Tag: biblical scholarship

Reflections on Being a Theologue

Recently, a fellow-church member — who also happens to be the retired founding pastor of our church and had read some of my articles here — labelled me a “theologue.” When we discussed what he meant by the term, he made the following points:

  • Theologues are “watchmen on a wall” called to warn those whom he protects or encounters of the impending dangers of false doctrines and dangerous heresies.
  • It is a role vital within the Body of Christ.
  • No other ministry gifts are equipped by calling or temperament to do this.
  • Theologues are often lonely, having few friends, and are generally unpopular with pastors and/or their congregations.
  • Their job is far from easy and often thankless.
  • There is little fame or positive feedback to be had from those being watched over.

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Critical Thinking #5:
My Analysis of That Conversation

After releasing my previous article, I felt the Holy Spirit leading me to write an analysis of Jake’s assertions using the principles I listed and discussed in in the first three parts of this series on Critical Thinking. In obedience, we will now analyze that encounter so you can take that knowledge into any future discussions with Christianity’s ideological opponents.

All this stuff can initially come across as dry, academic, philosophical double-talk, but as you can see from that encounter, there are lost souls at stake. And that’s not to mention church pews — and sometimes even platforms! — populated by spiritually immature, scripturally-illiterate Christians who are being propagandized into apostasy by pop culture narratives at this very moment.

You may not be called to be a full-time Christian apologist as the primary focus of your ministry, but all Christ-followers are called to be apologists-on-demand as the Holy Spirit brings us into divine appointments with those He is wooing to Himself (1 Peter 3:15).

In other words, we are safely standing beside the road to Hell and the Holy Spirit occasionally uses one of us to wave folks down who are blindly racing headlong towards an excruciatingly painful forever. All it takes is influencing one person away from such a fate to make it worth all the effort. There but for the grace of God…
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My Analysis of That Conversation”

Critical Thinking #4:
My Conversation With an Atheist

One could easily assume that after almost 50 years of being a Christ-follower — and having earned advanced degrees in theology to boot! — I would have had more than a few opportunities to interact with dyed-in-the-wool atheists. The truth of the matter is I have had only one such encounter that I can remember; it occurred back in January 2020.

The following is my account of that event.
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My Conversation With an Atheist”