Gregory Koukl's Blog, page 10

Links Mentioned on the 6/15/16 Show

The following is a rundown of today's podcast, annotated with links that were either mentioned on the show or inspired by it:

Guest Host: Alan Shlemon ��� Mourning the Loss of Valuable Human Beings (0:00) / What Ramadan Is About (0:27) / Witnessing to Muslims (0:39)

The Ambassador's Guide to Islam by Alan Shlemon
Jihad and War in Islam and Christianity by Alan Shlemon
Are We at War with Muslims? by Alan Shlemon
How Does the Old Testament Law Apply to Christians Today? by Greg Koukl

Listen to today's show or download any archived show for free. (Find links from past shows here.)

To take part in the Twitter conversation during the live show (Tuesdays 4:00���6:00 p.m. PT), follow @STRtweets and use the hashtag #STRtalk.

The Rewards of Memorizing a Book of the Bible

You must read this article about an actor who memorized and then performed all of Paradise Lost (over 60,000 words). I say you must because I want to convince you to take up the long-term practice of slowly memorizing short books of the Bible (see two of my past attempts to convince you here and here), and I think the description of how this practice changed his experience and knowledge of the text is both accurate and compelling.

[John] Basinger didn���t just remember the words; it would be a mistake, says Seamon, to interpret Basinger���s performance as ���simply a remarkable demonstration of brute force, rote memorisation.���

In order to memorize the epic poem, he spent a lot of time repeatedly analyzing its meaning and structure. Acting researchers emphasize this strategy, Seamon notes: ���Deep encoding requires actors to attend to the exact wording of lines, and it is the focus on exact wording to gain an understanding of the characters that yields verbatim memory, instead of merely the retention of gist.��� ���

Actors like Basinger use deep encoding to give ���honest, spontaneous performances, ones that focus on communicating the meanings underlying the literal words,��� according to psychologists Helga and Tony Noice���. Basinger, Seamon says, ���really got into the story, what Milton was trying to convey.��� Noice and Noice suggest that this would aid his recall: ���Bodily action and emotional response, in addition to semantic analysis, can enhance human memory.���

Memorizing in order to perform the words from the perspective of the author forced him to work on truly understanding the meaning of what he was reading. From the big picture to the smallest word, it all had to make sense to him.

He beautifully describes what this kind of memorization does to you:

���During the incessant repetition of Milton���s words, I really began to listen to them,���says Basinger, ���and every now and then as the whole poem began to take shape in my mind, an insight would come, an understanding, a delicious possibility.��� ���

For his part, Basinger says his years of effort have let him explore Paradise Lost as if it were a physical space. ���As a cathedral I carry around in my mind,��� he says, ���a place that I can enter and walk around at will.���

I can���t believe how well he captured the experience with that image. Imagine knowing books of the Bible this way. And you really can do this. There was nothing at all special about the man���s memory:

Nothing in Basinger���s tests suggested that his memory was otherwise irregular or exceptional. ���His memory for everyday tasks appears entirely normal for someone his age,��� Seamon says. ���He still forgets where he puts his keys.��� For those of us who struggle to remember to-do lists, it���s encouraging to know: ���Our findings are in agreement with other research on world-class memory performers,��� Seamon says, ���which indicates that exceptional memorizers are made, not born.���

Pick a book of the Bible, and start today with two verses. Add two verses a day. Speak them out loud as if you���re reading a letter (the Epistles) or telling a story (the Gospels). If you don���t understand what you���re memorizing, struggle with it until you do. When that book���from start to finish���becomes ���a cathedral you carry around in your mind,��� move on to the next book and start again. You may not perfectly remember every word of a particular book a year after you���ve moved on, but the intimate knowledge you will carry of that ���cathedral������its architecture and floor plan, the images on its stained glass windows, its unique sounds and smells���will remain with you. You will forever know it as one who has thoroughly explored all its corners, not merely as one who peeked in its windows.

Challenge: The Collection of Books in the Bible Changed Until the Printing Press

Here���s another challenge from the Truth Saves website:

If you're a Christian why do you worship the scriptures in the current Bible and not those that are left out? ��� [T]he Bible had a long history of changes before becoming the collection of books that Christians worship today. Entire books have been removed or added during the Bible's history and entire generations of Christians have devoted their faith and lives to earlier versions of the Bible which contained a various different collection of books and teachings. The Bible only became relatively consistent in its current form because of the 15th century invention of the printing press which mass produced copies of the current collection of books.

How would you respond to this challenge? Give us your answer in the comments below, and come back to the blog on Thursday to hear Tim���s answer.

[Explore past challenges here and here.]

Orlando Shooting

The shooting in Orlando yesterday was an atrocity. As Al Mohler tweeted, ���The Bible honors weeping with those who weep. A lot of our LGBT neighbors and their families are weeping now. Christians must weep with them.���

When I retweeted Mohler���s statement, someone responded that we���re hypocrites because we think gays are going to burn in Hell and God will be happy about it. Not true.

The Bible teaches that all people ��� every single person ��� is a valuable human being born with God���s image, and that we have an obligation to respect that. Every one of us. The Bible also teaches that all human beings are fallen and lost. The consequence of that is that all people ��� every single person ��� will be lost forever unless we are reconciled to God. No person, no group, no particular sin is singled out, because all sin breaks relationship with God. And even though we are all lost, while we are yet lost, we are valuable human beings who still retain the image of God and deserve respect.

The Bible also teaches that reconciliation with God is available to all people ��� every single person ��� through Jesus, God in the flesh who came to us to make that possible. And the Bible teaches that those who have been reconciled to God because they have realized their lost situation are now reconcilers themselves, appealing to others to accept peace with God that He has made possible through Jesus, God Himself.

As Russell Moore stated today, "We don���t have to agree on the meaning of marriage and sexuality to love one another and to see the murderous sin of terrorism."  To disagree on political and policy issues is totally different than loving others and offering them the forgiveness we needed, too.

We���re all the same ��� valuable human beings. We���re all in the same situation ��� lost and alienated from God. And peace with God is available to all.

Let���s be as clear as we can be in our message and have our actions back up our role as ministers of reconciliation.

So we grieve at the loss of valuable human beings.  We are angry at the atrocity of targeting LGBT people.  And we show Jesus's love for them and all people at all times.

Does Christianity's Uneven Geographical Distribution Prove It's Not a Universal Truth?

How can Christianity be true for everyone if it hasn't reached certain parts of the globe?

Give STR a Call Tuesday - Live Broadcast

Alan Shlemon is guest hosting the program Tuesday June 14, 4-6 p.m. PT.

Ask your question. Share a piece of your mind. Call with your question or comment at (855) 243-9975, outside the U.S. (562) 424-8229. The broadcast is live Tuesday 4-6 p.m. P.T. ��� commentary and your calls. Streaming live online.

Listen live online. Join us on Twitter during the program @STRtweets.

The program is two hours now, and one hour podcast episodes are posted on Wednesday and Friday.

First They Change the Definition, and Then They Claim the Right

The other day, I retweeted Brian Seagraves��� tweet: ���The transgender community wants a right no one has had: the right to use a bathroom that doesn���t match your sex.��� Someone replied that transgender people are just looking for the same right that everyone has already had ��� to use a bathroom that matches their gender identity.

This sleight of hand has been used before. Redefine marriage as a union of two people who love each other rather than as a lifelong union of one man and one woman. The sleight of hand is to change the terms of a right and then claim it or reapply it in a way that has never been thought of before. Like any trick, sometimes it���s easy to miss what happened. Christians sometimes don���t know how to respond because they missed the substitution.

The definition of marriage was usually not specified as a man and a woman, but that���s because it was taken for granted. It also took for granted one of each sex. But things began to change decades ago when people began to vow ���as long as we both shall love.��� The initial sleight of hand meant marriage wasn���t for life any longer. That was the first change of definition���to be able to end a marriage easily (at least legally; divorce is never easy). A few decades down the road, the change of definition allows the further substitution of definition for male and female and the number of people. Now we have rights no one has ever had even though they claim it���s equal rights. No one of the same sex and no group of more than two fit the definition of marriage. Change the definition, and then claim the right.

That���s what���s going on with transgender access to bathrooms. Bathroom use was never ever divvied up according to gender identity. Gender identity is a new category as distinct from sex. Bathrooms have been assigned to sex, not gender identity. Thus, literally and figuratively, the plumbing matters. But change the definition, and then claim the right.

Look, we can and should continue to point out the erroneous thinking and resist changes in the law that have no rational or ethical foundation. But since that isn���t currently having much affect in these policy changes, the main point of this post is to encourage you to not be duped to change your mind, even when you don���t quite notice the sleight of hand. Watch for it. But don���t be dissuaded in your convictions.

Links Mentioned on the 6/10/16 Show

The following is a rundown of today's podcast, annotated with links that were either mentioned on the show or inspired by it:

Guest Host: J. Warner Wallace

Guest: Andy Bannister ��� The Atheist Who Didn���t Exist: Or the Dreadful Consequences of Bad Arguments (0:00)

Andy Bannister
The Atheist Who Didn't Exist by Andy Bannister (Download the first chapter for free)
Heroes: Five Leaders from Whose Lives We Can Learn by Andy Bannister
C.S. Lewis on Stealing Past ���Watchful Dragons��� by Aaron Earls
Grand Central Question: Answering the Critical Concerns of the Major Worldviews by Abdu Murray
Atheism Isn't Simply a Lack of Belief by Tim Barnett
Atheism: More Than Just a Non-Belief by Amy Hall (quoting Tom Gilson)

Listen to today's show or download any archived show for free. (Find links from past shows here.)

To take part in the Twitter conversation during the live show (Tuesdays 4:00���6:00 p.m. PT), follow @STRtweets and use the hashtag #STRtalk.

The Back of the Book

One of the tactics in Greg���s book is ���the back of the book.��� Some people like to jump to the end of the book to find out how it ends before reading the whole thing. Sometimes you know the end of the story so you notice things about the narrative that you wouldn���t otherwise. Knowing the ending gives you some insight. Since God has created every one of us and He���s given us His manual for what we need to know, Christians have some insight that others may not have because they���re still running from God.

The definition of freedom running rampant in our culture is to follow our desires, satisfy our appetites. If freedom is to be protected, that means having the pursuit of those desires protected. Freedom used to be lack of interference by government; now it means intense government intervention in very private parts of life (e.g., who uses the bathrooms) because of this shift in definition.

As Christians, we already know that this isn���t freedom, it���s bondage. Bondage to sin. We���re not free if we���re driven by unrestrained desires and feelings. We���re not free if we are controlled by our sinful natures. But that is exactly what our culture is pursuing right now.

Since we know something about the Creator and what He���s told us about how He���s made us, we know that this pursuit will not satisfy. Sex outside of marriage will not ultimately satisfy because we���re created to be in lifelong union with one person. Adultery will not satisfy because it���s a violation of that union. Homosexuality and transgender affirmation will not satisfy because these are not how we are created. People in our culture are looking for fulfillment and satisfaction in ways that they cannot be found. With every legal victory affirming their desires and feelings, people in our culture expect to find what they���re looking for, but we know they won���t. They cannot because they���re looking for it in ways that are bound to fail. We know this as Christians because we found that out for ourselves. Even as Christians, we have to learn some hard lessons when we pursue what we should not.

So what we can expect is hurting and lost people even more hurting and lost. We need to graciously and compassionately speak the truth in love even while they don���t want to hear it. Along the way, some who were angry at us for saying what is true and good will come looking for answers to what they���re looking for when they realize they���re in bondage, not free.

Remember that we know something about them that they don���t even know. Instead of letting yourself think of them as enemies now because of the acrimony, see people who may come back to you at some point because they���ve finally realized what they���re pursuing can���t deliver what they���d hoped. They need freedom, but true freedom from sin. And that can only be found in forgiveness from and reconciliation with God.

Is This Really the Kind of Judge You Want God to Be?

By now, you���ve probably heard of Brock Turner, a Stanford student who sexually assaulted an unconscious girl and received a ridiculously light sentence. People aren���t happy with the judge:

A recall effort against a California judge was announced on Monday in a sexual assault case at Stanford University that ignited public outrage after the defendant was sentenced to a mere six months in jail and his father complained that his son���s life had been ruined for ���20 minutes of action��� fueled by alcohol and promiscuity.

When we see this kind of miscarriage of justice, we���re rightly appalled. A light sentence is a slap in the face to the victim. It denies the seriousness of the crime. It allows evil to win. Everyone can see this but Turner���s friends and family who argued on his behalf. Hearing their statements, I couldn���t help but notice a parallel between the arguments they made against jail time for Brock Turner and the arguments people make against Hell.

1. The crime only took 20 minutes.

Why, his father asked, should something that took only 20 minutes ruin the rest of his son���s life? But it���s obvious here that the seriousness of a crime and the length of its punishment are not determined by how long it took the person to commit it. The same is true for Hell.

2. All of his other accomplishments will even things out.

Turner argued that receiving probation rather than a jail sentence would enable him to do a lot of good by teaching others to avoid the ���drinking and partying college lifestyle.��� But neither his past accomplishments as a student and a swimmer, nor his future good deeds, erase the justice due for his evil act. The same is true for our actions.

3. It was the fault of his society.

Turner blamed the party culture that led to his drinking, but the fact that others influenced him to commit an evil act does not lessen the objective evil of the act and the punishment it requires. Neither will the excuse ���everyone was doing it��� serve to lessen our punishment.

4. The crime wasn���t bad enough to deserve a serious punishment.

Turner lost his scholarship, job opportunities, and his chance to swim in the Olympics. Wasn���t that enough? Turner���s friend wrote: ���I think this is all a huge misunderstanding���. This is completely different from a woman getting kidnapped and raped as she is walking to her car in a parking lot. That is a rapist. These are not rapists. These are idiot boys and girls having too much to drink and not being aware of their surroundings and having clouded judgment.���

I think anyone looking at this impartially can see that what happened was a serious evil. Those close to Turner, however, are unable to see this. The same is true for our delusion about our own sins.

5. Turner isn���t really bad like the other people who are in jail.

The judge was concerned that ���a prison sentence would have a severe impact on him,��� implying that Turner, unlike others who commit sexual assault, doesn���t belong there. Again, Turner���s friend wrote, ���Brock is such a sweetheart and a very smart kid���. It���s pretty frustrating to see the light that people are putting him in now. It used to be ���swim star��� and now it���s like he is the face of rape on campuses. It���s such a false way to put it���. Brock is not a monster. He is the furthest thing from anything like that���.���

Yet Turner did sexually assault someone. Ordinary people are capable of great evil, and evil actions come from bad people. The fact that a person is ordinary does nothing to mitigate the objective evil of his actions and the punishment those actions deserve. I suspect that those who know Brock Turner feared his receiving a level of punishment that would confirm the true seriousness of his crime because they know he���s ordinary. If he���s more like us than our image of a monster, then that means anyone can do evil���they can, you can, I can. And maybe that means we���re all bad.

People want this judge recalled because he���s not a good judge. He did not uphold justice. The arguments for leniency were not good ones, and now people are angry because Turner���s lack of punishment was an injustice and injustice is evil.

Why, then, do people make these same arguments against the rightness of Hell? It���s because we have as much interest in downplaying our sins as Turner does. Justice is so much easier to see when we���re talking about someone else���just look at the difference in reaction between those who know and care about Brock and those who are impartial. Could it be that we, like Turner���s family and friends, are not seeing things clearly when it comes to our own guilt and what it deserves?

Would God be a good Judge if He indulged our argument that Hell is unjust because our crimes took a short amount of time to commit, because we���ve also done good, because everyone else was doing it, because we���re not really all that bad? No, He would not. And the outrage over this story reveals that we all know it. There is nothing but mockery for these arguments out there. And in the end, they will not hold up for us either.

And here is where Christians should stand amazed, because our sins, down to the very last bit of objective evil that we won���t even allow ourselves to see, received full and complete justice through Jesus on the cross. He chose to take it for us. As frantically as we try to get out of our deserved punishment, He deliberately pressed into it. The thing we most fear, He walked right into. For us. Since we���re now joined to Him, everything He accomplished is credited to us. He stands in our place. We should stand amazed.

[We] were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:3���7)

Brock Turner���s reputation is ruined. His life as he���s known it is over. But he has the advantage over others of truly seeing the horror of his moral situation now, before it���s too late. I pray that his guilt and shattered life drives him to Christ, because unlike his previous judge, God is a good Judge, and in the end, there will be no protestations, no excuses, and no leniency. Christ, whose perfection requires no excuses or leniency, has volunteered to stand in our place, and He is our only hope.