Category Archives: Witnesses

September 23, 2013

Generous Justice

By Clarke Morledge
Is there a connection between the Bible's teaching on justification by faith alone and living a life that promotes justice? Tim Keller says, "Yes!"

“Faith alone saves, but the faith that saves is never alone”.   This quote, often attributed to the Protestant Reformer John Calvin, reveals an important truth that pastor/author Tim Keller wants everyone to know.

A lot of people experience injustice.   A lot of people find themselves on the receiving end of life’s bitter struggles. Then along comes some Bible-toting Christian saying that “all you need is Jesus“.  Well, how does Jesus help you when you can not pay your medical bills, you lost your job, or when your spouse ran off with someone else and left you in thousands of dollars of credit card debt?

Is the Christian faith just some pie-in-the-sky hope for an eternal future or does it mean something for the here and now? Ouch.

Meet Timothy Keller.  Keller is a pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City.  This fall our church is doing a six-week study on his book Generous Justice: How God’s Grace Makes Us Just.   Many critics of historic, orthodox Christian faith complain that the Bible stands in the way of really making progress towards eliminating injustice in our world today.   Others find that efforts to promote “social justice” in the church are undercutting the message of the Bible.

In his book, Tim Keller is attempting to make a crucial connection between the experience of God’s grace on the one hand with a life empowered to live justly with our neighbor on the other.   The following is a 30-minute talk where Keller summarizes the message of his book based on the teachings he finds in the Bible.  Does he succeed in making that crucial connection?

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August 28, 2013

Rhetoric That Still Matters: “I Have a Dream”

By John Paine

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivering his “I Have a Dream” speech—50 years ago today.


 

I still get emotional reading this speech. This is how you start a revolution. This is rhetoric that still matters.

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August 26, 2013

C.S. Lewis: Christian Champion … or Contrarian?

By Clarke Morledge
C.S. Lewis. Died on the same day as President John F. Kennedy and author Alduous Huxley.

C.S. Lewis. Died on the very same day that President John F. Kennedy was shot.  The author of Brave New World,  Aldous Huxley, died on that day as well:  November 22, 1963 (Wikipedia image, photo by Arthur Strong, 1947)

In 2013, we remember the 50th anniversary of the death of C.S. Lewis. Though his death back then was overshadowed by the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, I would argue that at least for followers of Jesus, C.S. Lewis has had a far more profound and lasting influence than even JFK…. but how well did he do as a theologian?

Lewis was clearly the most popular Christian apologist of the 20th century. His works have been cited as a major factor in the conversions to faith of numerous prominent Christians, ranging from the scientist and U.S. National Institutes of Health director, Francis Collins, to the British atheist and molecular biologist turned theologian, Alister McGrath. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia books remain bestsellers among children’s fiction, several of the books having been portrayed in big-budget, major motion pictures. He was a member of the Inklings, a group of Oxford scholars that included such literary luminaries as J.R.R. Tolkien, author of The Hobbit, and (indirectly) Dorothy Sayers, the inspiring visionary of the classical Christian education movement. Lewis’ classic introduction to Christian faith, Mere Christianity, is also the slogan for a major Christian magazine, Touchstone, and his writings form part of the “canon” of many homeschooling curriculums.

For any Christian living in the past fifty years or more, Lewis has been big stuff. However, where does Lewis stand now in the mind of 21st century Christianity? Oddly enough, his legacy is somewhat controversial among some Christians.
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August 20, 2013

Embarrassing Witnesses

By John Paine

“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.”
Matthew 10:16 (ESV)

One the greatest joys we have in producing this blog is sharing material from authors, pastors, thinkers, and theologians who are insightful and effective witnesses for Jesus Christ.  Whether you read these posts as a committed Christian or a scathing skeptic, we appeal to your intellect “with gentleness and respect,” as prescribed in 1 Peter 3:15.

We try to keep things positive, partly because so much of the negative passion that comes out in contemporary writing is self-defeating, but mostly because of the love that is modeled for us by Jesus Christ. We have produced lists of resources, people, and tools that—in addition to the material shared in individual posts—can help you discover the veracity of the Scriptures.

But…much as we would like never to write an unkind word, Jesus also modeled (in fact commanded) discernment.

There are people who make being a disciple of Jesus Christ much more difficult than it should be for the rest of us.  Some have large media outlets (even universities) behind them.  Some have presidential-sized egos and ambitions.  Some, quite frankly, are weirdoes and snake oil salesmen.  Some have been caught perpetrating scams.  Some have been investigated by the U.S. Senate for their overseas dealings or their accumulation of personal wealth while operating under the guise of tax-exempt ministries.  The common thread is a thirst for affluence, power, or attention (and strangely enough, an appetite for expensive jets). Continue reading

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August 11, 2013

Wisdom: John R. W. Stott

By Clarke Morledge
John R.W. Stott, author of the classic introduction to the Christian faith, Basic Christianity.

John R.W. Stott, author of the classic introduction to the Christian faith, Basic Christianity.

I fondly remember listening to John Robert Walmsley Stott teaching tapes in college some thirty years ago. Stott was a staple speaker at InterVarsity Christian Fellowship conferences in the last third of the 20th century. Verse by verse, Stott would calmly expound each point in the biblical text. He was not flashy, but in his eloquent British voice he was passionate about gaining an in-depth perspective on God’s Word. Stott died a few years ago at age 90, on July 27, 2011.

John Stott still embodies biblical wisdom for me. He was scholarly but still had a pastor’s heart that enabled him to care for people. How do the great truths of the Bible impact not only the way I am to think, but the way I am to live as a Christian? In the dozens of books and biblical commentaries Stott authored, he tackled tough issues with day-to-day applications in a tender and very practical way.

In celebration of Stott’s contribution to the church, Christian Audio is offering a FREE audio download of Stott’s classic book, Basic Christianity, during the month of August, 2013.

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