe in God, but not that vengeful despot God
of the Bible" (not an exact quote).

You may well be correct in stating that there is a bias against
anything spiritual--although my guess is that this is primarily among
the intelligentsia. A culture that is generally theistic may have
vestiges of truth that make it easier to be a Christian, but the need
for the gospel in that culture is just as great.

I think that a close examination of church history and the history of
missions will suggest that a generally theistic culture is favorable
toward a *nominal* Christian faith and, consequently, to some extent
unfavorable toward the true "counter-cultural" expressions of
Christianity. Thus, to some degree, it is "easier" to be a Christian
in an antagonistic environment because you must decide whose side
you're on. This is one of the pluses of the secular university in my
mind, you don't just get carried along by the prevailing culture, you
have to choose to stand for Christ and that expresses itself in all
sorts of ways: lifestyle choices, opinions, etc.

TG

>Wasnt Anthony Flew converted to theism from ID arguments? Not from
>the ID folks, but from teleological arguments. He was not converted
>to theism through the Gospel. IMO that is something, it is a step
>in the right direction for him.
>
>I guess my entire thread here is based on an underlying assumption
>that I thought was obvious but maybe isnt shared by others on this
>list.
>
>I assume that there is a bias in our society, scientific or
>otherwise, against anything spiritual whether it be YEC or any other
>form of belief. I think that the prevailing paradigm in the
>sciences is that there is no god whatsoever, there is no spiritual
>realm, there is only matter and engergy. And I mean this not in the
>sense that this is the only way to do science, but in the sense that
>this is considered the way things are. This ultimately comes from
>the pride of Man, and his desire to be the supreme being of the
>universe. There is a bias against us as Christians, whether we are
>YEC or not. It is that battle that I am most concerned with.
>

-- 
_________________
Terry M. Gray, Ph.D., Computer Support Scientist
Chemistry Department, Colorado State University
Fort Collins, Colorado  80523
grayt@lamar.colostate.edu  http://www.chm.colostate.edu/~grayt/
phone: 970-491-7003 fax: 970-491-1801