___________________

A Paper

Presented to

Jayanthi Benjamin

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In Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Course

Spiritual Integration Labs and Retreats

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by

Eric A. Stephens (2206657)

10 Echodale Ave.

Baldwinsville, NY 13027

December 2009
 Introduction

I had the privilege of attending the Apologetics Institute 2009 (13-14 Nov

2009) conference hosted by the New Life Worship Center in Smithfield, RI.

This is the second year I have attended this event. Last year's conference

was a high quality sampling of some of the finest minds in Christian

Theology/Philosophy such as William Lane Craig, Gary Habermas, and Craig

Blomberg. This year's conference focused on the integration and delivery of

apologetics education into the church at all levels. The conference was

divided into four tracks. Since I was attending with a fellow church member I

thought it best to "divide and conquer" the various tracks. He chose the

church track while I attended the youth track. This made sense since I teach

7/8th grade Sunday School where we try to focus on fundamental theology

and apologetics.

While most speakers may not have been as recognized as last year's

speakers, the level of value was equal. Practitioners - in my case actual

youth leaders - spoke on the various topics and shared their real

experiences. Our plenary speakers blessed us with solid material on a

number of topics. I was blessed to learn Chuck Colson has devoted a good

portion of his energy into apologetics and weave it with current events within

Washington. Ravi Zacharias did not disappoint during his plenary with mind-

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stretching topics and feats of poetry recitation that left me humbled and

running to the bookshelf. Os Guinness rounded out the plenary trio with his

talk. Being an early influencer of Ravi's work made me want to listen intently

to his remarks. Having just finished a biography on the Guinness family and

their influence into social action and Christianity around the world made me

even more attentive.

Some of the attendees are starting to network using Facebook. One

observation I took away from the conference is the lack of apologetics

curricula for youth. While folks like Lee Strobel and Ravi Zacharias have

authored youth (and even kids) editions of their books, it is difficult to find

comprehensive curricula on this topic. Having the raw material available is

one thing but having it distilled into materials that can be picked up and

taught from is entirely different. I am starting to construct a master outline

and share it with a few folks from the conference to see if we can 1) grow the

outline and 2) work on getting it implemented.

Chuck Colson Plenary

Christianity is a worldview. Worldviews address the core existential concerns

that plague all of mankind at one point or another. A (Christian) worldview

serves as a root path into the arts and sciences. Artists like Michaelangelo

and scientists like Newton saw their work closely connected to their

relationship with God. Colson continued to discuss how Christ is the logos,

which in one sense of the work means "everything". God is everything.

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Christianity can answer the questions regarding the origins of the universe,

the cause of sin and suffering, and finally our ultimate purpose.

The increase of crime observed by Colson is a worldview problem. Morality

breaks down in a relativistic society and leads to all sorts of problems. The

financial meltdown in the U.S. during 2008-2009 can be attributed to this

problem. Additionally, according to Colson, Political and economic freedoms

are compromised as a result of a moral breakdown in society and specifically

a democracy. A functional democracy relies on a common, objective moral

footing like that provided by Christianity.

The experience of Christianity today is becoming dumbed down. The idea of

apologetics can no longer be reserved for the "professional" theologians or

those odd nerdy fellows who sit in the back of church. All of us need to

increase our literacy with these topics.

One of the key competitive forces against Christianity today is naturalism. It

is the idea unless one can use the five senses to detect an object and/or

prove its existence it is invalid. Scripture clearly states that God is a Spirit

(John 4:24) and so requiring naturalism would be invalid.

Colson encouraged the church to take action - to take leadership in this

matter of increasing our apologetic literacy. While study of theological topics

is essential, the study of theological people - who I affectionately refer to as

the 'dead theologians' - was also encouraged.

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Practical Approaches

Brett Kunkle hosted the first session of the youth track by using direct role

playing to emphasize techniques to use during apologetic discourse. He took

on the role of a classic modern atheist. His core objection, from my

perspective, was the Trinity. He had difficulty with how three beings could be

one.

The audience took turns addressing a plethora of topics attempting to

address his concerns. Brett played along and provided a number of classic

atheist objections in addition to the previous one. One feisty woman went

straight to the point regarding objective moral values. Without objective

moral values, she contended, why not cheat your taxes, school, or your

spouse? This remark left Brett (playing the atheist) rather quiet.

After the role-playing Brett settled into providing real, practical help in

addressing apologetics with youth. We are commended by Scripture to teach

our children (Deut 6) in the ways of God. Apologetics can be taught to all age

groups and should probably be woven into all Sunday School curricula. While

the names and terminology will need to be repurposed, the concepts can still

be addressed to the young mind. Where mixed age groups are present he

encouraged leaders to address the youngest in the crowd in order to get the

most retention. Some older students might get a bit antsy but they can turn

to provide some of their own leadership and guidance on the topics.

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Brett also encouraged leaders to speak the language of youth. Interacting

electronically using text messaging and forums on facilities like Facebook

and Ning are effective ways to reach youth. Developing solid relationships is

also essential in order for the apologetic message to be received. Use of

visual materials is also very effective along with role playing (as

demonstrated). Use of personal stories is also effective as it brings a more

intimate flavor to the dialog. Finally, he encouraged leaders to urge students

to READ; school isn't the only place where youth should feel challenged

intellectually.

Clarifying Confused Christianity

Brett returned for another session to address the subject of Confused

Christianity. Brett spent a fair amount of time on the topic of relativism and

the consequences of it. Statistics from Barna are showing that a minority of

youth believes in absolute truth. Huge gaps now exist in young minds on the

topics of propitiation, atonement, accountability, obedience, and duty.

Relativism endangers Christianity to become only a private experience as

opposed to something lived out in the public square. The understanding of

the difference between objective and subjective truth is vanishing from

young minds today.

Os Guinness Plenary

Os Guinness presented a number of topics relevant to addressing

apologetics within the church. His holistic approach to the topic started with
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a brief discussion of globalization. The world, because of various

technological advances, is shrinking. There is an increased sense of

immediacy and connectivity between individuals. Ironically, however, there

is an increased sense of attention deficit and non-listening as a result of the

glut of information available to modern individuals.

Secondly, there is a spiritual war underway and has been for millennia.

Immense amounts of prayer and apologetic preparation are necessary in

order to continue Christianity. Several denominations are succumbing to

liberal ideas which threaten the very fabric of their identities.

Extremism is also a concern that must be address by the modern Christian.

There are numerous misrepresentations and stereotypes applied to

Christians that are not accurate. Christians should combat these accusations

with humility, love, and prayer.

Evangelicalism is facing its own set of challenges. Guinness asserts the

"strongest defenders of post-modernity are young evangelicals" with a

perception that anything goes. True reformation is needed it it is going to

remain relevant in the coming decades. Her theological and spiritual identity

needs to be bolstered. A return to authenticity and a corrective public

repositioning that steers clear of politics is also called for.

Tools were recommended as part of talk. An increase of biblical literacy

coupled with solid worldview training was offered as ways to revive

evangelicalism but also bolster the churches' position with apologetics.

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Issues in New England

Pat Richardson gave a talk on the issues facing churches specifically in New

England. It is uncertain how these conditions or statistics might apply to the

rest of the U.S. Minimally one could extrapolate the qualitative points safely.

New England was once positioned as a "city on a hill" for the remainder of

the nation with regard to theological thought. Unfortunately, liberal rot has

attached itself to sound theology with the ranks of academia.

Post-modernity has introduced a general sense of pessimism among youth.

Relativism, as described earlier in this paper, is identified as a serious

condition. The "winners write history" argument has been applied

(inaccurately) to Christianity with the likes of Dan Brown and his series of

FICTION books. The risk of post-modernity is to render today's churches as

nothing more than "Hymn singing Rotary Clubs".

The impact of these factors has yielded the following observations. First,

sixty-five percent of Roman Catholics are pro-choice. Half of these folks are

liberal on the issues of homosexuality and abortion. Thirty-seven percent of

New Englanders affiliate themselves with conservative

theology/denominations while the balance are in more liberal mainline

camps.

Richardson offered the following recommendations to the audience to deal

with the realities he described. First, one should be careful to not bash

Roman Catholics (RC). There are sufficient numbers of those in the RC

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church who are true believers and not just pew warmers. Seeking out

common ground theologically is a great step towards common identification

as Christians. Emphasizing the centrality of Christ ensures that conversations

"keep the main thing the main thing". Reading through the Scriptures or

other theological works together has a way of building community - even

with just one other individual - that may lead to salvation or revival of the

liberal spirit. Increasing one's understanding in Bibliology and how Scripture

is entirely valid. Forty authors over millennia composed this work with

thousands of manuscripts identified to affirm its historicity.

Apologetics and Sex

Sex is a challenge for youth today. And it doesn't matter how often they go

to church. One person contracts HIV every nine minutes. Pornography is a

$10 billion business. One million abortions are performed annually. This is a

result of an amoral society that has accepted the message of "free love"

espoused by the 1960s.

Issues that present themselves include the boundary question. For the

Christian youth, how far is too far? Opinion and attitude often come into play

when this topic is discussed until the topic of fornication is brought up.

Unfortunately, rates of pre-marital sex inside and outside the church are

about the same.

Dollar provided a number of practical recommendations and ideas regarding

the topic of sex and youth. The first idea, naturally, is prayer. The youth in
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the church need this desperately. It is important for leaders to use a bit of

humor but push past the snickers and discomfort to confront the issues. One

should focus on being biblical and loving; using the Proverbs is an excellent

approach.

Dollar also cited, but did not necessarily endorse, a recent article from

Christianity Today on the topic of early marriage. While proponents of this

position do not advocate for child marriage, they contend the following. First,

society has degraded the value of marriage severely; many couples choose

to co-habitate prior to marriage if they bother getting married. Second,

marriage is deferred until one's late twenties or early thirties in order to

allow for "sowing one's oats" in their early years. Third, the optimal

reproductive years for couples is in their late teens or early twenties. The

idea of early marriage helps the young Christian avoid the sexual

temptations that permeate society by taking refuge in sound Christian

marriage (1 Cor 7:9). While I don't necessarily subscribe to the theory

advocates for this approach do make a sound argument.

Ravi Zacharias Plenary

Ravi's talk first outlined the decay of western thought throughout the

centuries. He commented extensively on the Rationalism of the 1600s and

the emergence of Hume's Empiricism in the 1700s. Both of these

movements have led to what is emerging today as a worldview focusing only

on what is discernable by the five senses - naturalism. Ideas of objective

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truth are dismissed and the thought of humans being something special - the

imago dei - are no longer accepted. Some have suggested that man is no

longer considered the highest living being on the planet. They have argued

that no other species systematically exterminates its own kind.

While it may be entertaining to discuss these assertions theoretically they do

have practical implications in society today. Displays of anger and outbursts

are not uncommon within society today. An increase of fatherless homes will

lead to a fatherless world which has a negative impact on society. The lack of

objective morals leads to a decaying democracy; Zacharias asserts that any

properly functioning democracy requires an objective moral foundation.

Otherwise, the democracy starts to decay. Unfortunately, Zacharias

assertion can be seen playing out in the United States today.

Ravi rounded out his talk with a discussion of tactics Christians can use to

effectively and lovingly debate apologetic issues in the public square. He

used the example of Paul from Acts 24 where he leveraged his opportunity of

the situation to deliver the content of the gospel. He also used his

connections with others to be successful - all of this while remaining

uncompromising in the message of the gospel.

Application

While this paper is longer than required I wrote it in order to fully reflect

upon the events of the conference. Being focused on issues of youth

apologetics my largest takeaway is addressing the need for good apologetics

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curricula for youth. Writers like Strobel and Zacharias have contributed their

writings to this very audience. However, I still struggle to find good Sunday

School-like curricula that can be used for teenagers. I am currently

networking with the youth leaders from the New England conference via

Facebook to address this (apparent) need. I am starting with a master outline

or syllabus of topics that could be used at any age group with terminology

and content tailored for the particular audience. I am also planning to deliver

key elements of this paper to the youth group at our church. Additionally, I

will present this material to the local (Syracuse, NY) youth workers coalition

in order to garner interest in this topic.

As indicated earlier, the topic of apologetics cannot be limited to the nerdy

looking church attendee or professional theologians. All Christians need to

have a solid base of apologetics knowledge in order to be effective in

growing in their faith and in delivering the gospel.