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Transcript of Pulse Magazine: Issue 21
T H E Z A C H A R I A S T R U S T M A G A Z I N E ISSUE 21 | AUTUMN 2015
www.rzim.eu
THE BIBLE: THE VERDICT OF HISTORY
FREEDVD
(see page 3 for details)
COVER IMAGE: ARCHAEOLOGIST EXCAVATING A HUMAN SKULL AT ASHKELON, ISRAEL, IN 2010
Retweet, not retreat
Big questions: how do we know it’s true?
The all new ‘Happy Humanism’
Persuasive Christianity: making conversations count
STAY CONNECTED
Introducing the next generation of evangelists: the OCCA Fellows Programme
AUTUMN 2015 | PULSE ISSUE 21
2
VLAD CRIZNIC
DIRECTOR, RZIM ROMANIA
The Zacharias Trust is the working name of RZIM Zacharias Trust, a charitable company founded in 1997 that is limited by guarantee and registered in England. Company No. 3449676. Charity No. 1067314
PRINTER | VERITÉ CM LTD
DESIGN AND ILLUSTRATION | KAREN SAWREY
PHOTOGRAPHY | JOHN CAIRNS (pages 2, 16 , 17 & 18)
STOCK IMAGES | Shutterstock.com: Cover image
©ChameleonsEye, page 4-8 ©ChameleonsEye & ©littleny, page 22
©Masson. THE NOUN PROJECT: Pages 20-21 bowing by Stephanie
Wauters, hug by Les vieux garçons, disguise by Helen Tseng, Happy
Dance by Luis Prado, Compassion by Scott Lewis.
The Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics (OCCA) is a partnership between RZIM and Wycliff e Hall, a Permanent Private Hall of the University of Oxford.
MICHAEL RAMSDEN
INTERNATIONAL DIRECTOR, RZIM
JOHN LENNOX
ADJUNCT PROFESSOR, OCCA
TOM PRICE
TUTOR, OCCAAND RZIM ITINERANT SPEAKER
RAVI ZACHARIAS
FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT OF RZIM
ALISTER MCGRATH
PRESIDENT, OCCA
AMY ORR-EWING
REGIONAL DIRECTOR, EMEA AND CURRICULUM DIRECTOR, OCCA
OS GUINNESS
SENIOR FELLOW, OCCA
VINCE VITALE
SENIOR TUTOR, OCCAAND RZIM ITINERANT SPEAKER
SHARON DIRCKX
TUTOR, OCCAAND RZIM ITINERANT SPEAKER
BECKY PIPPERT
ASSOCIATE EVANGELIST
The Zacharias Trust, 76 Banbury Road, Oxford, OX2 6JT T: +44 (0)1865 302900 F: +44 (0)1865 318451 www.rzim.eu
our team includes:
HELPING THE THINKER BELIEVE AND THE BELIEVER THINKTh e Zacharias Trust is a UK charity that seeks to engage hearts and minds for Christ.
TANYA WALKER
RZIM ITINERANT SPEAKER
ANDY WICKHAM
DIRECTOR, RZIM SPAIN
CHRISTIAN HOFREITER
DIRECTOR, RZIM GERMANY, AUSTRIA AND SWITZERLAND
JO VITALE
TUTOR , OCCA
KEITH SMALL
TUTOR , OCCA
SIMON EDWARDS
RZIM ITINERANT SPEAKER
MAHLATSE WINSTON MASHUA
DIRECTOR, RZIM SOUTH AFRICA
KOSTA MILKOV
DIRECTOR, RZIM MACEDONIA
333333
SUMMER2015 | PULSE ISSUE 20
TO THE TWENTY-FIRST EDITION OF
pulse magazine
CONTENTSTHE BIBLE:
THE VERDICT
OF HISTORY 4POSTCARD
FROM ROMANIA 9INTRODUCING THE
NEXT GENERATION
OF EVANGELISTS:
THE OCCA FELLOWS
PROGRAMME 10RETWEET,
NOT RETREAT: 12CHRISTIAN
PERSUASION:
MAKING
CONVERSATIONS COUNT 16DATES FOR YOUR DIARY 19THE ALL NEW
‘HAPPY HUMANISM’ 20BIG QUESTIONS:
HOW DO WE KNOW
IT’S TRUE? 22
IN THIS ISSUE:
THE BIBLE: THE VERDICT
OF HISTORY
Can we really trust the Bible, given
that it was written thousands of years
ago? This is the topic of a DVD series
by 222Ministries, entitled, ‘The Bible:
The Verdict of History’. On page 4,
Simon Wenham examines some of the
arguments it uses, as well as assessing
how useful it is as an apologetics
resource.
RETWEET, NOT RETREAT
We live in an ultra-connected world,
where much of our communication now
occurs online. On page 12, Nancy Giff ord
gives advice on how Christians can
engage with social media.
THE NEXT GENERATION
OF EVANGELISTS
The Oxford Centre for Christian
Apologetics may only be just over a
decade old, but its infl uence has grown
signifi cantly in the last few years. On page
10, Helen Sherwin introduces the new
OCCA Fellows and Adjunct speakers.
EVENTS
Our speaking team is involved with lots
of forthcoming events and you can see
them all listed on page 19.
PERSUASIVE CHRISTIANITY
We don’t often hear Christians saying
much about persuasion, but on page
16, we look at Os Guinness’ new book
on the topic, which examines how to
communicate the gospel message more
eff ectively in today’s ‘post Christian’ world.
POSTCARD FROM ROMANIA
On page 9, Vlad Criznic reports back on
some of the important events that have
recently occurred in Romania.
THE ALL NEW
‘HAPPY HUMANISM’
The British Humanist Association recently
launched a new promotional drive
revolving around the concept of ‘Happy
Humanism’. On page 20, Martin Smith
goes on a light-hearted quest to fi nd
some joyful atheists, using clues from
their own four-point manifesto.
BIG QUESTIONS #4: HOW
DO WE KNOW IT’S TRUE?
Isn’t it arrogant to say that there is only
one way to God? On page 22, Ravi
Zacharias explores the question of
how we can test the truth claims of
any worldview.
STAY CONNECTED
Receive up-to-date information about our
team and apologetics material by signing
up to receive Pulse and our monthly
electronic resource at
www.rzim.eu/keeping-in-touch.
Our new ‘Evidence for God’ DVD is now
available for free* from 10ofThose.com.
The resource looks at fi ve key areas in
which a positive case for a creator can
be made (cosmology, history, ethics,
rationality and personal experience).
The resource can be ordered from
www.10ofThose.com.
Simon WenhamRESEARCH CO-ORDINATOR
* Customers are only required to cover the cost of postage.
WELCOME
FREEDVD
(see page 3 for details)
AUTUMN 2015 | PULSE ISSUE 21
444444444444444
THE RELIABILITY OF SCRIPTURE IS VERY IMPORTANT, AS IT...GIVES BELIEVERS
IN THE WORD OF GOD
THE BIBLE:
THE VERDICT
OF HISTORY
BY SIMON WENHAM
AUTUMN 2015 | PULSE ISSUE 21
5
Yet despite the helpful teaching it contains, some
would argue that it has become outdated and
is unsuitable for informing us about anything of
importance in our modern and scientifi c world.
The time has come, they argue, to consign it to
the history books and to view it alongside other
mythical accounts that are rightly considered to
be classics of literature, despite bearing little or
no resemblance to reality.
It is precisely this kind of thinking that is
challenged during a day-trip to the British
Museum that the Business Programme* students
at the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics
take. During their visit, Dr Jay Smith guides them
around the many exhibits and artefacts that
relate to events recorded in scripture, in order to
bring to life how the biblical narratives fi ts within
the unfurling history of the ancient world.
The teaching they receive is a condensed version
of the material contained within an 11-part TV
documentary series produced for 222Ministries,
presented by Smith and Dr Sasan Tavassoli,
entitled ‘The Bible: The Verdict of History’.
Although it was originally produced for an Iranian
audience, so some of the content specifi cally
responds to common objections made against
the Bible from an Islamic perspective, many of
the arguments are exactly the same as those any
Christian might encounter. This article examines
some of the topics that the series covers, as well
as evaluating its usefulness as an apologetics
resource for Christians.
THE FLOOD
One of the fi rst topics the documentary covers
is the extra biblical evidence for the fl ood. This
remains a controversial topic, because there are
over 200 diff erent fl ood accounts from around
the world, including China. Two of them, a
Babylonian account about ‘Atrahasis’ dating from
around 1635BC (the original believed to have
been produced in the 18th century BC), and
the Gilgamesh epic from ancient Mesopotamia
(dating from around 650BC, although the original
is thought to go back to around 2100BC), are
contained within the museum. One response
to the existence of similar records would be to
argue that the Bible clearly borrowed the story
of the fl ood from an earlier source, but another,
which the presenters endorse, is to see them as
confi rming the biblical story of a massive fl ood.
One might add that it is also important to
compare the documents, if a suggestion is
made that the Bible drew from another source.
By doing so, you would quickly realise that
the Atrahasis and Gilgamesh epics have a very
diff erent feel to them, as they both focus on the
lives and disputes of the many diff erent gods
and how they interact with humankind. They
describe, for example, how it was one of the
deities, Enlil, who was responsible for sending
the fl ood, simply because he was fed up with
his sleep being disturbed by the noise from the
people! In the Atrahasis account, humans were
created because the gods had become tired of
working the land, and the eventual fl ood was
only one of a number of punishments exacted
against them (which subsequently led to a
new set of people being created). In the other
narrative, the deluge is simply one of the many
incredible adventures of King Gilgamesh, the son
of the goddess of Ninsun (and a human father),
whose other escapades included a failed quest
to fi nd eternal life and the slaying of mythical
creatures, like the monstrous giant, Humsbaba,
and the Bull of Heaven. Admittedly, the accounts
do contain a couple of details that are the same
as the story of Noah (a god-sent fl ood and a hero
building a boat to survive it), but, overall, these
similarities should not be overstated.
DISCOVERING ANCIENT CITIES
AND PEOPLE
One of the most interesting aspects of the series
is its focus on the numerous archaeological
discoveries that corroborate what is in the
Bible, when there had previously been no other
sources to substantiate them. This is obviously
important, because it challenges the suggestion
that we cannot rely on the historicity of ‘biased’
scripture, but should instead only trust extra-
biblical evidence (which may or may not
even survive).
It wasn’t known if the city of Ur existed (Genesis
11:28), until it was discovered in subsequent
excavations, for example, and whilst there was
once little information about the Hittites (Genesis
15:20), we now know a vast amount about a
major civilization descended from them in what
is modern-day Turkey. Another interesting fi nd
was corroborating evidence supporting the
Bible’s claim (in 2 Kings 15:9) that the Assyrian
King, Tiglath Pileser III, was also known as ‘Pul’.
Th e Bible is undoubtedly one of the most popular and infl uential books in history and of course parts of it are important to both Judaism and Islam.
* See the back cover for further information
about the OCCA Business Programme.
ARCHAEOLOGIST EXCAVATING A HUMAN SKULL AT ASHKELON, ISRAEL, IN 2010
S CONFIDENCE
AUTUMN 2015 | PULSE ISSUE 21
6 This was a detail even the great
historian, Herodotus (writing around
400BC), did not know. These, and
numerous similar discoveries, serve
as an important reminder that when
it comes to archaeology, absence
of evidence to support the biblical
account is not evidence of absence.
THE EARLY BELIEVERS:
ABRAHAM, MOSES AND DAVID
It’s all very well saying that we have
found a few of the people groups
or cities mentioned in biblical times,
but what about the key leaders like
Abraham, Moses or David? It might
concern some Christians to discover
that there is actually very little
information about them outside of
scripture. Nevertheless, one would
have to have a very unrealistic
expectation of what archaeology can
deliver to suppose otherwise. Not only
is the evidence very fragmentary by
nature (in both senses of the word),
but many of the artefacts containing
written accounts are offi cial records
produced in order to venerate a
particular leader. Negative information
was not recorded and of course lesser
mortals were not considered worthy
of attention. It would be extremely
unlikely, therefore, to fi nd much extra-
biblical evidence describing the very
early Israelites, as they were initially a
relatively small and insignifi cant band
of slaves, shepherds and nomads.
Nevertheless, there are records that
hint at their existence later on, such
as an inscription from the Egyptian
Pharaoh Shoshenq I (described as
Shishak in 1 Kings 11:40) referring
to the highlands/heights of David,
and an ancient shard (dating from
around 500BC) referring to Yahweh.
Furthermore, the Nuzi tablets (c.
1450-1350BC), discovered in northern
Iraq, confi rm that some of the customs
mentioned in Genesis were indeed
practiced by other groups in the
region at the time, which supports the
suggestion that the latter was written
from within that historical context.
Admittedly, sceptics may want
more corroborating evidence,
but if someone is appealing to
archaeological expertise, then it’s
important they respect the discipline
and try to understand what it is or isn’t
likely or able to show. The fi ndings
confi rm, at the very least, that the
information in the early part of the
Bible fi ts within the historical context
of the time it is purporting to record,
which is certainly not always the case
with ancient literature.
THE ASSYRIANS
As you would expect, there are more
sources relating to the later periods
recorded in the Bible, such as a large
collection in the Museum from the
8th and 9th centuries BC (the era
covered in the books of Kings and
Chronicles). King Ahab is mentioned in
a stela about the reign of the Assyrian
King Shalmanezer III (859-824BC),
for example, whilst an obelisk also
mentions the latter being visited (and
paid homage to) by King Jehu.
There are also records relating to
Sargon II, the 8th century Assyrian
King (Isaiah 20:1), whose people,
through intermarriage with some
of the Israelite tribes, became the
Samaritans. The dating of this has
ramifi cations for Muslims too, because
the Qur’an mentions a Samaritan as
being responsible for the golden calf
in Moses’ time (Sura 20: 85-97), and
yet the people group were not in
existence at the time of Exodus.
One of the most interesting fi nds
relating to the biblical account is the
Taylor Prism, a record in cuniform
script commemorating the reign of
Sargon’s son, Sennacherib (704-
681BC). This includes a description
of his military campaign in which he
destroyed a number of cities in the
State of Judah – although, in keeping
with the biblical account, Jerusalem
was not one of them – and Hezekiah
paying tribute to him. According to
Isaiah (37:9), Sennacherib then had to
return home to repel an attack from
Tirhakah, King of Cush. There was no
evidence to support the existence of
the latter until around two centuries
ago, when the discovery of the
Rosetta Stone, an ancient Egyptian
decree written around 196BC in
three languages, provided the key
to translating ancient hieroglyphics.
This led to the discovery that Tirhakah
was in fact one of the most powerful
Cushite Kings, although, interestingly,
his people subsequently went into
decline, which may well have been
something to do with Sennacherib’s
attack.
BABYLONIAN PERIOD
One major historical question mark
hanging over the biblical account
was the reference in Daniel to the
Babylonian King, Belshazzar. This
appeared to be a major credibility
problem, because the last monarch
was known to be Nabonidus. Yet, a
discovery of a cylinder in a ziggurat at
Ur, provided evidence that Nabonidus
had a son named Belshazzar, another
fact that the famous historian,
Herodotus, had not known. Moreover,
it came to light that the former
went into retirement, leaving the
running of the country to his son.
This explains the seemingly puzzling
fact that Daniel was only elevated to
number three in the realm (Daniel
5:29). It also follows from this that
the book was probably written close
to the time of the events it records,
which has further ramifi cations for
how the prophetic literature within
it is evaluated. Daniel is obviously
important for another reason, because
it contains the important reference
to ‘one like a son of man’, which Jesus
applies to himself in the gospels.
PERSIAN PERIOD
Perhaps one of the most puzzling
stories within the Old Testament is the
account (in Ezra) of the conquering
Persian King, Cyrus the Great,
supposedly allowing the Israelites
to go home and build the temple.
Such a suggestion seems unlikely, as
it would be a risk to allow a people
group in captivity to return home,
as they might subsequently rise up
to challenge your own authority.
Nevertheless, this is exactly the kind of
behaviour that is corroborated by the
Cyrus cylinder (550-530BC). Although
it doesn’t expressly mention the
Israelites, it records the King allowing
the return of both foreign gods and
people to where they had come from.
Yet, we still have the problem of what
to make of the claim that the Persian
kings came to trust in Yahweh, when
AUTUMN 2015 | PULSE ISSUE 21
77
their artefacts only refer to Marduk,
a pagan god. One response to this is
to stress that artefacts don’t tend to
focus on God per se, but instead they
usually relate to the achievements of
those in power. These often glorifi ed
accounts are in stark contrast to the
Bible, which is primarily concerned
with the human relationship to the
God of Israel. The latter contains
numerous criticisms of those in high
places, including even the great
heroes of the faith, like David and
Solomon. If there had been an offi cial
Persian edict to worship a foreign
God, then it would not have been
surprising if future kings destroyed
it for going against their beliefs.
We know that this kind of thing
happened in the ancient world, as we
have the later example (as recorded
in the hadith) of the third Caliph,
Uthman (577-656AD), overseeing the
standardisation of the Qur’an and the
destruction of alternative manuscripts.
THE NEW TESTAMENT:
CORRUPTION AND THE CANON
The series then switches to the British
Library for its assessment of the New
Testament. One of the major issues
it tackles is the question of whether
the Bible was corrupted, a claim that
is often made by Muslim apologists.
This accusation relates more
specifi cally to the New Testament, as
the Qur’an doesn’t really address the
Old Testament, other than diff ering
over some minor details, such as the
identity of Isaac and Ishmael. Yet,
surprisingly, not only does it contain
references supporting the authority
of the Bible (Sura 4:136 and 5:46-48)
and Christians (Sura 10:94 and 21:7),
but it actually doesn’t say anything
about corruption of the text. The idea
was a much later one popularised by
Ibn Hazam in the eleventh century,
whereas there is very strong evidence
for the contents of scripture remaining
consistent over time, which makes
it very diffi cult to discern when any
widespread changes could possibly
have occurred.
Although dating the books of the
Bible is diffi cult because papyrus
disintegrates (and we only have
copies of the originals to refer to),
the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls
in the mid-nineteenth century
confi rmed that large sections of our
Old Testament were the same (i.e.
unaltered) as the earliest versions
we have discovered (dating from
within 300 years of Christ). The New
Testament is easier to date, as the
vast majority of scholars date all of
the books (the originals) to the fi rst
century, and some, such as a number
of Paul’s letters, to within 20 years
of Christ’s death. Furthermore, it
does not describe any key historical
events in Christian history after about
AD60, such as the martyrdom of
James (62AD) and Paul (64AD), or the
insurrection (66AD) and destruction
of Jerusalem (70AD), which suggests
that it mostly predates them. We can
be confi dent, therefore, that much
of what we have was recorded whilst
many eyewitnesses were still around
and could be referred to.
The programme also considers
the question of how the canon
was decided upon, as well as how
the transmission of the Bible can
be shown to have a high level of
accuracy, as is shown by comparing
early manuscripts, codexes, diff erent
translations (in other languages) and
lectionaries. It is true that a small
number of verses have been found
to have been mistranslated or not
included in the earliest editions, but
these have been acknowledged and
tend to be noted in modern Bibles.
The series concludes by exploring
the relationship between Paul and
Jesus, in order to tackle the suggestion
that it was the former, rather than
the latter, who came up with much
of the theology we rely upon today.
The presenters stress that not only
do Pauline ideas come from earlier
biblical teaching, but we also have
to bear in mind the church leader’s
background. The early Christians
understandably viewed Paul with
considerable suspicion, as he had
been persecuting the church, so they
simply wouldn’t have accepted him if
he was going against what Jesus had
taught. In fact, it is telling that they
actually ended up embracing him and
sending him out. Nevertheless, he was
obviously a sophisticated and learned
man who was seeking to apply Jesus’
principles to new and Gentile settings
– quite diff erent from rural Jewish
BUT IT ALSO AFFIRMS THAT THE CREATOR WANTS TO REVEAL
HIMSELF TO ALL
WOMAN LOOKS AT THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS
ON DISPLAY AT THE CAVES OF QUMRAN.
AUTUMN 2015 | PULSE ISSUE 21
Galilee where Jesus ministered –
so it is unsurprising that people have
seen him as creating something
new, though he would have
vehemently denied being anything
but a faithful follower of Jesus.
CONCLUSION
Overall, ‘The Bible: The Verdict of
History’ may not be a big budget
documentary, but its approach is
very helpful for bringing to life some
of the rich tapestry of the ancient
world, as well as showing how the
biblical narrative fi ts within it. It is not,
however, a panacea that answers
all of the major objections about
scripture. It is inevitably restricted
somewhat by primarily focusing
on the artefacts within the British
Museum and Library, which means
that it doesn’t cover some other
arguments for the reliability of the
Bible, both archaeological (such as
mentioning the inscriptions referring
to Pilate and Gallio, for example, or
the ‘ossuary’ box containing the
bones of Caiaphas) and historical
(such as unpacking Josephus’
writing). Furthermore, it is does not
explore some key areas of academic
discussion, like the important issue of
redaction, alternative interpretations
from archaeology, chronological
questions relating to the early part
of the narrative, and the specifi c
challenges of handling a collection of
so many diff erent types of scripture.
Nevertheless, it defi nitely succeeds in
neutralising some of the uninformed
and strong caricatures circulating
OLD TESTAMENT
ARCHAEOLOGY
K. A. Kitchen, On The Reliability of the Old Testament: A helpful book on the archaeology of the Bible, which is cleverly structured in reverse chronological order.
J. K. Hoff meier, The Archaeology of the Bible: A good overview of the evidence relating to the biblical narrative.
GENESIS
J. K. Hoff meier, G. J. Wenham and K. L. Sparks, Genesis: History, Fiction or Neither?: A useful discussion containing three views on how we should interpret Genesis.
D. A. Young, The Biblical Flood: An academic historiography that examines the diff erent views on the fl ood (including unorthodox ones).
NEW TESTAMENT
F. F. Bruce, The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable?: Although over fi fty years old, this remains a helpful text on the historicity of the New Testament (and it can be viewed online for free).
D. Wenham, Paul: Follower of Jesus or Founder of Christianity: An academic book that affi rms that Paul was a follower of Jesus and not the founder of Christianity.
THE CANON
B. Metzger, The Canon of the New Testament: An academic book looking at the origin, development and signifi cance of the canon.
M. Green, The Books the Church Suppressed: A popular level book responding to the ideas espoused in Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code.
FURTHER READING:
today that try to suggest that scripture
lacks any reliable historical value. As
the notable biblical scholar, William
Albright, pointed out,
…excessive scepticism shown towards the Bible by important historical schools in the eighteenth- and nineteenth-centuries…has been progressively discredited. Discovery aft er discovery has established the accuracy of innumerable details and has brought increased recognition to the value of the Bible as a source of history.
Moreover, the series acts as a great
encouragement for believers to
look into the evidence for what they
believe. Indeed, those in the UK have
the wonderful opportunity of being
able to go and see the artefacts for
themselves (either on their own or by
booking a similar tour with Smith).*
As he stresses, the reliability of
scripture is very important, as it not
only gives believers confi dence in the
word of God, it also affi rms that the
creator wants to reveal himself to all
and that the whole story of what he
has done for humanity can be trusted.
To drive home his fi nal point, he ends
the series by exclaiming ‘And what a
story it is!’
Simon Wenham
RESEARCH CO-ORDINATOR
8888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888
THE WHOLE STORY OF WHAT HE HAS DONE FOR HUMANITY CAN
BE TRUSTED.
‘The Bible: The Verdict of History’ can be purchased for £13 from www.222publications.com
(use the search function to look for ‘The Bible: Verdict of History’).
* Tours of the British Museum with Dr Jay Smith can be arranged by emailing [email protected].
ARCHEOLOGICAL DIG AT THE CAVES OF
QUMRAN SITE ON DECEMBER 14 2008.
THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS ON DISPLAY
AT THE CAVES OF QUMRAN.
AUTUMN 2015 | PULSE ISSUE 21
9999
Our fi rst year in Cluj was one of the most fruitful in the short history of RZIM Romania.
After returning from a year of full-
time study in the UK (for my PhD),
we focused our attention on planning
strategic events that would impact
the maximum number of people for
Christ, including the cultural infl uencers
within society.
We started this by creating a platform
called ‘Think/Ask/Ponder’, aimed at
young professionals from the city. It
was specifi cally designed to address
their questions with relevant and
creative answers, whilst also leaving
room for Q&A – a rarity in a Romanian
context. The events had an evangelistic
focus and the speakers, who included
Michael Ramsden, Os Guinness and
Ravi Zacharias, helped to draw a good
proportion of non-believers too,
some of whom were quite hostile.
Nevertheless, this helped to establish a
very genuine and honest environment
from which questions could be raised
and addressed. Each open event was
followed by a private dinner with
professors, politicians and businessmen,
during which a number of interesting
discussions occurred. One involved an
atheist struggling to defend his non-
belief whilst in conversation over dinner
with Ravi. Weeks after the meal, we
heard that he had asked to know more
about Christianity.
Having Ravi Zacharias in Romania
provided us with huge momentum and
the events, organised in conjunction
BY V L A D C R I Z N IC
POSTCARDFROM ROMANIA
with local churches, drew some of the
largest audiences in recent history,
including a 10,000-strong contingent
of students packed into the largest
sports arena in the country. After two
outstanding sessions, over 600 people
made commitments to follow Christ as
their Lord and Saviour. Following that
event, Ravi then came to Bucharest to
speak in the Senate House, possibly the
fi rst evangelical to deliver a sermon in
this manner. As one of the organisers,
I could hardly believe my eyes, as those
with the most infl uence in Romanian
society engaged extremely well with
the message of good news delivered
to them in the greatest possible way.
Four months have now passed since
those events, but we are still hearing
of people who have had their lives
completely changed, as a result.
Many young adults have attended
camps and conferences over the
summer, including one in Colorado, for
the Romanian-American community,
where twenty students made fi rst-time
commitments, and one in Chisinau,
Moldova, where 300 students gathered
for a week-long conference. We are
still waiting for the fi nal numbers to
be confi rmed, but many came to faith
in Jesus.
We are now preparing for the launch of
three new books, one written by myself,
and the other two being Romanian
translations of books by Amy Orr-Ewing
and Sharon Dirckx. Having travelled
all over the country, I arrived at the
conclusion that teenagers and their
parents are absolutely helpless when it
comes to fi nding literature to help them
answer their many questions about
faith. I used this as an opportunity to
try and meet this need, by producing
a book called, Apologetics around the
kitchen table: ten questions every teenager
and their parents should be able to answer
together on the topic
of the Christian faith.
Please continue
to pray with us,
as we continue to
preach and defend
our faith in our
Lord Jesus Christ.
Thank you.
Vlad Criznic
DIRECTOR, RZIM ROMANIA
RAVI ZACHARIAS AT THE SPORTS ARENA
VLAD CRIZNICVLA
10
INTRODUCING THE NEXT
GENERATION OF APOLOGISTS:
THE OCCA FELLOWS PROGRAMME
ALYCIA WOOD
USA
1 2
NATHAN RITTENHOUSE
USA
3
MADELINE JACKSON
USA
Th e vision of the OCCA Fellows Programme is to raise up a new generation of apologists who are committed to confi dently commending and defending
their Christian faith in a way that connects with the culture they are in.
Launched a couple of years ago, the programme
now consists of fourteen OCCA Fellows,
all recent graduates of the OCCA,
who are working as apologists under
the mentorship of our established
speaking team in various strategic
locations across the world.
In connection with this programme, we
have also launched a new category of
team: RZIM Africa Adjuncts. We now
have four African graduates of the OCCA who, whilst called to work
full-time in Africa in other capacities, are now funded by RZIM for
thirty days per year in order to lead missions, speak at evangelistic
events and give apologetics training to the churches in their region.
For over a decade, the OCCA has been training internationally diverse
groups of students and it is incredible to see how God is using these OCCA
graduates to spread the gospel and to establish the ministry of RZIM around
the world.
4 56
7 123
AUTUMN 2015 | PULSE ISSUE 21
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S FO
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CA
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MARI OVSEPYAN
UK
8
DANIEL PATERSON
Australia
13
RAYMOND BUKENYA
Uganda
16
GIDEON ODOMA
Nigeria
159
LARA BUCHANAN
UK
18
DAVID FRASER
South Africa
DANIEL RANGEL
USA
64
MICHAEL SUDERMAN
USA
5
SHAWN HART
USA
7
LOGAN GATES
Canada
17
RACHEAL MUTESI
Uganda
JORDAN THYER (FROM JANUARY 2016)
Australia
14
OCCA FELLOWS
RZIM AFRICA ADJUNCTS
KEY:
15
1011
14
13
12
8 9
1716
18
www.theocca.org@theocca
12The photos of our
three Middle Eastern
Fellows are not shown,
but they are YOUSSEF
and WASSIM (based
in Egypt), and KAIS
(based in Jordan).
10 11
AUTUMN 2015 | PULSE ISSUE 21
111222
RETWEET, NOT RETREAT
CCCCChhhhhhrrrrriiiissssstttttiiiiaaaannnnnssss nnnnneeeeeeeeeeeddddd tttttooooo bbbbbeeeee bbbbbeeeeettttttttteeeerrrrrr iiinnnnfffffffoooorrrrrmmmmmmmeeeeddddddddd aaaaaabbbbbbooooouuuuttttt ttttthhhhhheeee wwwwwoooorrrlllllldddddd aaaaannnnddddd mmmmmoooooorrreee eeeennnngggggaaaaagggggggeeeeeddddd
iiiiiinnnn sssssooooocccciiiiiaaaallll mmmmmmmeeeeedddddiiiiaaaaa aaaaannnndddd tttthhhhhhhheeeee gggggglllloooooobbbbbaaaalllll pppppuuuuuuubbbbbbbllllliiiiiccc sssssqqqqqquuuuuuaaaaaaarrrrreeeee..
BY NANCY GIFFOR D
AUTUMN 2015 | PULSE ISSUE 21
13In the eighteenth century, John
Wesley and George Whitefi eld
changed the face of Britain and
America by riding out to towns and
villages around the country, standing
up in the public square and preaching
the gospel.
From the age of twenty-four until
his death thirty years later, Whitefi eld
spoke in fi elds and parks a thousand
times every year – some 18,000
sermons in all – many interspersed
with theatrical re-enactments of Bible
stories.1 John Wesley may have had
a more reserved preaching style, but
like Whitefi eld, his talks were preached
and printed, so within a matter of
weeks a sermon given in Savannah
was available in Bristol.2 In a pre-
modern age, it was the only way
to get the message out to the
general public.
As Christians in the modern age,
there is no doubt that we should
be following the lead of Wesley
and Whitefi eld, as they themselves
followed in the footsteps of the
apostles in fulfi lling the Great
Commission. But what does that
mean in a world of Facebook, Twitter
and Snapchat, where active mobile
subscriptions nearly equal the world’s
total population?3 What would
Wesley and Whitefi eld make of the
modern age, where everyone can be
reached at all times and in all places
instantaneously? Would they still
literally be riding out into the market
places where hundreds, sometimes
thousands, of people could hear
them preach? Or would they have
embraced new forms of media that
enable millions of people to hear their
message at the press of a button?
The chances are that, like the
reformers before them who embraced
the new technologies of printed
books and pamphlets, they would
have engaged in new forms of media.
225 million people have used the
internet for the fi rst time in the last
year. This is the equivalent of seven
new users every second, and a
year-on-year increase of 23%.4 Social
media is experiencing even greater
impact with Facebook adding six
new users every second. According
to The Economist, by 2020, 80% of
adults will have a supercomputer (i.e.
smartphone) in their pocket. Yet many
Christians today are not only cut off
from (and uninformed by) mainstream
media, but also dismissive of new
modes of communication, like social
media, as if they are just another
gimmick for the kids.
If engaged at all, Christians in much
of the developed West are retreating
into an evangelical media sub-culture,
where they only hear what they
want to hear. They have learned to
use the media, but they are often
talking only to themselves. Whilst
Christians do wonderful work in the
community and preach the gospel
in their personal relationships, the
mainstream secular media is often
derided for being ‘liberal’ or ‘elitist’, as
if it is a hostile enemy to be avoided
at all costs.
There are a number of reasons
why retreating from the media
marketplace is an unbiblical approach.
First, Jesus went where people were
and he not only engaged directly with
his enemies, but he commanded his
followers to do the same. Indeed, he
went further than that:
You’re familiar with the old written law, ‘Love your friend,’ and its unwritten companion, ‘Hate your enemy.’ I’m challenging that. I’m telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst.5
It cannot be wrong to engage
with the world in the place where
everyone, especially young people,
live out their lives. Christians are
called to be in the world, not of it.
It is hard to be in today’s world
without being part of the news
and social media revolution.
1 M. A. G. Haykin (ed), The Revived Puritan:
The Spirituality of George
Whitefi eld (Dundas, 2000).
2 I. J. Maddock, Men of One Book: A Comparison
of Two Methodist Preachers (Cambridge, 2012).
3 www.wearesocial.net, Global
Statchat, August 2015.
4 Idem.
5 Matthew 5: 43-48 (The Message translation).
THERE ARE A
NUMBER OF
REASONS WHY
RETREATING
FROM THE MEDIA
MARKETPLACE
IS AN
UNBIBLICAL
APPROACH.
AUTUMN 2015 | PULSE ISSUE 21
14 Other biblical fi gures, too, show
how important it is to engage
people where they are. On the
day of Pentecost, Peter preached
at the temple where the crowds
had gathered. Similarly, Paul, in his
missionary journeys, frequently
engaged with the public in the market
place. He also wrote that we should
become ‘all things to all people’,
so that some might be saved.6 We
should not become obsessed with
social media, so that we are unable to
take a break from it, but, if we are not
already, surely that means logging on
to Twitter or Facebook occasionally for
gospel, rather than gossip reasons. At
a meeting place in Jerusalem, Stephen
talked of ‘brimming with God’s grace
and energy’7 to freed slaves, Cyrenians,
Alexandrians, and some others from
Cilicia and Asia. Some tried to shout
him down, but they were no match
for his wisdom and spirit when he
spoke. Similarly, Daniel, Joseph and
Esther engaged with the government
and the world, as God led them. They
did not retreat to monasteries with
no wi-fi . It is a clear biblical principle
to spend time with people where
they are, whether at meeting places,
markets, weddings, work, school
or online.
The fact that the media outlets are
sometimes hostile to Christians
is exactly the reason why we
should be engaged with them. It
is just like the marketplaces of the
eighteenth century, where Wesley
and Whitefi eld were pelted with fruit
and sometimes assaulted. Just look at
the transformation that God brought
about in British and American society
as a result. We won’t change the world
stuck in our smug, snug Christian
ghetto. Yes, of course we’ll get some
scars, but at least we’ll know we
followed the biblical mandate to fi ght
the good fi ght.
If we retreat, then we cannot moan
that the media are against us. It is
only by engaging that we can tell the
message of the amazing things that
Christians are doing around the world
and the gospel that inspires them.
Even journalists trying to be objective
about religious issues are frequently
uninformed about them. Not knowing
where to turn for a thinking Christian
response, they often turn to the
people who shout the loudest –
those who may not be presenting
a loving, balanced, thoughtful
biblical view, thus confi rming media
perceptions that Christians are
bigots, homophobes or cavemen.
In the absence of informed Christian
engagement, many journalists are
willing to believe the worst stories of
prejudice to be representative of the
broader Christian church. How can we
prevent this happening? By getting in
on the conversation!
Another crucial reason for being
involved in the conversation is for
the young people of the world. They
are a huge slice of the one million
new users accessing social media via
phones or tablets every single day.
They are early adopters of mobile
apps like Whatsapp, which has gained
300 million new users since August
2014. How can we reach a younger
generation, if we don’t go where they
go? Young people live online, so it is
even more important that there is a
voice out there explaining Christianity
in a relevant way for teenagers.
As well as needing to engage with
mainstream media, we also need to
watch and read it. We may not agree
with the editorial line of the New York
Times, The Guardian or The Economist,
but they have excellent news
coverage, telling us what is going on
in the world today. Our engagement
should not just be about getting the
gospel message out. We should be
informing ourselves about the world
in which we live, so that we can better
understand global needs and address
them in a relevant way.
It is shocking how uninformed
Christian people are about world
issues that do not involve the Christian
church. Of course we need to know
about the oppression of Christians
by ISIS in Iraq and Syria, but we also
need to understand better what it
is that drives ISIS and to be asking
what Western governments should
be doing about it. Yes, we need to
support Christians being detained
in China, but we also need to
understand more broadly about
the Chinese economy and what
sort of social reforms are taking
place there too.
We also have a responsibility to be
better informed about our own
leaders and our own nation’s politics,
so that we can form our own point
of view and not just be sucked into
the culture wars in which only one
political viewpoint is acceptable.
Are we sure we understand the
issues for which we are criticizing a
national leader or policy? Or are we
just parroting what we heard some
other Christian say? Yes, we need
to be reading the Christian press,
but we also need to be reading the
Washington Post. It is not smart, godly
or a good witness to be ignorant of
world aff airs.
Of course, how we engage is crucial.
Take our apologetic lead from Peter’s
fi rst epistle, which says, ‘Don’t give the
opposition a second thought. Through
thick and thin, keep your hearts at
attention, in adoration before Christ,
your Master.’ Then comes the key line:
‘Be ready to speak up and tell anyone
who asks why you’re living the way
you are, and always with the utmost
courtesy. Keep a clear conscience before
God so that when people throw mud at
you, none of it will stick.’ That doesn’t
mean stay away from anyone who is
HOW CAN WE REACH A
YOUNGER GENERATION, IF WE DON’T GO WHERE THEY GO?
AUTUMN 2015 | PULSE ISSUE 21
15
throwing mud. The following verses
explain that it is better to do what
Christ did by suff ering ‘because of
others’ sins, the Righteous One for the
unrighteous ones. He went through it
all – was put to death and then made
alive – to bring us to God.’8
Some mainstream evangelical
organisations are so caught up in the
culture wars or in their own internal
problems that they are not sure what
to do when broadcasters call them
looking for a person to take part in
a discussion. Part of that is a loss of
confi dence in what we have to say.
Sometimes we can lose confi dence
in the Gospel’s relevance to people’s
everyday lives and struggles. This can
make us concerned that we won’t be
able to answer people’s questions.
But our way of engaging the world
through media, or in any other
forum should be the same: asking
questions, fi nding out the reason
behind the question and fi nding out
what motivates the question in the
fi rst place. In our media opportunities
at the Zacharias Trust we are always
trying to fi nd ways of linking in Gospel
truths and also universal truths about
our experience as human beings.
By taking this approach, the result is
that the Gospel shines through, but
the humanity of the speaker also
draws the listener or viewer closer
to hear more.
Since the Zacharias Trust set up a
media unit in 2011, our interactions
with the mainstream media have
increased substantially. Initially we
built contacts through meeting with
editors and producers and gradually
introducing the idea that there are
thinking Christians in the world who
• Am I happy
if this ends up on
the front page
of a newspaper?
• Am I happy
for any child
I know to see it?
• Am I happy for
my parents
to see it?
• Will I ever
need to apologise
or make excuses for
what I posted?
• Can my worst
enemy do anything
with what I’m
about to post?
can articulate the Christian worldview
succinctly within the constraints of
live radio and television programmes.
Perhaps the most fascinating thing
about our engagement in recent years
is that TV and radio producers and
print journalists are often intrigued
to hear that thinking people adhere
to the gospel. People are so used to
woolly Christian liberalism or shouty,
angry fundamentalism, that they are
intrigued (and often challenged) to
hear a robust Christian defence of
biblical teaching from someone
who does not fi t their category of
an evangelical.
Most importantly, we need to make
sure we back it all up by living out the
Christian gospel in our daily lives. It’s
no good preaching it, if we are not
living it. With that in mind, what are
we waiting for? We are not called to
spend our life online, but we all spend
time on the internet and if Christians
stop engaging in a godly way on
Facebook, Twitter and Youtube, it will
be left to non-Christian voices. So get
reading, get tweeting and get in on
the conversation.
Nancy Giff ord
GLOBAL MEDIA DIRECTOR
@NancyRGiff ord
OTHER TEAM MEMBERS (UK)
@VinceRVitale
@SharonDirckx
@amyorrewing
@abetterhope (Tom Price)
@RamsdenMichael
@theocca
@ZachariasTrust
@ProfJohnLennox
@simon_a_edwards
6 1 Corinthians 9:22 (New International Version).
7 Acts 6: 8-10 (The Message translation).
8 1 Peter 3:13-18 (The Message translation).
* applies to any
online communication.
TOP TIPS FOR TWEETING *
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ART
ICLE
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REN
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WRE
Y
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The powerful fi rst line of Os Guinness’ new book, Fool’s Talk: Recovering the Art of Christian Persuasion, captures perfectly what he considers to be the wonderful opportunity facing believers today. This might even be, he stresses, the ‘greatest opportunity for Christian witness since the time of Jesus’. Yet, despite this, many in the church have simply lost the ability to persuade, some having bought into the idea that apologetics is ineff ective, unpopular or even implausible. It is no wonder, therefore, that he felt called to produce his magnum opus, a book named after Paul’s description of
believers in 1 Corinthians 4 that attempts to distil much of the wisdom he has gleaned from a life of commending Christianity to others.
As a notable social commentator, it is perhaps unsurprising that Guinness has produced an incisive dissection of the state of modern culture today, driving home his points by drawing from a treasure trove of historical, contemporary and Biblical examples. Surveying the intellectual landscape in this manner may be unfamiliar terrain for some – as it is not written like a teaching ‘manual’ with the key points summarised in bullet form
or follow-up discussion questions being posed – but this approach helps to really draw out the richness and depth of thought in many areas that will be of interest to evangelists. It also acts as a helpful barometer by which Christians can understand and gauge today’s ‘post Christian’ age of commodities, technological advance and rationality, whilst also seeing how the shifting sands of the intellectual climate have shaped the way in which the church has witnessed. The book also contains a number of pertinent warnings, perhaps none more so than the reminder that some of the deadliest challenges to the church come from
(AN ARTICLE ABOUT OS GUINNESS’ NEW BOOK FOOL’S TALK)
AUTUMN 2015 | PULSE ISSUE 21
PERSUASIVE CHRISTIANITY:
making conversations count
(AN
‘We are all apologists now, and we stand at the dawn of the grand age of human apologetics…’
AUTUMN 2015 | PULSE ISSUE 21
17
PHOTOS FROM THE RECENT DOUBLE BOOK LAUNCH OF FOOL’S TALK BY OS GUINNESS AND THE ATHEIST WHO DIDN’T EXIST BY ANDY BANNISTER
within, such as when theological
teaching slides into revisionist ideas
that undermine the gospel, or when
useful types of evangelism are simply
written off .
Reading the culture is only part of
the challenge, of course, and much
of the book is also dedicated to
understanding the human condition,
which includes discerning when
someone is open to the gospel
message. There is an ‘anatomy’ of
unbelief and a person’s worldview
can, at times, be challenged by
what Peter Berger calls ‘signals of
transcendence’ (events that can cause
people to reconsider their atheism).
These can lead some people on a
journey that progresses from a time
of questioning to one where they
survey the diff erent answers, before,
hopefully, arriving at a place where
they are ready to commit to Christ.
Any interaction with seekers along
the way has to be mindful of what
stage they are at, although the gospel
message should always be conveyed
in a way that connects with people,
because ‘the heart of apologetics
is apologetics of the heart’. Yet, the
evangelist must also avoid certain
potential pitfalls. Guinness notes
that self-deception, for example, is
an intrinsic part of being human, so
believers must fi nd ways of pointing
people to truth, whilst avoiding
certain ‘boomerangs’, such as the kind
of hypocrisy that is so often linked
with people in the church. The latter is
obviously particularly damaging if the
apologist is trying to commend living
out a Christian worldview.
By this point, you may be getting the
impression that the book is reinforcing
the notion that apologetics is some
kind of arcane discipline that is only
for intellectuals. This is certainly not
Guinness’ intention, as he is careful
to stress that Christians need to avoid
the ‘deadly trap’ of always trying to be
right or providing formulaic responses
that are ‘tone deaf’ to the surrounding
culture or the needs of the individual.
After all, he reminds us that ‘Jesus
never spoke to people in the same
way and neither should we’. Instead,
what Guinness is trying to do is to
encourage believers to be ready for
engagement and to strive to be more
eff ective. He reminds readers that
apologetics is an art and not a science,
and therefore believers need to aim
to be subversive and creative with
their communication (utilising both
sides of the brain), whilst maintaining
a focus that is ‘cross-centred’ and
‘cross-shaped’. This opens the door to
all kinds of innovative engagement,
including using ‘spring loaded
dynamics’ to reframe the debate
when misconceptions are aired, and
using questions in order to get to
the heart of the matter. Sometimes
conversations will inevitably
degenerate into meaningless word-
play, at which point it is important for
the apologist to keep drawing things
back to the issue of truth. He also
stresses that it can be helpful to look
out for when someone relies upon
an idea that might sound superfi cially
persuasive until closer inspection
reveals that it either can’t be lived out
(in a practical sense) or it is simply
self-refuting. In such cases, you can
‘turn the tables’ on the argument, like
when you relativize relativism, or apply
strong scepticism to itself.
OS GUINNESSANDY BANNISTER
AUTUMN 2015 | PULSE ISSUE 21
18
* This sentiment is also echoed in Nancy Giff ord’s
article, ‘Retweet, not retreat’ (see page 12).
ART
ICLE
PH
OTO
S BY
JO
HN
CA
IRN
S
Overall, the book acts as a clarion
call for believers to lead, as Socrates
suggested, an examined life, because
eff ective communication requires
an understanding of the people
around you and the culture in which
you live.* Guinness concludes the
book by reminding readers of the
two symbols that once encapsulated
Christian advocacy in the earlier days
of the church. One was the closed
fi st, which represented the defence
of the gospel by way of reason, logic,
evidence and argument (like Paul
describes in 2 Corinthians 10:5). This is
essentially what many today consider
apologetics to be, in its entirety. Yet
this was only half of the story, as there
was also another symbol, the open
hand, which represented the
positive side of persuasion.
This involved deploying
the highest strengths of human creativity in defence of truth. Expressing the love and compassion of Jesus, and using eloquence, creativity, imagination, humour and irony…to pry open hearts and
minds that, for a thousand reasons, had long grown resistant to God’s great grace, so that it could shine in like the sun.
Although you will be naturally
inclined – or better – at one type of
advocacy than the other, he stresses
that they should never be divorced,
because both are an essential part of
persuasion. If done well, the approach
can be disarmingly potent, because
an incisive argument can really hit
home, if it is communicated in an
innovative way that really connects
with someone. Indeed, his book is a
great encouragement for Christians to
seize this important opportunity and,
above all, to ‘strive, as never before, to
witness to him in a way that is worthy
of him, and so introduce others
to know him as our own greatest
privilege is to know him’.
Simon Wenham
RESEARCH COORDINATOR
Fool’s Talk is published by IVP and is available from all major book suppliers for £11.99.
DOUBLE BOOK LAUNCH
Os Guinness’ Fool’s Talk was
recently launched at an event
(see photos) that included the
unveiling of Andy Bannister’s new
book, The Atheist Who Didn’t Exist. The latter, which was featured
in the last edition of Pulse, is
published by Lion Hudson and
is available from all major book
suppliers for £8.99. It has
recently received a number
of new endorsements:
If you only read one book this year, read this book. Th e book is signifi cant, equipping, argues brilliantly and is warm and witty. So much so that I even laughed out loud at footnotes - I’ve never done that before in my life! Th is book is really well done. JEFF LUCAS, AUTHOR AND RADIO HOST
Andy Bannister has written a clever book that patiently, humorously, and eff ectively dispatches popular neo-atheistic slogans and arguments. Nicely done!PAUL COPAN, PLEDGER FAMILY CHAIR OF PHILOSOPHY AND ETHICS, PALM BEACH ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY
AUTUMN 2015 | PULSE ISSUE 21
11111999999
EUROPEAN TEAM SELECTED HIGHLIGHTS
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
THIS LIST DOES NOT INCLUDE ALL OF THE EVENTS THAT OUR SPEAKERS ARE INVOLVED WITH, AND SOME MAY BE SUBJECT TO CHANGE.
IF YOU WANT FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT ANY OF THE ABOVE PLEASE CONTACT OUR OXFORD OFFICE.
2 DEAN CLOSE SCHOOL, CHELTENHAM (Tom Price)
2-4 PROCLAMA, MADRID (Simon Edwards and Andy Wickham)
4 HOLY TRINITY BROMPTON, LONDON (Amy Orr-Ewing)
9 BIG QUESTIONS, ST ANDREW THE GREAT, CAMBRIDGE (Team)
9-10 OICCU FRESHER’S BANQUET, OXFORD (Vince Vitale)
9-11 ZACHARIAS TRUST WEEKEND, OXFORD (Team)
11 WESTMINSTER CHAPEL (Michael Ramsden)
11 HOLY TRINITY, CAMBRIDGE (Amy Orr-Ewing)
11 WESTMINSTER CHAPEL (Michael Ramsden)
12 ALPHA LAUNCH, WESTMINSTER CHAPEL (Michael Ramsden)
13 GRESHAM COLLEGE, LONDON (Alister McGrath)
14 CITY PRAYER BREAKFAST, ST HELEN’S BISHOPSGATE, LONDON (Michael Ramsden)
15-18 EVENT SERIES, INNSBRUCK, AUSTRIA (Christian Hofreiter)
17 SOLAS, EDINBURGH (Michael Ramsden)
18 EVENSONG AT ST PETER’S COLLEGE, OXFORD (John Lennox)
18 LATIMER MINSTER, GERRARDS CROSS (Tom Price)
19-22 UNIVERSITY EVENTS, ZURICH, SWITZERLAND (Christian Hofreiter)
20 ETON COLLEGE (John Lennox)
23-25 COUNTIES CONFERENCE, BIRMINGHAM (John Lennox)
24 CHRISTIANS IN SCIENCE ANNUAL SOUTHERN CONFERENCE, OXFORD (Vince Vitale)
24-27 RED TIMOTEO, TOLEDO (Andy Wickham)
2-3 VIENNA UNIVERSITY (Christian Hofreiter)
2-4 PROCLAMA, MADRID (Andy Wickham and Simon Edwards)
6-9 FEUER CONFERENCE (John Lennox and Christian Hofreiter)
7 MEAT AND MEET, SUNBURY-ON-THAMES (Simon Edwards)
9 EDGE, GLOUCESTER DIOCESE (Tom Price)
9 SWITZERLAND EVENT (John Lennox)
10-11 ALBANIA EVENTS (John Lennox)
12-15 LATVIA EVENTS (John Lennox)
15 WESTMINSTER CHAPEL, LONDON (Ravi Zacharias)
15 QUEVEDO THEATRE, MADRID (Andy Wickham)
15-21 CARDIFF UNIVERSITY MISSION WEEK (Team)
20 VERITAS FORUM, CAMBRIDGE (John Lennox)
20-22 GRANADA, SPAIN (Andy Wickham)
24 GRESHAM COLLEGE, LONDON (Alister McGrath)
24 VERITAS FORUM, OXFORD (John Lennox)
26 UCCF WALES AND SOUTH WEST TEAM EVENT (Amy Orr-Ewing)
27-29 EXETER UNIVERSITY ECU HOUSE PARTY (Simon Edwards)
4 SIXTH FORM EVENT, PAMOJA HALL, SEVENOAKS (Tom Price)
13 ST ANDREW’S CHURCH, OXFORD (Sharon Dirckx)
13 CAROL SERVICE, CHRISTCHURCH LONDON (Amy Orr-Ewing)
18 WHITEHALL CAROL SERVICE, WESTMINSTER ABBEY (Amy Orr-Ewing)
OCTOBER
NOVEMBER
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TRAINING DAY Make a note of our next training day, which will be
held on Saturday 7th May 2016 (i.e. not in January, as in previous years).
SAVE THE DATE!
Zacharias Trust Training Weekends
The next Zacharias Trust Training Weekend will be held in Oxford on the
weekend of 9-11 October.
IF YOU WOULD LIKE FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT IT (OR FUTURE WEEKENDS),
SEE: WWW.RZIM.EU/WHAT-WE-DO-2/TRAINING-WEEKENDS
AUTUMN 2015 | PULSE ISSUE 21
20
You’re familiar with the ‘angry atheists’, but have you met the new
‘happy humanists?’ Martin Smith takes a light-hearted look at the
British Humanist Association’s new promotional material.
I’m a Christian and I think it would be great to meet some of these happy humanists. Fortunately, the British Humanist Association has given me some clues about how to fi nd them. I can look for people wearing their badge of course, but it’s quite small, so I might miss it. More helpfully, their website lists four things that these people distinctively believe (and they’ve kindly highlighted certain words, so we know what’s really important). Won’t you join me as I try and fi gure out where some happy humanists who believe these things might be? Then we can all make friends with them and things won’t be sad any more.
HUMANISTS… THINK FOR THEMSELVES ABOUT WHAT IS RIGHT AND WRONG, BASED ON REASON AND
RESPECT FOR OTHERS.
1
1Lots of people handle right and wrong like this! That’s great news: that
might mean that there are happy humanists everywhere! But wait… When I think about right and wrong, don’t I sometimes do that thing whereby I draw conclusions from premises? And when people disagree with me, don’t I sometimes hold my ground? Is that thinking for myself? Is that reason?
No, according to them, it can’t be, because I believe in God and the Bible. Don’t I just believe something is wrong because God says it is wrong? But wait… Didn’t I think really hard about God and the Bible before believing them?I remember reading some books about this stuff . And I did that reasoning thing as well. Also almost everyone around me didn’t believe in God and the Bible and pressured me not too. It looks like I reasoned and thought for myself about that too.
And I even respect people. Sometimes someone is eating a Twirl and I just want to take that Twirl and eat it for myself. But then I look into their eyes and realise they are just like me: another human who wants to eat a Twirl and not worry about sneaky thieves.
I do all these things happy humanists are supposed to do, but I’m still not a happy humanist. I need to see the other clues to narrow my search.
2 I’m glad this is so happy. I’d heard really scary things about unbelief before. I’d heard that we need courage to face the existential emptiness of living with the fi nality of death and the pitiless
indiff erence of the universe. Meaning, beauty and joy makes more sense of how humanists can be so happy. I was also reassured that even though Stephen Fry’s BHA video on how to be happy is three minutes long, not once was courage mentioned.
Still, I believe in meaning, beauty and joy in this life. And I sort of believe that we only have one life too – it’s just stretched across diff erent stages. Eventually, there will be a stage that won’t end – an eternal stage. But it’s still the same life. I’ll have my body – I won’t be a cat or anything. I don’t believe it because I need an afterlife, but one thing I am in need of is more help from the rest of the clues to fi nd some bona fi de happy humanists.
THE ALL NEW HA
HUMANISTS… FIND MEANING, BEAUTY,
AND JOY IN THE ONE LIFE
WE HAVE, WITHOUT THE NEED FOR AN AFTERLIFE.
2
THE BRITISH
HUMANIST
ASSOCIATION
SAYS
THAT...
AUTUMN 2015 | PULSE ISSUE 21
21
I get that the BHA are just joking around with their four statement clues, but they did leave me with some doubt. If I can sign up to these four statements, maybe I am a happy humanist after all? Maybe I’m happier than I realise?
To try and set things straight I took the BHA ‘how humanist are you?’ quiz. It might be another joke though, as it is defi nitely has all of the hallmarks of one. It’s very funny how it intentionally lets you only pick one answer to each question, even when lots of answers are compatible with one another. I tried to answer that I can tell right and wrong from both reason and from scripture, but it would not let me. I had to choose between thinking about the consequences of my actions, not worrying at all about others, or consulting a holy book or religious leader!
Now I can see that there is a down side to being so happy. It must feel good, because it makes you say some very funny things. But what they say is not very clear much of the time. So maybe it’s a good thing that it’s really hard to fi nd these happy humanists.
Martin Smith
OCCA TUTORS’ ASSISTANT
Is this clue broken? I’m having trouble understanding it. What is ‘the world’? And why are science and religion competing? I’m annoyed that
the BHA haven’t made this clearer, so we can all fi nd lots of happy humanists.
I’ll have to try to decipher it. They can’t mean that science is the best way to discover and understand all of reality. They are too happy to believe something silly like that. No amount of lab experiments by themselves will show you that theft is immoral. It has to be a more modest claim. Probably, the BHA, in their euphoria of happy feelings, just got carried away in how they expressed their belief.
What they must have meant is that science is the best way to understand the physical world. That sounds more sensible. And it gets rid of that silly science or religion implication as well. (Those happy feelings must be really distracting when you are trying to put together statements like these!) Science and religion can now work together to understand diff erent aspects of reality. That’s a little simple still, but it makes sense.
It also makes me a little sad, because I believe that. This is yet another clue, which isn’t pointing me to where the happy humanists are. Are they deliberately making their clues useless, so they can keep all their happiness to themselves? That’s a very mean thing for happy people to do. It’s all resting on the fi nal clue now.
I see – they aren’t being mean. They are having fun with us to try and cheer us up. Those happy humanists
– always joking and larking around! They make you think they are giving you a clue to fi nd happy humanists, but if you followed these clues you would fi nd everyone believes in empathy and compassion, whether they are sad Sadducees, uplifted Unitarians or apathetic Anabaptists. Even I do and I’m just a regular Christian!
3
HUMANISTS… LOOK TO SCIENCE
INSTEAD OF RELIGION TO DISCOVER THE BEST WAY TO DISCOVER AND UNDERSTAND THE WORLD.
4
APPY HUMANISM
HUMANISTS… BELIEVE PEOPLE CAN USE EMPATHY AND COMPASSION TO MAKE
THE WORLD A BETTER
PLACE FOR EVERYONE.
4
3
AUTUMN 2015 | PULSE ISSUE 21
HOW DO WE KNOW IT’S TRUE?
We are living in an era when apologetics is indispensable, but at the same time, we need a Christian apologetic that is not
merely heard – it must also be seen. Th e fi eld of apologetics deals with the hard questions posed to the Christian faith.
BY R AVI ZACHAR IAS
BIG QUESTIONS #4
AUTUMN 2015 | PULSE ISSUE 21
23Having had deep questions myself,
I listen carefully to the questions
raised. I always bear in mind that
behind every question is a questioner.
The convergence of intellectual and
existential struggles drives a person
to a brutal honesty in the questions
they have.
The gospel of Jesus Christ is beautiful
and true, yet one will often ask, ‘How
can it be true that there is only one
way?’ It’s odd, isn’t it, that we don’t
ask the same questions of the laws
of nature or of any assertion that lays
claim to truth. We are discomfi ted
by the fact that truth, by defi nition,
is exclusive. That is what truth claims
are at their core. To make an assertion
is to deny its opposite. Rather than
complain that there is only one way,
shouldn’t we be delighted that there
is one way?
The question really is, how do we really
know this is the truth?
Whether Hitler or Hugh Hefner,
religious or irreligious, everyone has
a worldview. A worldview basically
off ers answers to four necessary
questions:
• ORIGIN
• MEANING
• MORALITY
• DESTINY
In turn, these answers must be
correspondingly true on particular
questions and, as a whole, all answers
put together must be coherent.
Taking it a step further, the three tests
for truth must be applied to
any worldview:
• LOGICAL CONSISTENCY
• EMPIRICAL ADEQUACY
• EXPERIENTIAL RELEVANCE
When submitted to these tests, the
Christian message is utterly unique
and meets the demand for truth.
Consider the empirical test of the
person, teaching, and work of Jesus
Christ. A look at human history shows
why he was who he claimed to be
and why millions follow him today.
A comparison of Jesus’s teachings
with any other claimant to divine or
prophetic status quickly shows the
profound diff erences in their claims
and demonstrations. In fact, none
except Jesus even claimed to be the
divine Saviour. His off er of grace and
forgiveness by being the perfect
sacrifi ce of our off ense is profoundly
unique.
I position the sequence of fact and
deduction in the following way: Love
is the supreme ethic. Where there is
the possibility of love, there must be
the reality of free will. Where there
is the reality of free will, there will
inevitably be the possibility of sin.
Where there is sin, there is the need
for a Saviour. Where there is a Saviour,
there is the hope for redemption. Only
in the Judeo-Christian worldview does
this sequence fi nd its total expression
and answer. The story from sin to
redemption is only in the gospel with
the ultimate provision of a loving God.
But the question can be pushed back
further. Does this not all assume that
there is a God? Yes, it does, and there
are four stages in the argument. The
fi rst is that no matter how we section
physical concrete reality, we end up
with a quantity that cannot explain its
ONE WILL OFTEN ASK, ‘HOW CAN IT BE TRUE THAT THERE IS
ONLY ONE WAY?’own existence. If all material quantities
cannot explain their own existence,
the only possibility for self-explanation
would be something that is non-
material.
Secondly, wherever we see
intelligibility, we fi nd intelligence
behind it. Thirdly, we intuitively know
that our moral reasoning points to a
moral framework within the universe.
The very fact that the problem of evil
is raised either by people or about
people intimates that human beings
have intrinsic worth. Fourthly, the
human experience in history and
personal encounter sustains the
reality of the supernatural.
There you have it. Who is God? He
is the nonphysical, intelligent, moral
fi rst cause, who has given us intrinsic
worth and who we can know by
personal experience.
The verifi cation of what Jesus taught
and described and did, make belief
in Him a very rationally tenable and
an existentially fulfi lling reality. From
cosmology to history to human
experience, the Christian faith presents
explanatory power in a way no other
worldview does. Our faith and trust
in Christ is reasonably grounded and
experientially sustained.
I often put it this way: God has put
enough into this world to make faith
in Him a most reasonable thing. But
He has left enough out to make it
impossible to live by sheer reason
alone. Faith and reason must always
work together in that plausible blend.
Many of you may be familiar with my
own story. I was born to Indian parents
and raised in India. My ancestors
were priests from the highest caste
of Hinduism in India’s Deep South.
But that was several generations
ago. I came to Christ after a life of
protracted failure and unable to face
the consequences, sought to end it
all. It was on a bed of suicide that a
Bible was brought to me and in a cry
of desperation, I invited Jesus Christ
into my life. It was a prayer, a plea, a
commitment, and a hope.
That was fi fty years ago. I hardly knew
what lay ahead of me, except that I
was safe in Christ’s hands. Now as the
years have gone by, I marvel at the
grace and protection of God and the
doors he has opened for our team.
And more and more, I am convinced
that Jesus Christ alone uniquely
answers the deepest questions of our
hearts and minds.
Ravi Zacharias
FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT OF RZIM
(This article (in its original form) was entitled ‘Deep Questions’ and was from the ‘Think Again’ section of the RZIM publication Just Thinking (22.4), pp. 29-30).
The OCCABusiness ProgrammeDESIGNED FOR THOSE WITH A PASSION TO MAKE CHRIST KNOWN IN THE MARKETPLACE
6th June to 9th July 2016. Oxford, UK
RAVI ZACHARIAS
MICHAEL RAMSDENJOHN LENNOX
OS GUINNESS
AMY ORR-EWING
The OCCA is a partnership between Ravi Zacharias International Ministries and Wycliff e Hall, a Permanent Private Hall of the University of Oxford.
For further details and to apply online, see www.theocca.org
The Business Programme at the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics is designed to
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