Gregory Koukl's Blog, page 94

Links Mentioned on the 4/29/14 Show

The following are links that were either mentioned on this week's show or inspired by it, as posted live on the @STRtweets Twitter feed:

Why Hate Shouldn't Be a Crime by Greg Koukl


Why What the NBA Did Was Right and What Mozilla Did Was Wrong by Denny Burk


Sacred Marriage: What If God Designed Marriage to Make Us Holy More Than to Make Us Happy? by Gary L. Thomas


A NY City Councilman Puts Bigotry on Display by Michael Brown


The Grand Design: A Quantum Leap by Greg Koukl


Was Jesus Worshipped? by Greg Koukl

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

To follow the Twitter conversation during the live show (Tuesdays 4:00–7:00 p.m. PT), use the hashtag #STRtalk.

Gifts, Talents, and Character

One of the resources I like best in Logos Bible Software is the library of Timothy Keller's sermons from over 20 years at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City. I've been listening to sermons by Keller for a couple of years now, so when I saw they were releasing transcriptions, I was anxious to get them so that I could also read them. His sermons have been daily fare for me because I find his teaching to be a unique balance between pastor and apologist, intellectual and counselor that gives me insight and practical application. Keller exegetes the passage and talks about the passage, something unfortunately sometimes hard to find in a sermon. He's an intellectual with an ear to the postmodern culture. He has an apologetic posture, ready to answer objections and critics – and even the questions and doubts of believers influenced by our culture. And he's a pastor, instructing, exhorting, and encouraging. It's an array of teaching that appeals to my mind, but also my heart, which is the side I can easily neglect.

On my drive home yesterday, I listened to a sermon on 1 Corinthians 13 in a series on grace, and this morning I found the transcript in the Logos library so I could read and review it. This one really caught my attention because it spoke to a propensity for mistaking gifts for character that I think I was (still am?) guilty of much of my life, and it's something God has been working on in me for several years now, though I'd never understood it in the way Keller explained it.

Keller begins the sermon by introducing the original audience and the setting in its historical context, then draws parallels to our current condition so we can see even better how it applies. There aren't too many Bible passages that are more familiar than 1 Corinthians 13, which makes it even harder to read with Paul's original intention. We have all kinds of assumptions that make it easy to gloss over it. Sometimes the principle "never read a Bible verse" can even apply to a chapter. This chapter follows 12 chapters of context where Paul is laying the foundation for this, and this chapter draws on that. This isn't a lovey-dovey reflection on love. The character flaws Paul mentions in this chapter are ones that he has brought up earlier in the book. So as the Corinthians heard this read, they'd see the contrast of their character flaws to what they should be – what Paul is calling them to be. It would have been incredibly convicting.

Here's the main lesson Keller draws from the passage: Being gifted is not the same thing as character.

We can be gifted by God with spiritual gifts, but it's not the same thing as character. We can even do good things but they gain us nothing because they don't build character or commend us to God. It's possible to do loving things without actually being loving – to do outwardly good things but not be good inside. To lack love and grace. Don't mistake gifts for grace, talent for character.

I think this is an insight into why it's possible to accomplish great service in the body of Christ and still fall into grave sin. The gifts that we use to serve the Body, the gifts God uses, are not the same thing as integrity and character.

"It's not being gifted, not being good; it's being graced."

Keller points out that personifying love in this chapter calls to mind 1 Corinthians 1 and 2 where Paul encouraged them to put aside their disagreement and bragging to remember the cross. Jesus is love personified here. Paul is illustrating what love personified in Jesus looks like, how the cross changes us inwardly. We're never going to be loving people by certain behaviors, but by deep change in our character when we remember the cross and Jesus' love shown there.

Where do you see the ultimate example of, "Does not keep a record of wrongs"? The cross. "Father, forgive them. They don't know what they're doing." Where do you see the ultimate example of love never giving up? "Father...remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done."

Here's the key. If you see verses 4-7 first as a guide for your behavior, you'll never get there. If you see this not as a love you have to do first but a love that was done for you and to you first, if you see Him pouring Himself into you, that's going to change everything....If you see Him loving you like that...that completely...then you're going to be able to turn around and do it for others. Common sense. You could never produce this kind of love ever in a million years, but you could pass it on if somebody gave it to you. Jesus has done it.

That's the kind of insight that shifts me from my actions to my character, from doing good to being filled with love and grace. It's not something I generate. It's the result of meditating and dwelling on the love and grace Jesus has given me. That changes me from the inside out.

One of the things I like best about Logos Bible Software are these kinds of resources. There's a ton of sophisticated resources for in-depth Bible study. But there are also resources like the Keller sermon archive that are pastoral and devotional. Even resources that can work for Bible study groups and homeschooling. 

What Is a Simple Tactic You Can Use with the Topic of Evolution?

Alan offers a simple question you can ask when discussing the topic of evolution.

 

No-Fault Divorce Led to Confusion about Marriage

This article caught my eye – a movement to change no-fault divorce laws. We began tinkering with traditional marriage decades ago, and some of the force behind the case for same-sex marriage is drawn from ideas introduced to make divorce easier in the 60s. One of the key ideas: Marriage is about love. So when spouses fall out of love, they should be able to end their covenant easily, rather than show a sufficient reason for the instability to the individuals and society divorce causes. It was a fad 40 years ago for marriage vows to end with "as long as we both shall love." And now the argument is made that the government shouldn't prevent people who love each other from getting married.

Of course, marriage wasn't about love. It was, in part, about making stable families to raise the next generation.

I wrote about this nine years ago quoting Al Mohler. And it's more true now.

There were some legitimate reasons for no-fault divorce – abused women who couldn't show proof for just cause for a divorce. But it was much more about the feminist movement, freeing women from the "bonds" of a patriarchal institution. And a generation that naively believed love was all that mattered. There were no doubt marriages with cause for divorce, but the effects of no-fault divorce has had far-reaching consequences that now mean overturning an institution that provided stable families that helped create stable societies across millennia, across civilizations, across religions.

And for a culture who cries that the government has no business in our bedrooms, isn't it odd that we want to say that they do have business in our most intimate feelings – love?

We'll see if the damage can be repaired.

Where's the Marriage Equality for Throuples?

Did you hear about the “world’s first married lesbian threesome”?

Doll, Kitten and Brynn Young married in a ceremony in August 2013, when each of their fathers walked them down the aisle. All three women wore white wedding gowns and exchanged rings. 

The so-called 'throuple' worked with a specialist family lawyer who drew up the paperwork and drafted the ceremony so that all three of them were obligated and bound to each other. 

While Brynn and Kitten are legally married, Doll is handfasted to both so the threesome are as equally married to each other as legally possible.

If only bigoted statutes didn’t exist to prevent the government from treating them equally under the law and endorsing the choice of partners their orientation calls for:

Doll had known that she was polygamous since high school. She explains: 'I had always dated girls – who although they had boyfriends or girlfriends – were also allowed to date me. 

'I never thought that much about it and I had never really 'come out' as poly to my friends and family. To me, it was just how I was.’ …

Before meeting Doll and Brynn, Kitten had been in two long-term relationships with men. Her first relationship lasted ten years and she had been engaged to her second boyfriend….

'The whole break-up forced me to really think about who I was and I realised that I had not been honest to myself. On reflection, I realised that I hadn't been happy in my previous monogamous relationships and I discovered that I was poly….

Kitten says:…I had a very traditional upbringing and marriage had always been an important symbol of commitment for me. We wanted to celebrate our love in a wedding like everyone else.'

Love is love!

The threesome insist their relationship is like that of any normal couple: having breakfast with one another, watching TV after work and sharing a bed together….

Kitten, Brynn and Doll had to work with the legalities of the state to get married to each other. As being married to more than one person is not currently legal, they had to combine handfasting, legally binding documents and legal marriage.

A family lawyer drew up paperwork – in terms of assets, wills and legal rights to children – to bind them all together as much as they could without an actual three way marriage….

They hope to show the world that polyfidelity is an acceptable choice of love. 

There’s no rational reason to legally discriminate against three people who love each other. These polyphobic laws “demean the throuple, whose moral and sexual choices the Constitution protects.” It’s clear that the purpose of defining marriage as “two” is “to disparage and to injure” throuples, motivated by “animus” against polys and a “bare congressional desire to harm a politically unpopular group.”

Brynn says: 'Doll, Kitten and I may not be the norm but we are perfectly normal. We are simply people trying to live the life that we feel is best for us and we deserve the rights afforded to others.'

Marriage equality!

How to Train Your Kids – Watch the Live Event Here

If you want to develop a strategy for training your youth in Christian worldview and apologetics, join me tonight for a free training event for parents, youth leaders, pastors, and Christian educators right here, starting at 7:00 pm (PDT). We'll be watching the comments below for your questions. See you then! (More info here.)

 

A few more options:

Watch and ask questions on Google+
Watch and ask questions on YouTube
Ask questions via Twitter, using the hashtag #STRask

Related STR resources:

Bulletproof: Fortifying Young Minds with the Truth – CD set includes "20 Ideas for Worldview Training"


Truth and the Real World – CD set with a PDF Leader's Guide to facilitate an engaging group study with discussion and activities for junior high, high school, or college students 


Who's Waiting for Your Kids? – DVD about what your students will face on secular college campuses


Resources for children and youth in our store


Free resources for parents and leaders


reTHINK Student Apologetics Conference – October 25-26 in Orange County, CA 


Berkeley and Utah Mission Trips – A one-of-a-kind training experience that immerses participants in real-life apologetics, theology, and evangelism


Bulletproof – My podcast for equipping parents, youth leaders, and educators


My speaking calendar – See if I'll be in your area soon.

Books and DVDs I recommend:

The Big Picture Story Bible by David R. Helm


The Children's Illustrated Bible by Selina Hastings


The Picture Bible by Iva Hoth and and Andre Le Blanc


What's in the Bible? – A DVD series from the creator of Veggie Tales


What Is God Like? – Series of books for children by William Lane Craig 


The Defense Never Rests – Workbook for children and teacher's handbook by William Lane Craig


Jesus iWitness by Doug Powell


Welcome to College: A Christ-Follower's Guide for the Journey by Jonathan Morrow


TrueU: Does God Exist? – Dr. Stephen Meyer teaches in this TrueU DVD


TrueU: Is the Bible Reliable? – Another TrueU DVD with Dr. Meyer

Mentioned during the hangout (if not already linked above):

Are Young People Really Leaving Christianity? by J. Warner Wallace


The Forgotten Trinity by James White


Know What You Believe by Paul Little


Jacob Allee's blog


The Ambassador's Guide to Understanding Homosexuality by Alan Shlemon

Totally Dedicated to Science and Religion

Einstein said of Michael Faraday "that he, of all people, had made the greatest change in our conception of reality." He was one of the most famous scientists of his time.

Faraday lived from 1791 to 1867 and discovered many of the fundamental laws of physics and chemistry. He discovered electromagnetic induction and the laws of electrochemistry, and invented the first dynamo, converting mechanical energy into electrical energy. He isolated benzene as a fundamental component of organic chemistry. Throughout his career, he lectured at the Royal Society. His lectures on the latest scientific discoveries were very popular. He was well known for being able to explain complex scientific ideas to Victorians hungry for the latest scientific knowledge.

Faraday was an elder in his church, a member of Sandemanians. He believed in the literal interpretation of Scripture, and believed that the uniformity of God's creation made scientific inquiry possible. He believed that the revelation of nature pointed to the Creator, and the revelation of Scripture pointed to the Savior. He was actively engaged in church activities.

Faraday's peace and security was not in his worldly fame but in the Lord Jesus Christ. In 1861 Faraday wrote to a scientist friend: Since peace is alone in the gift of God; and as it is He who gives it, why should we be afraid? His unspeakable gift in His beloved Son is the ground of no doubtful hope.

Welcome to the Kingdom. Now What?

C. Michael Patton from Reclaiming the Mind and Credo House has written a great little book to help new believers become disciples – Now That I'm a Christian: What It Means to Follow Jesus. I say "little" book not to demean it or even because it's that much briefer than other books, but because it's not intimidating. It's just the right length to cover a variety of important topics to get a new believer started without overwhelming him. 

Patton covers basic Christian beliefs and fundamental Christian practices, the kinds of things every Christian should believe and do to be faithful to God's teaching in the Bible and get grounded in the faith to build a firm foundation for lifelong growth. He covers five basic Christian beliefs: Bible, Man, God, Christ, Faith. These will start a new Christian developing a firm understanding and a coherent worldview that makes sense of Christianity and living in the world as a new believer. He then goes on to cover some basic activities Christians should engage in regularly: prayer, study, church, mission. And he includes a chapter on suffering so that new believers have an accurate understanding to hold onto when hard times hit.

Patton writes in an accessible way and introduces new terms and vocabulary without dumbing it down.

It can be given to someone curious about what Christianity is all about, how it makes sense. It's accessible for students to give them a more coherent understanding of their faith.

I haven't seen a good book – a handbook really – to disciple new believers, and even long time Christians, in quite some time. And I really like this one. It fills a very important purpose to make disciples, not just converts.

Links Mentioned on the 4/22/14 Show

The following are links that were either mentioned on this week's show or inspired by it, as posted live on the @STRtweets Twitter feed:

Reasons to Believe – Hugh Ross's organization


Dennis Prager interviews Hugh Ross


Seven Days that Divide the World by John Lennox 


How to Train Your Kids – Links to particpate in Brett's live event on Thursday 


The Problem of Evil by William Lane Craig 


God, Time, & Eternity by William Lane Craig


"Misquoting" Jesus? Answering Bart Ehrman by Greg Koukl (PDF)


How Jesus Became God by Bart Ehrman


Canon Fodder – Michael Kruger's blog


Bart Ehrman's Latest Book – How Jesus Became God by Melinda Penner


Jesus, the Recycled Redeemer by Greg Koukl (PDF)


Apollonius of Tyana and Jesus – On the supposed parallels between Apollonius and Jesus


The Heresy of Orthodoxy by Michael Kruger


How God Became Jesus – A book responding to Bart Ehrman


The Question of Canon by Michael Kruger 


Lectures by Michael Kruger

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

To follow the Twitter conversation during the live show (Tuesdays 4:00–7:00 p.m. PT), use the hashtag #STRtalk.

"How to Train Your Kids" Live Q & A Event – Thursday, April 24th

It's no secret that many Christian parents struggle to effectively pass along their Christian convictions to their kids. That's why the large majority of our youth are completely inarticulate about the most basic tenets of Christianity. Sadly, many youth ministries don't offer much help in training our students. Of course, this is a serious challenge to the church as we watch the emerging generation head for the exits.

There are a number of factors that contribute to the problem: the aggressive false ideas of a secular culture and the resulting intellectual skepticism in our youth, insane levels of media saturation, biblical illiteracy among students, and a host of other reasons. And for good measure, here are a few more reasons (actually 10).

Faced with the daunting task of raising kids amidst such challenges, the parental impulse to over-protect is strong. "It's a big bad world out there, so hide the kids in the basement. For the rest of their lives." Yeah, that approach won't do. Even though we're not called to be of the world, we're still called to be in it. Hiding out is not an option, so let me suggest a different strategy: don't isolate your kids, inoculate them. Protection is appropriate at certain stages, but it can't be our overall strategy. Instead, we must be proactive. We must equip our kids with the truth so they're not taken captive by false ideas (Colossians 2:8). But how? What can we do? What practical steps do we need to take? 

Well, this Thursday night, April 24th, at 7:00 pm (Pacific Time), I'll try to help layout a practical strategy and answer your questions. "How To Train Your Kids" is a free online training event to help parents, youth leaders, pastors and Christian educators equip their students with the truth. You can join the discussion several different ways: 

Watch and ask questions on Google+
Watch and ask questions on YouTube
Watch and ask questions on the STR Blog
Ask questions via Twitter, using the hashtag #STRask

I'm in this battle right alongside you, have been for the last 20 years. I spent 11 years as a youth pastor in Southern California and in Colorado. I also have five kids of my own, ages 19, 12, 11, 6, and 2. I've made my share of mistakes, and I've also learned a lot along the way. I hope to offer some practical strategies that I've used with my youth groups and with my own kids. So let's talk this Thursday night. I hope you'll join us!

*Note: This live video event will take the place of our normal weekly challenge question.