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Mere Apologetics - 7b Opening the Door to Faith
Mere Apologetics - 7b Opening the Door to Faith
by SPCK - Alister McGrath
Opening the Door to Faith First, this approach is not well-grounded in the Bible. Truth, especially for the Old Testament, primarily designates reliability and trustworthiness. The apologetic issue is that God is a secure base, a place of safety on which to build the life of fait…
Mere Apologetics - 8c Case Study 2: God as a Crutch
Mere Apologetics - 8c Case Study 2: God as a Crutch
by SPCK - Alister McGrath
Case Study 2: God as a Crutch One of the most familiar criticisms of Christianity is that it offers consolation to life’s losers. The only way such sad people can cope with life, it is argued, is by inventing a God who comforts them. Real people don’t need such spurious reassuran…
The Living God - The God of Jesus of Nazareth
The Living God - The God of Jesus of Nazareth
by SPCK - Alister McGrath
Which God Are We Talking About? 1 The God of Jesus of Nazareth Don’t tell them – show them! That was the advice I was given when trying to improve my preaching more than 30 years ago. My early attempts were not particularly successful. I remember two people coming up to me after …
Jesus, his home, his journey, his challenge - Jesus: his challenge
Jesus, his home, his journey, his challenge - Jesus: his challenge
by SPCK - David J. Bryan
Jesus: his challenge Introduction Jesus’ world was, as we have seen, complex and far from united and harmonious. Regional, social, religious and racial divisions were present in abundance. We turn now to consider how Jesus brought a distinctive and challenging message to this wor…
The Living God - Mystery or muddle? The Trinity
The Living God - Mystery or muddle? The Trinity
by SPCK - Alister McGrath
Mystery or muddle? The Trinity 5 When I was an atheist I regarded religious people as deluded and irrational souls who believed all sorts of ridiculous nonsense. If I had been asked to single out what I regarded as the most absurd aspect of Christian belief, I would have pointed …
Four Gospels, One Jesus - The lion and his pride
Four Gospels, One Jesus - The lion and his pride
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
The lion and his pride The role of the disciples A lion must have his pride – and a rabbi, his disciples. However, are Jesus’ disciples his ‘pride and joy’? On the one hand, they are the people Jesus calls to share his roamings and his battles; on the other hand, their attention …
Four Gospels, One Jesus - The Lion's Appearance
Four Gospels, One Jesus - The Lion's Appearance
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
The lion’s appearance Symbolism and meaning The opening of any ancient biography usually tried to say something about who the subject was and where he came from. Often the first words included the subject’s name, and, perhaps, a brief comment about his family, ancestry or home to…
Mere Apologetics - 1b The Basic Themes of Christian Apologetics
Mere Apologetics - 1b The Basic Themes of Christian Apologetics
by SPCK - Alister McGrath
The Basic Themes of Christian Apologetics Before exploring these possibilities, we need to think a little more about the nature of apologetics. What issues does it engage? How does it help us proclaim and communicate the gospel? We could summarize the three tasks faced by apologi…
Mere Apologetics - 6b Clue 3: Order—The Structure of the Physical World
Mere Apologetics - 6b Clue 3: Order—The Structure of the Physical World
by SPCK - Alister McGrath
Clue 3: Order—The Structure of the Physical World Our instinct to discern order within the world is expressed clearly in the wisdom literature of the Old Testament. The natural sciences are also based on the idea of the regularity of the universe. Without an ordered cosmos, the s…
Mere Apologetics - 6c Clue 5: Desire— Homing Instinct for God
Mere Apologetics - 6c Clue 5: Desire— Homing Instinct for God
by SPCK - Alister McGrath
Clue 5: Desire— Homing Instinct for God Many arguments for the existence of God involve an appeal primarily to reason. Others involve an appeal to experience, finding their plausibility within the human heart as much as in human reason…
The Living God - God and suffering: understanding and coping