Best Apologists of Our Time?

Philosopher and professional apologist (one who “defends the faith”) William Lane Craig writes here about what he sees as the recent revival of apologetics on campuses and elsewhere. He cites the work of a variety of professional philosophers, such as Richard Swinburne, William Alston, and Alvin Plantinga.

Another article in the same journal cites Bible scholars such as Ben Witherington and Darrell Bock as those willing to do public battle on behalf of orthodoxy.

All this is well, and also good. I am personally grateful to the aforementioned worthies for their excellent scholarship, sharp argumentation, and willingness to read and respond to the latest atheist bestseller.

Apologetics, however, is more than analytical philosophy of religion (the focus of Bill Craig’s article) or the history of the New Testament. It’s about anything that points to the plausibility and credibility of the gospel. And that means a very wide range indeed of Christian activity.

So whom would you nominate as the best apologists of our day? Whose life and work draw people’s attention positively to the church and its Lord? Here are a few candidates (that reflect my perch in the ivory tower, to be sure):

Mother Teresa–doubts and all–gotta be in the Top Ten

U2 and Arcade Fire: Christians can be cool, musical, and conscientious

Rodney Stark: All of Western history is not too big a canvas to make his case for the (generally positive) influence of Christianity

Tom Morris: Good philosophy (which is simply God’s truth, when done properly) can help your business . . . and your soul, and your family, and your nation . . .

Alister McGrath and John Polkinghorne: A theologian and a priest who pack serious scientific credentials

George Marsden, Mark Noll, and Harry Stout: Evangelicalism and Christianity in general deserve a serious (historical) look

Christopher Parkening: When he plays Bach, the angels listen

Billy Graham and John Paul II: Once you get to know them, they’re not nearly as bad as you thought, and actually pretty impressive . . .

International Justice Mission: Doing some of what needs to be done in some very dark places

World Vision and the Salvation Army: Work worth every dollar anyone gives them

A Rocha: See? Christians care about the environment, too!

The Wittenburg Door: See? Christians can be funny, too!

The floor is now open for further nominations . . .

A Few Provocative Lines

Here is a small bouquet of quotations to ponder when you’re taking a break from summer recreation:

Samson sought the Holy Spirit so he might be a hero, but never so that he might become a saint. (Mark Buchanan)

Avoid adjectives of scale. Then you will love the world more, and desire it less. (Matsuo Basho)

“Take what you want,” said God. “Take what you want—and pay for it.” (Spanish proverb)

Where there is excess, there is a lack. And where there is a lack, there will be excess. (Anon.)

It’s fine to pursue career success and to pursue happiness—but separately. (Yolanda Von Hockauf)

There is far more in Christ to steady you than there is anywhere else in life to trouble you. (James S. Stewart)

And finally, a little dark humour worth taking seriously:

There is always room for improvement . . . and then you die. (Anon.)

Campus Ministry: What Needs to Be Done

As an extension of the current thread about Ph.D.’s, vocations of teaching, and the like, I have posted a long-ish paper on “Engaging the University: The Vocation of Campus Ministry.”

I have thought about publishing it in a traditional print medium, but I can’t think of one that would reach the right people, namely, campus staff workers, students, and pastors of churches supportive of (or even feeling like rivals to) university Christian fellowships. So I hope you will enjoy it and help it go “virally” to anyone else who might profit from reading it. And I hope you’ll add your comments to improve its usefulness!

Campus ministry is another terrific vocation for intellectually minded Christians—but only if it is construed and pursued properly. Otherwise, it can devolve into “advanced babysitting” or “the college and career fellowship in a campus building instead of a church building”—big deal. Instead, it can have a lasting and crucial impact on people as it had on me—and as it has had, so says an article I read today, on the giant church in China. So I hope some of you will be encouraged to consider this work, or to reconsider how you’re doing this work. May it flourish everywhere!

Research, Teaching and Writing: Other Careers than the Professoriate

Some readers of my page on “Thinking about a Ph.D.” have asked me to expand on my brief mention of “other spheres” in which one can engage in research, teaching, and writing.

The first sphere that comes to mind is the pastorate.

Now, don’t laugh! I fully recognize that many pastors are overworked and many readers will find it implausible to think that any teaching or research can get done in pastoral ministry. Still, Karl Barth did some useful research and writing as a pastor. So did Jonathan Edwards. So did John Calvin, and Augustine, and a few (!) others.

Thinking about a Ph.D.?

If you (or someone you love!) is thinking about a Ph.D.—and who doesn’t, every once in a while?!—I have posted a page of advice that we distribute to students here at Regent College.

And I’d be very glad for you to add your own advice, or links to similar documents elsewhere, in the comments section after that page (rather than here).

Canada: A Good Place to Live

It’s Canada Day up here, and we’re all busy (once we’ve enjoyed a good sleep-in) doing what Canadians do to celebrate our country, which is . . .

. . . well, nothing too extravagant, that’s for sure. We’re a mild bunch of folk, and we have been from the beginning. Indeed, my own take on Confederation (the occasion of Canada’s original four British colonies getting together to form a country in 1867) is that it was basically a good business deal: (1) it let Britain off the hook, no longer running colonies that, since the fish and fur were no longer so vital, didn’t pay to run any more; (2) it kept the predatory Americans out (since they had invaded us twice by this point: in the Revolutionary War and in the War of 1812—unsuccessfully both times); and (3) it established an economic and political arrangement to help everyone make a living in this cold, beautiful, resource-rich, and demanding land.

No national myth, therefore. No messianic mission to the rest of the world. Just well-being, stability, and justice—or, as our own founding document put it, “peace, order and good government.”

Implicitly, to be sure, it was a Christian vision of shalom that shaped Canada. Thus our national motto “from sea to sea” is an allusion to Psalm 72:8 and the messianic (!) vision of the Lord having dominion from sea to sea.

But it’s all quite quiet. And that’s why we don’t have any odes to recite today, or tales to tell, or anthems to sing (besides “O Canada” itself—with, accommodatingly enough, quite different words, even allowing for translation, in the French and English versions of it!). It’s hard to get worked up over mere prosperity, the rule of law, the security of the person and property, a broad social safety net, a commitment to international peace and justice, a national policy of multiculturalism . . .

. . . unless you’re living in most of the other countries in the world, in which case this all looks pretty good.

So if “Canada: A Good Place to Live” sounds like a sardonic slogan, one a clever movie director would use to depict a boring suburb (or the leafy village in which mayhem is about to break loose—depending on the genre), it’s still the Canadian dream, right back to 1867. And, by Gretzky, it’s worth celebrating!

Quietly.

(P.S. If you’d like to celebrate one of the best features of Canadian culture, namely, our ability to make ourselves and others laugh, then check out this nice collection of video Canadiana. Happy Canada Day!)