Worldview Made Practical - Issue 3-4

8/14/2019 Worldview Made Practical - Issue 3-4

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Introduction

It is almost guaranteed in todays society that if you make a definitive assertion to promote the Christian faith, you will beattacked. You can be certain of that. The question is, how should we respond? There are a number of possibilities. Wecould just go crawl in a hole. We could simply try to appease the other person. We could convert to the other persons be-liefs. On the other side, we could viciously attack back.

Looking at these possibilities, none of them are really acceptable for a Christian. But there is some kind of response thatis appropriate. Today, we will dive into this topic and propose a way to deal with this. We can give a proper responsewhich is a credit to our Lord Jesus Christ. It is my prayer that todays article will give you new insights and courage tostand strong in the face of attacks on your faith.

MarketFaith Ministries is all about developing resources to strengthen the Christian community. The resources fall intoseveral categories. There is, of course, the ministry website where you will find all kinds of resources most of them free.Then there are the books (including the newest offering a Worldview Self-Study Guide). And of course, there are oppor-

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The state of Florida has just adopted new science stan-dards for their textbooks. Leading up to the adoption of thenew standards, there was considerable debate about oneparticular element the part having to do with the teachingof evolution.

The pro-evolution people wanted it to be stated that evolu-tion was the entire basis of biological science, and didnteven want the word theory included. Those on the other side, who believe in God, were not trying to eliminate theteaching of evolution in the classroom, but did want to makesure that it was acknowledged as a theory and that theproblems with the theory could also be discussed.

The day that the standards were voted on, an article ap-peared in my local newspaper giving the results of the vote.On the online edition of the paper, it is possible to writecomments about an article. Most articles really dont get

much comment, but when a controversial topic is writtenabout, it can really get going. This was one of those articleswhich had comments out the wazoo.

Since I had a particular interest in this topic, I began read-ing the various comments. What I read was actually quitepredictable. There were those who were pro-evolution whowere asserting their point and insulting the Christian view-point. And on the other side were those who were anti-evo-lution and were asserting the truth that God created theworld.

Now I think that a discussion like this is a good thing. Tome, it is an opportunity to share a witness and I took thatopportunity to express some of the serious drawbacks of the Naturalistic point of view. But I did it in a way that wasrespectful and, hopefully, convincing.


MarketFaith Ministries is an equipping ministry which is focused on helping Christians become more effectivein living out their faith in the midst of the increasingly diverse worldview environment of modern society.

Contact MarketFaith Ministries312 Anton Dr.Tallahassee, FL 32312 [email protected]

http://www.marketfaith.org

Toll Free: 888-883-0656Phone: 850-383-9756Fax: 850-514-4571

Volume 3 Number 4 February 27, 2008

How to Deal with an Attack Like a Christian


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Unfortunately, that was not the case for many of the Christians who commented. Some of them were down right insult-ing. That disturbed me because I believe an attitude like that really hurts the Christian witness. Others made commentsthat were just plain ignorant. They made rash belief statements without being able to back them up in any way. Now, Iappreciate the fact that these folks had faith in God, but insulting and ignorant statements are not going to have anycredibility with people who are of the other persuasion.

As Christians, if we want to be good witnesses in situations like this, there are two things we are going to have to takecare of. First of all, we have to have the right attitude. We have to show respect to other people not agree with their viewpoint, just respect them as persons. Secondly, we have to know our stuff. Lets look at this a bit and see if we cancome to an understanding of how we can make these things a reality in our lives.

The Right AttitudeJesus was very clear in teaching that the ends do not justify the means. He clearly taught that we are to be kind, consid-erate, humble and meek. He did not even approve of Peter trying to protect him by using the sword when the mob cameto take him away. We must understand that God is holy and that serving him requires holiness on our part even if thatbrings some kind of personal disadvantage. As an example, it is not okay to kill abortion doctors, even though they areresponsible for the deaths of many babies. We must oppose them in other ways. Jesus clearly said, The meek shall in-herit the earth. Jesus meant that as we share a gospel which opponents find offensive, we must, ourselves, be willing toendure injury with patience and without resentment. It involves both humility and constraint.

Know Your Stuff But we also need to understand that meekness does not mean weakness. We are not called upon to simply allow our faith to be walked on. Jesus wasnt that way. He often stood up to the Pharisees and other religious leaders. He onceeven went so far as to violently drive merchants out of the temple.


(Introduction - Continued from page 1)

tunities to contact me and have me come do a worldview presentation for your group. In all of this, the main thing is tostrengthen believers and build the Kingdom of God. In order to help us get these resources out, would you consider a tax deductible gift to MarketFaith Ministries? If you would like to help in this way, you may send your contribution to: Mar-ketFaith Ministries, 321 Anton Dr., Tallahassee, FL 32312. You may also donate online. Simply use the Donate buttonon the website to make a contribution by credit card.

And let us hear from you. You may contact us any time with comments, questions and suggestions.

God bless,Freddy

Find these books along with othergreat worldview resources at

www.marketfaith.org


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(How to Deal with an Attack - Continued from page 2)

So, how do we reconcile this? How do we stand strong in our faith while, at the same time, doing it in the proper way?Well, once our attitude is aligned with the attitude of God, we have to make sure that we have the knowledge to make our argument in a convincing way.

It is extremely important to know the truth. But that by itself is often not enough especially when we have to confrontpeople opposed to the truth. We must also know, and be able to explain, why it is the truth. Just hurling insults at peoplebecause they dont believe in God, or because they believe in evolution, is not going to win any arguments, even if our beliefs are right. It is a poor witness and poor technique. And it is particularly ineffective when the other person believesthey have solid evidence as to why their position is correct. We have to be able to show why there is a God and why evo-lution is not the truth. This does not guarantee the other person will be convinced, but there is certainly a much greater possibility.

There are a lot of people who love their Christian faith and are firmly committed to it. When untruths are put out in thepublic square, like an assertion that evolution is the truth, there is nothing wrong with opposing it. In fact, that is a tremen-dous thing. But it is not okay to be ignorant of the whys of our faith. The unfortunate fact is that too many Christians arecontent to know what they believe, but not why they believe it.

So, just what is necessary to get the whys ? Simply put, study and effort. The knowledge one needs to acquire in order togive an intelligent reply to opponents is readily available. You can get some training from your church or pastor, and thereare all kinds of books and other resources available. In fact, that is the entire reason MarketFaith Ministries exists and

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Reprinted from Worldview Made Practical ; a free e-zineproduced by MarketFaith Ministries featuring practicalteaching and life tools to help Christians become more ef-fective in their faith life. Discover MarketFaith Ministries atwww.marketfaith.org.

why we have so many free resources on the website. It isalso why I do this newsletter.

If we have the right attitude and the right knowledge, wecan turn any attack around and use it to give a witness. Weactually do have an intelligent leg to stand on. We literallydo have the truth. And if we know how to express it, wewield a pretty powerful weapon.

Next Months Article: The Gospel According to PETA

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The purpose of MarketFaith Ministries is to equip the Bodyof Christ to become more effective by sharing the practicalapplications of worldview. We are involved in developingtraining and resource materials for that very purpose. If you would like to partner with us in this effort, you maysend your tax deductible contribution to MarketFaith Minis-tries, 321 Anton Dr., Tallahassee, FL 32312.

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Worldview Made Practical - Issue 3-4