In my last post I introduced the idea that academic pursuits to Scripture and practical approaches to Scripture are often thought of as at odds to each other but are in fact two sides of the same coin.
People today are becoming more educated at an ever increasing rate. The people often responsible for communicating Scriptural principles (pastors, deacons, and the like) are being placed under an ever increasing need to articulate the faith with greater intelligence and deftness of word than ever before. Often these people have much less "education" in terms of years than university professors. There needs to be an ongoing dialogue between these two camps because pastors often make more persuasive communicators to people potentially joining the faith.
Due to increasing educational rates, people entering, exploring, and living out Christianity are less likely to buy into a poorly investigated and articulated doctrinal positions than ever before. No longer is the phrase, "because the Bible says so" good enough for most people.
Some of the most brilliant people on the earth are dedicating themselves to eradicating the underlying theological foundations of Christianity, and they are targeting everyday people of religious interest as their key demographic. It is our job to vie with the likes of Richard Dawkins (author of the God Delusion), to explicate an intellectually honest, and forthright version of the faith, that has the ability to speak to people's needs and change their lives.
Next post I will reflect on Dawkin's book as an example of the dialogue that can happen between Christianity and atheism.
What do you think? Have you run into these issues before? Are you facing the issues described here? I would love to hear from you.
People today are becoming more educated at an ever increasing rate. The people often responsible for communicating Scriptural principles (pastors, deacons, and the like) are being placed under an ever increasing need to articulate the faith with greater intelligence and deftness of word than ever before. Often these people have much less "education" in terms of years than university professors. There needs to be an ongoing dialogue between these two camps because pastors often make more persuasive communicators to people potentially joining the faith.
Due to increasing educational rates, people entering, exploring, and living out Christianity are less likely to buy into a poorly investigated and articulated doctrinal positions than ever before. No longer is the phrase, "because the Bible says so" good enough for most people.
Some of the most brilliant people on the earth are dedicating themselves to eradicating the underlying theological foundations of Christianity, and they are targeting everyday people of religious interest as their key demographic. It is our job to vie with the likes of Richard Dawkins (author of the God Delusion), to explicate an intellectually honest, and forthright version of the faith, that has the ability to speak to people's needs and change their lives.
Next post I will reflect on Dawkin's book as an example of the dialogue that can happen between Christianity and atheism.
What do you think? Have you run into these issues before? Are you facing the issues described here? I would love to hear from you.
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