DESCRIPTION
Dr. Miller encourages Christians to embrace an incarnational apologetic that accepts the unreasonableness of faith and trusts in the power of God’s community to persuade. Our Christian ministry of presence is critical to the Gospel because without it we’ll no longer be able to raze the roof off the world’s wisdom and soon we’ll discover that a reasonable faith without Spirit-empowered community leads to culturally impotent religion.
SHOW NOTES
Incarnational Apologetics is an affirmation of biblical truth demonstrated in your shame-free lifestyle of holiness, your fearless proclamation of the Gospel, your zeal to do good works, and in the transformed life of your disciples.
The early church flourished not because Paul offered a more persuasive philosophy. Apollos was not a more astute Aristotle. Peter was not a more popular Plato. The church grew because they lived as a community of care and compassion.
The analogy of doing church in a golden thong is gross. But our power to persuade has always been rooted in our unreasonable faith.
Incarnational apologetics is community-centered, not mind-centered.
Incarnational apologetics means that the church offers more than an apologetic from reason, the church itself becomes a living apologetic; an apologetic from hope, an apologetic from healing, and an apologetic from comfort.
REFERENCES
Donald E. Blotch, God the Almighty: Power, Wisdom, Holiness, Love.
DISCUSSION POINTS
Below is a list of just a few of the big ideas discussed in this episode. Subscribers, feel free to weigh in with your own ideas and join me in the conversation.
Embrace Incarnational Apologetics: Encourages Christians to adopt an approach that emphasizes the relational and communal aspects of faith, rather than purely rational arguments.
Power of Community: Stresses the importance of a faith community in apologetics, drawing on examples from Acts 2:42-47 to highlight the communal lifestyle of the early church.
Critique of Individualism: Challenges the individualistic approach common in Western culture, advocating for a shift towards community-centered apologetics.
Role of the Holy Spirit: Emphasizes the need for reliance on the Holy Spirit in apologetic efforts, rather than solely on human reason.
Holistic Approach: Calls for a balance between rational defense and living out the faith in a way that visibly impacts the surrounding community.
Critique of Rationalism: Warns against the dangers of placing reason above revelation and the supernatural, arguing that an overemphasis on rationalism can lead to a diluted faith.
Cultural Engagement: Advocates for a form of apologetics that addresses the moral and spiritual state of contemporary culture, using community and relational engagement to counteract societal issues like tribalism and individualism.
Biblical Foundations: Rooted in biblical teachings, particularly the communal aspects of the early church and the transformative power of living out the gospel collectively.
Ep 2 - Unreasonable Faith