photo: iStock
In April astronomers announced the discovery of an earth-like planet.
Category Unapologetic Christianity
Cave time
Chris Sinkinson with the grandson of Kando, the dealer who brought the Dead Sea Scrolls to light, and one of the few original Dead Sea Scroll jars.
Old Gezer
Solomonic gate at Tel Gezer | photo: http://www.telgezer.com
The last few months have seen an extraordinary number of archaeological discoveries that shed light on the biblical record.
As the dust settles (quite literally!) it will become clearer what may have been misinterpreted and what really adds to our understanding of Scripture. But there is no doubt …
Unapologetic Christianity from Chris Sinkinson: The God of fire
photo: iStock
An atheist told me last month that though he did not believe in God, but if he were to believe ‘it would have to be the God of hell and brimstone.’
He was sharing a general distaste for modern, liberal presentations of God and a preference for more traditional views. Of course, all such conversations are a little pointless. It matters very little what kind of God we would like to believe in. What matters is who God is – not who we would like God to be. However, the comment was perceptive. A God of holiness and judgment commands interest and respect.
Presenting the doctrine of hell
One aspect of this problem is the way we present the doctrine of hell. For many, hell has become such an embarrassing theme that it is dropped out of Christian vocabulary. Attempts to restore the word are not helped when the concept has been changed out of recognition.
In Rob Bell’s Love Wins there is a clear drift towards…(click here to read more)
Chris is lecturer at Moorlands College and pastor of Alderholt Chapel. His books include Confident Christianity and Time Travel to the Old Testament published by IVP.
This article was first published in the September 2015 issue of Evangelicals Now. For more news, articles or reviews, visit us online or subscribe to en for monthly updates.
Unapologetic Christianity from Chris Sinkinson: Getting the message over
istock
The dust is settling on the 2015 General Election campaign.
At this time it is useful to reflect on the effectiveness of debate in persuasion.
Politicians are involved in a form of apologetics: they make a case for their own policies and present objections to those of their rivals. The most memorable moments are not the quality of the arguments, but the rhetorical flourishes and stirring sound bites. They are risky. Sometimes they add to the arguments made, but other times they can detract.
David Cameron addressed a gathering with his shirtsleeves rolled up and the words ‘Taking a risk, having a punt, having a go, that pumps me up.’ Commentators variously described Cameron as having found his fire, or lost his rag. Ed Milliband generated a similar range of reactions to a set of policy announcements on a tall limestone monument with his claim that the pledges were ‘carved in stone’. For some it was a powerful image of reliability, for others a poor imitation of Moses. We could multiply the memorable moments from other party leaders.
What and how
The important lesson is that making a case involves both ‘what’ we say and ‘how’ we say it. The use of the visual, the catchphrase and the biblical allusion can all help, or hinder, our communication.
This has long been understood as the art of ‘rhetoric’. Rhetoric is the study of how we communicate effectively. The Greek philosopher, Aristotle, composed a work on this subject called On Rhetoric. He identified three components of effective speech. There is Logos. This is the logic of the argument we present, making a clear and reliable claim based on good evidence. There is Pathos. This is the emotional connection between speaker and audience. There is also Ethos. This is the character of the speaker. To be an effective communicator we need to have integrity, credibility and honesty.
Effective communicator
Applying Aristotle’s wisdom to apologetics we can certainly see that all three components should be…(click here to read more)
Chris is lecturer at Moorlands College and pastor of Alderholt Chapel. His books include Confident Christianity and Time Travel to the Old Testament published by IVP.
This article was first published in the June 2015 issue of Evangelicals Now. For more news, artciles or reviews, visit us online or subscribe to en for monthly updates.
Unapologetic Christianity from Chris Sinkinson: Angry with God
Stephen Fry |photo: Wikimedia (Brian Minkoff – London Pixels)
Stephen Fry’s recent angry outburst about God has been circulating on social media.
It occurred during an exchange on an Irish public TV programme, ‘The Meaning of Life’. Asked to explain his unbelief, Fry described God as an ‘evil, capricious, monstrous maniac’. Given bone cancer in children, how can we have any respect for a sovereign, creator God? ‘How dare you create a world in which there is such misery?’ Fry indignantly asked. How could such a God expect us to worship him?
Thick and fast
Responses to Fry came thick and fast. Christian apologists and columnists have written various articles. From Russell Brand to Rowan Williams, almost everyone has had something to say. Fry himself claimed to be taken aback by the response. Speaking on Radio 4 he revealed, ‘I was astonished that it caused such a viral explosion on Twitter and elsewhere. I’m most pleased that it’s got people talking. I’d never wish to offend anybody who is individually devout or pious and goes about their religious ways.’
Plenty of useful responses have been made to Fry’s comments. In fact, most of the published replies from Christians like David Robertson, Krish Kandiah and Martin Saunders have been respectful and robust. Even Russell Brand’s video reply has been sensible. I have not come across any ‘offence’ being taken, only reasonable replies and thoughtful counter-arguments. Fry’s outburst ignores the clear biblical teaching that we live in a fallen world. Bone cancer and child death do not reflect God’s original intentions for creation.
Why such passion?
A deeper question is: why does the existence or non-existence of God generate such passion? (click here to read more)
Chris is lecturer at Moorlands College and pastor of Alderholt Chapel. His books include Confident Christianity and Time Travel to the Old Testament published by IVP.
This article was first published in the April 2015 issue of Evangelicals Now. For more news, artciles or reviews, visit us online or subscribe to en for monthly updates.
Unapologetic Christianity from Chris Sinkinson: Child sacrifice?
How bad were the Canaanites?
The Israelites original arrival in the land of Canaan, after the exodus, brought a military judgment and destruction on the inhabitants of a number of its towns – including the destruction by fire of three cities. Critics complain that surely this period represented a low point in biblical history. Weren’t the indigenous inhabitants simply peace-loving pastoralists going about their daily lives?
Rotten to the core
The Bible makes it clear that as the Israelites arrived they were bringing judgment upon a culture rotten to the core. Most evil of all was their religious practice of sacrificing newly born babies by having them burned alive. The Israelites had to be warned not to engage in such wickedness (Leviticus 18.21). Sadly, even the wisdom of Solomon failed him at this point as he followed the local culture into such awful acts (1 Kings 11.4-11). The Hebrew word tophet original-ly identified such a place of sacrifice in the Hinnom Valley. Modern scholars use the term to identify any location where it is thought such rituals were carried out.
What is the evidence for such depravity? Outside of the Bible, many classic Greek and Roman writers, along with early church theologians, provide eyewitness accounts. Some modern sceptics have sought to dismiss this evidence. Were descriptions of child sacrifice mere propaganda? Did the Greeks and Romans seek to smear the reputation of their enemies, the Carthaginians? Did the Bible writers simply want to provide an excuse for their destruction of previous societies? Could not the tophets simply be ancient child cemeteries rather than anything more sinister?
Evidence
Recent archaeological evidence from the largest known site at Carthage confirms the worst. 200,000 urns containing the cremated remains of very young children were buried here over a number of centuries. Inscriptions on standing stones indicate that they were dedicated to gods. Recent study has been able to ascertain that most of the remains are of babies between 1 and 2 months of age. This is clear evidence that the site is not a cemetery for natural infant deaths. Natural deaths would reflect a wider age spread from prenatal to early years. The tophet at Carthage is witness to a deliberate act of execution. A professor of Medical Anthropology at The Hebrew University in Jerusalem simply concludes, ‘the incinerated infants in the Carthage tophet were sacrificed to the gods’. (Patricia Smith, ‘Infants Sacrificed? The Tale Teeth Tell’, Biblical Archaeological Review, July/August 2014, p.56) This was a common practice in the ancient world and God used the Israelites to deliver his judgment on such child slaughter (Genesis 15.16).
Distancing ourselves?
One reason for the revisionists attempt to deny the evidence is that such wickedness seems hard to believe. Josephine Quinn, of Oxford University, having surveyed the dreadful evidence, comments: ‘We like to think that we’re quite close to the ancient world, that they were really just like us – the truth is, I’m afraid, that they really weren’t’. Is this the real reason for the rejection of the biblical claim that Canaanites deserved judgment? We find it hard to believe that they could be so wicked.
Except we are not so different, are we? We may not call it child sacrifice, but since 1967 there have been 8 million abortions in Great Britain. In 2012 there were 190,800 abortions in England and Wales. It is estimated that 97% of abortions are for social reasons, unrelated to the health of the mother. Babies are being sacrificed for the modern gods of convenience, ambition and self-interest.
Christian apologist Francis Schaeffer observed, ‘Cultures can be judged in many ways, but eventually every nation in every age must be judged by this test: how did it treat people?’ Nothing tests the humanity of our culture more than our treatment of the vulnerable, including the unborn. Writing in 1979, Schaeffer noted that having lost the biblical view of humanity, ‘Human life is cheapened. We can see this in many of the major issues being debated in our society today: abortion, infanticide, euthanasia, the increase of child abuse and violence of all kinds, pornography, the routine torture of political prisoners in many parts of the world, the crime explosion, and the random violence which surrounds us’. (Francis A. Schaeffer, Whatever Happened to the Human Race?) These were prophetic words and we need to question whether contemporary human beings are really so different from those of ancient history.
Chris is lecturer at Moorlands College and pastor of Alderholt Chapel. His books include Confident Christianity and Time Travel to the Old Testament published by IVP.
This article was first published in the September 2014 issue of Evangelicals Now. For more news, artciles or reviews, visit us online or subscribe to en for monthly updates.
Unapologetic Christianity from Chris Sinkinson: God and war
This summer we will rightly remember the outbreak of the First World War.
My grandfather, a Dorset farmer, served in the cavalry during this war. He died when I was very young and my clearest memory of him was his persistent cough that plagued him in his armchair. Only later did I understand the cough to be a permanent effect of mustard gas encountered 60 years earlier on the battlefield. The Great War, as it is known, left 16 million dead and 20 million wounded. It is right to remember such tragic but important events.
Bloodiest war?
But myths also creep into the memories. For example, the claim that it was the bloodiest war in history up to that time is false. In the previous century, 30 million died in a war in southern China that lasted 14 years. Historian Dan Snow points out that as a proportion of the population more were killed in the English Civil War (1642–1651) than in the Great War.
Another common myth that clouds any discussion of war is the lazy charge that religion is the cause. Of course, the claim that religion is a cause of war may sometimes be true. But rarely is religion an important cause. An academic study of war identifies 1,763 wars that have been waged in human history. Of that number, 123 can be categorised as religious in nature, with more than half of those motivated by Islam. In fact, thoughtful Christians have always been critical of the very concept of war.
In the early church, many Christians were pacifists. Given that Jesus told us to ‘turn the other cheek’, it must have seemed natural to avoid being caught up in the cycle of violence that has marked world history. Early church leader Tertullian (160-220) wrote: ‘Only without the sword can the Christian wage war: for the Lord has abolished the sword’.
The just war?
As Christianity came to occupy a place in government through Roman Emperor Constantine’s conversion, theologians reflected on what came to be known as the ‘just war’ theory. Augustine (354–430) argued that it was permissible for Christians to serve in the army. But he also explained that only some wars were justified: ‘the wise man will wage just wars … if they were not just he would not wage them’. (The City of God). Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) wrote the most influential explanation of just war theory. Firstly, such a war should be authorised by the state (Romans 13:4), secondly it thirdly should have a good cause and it should aim to bring peace. In further reflection on war, Christians argued that civilian casualties should be avoided and that the ends do not justify the means in any conflict.
Through reflections like this, Christians have generally accepted war as a sad necessity in a fallen world. There have always been dissenting pacifist voices, like the Anabaptists and some Brethren movements. But other Christians have served in the armed forces with distinction; after all Jesus said blessed are the ‘peace makers’ not blessed are the ‘peace lovers’. Making peace demands that evil be confronted and defeated.
The causes of war
So what causes war? The Bible gets to the heart of the issue: ‘What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you?’ (James 4:1). Sometimes religion or atheism may be a motivating factor, but there is also ethnic tension, poverty, fear and what the Bible simply calls ‘sin’. However, justice and love might also motivate war, as wrongs need to be righted and evil confronted. God himself is the ultimate peacemaker. The peace that was broken by the rebellion of Adam and Eve would be restored through the peace-making of Calvary (Colossians 1:20). Along the way, God confronted wickedness with judgment in the Flood, the destruction of the cities of Sodom and Jericho and even the fall of Jerusalem. God is a mighty warrior (Jeremiah 20:11). When the Bible describes a final conflict before the end of this age, the leader of God’s armies is none other than Jesus Christ (Revelation 19:11). That will be the war to end all wars.
Chris is lecturer at Moorlands College and pastor of Alderholt Chapel. His books include Confident Christianity and Time Travel to the Old Testament published by IVP.
This article was first published in the August 2014 issue of Evangelicals Now. For more news, artciles or reviews, visit us online or subscribe to en for monthly updates.
Unapologetic Christianity from Chris Sinkinson: A change of mind
If you are a Christian, how old were you when you came to faith?
If you became a Christian as a child then you are in the majority. A recent Barna study in America showed that 64% of born again Christians came to faith before they were 18. Half of those who came to faith did so through the witness of parents. Only 23% of born again Christians come to faith after the age of 21. The figures are probably similar in the UK. The older we get the more resistant to conversion we become.
Older and harder?
This is why apologetics, the defence and commendation of the faith, matters so much in Christian evangelism. Of course, evangelism requires love, prayer and the power of the Holy Spirit, but to reach adults we also need to present persuasive arguments and reliable evidence. As the years pass by, our friends’ hearts are in danger of becoming hard and obstinate. Habits form slowly but surely, so that what may have once been a free choice can become a steel chain. Whether it’s smoking, gambling or resisting the gospel, the more we do it, the easier it gets. Our explanations and evidences can fall on deaf ears.
A.J. Ayer
Such conditions are illustrated clearly in the lives of two of the 20th-century’s greatest atheists. A. J. Ayer (1910-1989), Oxford University philosopher, was pronounced clinically dead for a few minutes in 1988. While recuperating, he wrote an article about it under the title ‘What I saw when I was dead’. He had experienced a bright light, which he believed to be the creator of the universe. The doctor on duty said that on his recovery, Ayer had told him, ‘I saw a Divine being. I’m afraid I’m going to have to revise all my books and opinions’.
After the article was published, Ayer received a barrage of hostile reactions from his intellectual colleagues. Instead of revising his former books, he revised the article and diluted its content. Ayer reconfirmed that he was still an atheist, despite his experience, only conceding that he had reason to believe that death might not be the end. Even this remarkable experience could not change Ayer’s mind.
Anthony Flew
Another great atheist of the 20th century was Anthony Flew (1923–2010). Flew had debated with a number of Christians over the years. In a 2004 dialogue with Gary Habermas, he declared: ‘The evidence for the resurrection is better than for claimed miracles in any other religion. It’s outstandingly different in quality and quantity’. Flew’s belief gradually changed from atheist to theist. We do not know if he finally came to believe in Jesus Christ as his Saviour. However, Flew did change his mind. He demonstrated that he could go wherever the evidence led him. We know it led him to believe in the existence of God.
A.J. Ayer and Anthony Flew responded to the evidence they encountered in different ways. While we may feel depressed when someone stubbornly resists the gospel, there is always hope that a mind can change. The opportunity for conversion does not cease at age 21! C. S. Lewis became a Christian at the age of 32. Charles Colson, author of the best-selling Born-Again, was 42. C. E. M. Joad, agnostic philosopher and Labour parliamentary candidate, became a Christian during a time of ill health at the end of his life. Having written over 100 books from an agnostic perspective, his final work, published in the year before he died, was The Recovery of Belief – A Restatement of Christian Philosophy. Bob Marley, having been an unofficial representative for Rastafarianism all his life, was baptised a Christian the year before his death in 1981.
For many, a life of stubborn resistance may remain so to the end. But there is always hope (Luke 23.43). We should continue to persuade and present the evidence to all ages. Rather than seeing ever more apologetic material oriented to student ministry, we should have confidence that it is relevant to all ages. Every middle-aged adult, every elderly man and woman, has the same opportunity for repentance and faith as any child or teenager. Even the most stubborn heart can change.
Chris is lecturer at Moorlands College and pastor of Alderholt Chapel. His books include Confident Christianity and Time Travel to the Old Testament published by IVP.
This article was first published in the July 2014 issue of Evangelicals Now. For more news, artciles or reviews, visit us online or subscribe to EN for monthly updates.
Unapologetic Christianity from Chris Sinkinson: My moment with the PM
David Cameron ruffled some feathers this Easter.
This time they were those of a few of the New Atheists, with his public declaration that we live in a Christian country and that the Lord is ‘our saviour’. During April he held an Easter reception in Downing Street and subsequently wrote an article for the Church Times. It included the remarkable call to be ‘more evangelical about a faith that compels us to get out there and make a difference to people’s lives’. In the article, he described his own personal faith experience and membership of the Church of England.
Christianity causes division?
Atheists were riled. 55 of them wrote an open letter to the Daily Telegraph complaining that his words were causing division. I do not remember any of them ever writing in complaint when Nick Clegg and Ed Miliband confessed to being atheists. Perhaps our secular intellectuals cannot imagine that atheism could ever be divisive, they see that as purely a Christian ailment!
Christians raised some probing questions. John Stevens, National Director of the FIEC, wrote his own letter (unpublished) to the Daily Telegraph asking how a nation where less than 10% of the population regularly attend church can seriously be considered Christian. In the light of the erosion of Christian values through national policies, Stevens wrote, ‘May God have mercy upon us again, and raise up faithful preachers like Whitefield and Wesley, who will declare the good news of the gospel, which can alone bring forgiveness of our sins, renewal of our churches and transformation of our nation’.
Is our nation a Christian nation or not? In the 2011 census nearly 60% of the population described themselves as Christian. The shared English language developed alongside the translation of the Bible. Many of our cultural references are owed to biblical phrases and vocabulary. Our moral values and ethical system are clearly rooted in the Judeo-Christian worldview. Harry Cole, writing in the Spectator, reminded the critics that the first word of our national anthem is ‘God’ and when atheist politician Nye Bevan formed the NHS, he described it as ‘a little piece of Christianity.’
David Cameron’s words remind us that all is far from lost. The bedrock of our nation remains founded on Christian values and concepts. Most of the population do not have personal faith in Christ but they remain saturated in the Christian worldview. This is encouraging for evangelism. The doors are still open for the gospel.
Encounter in Bethlehem
I met David Cameron in March. It was not so much a meeting as a passing encounter. I was staying at a hotel in Bethlehem where Cameron happened to be having a conference with the Palestinian president, Mahmood Abbas. As it was a low-key visit with little armed presence I decided to wait in the relatively empty lobby and greet him on arrival. I would only have a moment to say anything so I prayed to God and asked what I should say.
At that moment my phone buzzed with a text message from a teacher friend suggesting ‘Tell him to sack Michael Gove’. I decided against it, and as he walked past me all I could find to say was ‘God bless you, David!’. It was hardly my finest evangelistic moment but clearly the words would have still meant something to him.
While most people are not Christians, the significant influence of the Christian world-view provides countless points of contact for evangelism and opportunities for even a brief gospel word. And, whatever the motives of our politicians and the impact of their policies, we do still pray that God may bless them with wisdom to do the right thing (1 Timothy 2:2).
Chris is lecturer at Moorlands College and pastor of Alderholt Chapel. His books include Confident Christianity and Time Travel to the Old Testament published by IVP. (Editor’s note: No more name dropping please, Chris!)
This article was first published in the June 2014 issue of Evangelicals Now. For more news, artciles or reviews, visit us online or subscribe to EN for monthly updates.
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