Re: Re: [asa] The Old Testament God is ..

On 10/2/06, Janice Matchett <janmatch@earthlink.net> wrote:

> So far, there have been no takers. The silence is deafening. Which is the
> total opposite of what would have occurred had I expressed the same thoughts
> using my own words. :)

Your problem is not that your quoted McGrath which is a good thing but
that you were not addressing the question. McGrath does deal with this
issue in Intelllectuals Don't Need God and Other Modern Myths. On
pages 76-77 McGrath deals with Augustine's travel away from
Manichaeism -- the very belief promoted by Dawkins -- and Ambrose's
influence on him.

Now McGrath:

As the story of Augustine's long journey to faith makes clear, Ambrose
removed a major barrier to faith. He dismantled the Manichaean
sterotype of Christianity. **Yet, interestingly, all that Ambrose does
was preach the gospel regularly.** He seems to have known nothing of
the spiritual situation of Augustine, even if he had been aware of his
presence in the congregation. Regular preaching of the Gospel can
undoubtedly pay unexpected dividends. [Emphasis mine]

Among the individuals whom we encounter in our apologetic ministry
there will certainly be some who have the most astonishingly misguided
and muddled ideas about what Christianity is all about. There
misunderstanding -- some of which will have been picked up
unconsciously, other deliberately propagated -- need to be identified
and firmly yet tactfully disarmed. How?

Let us imagine that as you are talking to someone about Christianity,
you become aware that he or she is resistant to it. Invite the person
to tell you what he or she thinks Christianity is all about. And
*listen carefully*. This conversation could provide the basis for
important discussions for a long time to come as it allows the person
involved to speak about what he or she thinks Christianity is all
about and why he or she finds it unacceptable. [Emphasis in the
original]

Be prepared to ask the person where his or her ideas came from. Also
be prepared to present alternatives -- alternatives that are more
*reliable*, just as they are more *attractive*. [Emphasis in the
original]
-------------------

Note what I emphasized. Sometimes going point for point is not as
effective as presenting the love of God through the Cross of Christ.
This puts the OT in its proper perspective and the false, Manichaen,
perspectives can fall away. Many times diatribes like Dawkins are
smokescreens for other things. We need to find out the real barriers
and deal with them. Note also that such an approach is not an
either/or to attacking the false thinking such as Dawkins' meme idea.
Saying why Dawkins' meme idea is in error is incomplete. We need to
appreciate most people will not convert based on memes. Thus, we need
to go further than merely criticizing the bad thinking. McGrath does
this and so should we.

To unsubscribe, send a message to majordomo@calvin.edu with
"unsubscribe asa" (no quotes) as the body of the message.
Received on Mon Oct 2 10:37:21 2006