Apologetics. The term comes from the Greek word apologia, which essentially means speaking in defense. In today's standards, we usually relate this term to knowing your religion well enough that you can speak in defense of it. But is it something that we as Christians should take seriously?
A friend of mine was talking to me on the subject of apologetics, and he made a few good points. What is the purpose of most christian apologetic writings? They are to convince the reader through logical means that Christianity makes sense. Who usually reads such writings? Obviously the normal christian is the most likely person to read about apologetics. Why then should a believer be convinced of something that he already believes in? Isn't that counter-productive?
As I see it, being an apologist should a priority in a Christians life. We should not look at the subject as "Defending our faith", but apologetics should be the study of how to discuss biblical truths with an unbeliever correctly. That is, with a loving heart, and a sound mind. The mind part we must construct on our own through biblical studies, which is what being an apologist should be all about. Knowing what to say to someone who has a question about the bible is important in our life.
I would not call myself an apologist, as I struggle with certain biblical matters when asked about it. But God has been faithful. He has giving me a neighbor who likes to ask LOTS of questions, and this gives me lots of practice, although I hope a lot more practice lies ahead. I try to keep praying that God will give me a biblical mind to any questions asked concerning Christianity, and to work this into his plans.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Couple Cool Things
I have been reading quite a bit lately, and want to share some of the things that were revealed to me. I gorged myself and purchase a few books on Amazon, and I do not regret it, because they have been some of the most enjoyable books I have ever read. One such book was called Messianic Christology by Arnold Fruchtenbaum and deals with prophetic words in the Old Testament dealing with the first and second coming of Christ. I thought these were so gnarly and cool. Bear with me, as this might take long to describe and explain.
The scripture I am about to examine are the relation between Genesis 3:15 and Genesis 4:1. Lets start with Genesis 3:15, in which God is speaking with the serpent, which states (NIV): "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel."
This is the first instance of prophecy for Jesus. The serpent he is talking to is obviously Satan, and this statement is saying he will have hostility with the woman's offspring. Now an interesting aspect about this verse is that it mentions the offspring of a woman. Among all genealogy in the old testament, the woman is rarely mentioned, so why would she be mentioned here? This verse is referring to the virgin birth of Christ, and the offspring that is referred to is Jesus.
This causes the verse to make more sense, because Jesus crushed Satan when he was crucified, while Satan merely "struck" his heal.
Lets move on to Genesis 4:1, which in the Hebrew language, LITERALLY states "And the man knew Eve his wife, she conceived and bare Cain and said 'I have gotten a man: Jehovah.'" This same sentence construction is used when proclaiming the birth of Abel in the next verse: "Again she bare his brother: Abel." Notice the colon, followed by the declaration. 4:1 is usually translated in English to "I have gotten a man with the help of Jehovah." No I could break down the different translations, but I will spare you and say that most of the Aramaic translations correspond to a divinity with Cain. Eve understood that what God was saying in Genesis 3:15 was referring to God coming to earth as a man. And according to the literal Hebrew translation, she thought that Cain was Jehovah. With the birth of Abel, she understood that she was incorrect in her assumption, and named her second child Abel, or "Vanity".
I thought this was very interesting, and it makes sense to me. If anyone sees any biblical flaw in this logic, then please respond, I do not wish to be uncorrected.
The second of the two cool things I found out by listening to Ravi Zacarias. He was speaking on the account of when Jacob was wrestling with God. It is located in Genesis 32:22. A man wrestled with Jacob until daybreak, "Then the man said, 'Let me go, for it is daybreak.' But Jacob replied, 'I will not let you go unless you bless me.' The man asked him 'What is your name?'"
Why did God ask Jacob his name? God wanted to know where his heart was. Years ago, he deceived his father Isaac and pretended to be Esau. This time around, his heart was in the right place and he responded with "My name is Jacob."
The scripture I am about to examine are the relation between Genesis 3:15 and Genesis 4:1. Lets start with Genesis 3:15, in which God is speaking with the serpent, which states (NIV): "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel."
This is the first instance of prophecy for Jesus. The serpent he is talking to is obviously Satan, and this statement is saying he will have hostility with the woman's offspring. Now an interesting aspect about this verse is that it mentions the offspring of a woman. Among all genealogy in the old testament, the woman is rarely mentioned, so why would she be mentioned here? This verse is referring to the virgin birth of Christ, and the offspring that is referred to is Jesus.
This causes the verse to make more sense, because Jesus crushed Satan when he was crucified, while Satan merely "struck" his heal.
Lets move on to Genesis 4:1, which in the Hebrew language, LITERALLY states "And the man knew Eve his wife, she conceived and bare Cain and said 'I have gotten a man: Jehovah.'" This same sentence construction is used when proclaiming the birth of Abel in the next verse: "Again she bare his brother: Abel." Notice the colon, followed by the declaration. 4:1 is usually translated in English to "I have gotten a man with the help of Jehovah." No I could break down the different translations, but I will spare you and say that most of the Aramaic translations correspond to a divinity with Cain. Eve understood that what God was saying in Genesis 3:15 was referring to God coming to earth as a man. And according to the literal Hebrew translation, she thought that Cain was Jehovah. With the birth of Abel, she understood that she was incorrect in her assumption, and named her second child Abel, or "Vanity".
I thought this was very interesting, and it makes sense to me. If anyone sees any biblical flaw in this logic, then please respond, I do not wish to be uncorrected.
The second of the two cool things I found out by listening to Ravi Zacarias. He was speaking on the account of when Jacob was wrestling with God. It is located in Genesis 32:22. A man wrestled with Jacob until daybreak, "Then the man said, 'Let me go, for it is daybreak.' But Jacob replied, 'I will not let you go unless you bless me.' The man asked him 'What is your name?'"
Why did God ask Jacob his name? God wanted to know where his heart was. Years ago, he deceived his father Isaac and pretended to be Esau. This time around, his heart was in the right place and he responded with "My name is Jacob."
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Observance of Prayer
This is my adolescent, not necessarily true, observance of the importance of prayer. Prayer is such an important part of the walk for Christ, and I think it is something that we have troubles staying faithful with. This is especially true for men, because we seem to have this ego thinking that we should be individual and should not rely on anyone for help. Prayer has a direct correspondence with your relationship with Jesus, which is understandable. Think of it this way, if you have a poor relationship with a friend, you guys usually do not have a conversation often. This is the same way with God. The more you talk to him, the closer you become with him. If we do what 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says, and pray unceasingly, just think of what kind of relationship you will develop with Him! He will not only become the Lord of your life, but he will become your best friend.
I have started a dedicated prayer time everyday, and it usually lasts about ten minutes. I try to create a list of prayers that I can focus on, and then let my mind wander, in accordance in what to pray about next, after that. I am not sure if this is the correct way of praying, or if there IS a correct way, but it is how I pray until I find an improved method.
If anyone finds a flaw in my thinking in any of my topics, please shoot me an email or leave a comment. I find myself still a youth when it comes to my walk, and am trying to improve this by these writings. So please do not hold back when you see errors.
I have started a dedicated prayer time everyday, and it usually lasts about ten minutes. I try to create a list of prayers that I can focus on, and then let my mind wander, in accordance in what to pray about next, after that. I am not sure if this is the correct way of praying, or if there IS a correct way, but it is how I pray until I find an improved method.
If anyone finds a flaw in my thinking in any of my topics, please shoot me an email or leave a comment. I find myself still a youth when it comes to my walk, and am trying to improve this by these writings. So please do not hold back when you see errors.
Friday, January 8, 2010
My Testimony
I was born and raised in a Christian home, and my mother made that possible. If it was not for my mother and her devotion to God, I am not sure where I would have ended up in life. She showed me godliness, and always was involved in church activities. My Dad was a different story as I was growing up. He was an alcoholic and worked (usually nights) as a machinist at a plant nearby. I thank God that, even though I was around alcohol so much growing up, I did not plunge into that oblivion in my life. My parents had a very tough marriage, and we did not have very much money. I had the privilege of attending a church camp in my youth, and accepted Jesus as my savior when I was around 7 or 8 at this particular camp. I understood what he meant in John 3:16 when Jesus said: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." and also Romans 10:9 "That if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.".
When I was around 13 years old, my parents had major financial issues, along with marital issues. We were headed toward living homeless in Lincoln. My father basically left us, and went to Western Nebraska, in a house which his parents owned. A couple weeks later, thankfully, we followed him there, and I said goodbye to Lincoln, and hello to Oshkosh. We moved into a fairly run-down house, that was very small. This was the toughest part of my life, with a slight culture shock moving from the city to a small town. My father quit drinking, mainly because he values reputation very highly and his parents lived close by. During these times I was just going with the flow, and Jesus was definitely not my focal point. I was not involved in anything serious, such as drugs, but I lived mostly of the world and not of God. I think this continued until the end of my freshman year in college.
I participated in a program called Project Impact, in which I learned so much about myself and about God that it would make my mind explode. I think this is the point in my life in which I realized how "Christian" I was. It showed me how to actually live as a follower of Christ should, along with many other things. After this summer program, I participated in Sudden Impact, a seminar that was for men, and it had me deal with a lot of things in my past, and also things that I was dealing with in the present.
If you are reading this, and having a tough time going through life, know that having a personal God is not a weakness, but a strength. We cannot go through this life alone, and even though we feel as though the world is crushing us, there is Jesus that is your answer. Though comfort will not occur unless you make the choice to give yourself as a living sacrifice to Him. If you want more info, look up and read John chapter 3, or shoot me an email with any questions.
When I was around 13 years old, my parents had major financial issues, along with marital issues. We were headed toward living homeless in Lincoln. My father basically left us, and went to Western Nebraska, in a house which his parents owned. A couple weeks later, thankfully, we followed him there, and I said goodbye to Lincoln, and hello to Oshkosh. We moved into a fairly run-down house, that was very small. This was the toughest part of my life, with a slight culture shock moving from the city to a small town. My father quit drinking, mainly because he values reputation very highly and his parents lived close by. During these times I was just going with the flow, and Jesus was definitely not my focal point. I was not involved in anything serious, such as drugs, but I lived mostly of the world and not of God. I think this continued until the end of my freshman year in college.
I participated in a program called Project Impact, in which I learned so much about myself and about God that it would make my mind explode. I think this is the point in my life in which I realized how "Christian" I was. It showed me how to actually live as a follower of Christ should, along with many other things. After this summer program, I participated in Sudden Impact, a seminar that was for men, and it had me deal with a lot of things in my past, and also things that I was dealing with in the present.
If you are reading this, and having a tough time going through life, know that having a personal God is not a weakness, but a strength. We cannot go through this life alone, and even though we feel as though the world is crushing us, there is Jesus that is your answer. Though comfort will not occur unless you make the choice to give yourself as a living sacrifice to Him. If you want more info, look up and read John chapter 3, or shoot me an email with any questions.
Be Dia-What?
Be Diaphanous. Yes you are correct I did just go to the dictionary and pick out a cool word, but I chose it for a reason. Diaphanous is synonymous with translucent or transparent, which is something that is sometimes hard for Christians to be. Men have a history of being tough or having that selfish ambition get in the way, myself included. Followers of Christ are called to be transparent with their lives, exposing even the most touchy subjects with others in order to forward God's glory.
I recently attended a prayer/evangelism/discipleship conference called Life Impact in the town of Norman, OK, about a ten hour drive from my hometown of Scottsbluff, NE. It really challenged me in many ways, and convicted me in many others. Before this conference I was being the latent Christian, meaning I was praying little, having some fellowship, and discipling less. I will write later on what I have learned, and how I think those things I learned should be put into effect.
I started this blog with the realization that very few, if any at all, will be interested enough to read what I have on my mind. That's fine with me, this blog is mostly for my own mental and spiritual growth, for me to just write down my thoughts so idleness/not caring does not catch up with me.
Topics in which I wish to address include but are not limited to Discipleship, Apologetics, Scripture dissecting, and everyday events that affect my Christ walk. These first posts will probably consist of what I learned from Life Impact, and how I need to address said topics.
I recently attended a prayer/evangelism/discipleship conference called Life Impact in the town of Norman, OK, about a ten hour drive from my hometown of Scottsbluff, NE. It really challenged me in many ways, and convicted me in many others. Before this conference I was being the latent Christian, meaning I was praying little, having some fellowship, and discipling less. I will write later on what I have learned, and how I think those things I learned should be put into effect.
I started this blog with the realization that very few, if any at all, will be interested enough to read what I have on my mind. That's fine with me, this blog is mostly for my own mental and spiritual growth, for me to just write down my thoughts so idleness/not caring does not catch up with me.
Topics in which I wish to address include but are not limited to Discipleship, Apologetics, Scripture dissecting, and everyday events that affect my Christ walk. These first posts will probably consist of what I learned from Life Impact, and how I need to address said topics.
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