Gregory Koukl's Blog, page 26

How to Respond When Someone Doesn't Want Heaven

How do you respond to someone who doesn't want Heaven because their loved ones won't be there?

Michael Licona���s New Research on Gospel Differences

Michael Licona has a new book on Gospel differences coming out later this year. Here���s an excerpt from an interview with Licona (posted by Sean McDowell) explaining what his research uncovered:

Most approaches [to Gospel differences] involve trying to harmonize various passages to see if all the details can fit together. This can be a legitimate practice. But many times it can go way too far. Both Richard Burridge and more recently Craig Keener have shown that the Gospels belong to the genre of ���ancient biography.��� If this is correct, it would be plausible that we would see the same amount of flexibility in the Gospels as we observe in other ancient biographies. So, I wanted to learn what those flexibilities were. By carefully reading ancient biographies written around the same time as the Gospels and comparing how they tell the same stories differently, I began to recognize that some of the differences resulted from compositional devices. Then when I went to the Gospels, I could see that the authors were probably employing the same compositional devices as other ancient biographers; specifically Plutarch. I began to realize that the differences across the Gospels are not so much contradictions but the result of compositional devices that were the standard practice in historical writing of that day���.

This research suggests that almost all of the differences we observe in the Gospels probably resulted from the use of compositional devices that were part and parcel of the literary conventions of ancient historical writing and were not the result of the Gospel authors using inaccurate sources or being pitifully inept historians.

Read the rest of the interview to hear about one of these ancient compositional devices found in the Gospels.

Links Mentioned on the 1/22/16 Show

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

Commentary: Protecting His Daughters' Innocence (0:00)

The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom (The part Greg quoted can be found here.)

Questions:

��� Announcements:

#STRask Podcast with Greg Koukl and Melinda Penner
STR Cruise to Alaska ��� August 6-13, 2016

1. What to do when someone refuses the facts? And also refuses your historical sources? (0:13)

Tactics: A Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian Convictions by Greg Koukl
What's Really in the Planned Parenthood Videos? by Amy Hall

2. March for Life (0:30)

3. Did Jesus intend to establish a visible church on earth? (0:36)

4. Do Jews and Christians worship the same God? (0:47)

What's Going on at Wheaton? A Modest Proposal for the "Do Christians and Muslims Worship the Same God" Debate by Justin Taylor
The ���Same God��� Debate Is Too Important to Leave to Philosophers by Lydia McGrew

5. How do we confirm the gift of prophecy? (0:53)

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.

Free 21 Days of Prayer for Life Booklet

Greg talked to John Stonestreet on yesterday���s podcast about the 21 Days of Prayer for Life booklet he co-authored with Scott Klusendorf, so I wanted to make it easy for everyone to find. It���s not just a prayer guide; it���s also a teaching tool. Here���s an explanation of its purpose from the introduction:

By inviting you to pray with us for these 21 days, we are not asking you to pick fights with friends and family over a surgical procedure. We are asking you to join the most significant human-rights cause of our day, and to equip yourself to engage the culture on a fundamental question it���s already asking���What makes us equal?

This prayer guide has two objectives.

Help Christians pray with understanding by focusing on key aspects of the abortion debate���. Each day, three specific prayer points will address [abortion-related] concerns.

Equip Christians to engage others in true and loving conversation. Friends and family need to know the pro-life view is true and reasonable and worth believing. At the same time, post-abortion men and women desperately need equipped Christians to communicate the supernatural healing found only in the Christian gospel���.

The idea of ���engaging��� others may sound scary, but it shouldn���t. Heart and mind change is not our responsibility. It���s God���s! We shouldn���t worry about converting people to prolife. But we can give them something to think about, however imperfectly we may communicate it. God will do the rest.

Will you join us as we entreat heaven to bring a miracle to individuals and our culture? We need one. Lives hang in the balance.

Download the booklet for free, and with your church, with your small group, with your family, or on your own, I hope you���ll commit to 21 days of prayer.

Links Mentioned on the 1/20/16 Show

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

Commentary: The Anglican Church: Morally-Guided Love (0:00)

Anglican Communion Suspends U.S. Episcopal Church over Same-Sex Marriage by Alex Johnson
What Does God's Love Look Like? by Amy Hall (quoting Kevin DeYoung)
Upcoming events with STR speakers

Guest: John Stonestreet ��� 21 Days of Prayer for Life (0:20)

STR Cruise to Alaska ��� August 6-13, 2016
John Stonestreet
The Colson Center for Christian Worldview
Restoring All Things: God���s Audacious Plan to Change the World through Everyday People by John Stonestreet
21 Days of Prayer for Life (Free download)
Abortion and Slavery: The Same Old Arguments by Amy Hall

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.

Join Us on Our 2016 Cruise to Alaska

On August 6, 2016, we���ll set sail from Seattle, Washington for seven days aboard Holland America���s ms Westerdam. We���re planning a voyage you will never forget. It is specifically designed for those who care to represent Christ to a world looking for answers to life���s toughest questions.

Our plan is to challenge you with stimulating presentations, answer your questions in ���open forum��� discussions and enrich you through interaction and fellowship with expert speakers and fellow passengers. Add to that the stunning splendor of the Alaskan coastline and a seven-day itinerary that includes Juneau, Glacier Bay, Sitka, Ketchikan and Victoria, B.C.

I will be joined by some very distinguished guest speakers: J. Warner Wallace from Cold Case Christianity and John Stonestreet from the Colson Center for Christian Worldview and co-host of BreakPoint radio.

Come join Stand to Reason and our excellent line-up for a memorable spiritual adventure. You���ll enjoy plenty of fun and relaxation, along with ample opportunity to meet our speakers, ask questions, and enjoy each other���s company. If studying Christian subjects with some of the sharpest minds on the planet in the fellowship of other believers of kindred spirit aboard a beautiful ship sailing the Alaskan coastline sounds like your idea of a perfect vacation, this is the trip for you.

You don���t need any prior understanding of the subject matter. Simply bring a desire to learn and an expectation to relax. Everything about this trip is being planned with your enjoyment and enrichment in mind.

Learn more and book online via our cruise information page, or simply contact Inspiration Cruises and Tours at (800) 247-1899. We���re looking forward to seeing you on board!

Thinking Worldviewishly about Economics

This July, I���ll be leading a group of high school students and leaders from Grace Fellowship Church on a brand new experience. We���re calling it the Worldview Road Trip, and it���s designed to equip students to think Christianly about every single area of life. One topic we plan to cover is economics. We want students to know the central components of a Christian worldview and how they inform our views on poverty, money, the economy, free markets, and more. As we���ve been creating an outline for this training session, I���ve identified several key theological issues that are especially relevant to this topic:

The Image of God
Fallen Human Nature
The Nature of Marriage and Family
Self-governance and Personal Responsibility 
The Role of the Family
The Role of the Church

And here are the key questions regarding economics that emerge from our theological reflections:  

How does the Imago Dei inform our view of human activity? Why is man a creator, not merely consumer?


How does fallen human nature inform our views about economics, markets, and human interaction in these arenas? How do various economic systems take into account, or ignore, our sinful and selfish nature? How might a free-market economy hold human nature in check and create accountability?


What is ���sphere sovereignty,��� and how does this idea emerge in Scripture (e.g., Paul telling us that ���if a man will not work, he shall not eat��� in 2 Thess. 3:10)? Who is primarily responsible for taking care of us?


Is there a distinction between self-interest and selfishness? How does appropriate self-interest inform our economic views?


What should our approach be to the poor? How does our view of human nature inform our approach? How are free markets effective tools in fighting poverty in the world?


How does God���s design for the family protect people from poverty (e.g., looking at how single parenting greatly increases chances of poverty and how married men with children are the most productive members of society)?


What is man���s fundamental problem and need according to Scripture? How do we prioritize issues like poverty in light of the primacy of the Gospel (e.g., do people need wealth or Jesus more? Are we focusing more on social justice issues or the cross of Christ?)

How would you answer these questions? We will equip students to see how the Christian worldview has tremendous insight into these topics. If you haven���t given this much thought, let me pass along some of the great resources we���re using to prepare this training session. You may find them helpful as you too think Christianly about all of life.

BOOKS

The Virtues of Capitalism
Money, Greed, and God 
Defending the Free Market: The Moral Case for a Free Economy
Love and Economics

ARTICLES

Introduction to the Christian Worldview
Biblical Worldview: What It Is and What It Is Not
The Importance of a Christian Worldview
Selfishness vs. Self-Interest
C.S. Lewis on Selfishness vs. Self-Interest
Sphere Sovereignty 101
How Our Hospitality Can Protect Sphere Sovereignty
Worldview at Work
Creating vs. Consuming
Poverty and the Church
Poverty and Government, Part 1
Poverty and Government, Part 2
The Truth about Marriage and Poverty
Marriage Is America���s Most Effective Anti-Poverty Program
Creating Wealth Is Better than Curing Poverty
Jay Richards: Eight Common Myths about Wealth, Poverty, and the Free Market

VIDEOS

The Virtues of Capitalism���Milton Friedman
How to End Poverty in Ten Tough Steps���Jay Richards
Economics and the Gospel���Jay Richards
Money, Greed, and God��� Jay Richards
Exchange and Win-Win Activities���Jay Richards 

VIDEOS/CURRICULUM FOR PURCHASE

For the Life of the World
Poverty Cure
The Call of the Entrepreneur

What Does "Evangelical" Mean?

The term "Evangelical Christian" gets used a lot, but what does it really mean?

What Does 'Evangelical' Mean?

The term 'Evangelical' Christian gets used a lot, but what does it really mean?

Free Ratio Christi Online Event on February 5th

This year, Ratio Christi���s annual Symposium is on the topic ���The Book That Changed the World��� and will be held at Purdue University on February 5-7. If you go in person, you���ll be able to see the manuscript exhibit they���ll have there and attend lectures throughout the weekend (see the full list of speakers and topics). But there���s also a live streaming option available for the first night (7:00���9:30 p.m. EST), where Dan Wallace will be speaking on ���How Badly Has the Bible Been Corrupted?���

From Ratio Christi���s press release:

In a live streaming event during the 2016 Purdue University Symposium, a historic Old Testament scroll will be displayed for the first time, and a portion of the Hebrew text will be read. The scroll, measuring about ninety-two feet long, was a gift donated to Ratio Christi Campus Apologetics Alliance for the purpose of illustrating the reliability of these writings of antiquity���.

The Friday night live stream will also include keynote speaker and Evangelical Theological Society President, Dr. Daniel B. Wallace, ���How Badly Has the Bible Been Corrupted?��� Additionally, there will be testimonies from seven Purdue ���Christian Professors Who are Confessors��� and Melissa Slusher, the mother of the late Jordan Slusher, a Ratio Christi student for whom the outstanding student recognition ���Legatus Christi��� (Ambassador of Christ) was posthumously named.

You can register for the free online event here (if you���re an individual, just enter ���Individual��� in the field labeled ���Organization Name���). There���s no registration if you���re attending in person. More information on the Symposium can be found here and here.