Re: A Third Method of Apology

----- Original Message -----
From: "Glenn Morton" <glennmorton@entouch.net>
To: "'George Murphy'" <gmurphy@raex.com>
Cc: "'ASA'" <asa@calvin.edu>
Sent: Sunday, August 08, 2004 7:04 PM
Subject: RE: A Third Method of Apology

> Given the polls which constantly show a large percentage of the American
> people still believe in a universe less than 10 kyr, I would say they
> are our audience, like it or not.

& many of them will quietly go on being Christians who unfortunately hold to
that notion but who (unlike militant YECs) won't make a big deal. For these
"passive YECs" better theological education - including interpretation of
Genesis - is needed but not "apologetics" in the strict sense. "In contrast
to polemics, Apologetics deals with points of view so fundamental to the
Christian faith that argument with professing Christians is not anticipated,
and only the attacks of non-Christians are envisaged." (_The Encyclopedia
of Religion_, s.v., "apologetics, Christian.") Perhaps the distinction is
pedantic but I think it needs to be made. What we should say to keep people
from abandoning the faith (& those may threaten to depart from both right &
left) & what is to be said to defend the faith against attacks & make it
appear plausible to outsiders may be very different.

Shalom
George
http://web.raex.com/~gmurphy/
Received on Sun Aug 8 20:00:38 2004