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

*Sometimes going point for point is not as effective as presenting the love
of God through the Cross of Christ.....Many times diatribes like Dawkins are
smokescreens for other things.*

True. I've also seen that often folks who use this kind of rhetoric are
spoiling for a fight and become disarmed by a gentle, humble response. ("A
soft answer turns away wrath" -- Prov. 15:1)

On 10/2/06, Rich Blinne <rich.blinne@gmail.com> wrote:
> 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.
>

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 10:59:51 2006