Posted on 10/05/2016 6:35:12 AM PDT by Gamecock
Pastor Andy Stanley is defending his approach to preaching amid questions from prominent evangelical leaders who contend his methods undermine the Bible's authority and pave the way for unbelief.
In a lengthy article in Outreach magazine on Friday, the pastor of North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, Georgia, responds to his critics and affirms that he believes in biblical inerrancy. What he is doing, he argues, is changing the angle from which he speaks to more effectively engage a post-Christian society, particularly millennials who have left the Church.
Controversy arose in light of Stanley's recent sermon series wherein he argued that because increasing numbers of people in the United States do not lend credence to the Bible, Christians should dispense with the "because the Bible told me so" rationale for believing its truth claims.
Appeals to biblical authority do not translate particularly for millennials who pursue higher education beyond high school, Stanley said.
"The dechurched who grew up in church exit because they find the version of Christianity they've grown up with unconvincing, uninspiring and irrelevant," Stanley said. Moreover, ample evidence exists for the resurrection and the claims Jesus made about Himself even if one does not believe that a worldwide flood took place or Hebrew exodus from Egypt occurred, he said.
But such a tack bothered Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President Al Mohler who wrote last week on his website that defenses of the Christian faith have never been more necessary. And it is impossible to access that faith without the written Word. Stanley, Mohler argued, was "undercutting our only means of knowing Christ and His resurrection from the dead — the Bible," and warned that his approach would inexorably lead to "abject disaster" for the Church.
"This is an apologetic disaster and would leave Christians with no authoritative Scripture. Instead, we would be dependent upon historians (among others) to tell us what parts of both testaments we can still believe," Mohler said.
"Those parts will inevitably grow fewer and fewer. This is what must happen when the total trustworthiness, sufficiency, and authority of the Bible is subverted," Mohler continued.
Nothing could be further from the truth, Stanley replied in response to such charges. Mohler and others, he asserted, have misunderstood him.
Although Scripture does not provide guidelines for ministering to a post-Christian world, Stanley notes that at several times in the New Testament readers witness Peter and Paul operating from a different framework and using different language when speaking to Jews or Gentiles.
In Acts 17, for instance, the Apostle Paul addresses the Athenians, and urges them to repent from their idolatry. Yet although he refers to Him, Paul doesn't mention Jesus by name. To some that might seem like an egregious omission, like Paul was leaving out an essential element of the Gospel, when really he knew his audience's frame of reference.
"To say Paul's approach to the Gentiles in Athens differed from his approach to the Jews in Pisidian Antioch would be the understatement of understatements," Stanley said. "But his central message was the same. God has done something in the world on behalf of all humankind."
Stanley insists he is doing a similar thing today.
"So will you consider retooling in order to win some and save some? Are you willing to take a long, hard look at everything you're currently doing through the eyes of the post-Christian? Are you ready to be a student rather than a critic? We don't have time for tribes. We don't have time for the petty disagreements that only those inside our social media circles understand or care about," Stanley said.
"We're losing ground. The most counterproductive thing we can do is criticize and refuse to learn from one another. So come on. If you believe in the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ, that's all I need to know. And in light of what's at stake, in light of who is at stake, perhaps that's all you need to know as well," he concluded.
Foolishness.
The gospel is “Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures...”
“At least one MS copy of the original Hebrew Matthew is known to exist at the Vatican.”
Nope. 1) If there were a Hebrew copy of the “original Hebrew Matthew” one would need to have either an explicit statement in the text saying so or the actual original to know that. 2) What the Vatican has in regard to Hebrew manuscripts of the Gospels is universally known to NOT BE ANCIENT enough to be a copy of any Hebrew original: http://cbcat.abcat.cat/pdf/CasanellasP-HamesH_HebrewGospelsTranslatedFromCatalan.pdf
“Many others are found in Europe, and two are at the Hebrew University.”
No, actually none have been found. There is no proof in mss. form of a copy of a Hebrew original that is ancient. NONE.
“Stomp your little feet, plug your ears, and go LA, LA, LA, LA, LA, all you wish.”
I’m not doing any of that. I’m simply relying on the known evidence. Again, read the article I linked to. I have evidence. You have nothing. You’re the one stomping your little feet, plugging your ears, and generally just getting things wrong as usual.
“28 separate complete MS, and one partial MS is “none?””
Absolutely - since NONE OF THEM are ancient and no original exists to compare them to. Yes, none is NONE.
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That post smacks of dishonesty!
There are no “originals” to compare any NT MS to!
The Hebrew Matthew MS are consistent, and scattered well enough to be far more reliable that any of the existing Greek translations of the original Hebrew Matthew are.
The Greek translations are definitely not consistent, either.
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NONE. You’re still stuck with NONE. When you find one come back.
So; you actually have no evidence.
Then you MUST have a link to this 'evidence'; right?
A worthy plan of action.
Hold this thought.
But; but...
...you just said there ARE!
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To: vladimir998
. Many others are found in Europe, and two are at the Hebrew University. Stomp your little feet, plug your ears, and go LA, LA, LA, LA, LA, all you wish. 138 posted on 10/10/2016 6:26:24 PM by editor-surveyor (Freepers: Not as smart as I'd hoped they'd be)
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You quote a nut case, and then blame me?
Or are you just not reading my post correctly?
Obviously there are at least 29 MS copies or portions thereof of the original Matthew, which was written in the native Hebrew language of the Cohen, Matthew.
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Do you just not understand the difference between an original and a copy of an original?
You do seem to have this kind of difficulty often.
I stand accused; and rightly so. Since I usually dismiss just about everything that Vlad types, I assumed this was from you, since there were no indentifying quotes or italics to show that YOU were getting it from somewhere else.
My mistake; and I apologize.
Now then; where is the link to the EVIDENCE of these 29 items you seem to know about?
Oh; I do!
I just need to see some evidence that the 'copy of an original' has some identifying marks on it to prove (if not that, then suggest) that is NOT a 'copy' of a third hand writing.
For the record I’ve been to Andy Stanley’s church numerous times. The guy is the best Pastor I have come across, and I’ve been to many churches.
Andy Stanley is the reason why I went from being Agnostic to surrendering to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Although it was a slow metamorphosis that took me 7 years. Believe me I was extremely skeptical and asked about every tough question you can think.
Prior to me giving my heart to Jesus I was just like anyone else. When someone would talk to me about it... I always thought iwell that’s nice, wishful thinking or wow they really believe that in their own mind. It was not until I surrendered my heart to Jesus that I realized how real it was.
If you have not really surrender to Christ, then everything will more or less remain the same. However, if you do surrender to Jesus, then your life will change forever and for the better. Only you will know if you have in your heart. It’s A LOT MORE, than just saying it. . Don’t just say it..., feel it your heart and mean it. This does not mean you will not sin. You always will, but you will view it differently.
Give it a try. It will be the best decision you ever make. .
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Thus you do not accept any of the Greek MS, since none of them meet that condition?
Or are you just playing your normal childish game?
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