Fin Part 1

It is finished.

I completed the International Academy of Apologetics, Evangelism, and Human Rights this afternoon.

For the last week and a half I’ve been privileged to study apologetics – the intellectual defense of the Christian faith – from a variety of truly impressive characters.  Men of accomplishment and renown, but more importantly, men of faith and trust in Jesus Christ who have put their God-given gifts into academic and legal vocations.  In turn they have lectured over the past two weeks in their areas of expertise – philosophy, law, human rights, physics, and biology, to name a few.

Nobody ever talked about evidential apologetics to me prior to falling into this circle and beginning aggressive reading on the topic in the last year.  Nobody ever took the time to put together a cogent argument for why Christianity should be taken seriously – far more seriously than any other religion in the world – based on evidence.  At a certain level I tacitly had to agree with the many people who claim that there is no way to really make sense between the world’s religions.  You are – more than likely – what you were born into and there’s really nothing objective to demonstrate a greater degree of likelihood in one than another.  Seminary never talked about it in this way before.

Who should come to this?  Anyone with a desire to appreciate and understand better the goodness of our God who has not left us bereft of evidence and support for our faith, and who calls us to follow him not in blindness but with good reason.

Particularly if you have university-aged kids or grandkids, consider sending them to this.  There were at least three undergraduate students attending with me, in addition to a doctoral student.  This class is fantastic in preparing and equipping young people with the knowledge and skills to refute the inane blather that passes for truth in many secular circles these days.  I’ll be incorporating a stripped down version of this material in the Confirmation class I’m teaching.

Adults of any age and vocation should consider coming here, particularly if you interact with a diverse set of people.  This course will better equip you to interact with your friends, neighbors, family, and colleagues in a thought-provoking way.  There were multiple lay-people in the course with me, and several couples.

But not everyone can get here.  I understand that.  It’s expensive, and if not for the generosity of so many people, I would not have attended.  But there are plenty of good books to read to help make sense of the majority of what was presented the past two weeks.  I’ve reviewed many of them the past few months, but I’m happy to provide a more specific reading list to anyone who is interested.  In other words, while this academy is great, it is not the only way to learn this stuff, and nobody should close their eyes to it based only on cost.

I’m grateful for the opportunity to learn, and the opportunity and obligation now to pass on what I’ve learned to others.  To argue with even greater passion, I hope, for the truth of Biblical Christianity.  I can’t wait to get back home to begin teaching and talking and reading further, continuing to grow in my appreciation and awareness of the goodness of God in human history and geography.

I’m grateful to those who made this learning opportunity possible; to the generous individuals who help provide scholarships that pay 1/3 of the tuition.  For Ken who graciously covered the remainder of my tuition.  To my congregation and their love and care for me and my family, and their generous gift that enabled us both to come to Europe both for edification and personal growth as well as for leisure.  For grandparents who generously looked after our children during our absence.  I am deeply blessed, humbled by the gifts of God in my life that continue to flow and pour out and, I pray, fill the lives of those around me.

Thank you.