Is there any reason to presuppose reason? Atheist caller “Max” doesn’t think so.
But the late Dr. Greg Bahnsen sure does.
For a 3–minute course in the practical application of presuppositional apologetics, listen to this *CLIP. The first voice you’ll hear is the radio show host, the next voice is a caller, the third voice is atheist author George Smith, and then you’ll hear the eminent Dr. Bahnsen cut through the babble with razor-sharp questions. Questions we should know. Questions we should use. Questions that bring the full weight of the unbeliever’s worldview down to bear heavily upon him.
Download the 3–minute CLIP (about 2MB)
I’ve often heard college and seminary professors speculate as to what will be the “biggest battle” of the upcoming generation. What will it be? The inspiration and inerrancy of Scripture? The New Perspective on Paul? I submit to you that it just might be:
Atheism.
Atheist Richard Dawkins’ new book “The God Delusion” has been a best-seller for several weeks. In Britain, he is leading the charge to shut down private religious schools (“faith schools” is the British term). Recently, he did a press release about his “Blasphemy Challenge” which exhorts atheists (and atheist wanna-be’s) to video themselves verbally denying the Holy Spirit and post it to You Tube. I’ve watched a bit of this. I’ve seen and heard teens and even children denying God. May God be gracious to their souls. And may God wake true believers from our comatose state. Our God is being insulted.
(and that should really, really bother us.)
More than ever we must be ready to give an answer for why we have true hope. We need to do this with gentleness and respect. We need to do this with boldness and confidence. And we need to passionately pursue ways TO DO this. Perhaps the key reason Christians encounter such marginal persecution here in America is because there are so few that are effectively engaging the vain philosophies of the lost. I’m certainly not looking for persecution, nor do I want it, but the Bible promises it for all that will lead godly lives in Christ (2 Timothy 3:12). You know what? It’s time to stop bantering, bickering, and blathering on and on about music, Bible versions, invitation methods, and other periphery with fellow Christians and simply confront our culture with the truth. Some of you need to let your SharperIron or Baptist Board or whatever-comfortable-little-religious-forum-or-blog account sit dormant for a month or two and go join a different kind of discussion. Find a discussion in which you will most certainly feel uncomfortable, be attacked, ridiculed, and insulted for your Christian beliefs as you confront the lost with truth. Some of you don’t need this yet, though. Some of you need to let your internet activities lie latent so you can read a book or two, read a catechism or two (Keach’s Catchism is a good one), listen to some lectures, study, think, and prepare to engage the lost.
All of us need to pray.
So, do I call us to action because I fear atheism might prevail? No. As I’ve said before, God doesn’t need our help to defend Him. I call us to action because God calls us to action (see Titus 1:9; 1 Peter 3:15). I call us to action because God can strike straight blows using crooked sticks. I implore all of us to “get serious” about this life God has given to us to live. John Piper wrote a book recently entitled “Don’t Waste Your Life.” It’s a good book. I’d like to write one called “Don’t Trivialize Your Life.” I think we are often guilty of this, Christian. Be about the main things. Get out of your comfortable Christian subculture and speak the truth in love to those who don’t want to hear you. And guess what? It won’t be your views on **music that convert them.
Christian, we’re great at arguing with one another. We’ve proven that, online and in public! We’ve gotten really good at it! But can we wage effective verbal-war against the empty teachings of this age? Do we even see the necessity to do so?
I speak all of the above words to myself first and foremost. And humbly.
*NOTE: Several Dr. Bahnsen lectures and debates are available at www.cmfnow.com. I’ve purchased mp3s from them a handful of times and my experience has been good.
**Proactive Damage Control: For those who might think I’m suggesting we become lackadaisical in our musical choices, you should see my ultra-conservative music collection. Hymns, Handel’s Messiah, and selections heavy on the high-church organ (with apologies to friend JJ) are at the top of the list. I have strong musical convictions. So should you. But I’d rather, and I think Jesus is pleased with this, spend my time striving to convince an unbeliever of the reality of God and the veracity of the Scripture than to convince a believing friend that my pipe-organ music glorifies God and his non-organ music does not.