>tracki ng spi r i tual tr ends i n the 21st centur y
VOL UME 19: 13 ( 1,196) / APRI L 29, 2014
In this issue: APOLOGETICS - diagraming the worldview option decision matrix HELL - a typology of fve views on the nature of hell defended by North American evangelicals along with their arguments HOMOSEXUALITY - addressing nine contemporary objections to the traditional Christian view
Publisher: Apologia www.apologia.org Contact: ar.feedback(at)apologia.org Post Offce Box 9646 Pueblo, CO 81008 Phone: (719) 225-3467 Editor: Rich Poll Contributing Editor: Paul Carden Copyright 2014 by Apologia. All rights reserved. Apologia (the biblical Greek word for defense) is a nonproft organization dedi- cated to the proclamation and defense of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Apologias mission is to equip the body of Christ for spiritual discern- ment by providing timely, accurate religious research information within the feld of Christian apologetics and to advance apolo- getics in Christian missions. Apologia Report surveys widely to identify the most valuable resources for its readers as they encounter competing worldviews. Since 1997, AR has been published roughly 44 times each year via e-mail. The archiving of Apologia Report (in whole or in part) is permitted for the private use of its subscribers alone. This data fle is the sole prop- erty of Apologia. It may not be used without the permission of Apologia for resale or the enhancement of any other product. In cita- tions, please give the following source credit: Copyright 2014, Apologia (apologia.org) APOLOGETICS A Visual Defense: Te Case For and Against Christianity, by Robert Velarde 1 One of the earliest and most signifcant directional infuences on the development of young minds is an inclination toward either the arts or the sciences. Formal apologetics edu- cation usually happens in the arts environ- ment, yet many pursue it afer frst studying the sciences. A Visual Defense may hold a unique appeal to science majors. Te Amazon. com description explains that to provide Christians with a means for analyzing argu- ments so they can understand and defend their faith, Robert Velarde has developed an accessible means for visually mapping Apologetics. He does so in small segments at multiple levels, giving us 25 chapters in fewer than 200 pages. Among the small- est segments are the spaces between ele- ments within the diagrams that begin each chapter. Tose spaces represent reason, conclusion and direction in the evaluat- ing an argument. Much must be consid- ered as one moves from one element to the next in these diagrams, and Velarde helps the reader think it all through. Te read- ers who gain the greatest beneft from the book will likely be those who give the most thought to each move in the arguments Velarde lays out. How can one evaluate the strength of someone elses worldview, step by step? How does a person move from one viewpoint to another? Whats involved in weighing the merit behind the possible conclusions to a statement of belief? Velarde breaks these thought processes down into bite-sized chunks to give the reader an appreciation for apologetic discourse. Te introductions four sections review the thinking ahead and map the elements involved: intellect, apologetics, faith, and reason. Te rest of the book, in two parts, briefy considers the case for and against Christianity. Velarde includes plenty of direction for further study, as this book is merely an overview of the playing feld and its rules of engagement. Logic, one rule that receives little attention, is a given, intuitive and ever present among the pages. As Velarde takes readers through the steps needed to address objections and responses, some will doubtless complain that something was too brief or is missing. Velarde has covered his bases well. Any- one whos dissatisfed is welcome to write another, more advanced book. Introductions are meant to ofer oppor- tunity for further understanding. Velarde addresses this in multiple ways. Readers beneft from the authors advance refection by way of suggested discussion questions at the end of each chapter. Velarde suggests options for further study here as well. An appended glossary accompanies both sub- ject and name indexes. However, Velardes annotated bibliography will be where the self-taught fnd the greatest treasure. Tis is a book for serious readers who know they have not achieved advanced understanding. Consuming the content slowly in small bites with periods of refec- tion in between will likely yield the greatest rewards. HELL Raising Hell about Razing Hell: Evangeli- cal Debates on Universal Salvation by John Sanders (Hendrix College) provides a typology of fve views on the nature of hell defended by North American evangelicals and summarizes the primary biblical and theological arguments used to support each view. Te fnal section of the article con- centrates on the contemporary dispute over universal salvation.... Sanders sums up his article this way: Te debate about hell within evangelical- ism surfaced in the 1990s, when several signifcant evangelicals afrmed annihila- tionism and the notion of a remedial hell. Te debate has intensifed with the cri- tique of eternal conscious punishment by a high-profle evangelical pastor [namely, Rob Bell]. Whereas proponents of eternal torment roundly rejected annihilation- ism [conditional immortality] in the frst round of this debate, todays evangelical defenders of eternal punishment are more willing to see it as a legitimate option for (continued on next page) APOLOGIAreport HELL (continued) its thirteen contributors may lose many readers due to having become too aca- demic in their writing. Te four sections of the book begin with a review of the immense changes of the past forty years and handles skillfully nine contemporary objections to the traditional view. Te second section discusses related Chris- tian belief such as scriptural authority, sex, marriage, homosexuality and the Churchs traditional view. Te third section is largely written by Robert Gagnon. Tink of it as a condensed version of his magisterial work, Te Bible and Homosexual Practice. 5 Te fnal section covers celibacy, compassion, and community. Te back cover says the bracing collec- tion of interdisciplinary essays encourages the church to stand fast against the prevail- ing socio-cultural winds and ofers helpful directions for navigating its course with a canonical compass oriented to the churchs north star, Jesus Christ. Scottish Bulletin of Evangelical Teology, 31:1 - 2013, pp98-100. 7 SOURCES: Monographs 1 - A Visual Defense: Te Case For and Against Christianity, by Robert Velarde (Kregel, 2013, paperback, 208 pages) <www.ow.ly/w8rNQ> 2 - God Wins: Heaven, Hell, and Why the evangelicals. However, they strenuously attempt to keep universalism outside the evangelical tent. Nonetheless, both hope- ful and confdent versions of universalism have been published by genuine evangeli- cal scholars. At the core of the debate lie the perpetual confict between two models of God within the movement: the God of theological determinism and the God of freewill theism. Of this, Sanders fnds that the diferent understandings of divine love and justice in the two models lead to diferent views on hell. Sanders other concluding assessments note frst, that two books have appeared [God Wins, 2 and Erasing Hell 3 ] which man- ifest a tone that does not demonize Bell and attempt to present his arguments fairly. For evangelical theological debates [sadly], this is a positive development. Second, the defenders of the eternal torment view not only fail to engage with the robust evangelical defense of annihila- tionist, remedial hell, and universalist posi- tions, but largely seem unaware that it even exists. Perspectives in Religious Studies, 40:3 - 2013, pp267-281. 6 HOMOSEXUALITY Embracing Truth: Homosexuality and the Word of God, by David W. Torrance and Jock Stein 4 David C. Searles review begins by describing this book as a major work which unashamedly states faithfully and compassionately the biblical (tradi- tional) view [and] deserves the widest pos- sible readership on both sides of the theo- logical divide. Even so, Searle admits that some among Good News Is Better than Love Wins, by Mark Galli (Tyndale, 2011, paperback, 224 pages) <www.ow.ly/w8Jpf> Note: Tis summer Galli plans to release the similarly titled God Wins: Heaven, Hell, and Our Dangerous Fascination with Our- selves (Tyndale, July 2014, paperback: 224 pages) <www.ow.ly/w8JEC> 3 - Erasing Hell: What God Said about Eternity, and the Tings We Made Up, by Francis Chan and Preston Sprinkle (David C. Cook, 2011, paperback, 208 pages) <www.ow.ly/w8JYk> 4 - Embracing Truth: Homosexuality and the Word of God, by David W. Torrance and Jock Stein (Handsel, 2012, paperback, 256 pages) <www.ow.ly/w8sHM> 5 - Te Bible and Homosexual Practice: Texts and Hermeneutics, by Robert Gagnon (Abingdon, 2002, paperback, 520 pages) <www.tinyurl.com/yzs5v3e> SOURCES: Periodicals 6 - Perspectives in Religious Studies (National Association of BaptistProfessors of Reli- gion), <www.baylor.edu/prs/> 7 - Scottish Bulletin of Evangelical Teology, <www.j.mp/hC20fs> VOL UME 19: 13 ( 1,196) / APRI L 29, 2014 Apologia Report is available free of charge and sent to you once a week via email. Subscribe now to this valuable resource! To subscribe online, go to: http://apologia.org/htm/subscribe.htm Search back issues at: www.tinyurl.com/archive-apologia Follow Us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ApologiaReport APOLOGIAreport Multiculturalism. Diversity. Pluralism. How can a Christian navigate the complex maze of spirituality in the 21st century? 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