Problem There was quite a kerfuffle awhile back. Pastor Andy Stanley said that when people have trouble accepting God/Christianity, “the Old Testament is usually the culprit.” His proposed solution was that we should “unhitch” from the Old Testament. I cringe every time I hear that. I can’t imagine myself looking the Lord in the face and saying, “Hey, perfect, all-knowing…
You can’t decide whether or not to attend the prayer group tonight. That’s because you already know they’re going to do contemplative prayer (mantra meditation)… or that they plan to hold pens and try to force God to write them a message. You’ve already attempted to explain that these are occult methods, but they’re not listening. If they’re all primed…
In dialogue with Christian friends about certain teachings/practices, I’ve been thinking in terms of asking “5 questions down.” That is, keep peeling back layers of the same specific topic rather than flitting on to something else. And the idea is to ask the 5 questions instead of trying to answer/argue back. Here are some samples: He: I’ve started standing inside…
Christian friends are asking each other’s opinion about various spiritual practices/teachings that originated in Eastern religions and the occult—things like mantra meditation, sacred objects, smudging, chakras, reiki … As mentioned in Part 1, we can’t assume that even a Christian friend believes the Bible is the final word on things. But if that’s established, then still, before going into the…
J. Warner Wallace has a series called “Quick Shots.” (Search for that among the many good helps on his site.) The feature is designed mainly to tutor Christians in answering questions that skeptics typically ask. As he explains—and this is my position too—when you care and want people to know the truth, the goal is to keep the conversation going.…