Posted on 09/22/2016 10:45:55 AM PDT by fishtank
Pastor Andy Stanley says the Bible is too hard to defend
Evangelical pastor preaches that the Bible isn’t the foundation for the Christian faith
by Lita Cosner and Scott Gillis
Published: 22 September 2016 (GMT+10)
Andy Stanley has a church network of over 30,000 people in the Atlanta area, and his church was rated the fastest-growing in America in 2014 and 2015.1 Recently, he has been criticized by many evangelicals for saying that we need to take the focus off the Bible and put it on the Resurrection, because he claims that gives us a firmer foundation for our faith. As Stanley put it: “We believe Jesus rose from the dead not because the Bible says so. It is way better than that! Christianity does not hang by the thread of ‘The Bible told me so’.”2 And: “The original version [of Christianity], the pre-Bible version, was defensible, it was endurable, it was persecutable, it was fearless, it was compassionate, and it was compelling,” but he claims “it is next to impossible to defend the entire Bible”.2
(Excerpt) Read more at creation.com ...
He’d be blessed to understand the Word became flesh.
literally..
‘Sanctify them in your Truth. Thy Word is Truth’
-Jesus in John 17.
for 2,000 years, or 2,000 swine, it has been happening in the kingdom.. leaven, leaven, leaven..
This stanley guy may not realize how close he is to ‘Christianity’ being a house of cards, though.
But it isn’t the Word to blame..
from the article, he appears to have a problem with Israel’s exodus.
If he studied Israel in the wilderness, he would understand why Jesus used 30,60,100 in His Parable.
and why pastors like him are absolutely doomed to die in the wilderness..
mercy to him and his flock..
This is pastor Charles Stanley’s kid, btw.
God's words are so important he puts them above his own name (Ps.138:2)
Before we throw Stanley under the bus, we should hear from him directly. If the gist of his argument is that evangelism should not be focused on “proving the Bible”, then he is certainly correct.
Evangelism is not the process of proving the Bible, and THEN presenting the Lord, Jesus Christ as Savior of the World. Instead, it is the process of presenting Jesus as Lord employing the Bible, which is the Word of God, in the defense of your assertions.
Once a Christian appeals to the Bible as the source of truth, it will be met with objections about the veracity of the Bible. That Christian should be prepared to defend the veracity of the Bible. But at some point, the discussion has to be brought back to Jesus.
I suspect that what Stanley actually said was that those who we evangelize can bring a myriad of objections based on their disbelief in the Bible as the Word of God. While defending the veracity of the Bible, the Christian should be prepared to move the discussion back to the person of Jesus Christ, which is the proper focus.
Amen!
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. 2 Timothy 3:16-17
It is not merely a good teaching tool. It is the very word of God.
“A great thinker. /s”
==
Yup, Fine, fine logical mind there.
-”We can’t trust the bible. Let’s only trust the resurrection of Jesus!!”
—”Where did you hear about Jesus’ resurrection?”
-”From the Bible!”
And round & round it goes - where it stops, nobody knows...
Hey heretic, we’re living in the end times. that part about the dead walking the earth-—The walking dead, biggest tv show on now, diseases, we got new ones and some good oldies making a comeback, that dragon in the sea with 7 heads-—That’s a nuclear submarine launching it’s missiles.
Haven’t many respected Christian apologists already covered these issues and more?
I will answer directly and without sarcasm. Those parts of your pastor’s sermons that come from the scripture would have no need to be stapled to the end of your Bible. They are already there. Let me ask. What is your final authority?
Not about worship. About it being a correct, trusted source. We believe in Christ because of who He is revealed to be in His Word. If the source isnt trustworthy and accurate, then opposers can claim what it says about Jesus, whobyour faith is in, is misplaced.
May not hurt you, but will cause others to doubt.
Manuals often have incorrect stuff in them. No one would ever trust a manual like a book about their eternity. Its not a mere manual and its not trivial because this is how they pick away at and undermine your beliefs. They say the source material is flawed. If it cant be trusted in one area, how can you trust it in others?
When he invited Michelle Obama to speak at his “church” back in around ‘08, he went into whack job category for me. (I think the invitation was later withdrawn; not sure.) My nephew goes to that church.
And yet, when confronted by Satan, Christ only quoted the Scripture.
“This is pastor Charles Stanley’s kid, btw.”
==
Poor Chuck, he must be kicking himself for not getting that vasectomy.
Let me ask. What is your final authority?
And thank you for your respectful reply. These things can get ugly. That simply should not be.
Not everything in that list (and many other things people say are absolutely Biblical) is in scripture. There is plenty of room for rational dissent & debate on, say, age of the Earth. So yeah, if you’re going to come to indefensible conclusions about what Scripture says, then you’re going to have a hard time defending it.
Correct approach is to accept Scripture as true, and objective historical realities (known to us or not) are true, and have the humility to admit that we don’t understand some things.
He only has his position because his father is Dr. Charles Stanley.
I feel for his father; Dr. Stanley must be grieved to his heart and soul to see what has become of his son.
The bible clearly teaches that women should not speak in church. I’ve never been in a church that applied that. Likewise women’s head covering.
What if “the spirit” instructs you to do something contrary to a biblical commandment? Then what is the final authority?
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