Messiah?

I'm guessing that most people do not know what it means that Yeshua is the Messiah: the chosen one of God. In the line of David, descendant of Judah, priest after the order of Melchizedek: Hebrews 7. 

Muslims certainly don't know, even though their book makes this reference.

In brief, the Messiah is the messenger of God to man as God in man (Daniel 7 -- one like a 'son of man'). One come to resolve the severance of man from God and the resulting dilemma of man otherwise unresolved.

He reunifies man and God. 

ICE training?

A friend and recently discussed the woeful track record of the (evangelical) church in equipping members with any capability for personal evangelism.

I suggested that one issue here is that the bar is set to high both by the church generally and in people's minds.

But the bar can be quite low. Greg Koukl regards it as 'putting a stone' in someone's shoe. Just get them thinking.

At least if people have answers to the 7 Basic Questions of Christians we would have a start, but also, the 'evangelism' task can be simplified.

On the back of the 7BQ, training/mentoring in what I'd call Incidental Conversational Evangelism would be simpler: encouraging participation would be the biggest challenge, but modelling by a church's elders and stewards of specific ministry efforts would be a start-up strategy.

I'm auditing a course called Overflowing Faith which seems to offer well thought out approaches to spring a 'gospel-pointing' conversation from any conversation that is 'within range' of being so pointed. 

It is presented in three two-hour sessions, so easily delivered.

 It could also be done in a day including simulated conversations, but I think the one session a week format is educationally better. 

The Christian Vision

 A little while ago, during a talk in our congregation, the speaker made the comment:

"The Christian vision is not anti joy; it is not anti material; it is anti idolatry".

I thought this was a great way of setting out not 'Christianity', not 'Christian faith/teaching/belief, etc' but a phrase with more contemporary accessibility: the 'Christian vision".

This makes it accessible, IMO and a less alien invitation to discussion.

The Christian vision in its grand scheme is the resolution of mankind's/humanities existential dislocation; our alienation from self, each other and the final platform of basic reality: the Creator who is and who speaks.

Lack of this resolution has significant indication in the grasping for 'identity' that seems to obsesses the less connected in society; but the internally referenced 'identity' is the most fragile means of address there is.

After all if the locus of the real, the true, is merely oneself, how fragile! 

Overflowing Faith

I attended a session of this seminar series (of three episodes) at a friend's church facility (the congregations ekklesiarium!).

It presents and coaches in an approach to everyday gospelling. Not conversations about "Jesus saves, so repent" which we hope is the end game; but starting from where your friend or acquaintance is and steering a conversation in a gospel direction.

Excellent series.

My friend's church is about 200-300 people. 6 people turned up!

Now admittedly, those who were there were retired or self-employed and could spare the time mid week (or in my case, self-employed, 'make' the time).

Is the church really committed to evangelism? And this is an evangelical church!!

So, let's talk about single elderly, elderly in distress (e.g. spouse/partner terminally ill), single parents, overwhelmed unemployed.

Outreach/support to such people perfect for the retired folk to get involved with: Christians who care.

But zilch!

What is it, then, to be evangelical, when no one seems interested in the evangel! 

Macbeth on life (via Shakespeare)

...without Christ:

Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
 

When a sceptic challenges a biblical account.

One such decided to challenge the flood account.

My thoughts on the matter.

When a skeptic challenges the flood in terms of 'cruelty', the first question to them has to be: "who's worldview are you using here? Yours or mine?"

The answer is always interesting.

If theirs, then inquire what theirs is: most likely some version of materialism/naturalism, or, rarely, some form of pagan 'impersonal god' In either case, what's wrong with the flood? The usual critique of value agnostic worldviews arises.

How do they establish any value judgement that is not merely their personal preference with no relevance to anyone else, and no meaningful grounding.

If 'yours'; that is they think they have spotted a flaw in the Christian/biblical worldview, then ask them to get it right; to fully acknowledge the world view; of particular importance here is that death by flood would be speedy, and babies, before they had done right or wrong would be guarded against perdition (you have to leave Calvin outside the house for this).

Most detractors fail to understand how seriously we take the futurity of all mankind: either reconciled and in God's family, or purposely estranged from God, rejecting him.

Apart from that the narrator of the video sets out some helpful observations. 

And remember for any challenge of biblical accounts; check their underlying framework or worldview, then ask for their defence of that before getting on to their supposed critique

"Why is it an issue for you?" is an easy starting point for the probe. 

I'm re-reading again! Keyes: Beyond Identity.

The book this time is Dick Keyes' Beyond Identity, from 1984!

It has both aged and remains current. The specifics have moved on, the underlying structures of society and people's impulses remain constant.

He writes:

Before the fall, man saw himself as under God, bearing God's image and deriving his sense of identity and coherence from God. But now he identifies himself with creation instead of its Creator. His whole orientation is downward towards what is less than himself, rather than upward toward what is greater. This change of orientation has many psychological results.

In general we have moved from a Covenental 'religion' or understanding of the world, of what is independently real (Clauser) to a mimetic framing (Westphal) which seeks to merge man into the creation.

Many people follow this paganization of humanity in general and the self in particular wherein one has to conjure one's own 'identity' bereft of an external reference. Futile, of course, as personhood is absorbed into the creation rather than expanded into the 'imageness' of the Creator.

Thus, where we are culturally.