What is Hadith 2425?

A little something I saw today at AOMin:

Is Licona, NAMB's top apologist, a "Reluctant Inerrantist"?

News is circling around right now regarding Mike Licona, the Southern Baptist's Apologetics Coordinator for the North American Mission Board (note: Mohler seems to indicate that Licona is not longer with NAMB.  I have no confirmation of this.  As of this post, he is still listed on the staff page).  The controversy surrounds some things Licona has written in his massive, 700+ page book entitled The Resurrection of Jesus: A New Historiographical Approach.  Therein, Licona casts doubt on the historicity of the events described in Matthew 27:51-54.  Licona instead seems to prefer an "apocalyptic" or poetic reading of that passage.  This, of course, has created some discussion as to whether or not Licona really holds to the doctrine of Biblical inerrancy or, rather, if he holds on to it firmly enough.  Apologist James White has dubbed Licona a "reluctant inerrantist" citing not only the book but also his recent appearance on the Unbelievable radio broadcast opposite noted atheist Bart Ehrman.  On that program, Licona is clear in stating that he didn't consider Biblical inerrancy to be a "cardinal doctrine".

Well, if you find this conversation interesting and important, as I do, you can get caught up here:

Listen to James White's analysis of the entire controversy here.  And also here.
Read Albert Mohler's review of the situation here on his blog.
Read Norman Geisler's "Open Letter" to Licona here.

I've read some responses that are supposedly from Mike Licona to Mohler and Geisler, however, I have not found solid confirmation that they really come from him.  Licona's "Risen Jesus" website seems to be kind of dysfunctional right now.  There is an incomplete Facebook page in his name that has a few interesting pieces on it -- thanks to Sam Shamoun.  You can check it out here.

Okay, have fun!

Camping Claims He's Right & His Debate with James White

Here's probably my last bit of Camping "end-of-the-world" stuff.  First things first, he kind of issued a statement about his apocoflop.  It was a rather rambling thing that you'll never get through.  But here's part one anyway:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwnCPMxjuD8

You can keep following on to parts 2-6 depending on your stamina.

Also, you may not be aware of the fact that James White actually debated Harold Camping a while back.  You can listen to those debates online now right here:

Part 1; Part 2

I also want to link here to James' "open letter" to Camping, calling him to repent. http://www.aomin.org/aoblog/index.php?itemid=4645

Okay, that's all.

A Response to James White on Insider Movements in Light of the Cape Town Commitment

I think I've mentioned before that I liked what the Cape Town Commitment had to say about contextualization. In particular, it has defined "insider movements" in a way that is very helpful as you will see below.

"So called ‘insider movements’ are to be found within several religions. These are groups of people who are now following Jesus as their God and Saviour. They meet together in small groups for fellowship, teaching, worship and prayer centred around Jesus and the Bible while continuing to live socially and culturally within their birth communities, including some elements of its religious observance."

A couple important notes on that.

First, IMs are not just something that is the domain of the Muslim world. I praise God for this clarification, because the debate/discussion surrounding contextualization is clouded by it being too associated with Islam and reaching Muslims. There is just much more to it than that. Critics of insider movements often make the mistake of painting them all with the same brush as if all IMs were in the context of Islam and as if they all looked the same and agreed on the same points.

Second, it defines IMs as missional communities of Christ-followers who seek to obey the Bible.  Thus, a so-called IM that isn't following Jesus, seeking to obey Scripture, or seeking to engage its cultural context isn't really what we are talking about.

In this way, the gauntlet is sort of laid out for those who have been so adamant in their opposition to IMs. James White is one of my favorite persons who has spoken out against them. And I mean that. I repost lots of stuff from James and rarely miss his podcasts. However, his blanket condemnations of IMs are, I think, unfair and unhelpful.  I would ask Dr. White to consider the CTC definition below and explain what exactly he opposes. It isn't the Christ-following, small groups, or Bible focus. So it would have to be the continuing connections to birth communities and the idea of maintaining certain religious observances.  Well, it is one thing to oppose the holding over of particular, named observances. It is quite another to throw all IMs under the bus. White ignores the possibility that there exist insider movements who are genuine, theologically orthodox, Christ-followers seeking to obey the Bible and reach their kinsmen.  He ignores the fact that these people are often persecuted just as much as those do not pursue contextualization. So, not that James would likely read this, but I would ask that he pull back a bit on his broad condemnation of IMs.

Tomorrow, I will post the CTC statement in its entirety and tell you another reason why I think it is a good thing.

Reviewing Chapter 4 of Rob Bell's Love Wins

Posting this here per the request of a reader.  The following video focuses on what Rob Bell writes about universalism and hell in Love Wins.  For more info on this subject, I recommend digging through James White's site here: http://aomin.org

Nooma silliness. Really, Rob Bell?

I just watched a troubling Nooma video. Here's a response to it by James White with clips from the original video. I'm with James on this one. I'm not sure what the motivation is behind Bell's revisioning of history.

Highlights From Global Christian Blogosphere

Today I want to provide some links to some of the most interesting stuff I've seen posted around the web recently.  I'd like to start doing this regularly.  Let's see.  Let me get right to it:

• The Deity of Christ Debate (Pt. 2) - Produced by the Jewish Voice Broadcast, this four-person debate is between 2 Trinitarians and 2 Unitarians. Only brief clips are provided here and they're broken up by pleas for financial support by JVB, but what is there is good.  I particularly enjoyed one moment when James White whipped out his iPad and utterly silenced Sir Anthony Buzzard who had been misrepresenting the Hebrew of Psalm 110.
• Graham Crackers, Silverware & Rocking Chairs - Christian Historian Maxie Burch had a very interesting post a few weeks ago.  In it he shows how American Christian sectarianism has been responsible for giving us "Tony the Tiger".  Seriously.
• From the Lausanne Movement Blog - there is a seemingly never-ending stream of good, inspiring stuff coming from this blog.  I suggest checking out 3 brief videos. One is something you may find useful in your own church. It features several church leaders from around the world saying the Lord's prayer in their heart languages.  Another gives some behind-the-scenes insight into the table groups at Cape Town 2010.  I have had many conversations with Lausanne delegates and leaders.  Another yesterday confirmed yet again that the use of table groups at the congress was the most universally appreciated and valued component of the entire event.  I believe there is a tremendous lesson for the Church in this, so check that video out.  A third video is simply an inspiring highlight video from the congress as a whole.  Finally from this blog, if you have participated in the congress in person or online, I suggest taking a look at Jon Hirst's posts (pt. 1, pt. 2) about debriefing.  
• 10 Things I Learned About Myself at Cape Town - Mary DeMuth is a fellow U.S. Lausanne delegate that I met in Dallas and then saw again several times in Cape Town.  I like this post. She wrote another featuring 20 things she learned about God in Cape Town.  
• From the Lausanne Global Conversation - Just yesterday, my good friend and co-worker, Talargie Tafesse and I were commenting about how deeply impressed we both are with the missiology of Latin America.  Neither of us really have anything to do with Latin America, but the more I get to know about missions and missiology arising from that region of the world, the more convinced I am that God is doing a truly remarkable thing.  On that note, I commend to you this video of Samuel Escobar and Rene Padilla sharing at Cape Town as two of the great fathers of Latin American missiology.  Also, preparations are getting underway for the U.S. Lausanne follow-up meeting in Orlando, Florida in April 2011.  Information is posted here. I will also point you to one of the most powerful presentations of Cape Town, this one on the subject of HIV/AIDS.
• Cell Phones and the Brave New World of Hyperinformation - I'm always encouraged to see the Church engaging this incredibly important information .  John Armstrong shares some information stats here.  I also really like what John says about contextualization and Native Americans in this post.
• How to Plant a Church - Ed Stetzer featured this ironic video on his blog. I thought it was funny.
• From Answering Muslims - as usual, the Acts 17 folks have dug up some mind-blowing stuff to share with us.  Check out this article about British schoolboys who were punished in school for not praying in Islamic fashion.  And then there is the stunning "raisin-defense" from ABC news that David Wood capably responds to.

Okay, so that's what I have for you today.  Hopefully going to get some more posts written for the coming days.  I trust these will keep you busy on the web for a while.

Blessings!

Are we prepared for the cost?

Yesterday I was riding my bicycle - my new favorite hobby - and listening to various podcasts.  One was from a recent episode of the Dividing Line with James White (excellent BTW).  A caller phoned in to ask Dr. White if he could recommend any resources on a presuppositional apologetic approach to people of other faiths.  Without getting into what that means, I want to go directly to the conclusion of the resulting discussion in which the caller said something like, "So, I guess I'm just going to have to do my homework and understand what people of other faiths are saying." To which Dr. White said something like, "Uhh . . . yeah."

I liked that because it highlights something for me that I feel is a very significant problem in the Church today.  Christians sort of generally want to have an answer for the Muslim, Mormon, Hindu, or whoever -- a set of memorable apologetical one-liners to throw into the faces of people from other faiths who may come across our paths.  But we don't really want to get our hands dirty.  We want a quick and compelling (to us) presentation or pamphlet.  We don't want a Hindu friend.  We don't want a relationship with a neighbor.  But we have been called to love.  And . . .

"Love is costly. Out of love, something may be offered to a recipient for nothing, but that is not the same as saying it didn't cost the giver anything.  It may cost everything.  Yet when it comes to the issue of witnessing to people of other faiths, we seem to be looking for methods that cost us nothing."

These words by Michael Ramsden in his article "Bearing Witness to the Love of Christ with People of Other Faiths" are right on.  I recently heard of something in a church not too far away from where I live that made me so happy.  It was something like this -- their pastor had begun a series on Islam and Muslims.  No doubt a study designed to help equip the members of that church to have meaningful and effective encounters with their Muslims coworkers and neighbors.  But, you know, such studies are a dime a dozen in evangelical churches.  And very often, the only thing that happens is that the Christians walk away with a feeling of renewed confidence (and sometime arrogance) in the truthfulness of their religion over against the particular cult or world religion featured in the study.  But something totally different happened in the church I'm talking about.  Something kind of cool.

As I heard the story, some of the members of the church spoke with the pastor at the conclusion of the study. They said basically that while they appreciated the study on Islam and Muslims, the reality was that most of them had coworkers, neighbors and friends who were not Muslims but Hindus.  And they said something like, "Pastor can you equip us to share the love of Christ with the Hindus in our lives?" And the pastor said, "Yes."

That's so good, so pure in my mind.  Because the church members there could have just filed that study away someplace and continued to be unengaged with the global mission field around them.  But they refused. They have begun to choose the hard path of love, relationship, dialog, understanding, incarnation, death.

Let me remind you again of this important call to repentance issued by the Lausanne Theology Working Group:

“We need to repent of approaches to people of other faiths that reject or denounce their existing religion as wholly evil or satanic, with no effort to understand, critique and learn, and to discern through genuine encounter, friendship and patient dialogue where there may be bridges for the gospel” (p. 28, full version)."

So, I want to simply echo the question that Ramsden has asked in his paper.  When it comes to sharing the love of Christ to people of other faiths, are we prepared for the cost?  It will cost us everything.  Sadly, most Christians are not ready to pay that kind of price.  Are you?

Alpha and Omega Ministries, The Christian Apologetics Ministry of James R. White

Alpha and Omega Ministries, The Christian Apologetics Ministry of James R. White

I only want to say that I love and highly recommend the ministry of James White.  Follow his blog, check out his books and debates, listen to the Dividing line.  Be blessed.

To Burn or Turn & Other Thoughts on Evangelism

Today will, I believe, be a truly rambling edition of "The Ramblings."  I want to share some thoughts today about evangelism in the 21st century.  That is, what does it mean for us to be a faithful witness to the Lord Jesus Christ in our world today.  As I write this (9/10/2010 at 5:54PM CST), the very latest news out of Gainesville, Florida is that Terry Jones has indefinitely suspended his planned "Burn the Qu'ran Day" event.  That's a relief.  Of course, the news on Jones has been changing pretty quickly, so I'm not holding my breath.
But, I think there is in this whole, ridiculous affair an important question about evangelism.  In the mind of Jones, burning the Qu'ran was a necessary step in proclaiming the truth about Jesus in our world today.  In his own words, "Why is there always room for discussion and discussion and discussion . . . why is there not sooner or later a time when we climb upon the mountain and we tear the altar down?"  Dr. James White, on the contrary recommends an approach that is drastically different. He believes that mature Christians should actually read and study carefully the Qu'ran in order to demonstrate to Muslims why it is not truly the word of God.  So the question with regards to the Qu'ran is, do we burn or turn -- the pages that is.  Jones and White recently had this brief exchange on the Aramaic Broadcasting Network:

I think the point made by David Wood at the end of this clip is quite compelling. Islam depends on the existence of uneducated and immature Christians who know neither the sound teachings of the Bible nor the actual teachings of Islam in order to spread.  Let me add to this a great insight made by Jochen Katz on the subject:

"Ideas cannot be fought by burning the books that contain them. Ideas and ideologies have to be fought by putting sound arguments against them. They can only be overcome by exposing their errors and/or immorality."

I commend to you the entire Katz article, "Cancel the 'Burn a Qur'an' Day! When Irresponsibility Meets Irrationality". It is well-reasoned and well-written.  At the end of the day, I come down well on the "turn" rather than the "burn" side of this debate.

Now, if you are looking for a bit more positive, I want to commend to you another article.  This is one of the advance papers for the 3rd Lausanne Congress and entitled "A Fresh Approach to Witness for the 21st Century: A Global Perspective."  It has been submitted by Rebecca Manley Pippert and Bishop Benjamin A. Kwashi, two of the truly great evangelistic leaders of the Church today.  The article does a great job of illustrating the need for the Church to have a renewed vision from the Lord about sharing the gospel.  The authors point out that "less than 2% of Europeans call themselves Evangelical Christians" and less than 5% of Australians attend church.  They articulate concern over the "prosperity gospel" that is often being proclaimed in Africa and much more.  The following video is meant to provide an introduction to the problem of "prosperity preaching" in Africa:

The Prosperity Gospel from The Global Conversation on Vimeo.

Pippert and Kwashi also make some great points about contextualization such as, "There is no such thing as a Christian culture or civilization." The provide some snapshots of evangelism issues from different parts of the world and ask compelling questions such as:

• How do we communicate the absolute uniqueness of Christ in a country where there are many faiths or as in India, where there are literally thousands of gods and goddesses to worship?
• How do we respectfully share our faith when our family is of another faith and where there is deep misunderstanding and prejudice concerning Christianity?
• How do we present Christ to someone who finds the claims of truth offensive?
• And more.

Most important for me where the comments made about confidence.  That followers of Christ must become confident that the gospel is not only for us but for the whole world.  That we must become confident in the fact that there is no greater power in the world than the power of the Holy Spirit.  That we must become confident in the power of the gospel message itself.

So, do take time to read the Pippert and Kwashi paper. And, I would love to hear from you any comments, questions, or views that you'd like to share on the issue of evangelism in the 21st century.

YouTube - James White "Discussion" with Ehteshaam Gulam

The cross-examination was aaaaamazing! What a joke! I have a deep respect for Dr. White's ability to not throw anything at Gulam. Did this guy just wander in off the street? I mean wow!

Best quote from Gulam, "I wish I had more substance in my presentation." Hey, you and me both, buddy.

YouTube - James White "Discussion" with Ehteshaam Gulam

It Takes a Long Time to Clean Up Falsehoods

It Takes a Long Time to Clean Up Falsehoods

A Native's View of Ergun Caner's Stories

In many ways, what White has posted today from his Iraqi friend is what I've been waiting for. Especially the following:

"Natalie and I sat down and very carefully listened to [Caner's] so call Arabic speaking. We tried to see if maybe he was using any of the other languages that might be native to the Turkish Iraq border & was confusing it with Arabic. I can tell you this, he is not speaking Arabic, Turkish, Kurdish, Assryian/Chaldean, or Syryani/Syryoyo which are all languages that are spoken in that area."



A Native's View of Ergun Caner's Stories