Top Ten NZ Christian blogs (for October 2009)

The stats are a little behind, but for those who are interested in such things, here are the top ten NZ 'Christian' blogs as at October 2009. (The post I found this on was actually published only a couple of days ago.)

I've put 'Christian' in quotes only because some of these sites, while written by Christians, don't necessarily focus primarily on the subject of Christianity - and some of them such as Something should go here - maybe later, a blog I'd never heard of till today, are as in-your-face as they come, while still definably Christian.

The MandM site, which posted this information, comes out on top. The blog is written by a husband and wife team, and tends to focus more on the political than the spiritual. However, their foundation is Christian.

1. [1.] MandM 14.5 (3 – 26)
2. [2.] NZ Conservative 17 (5 – 29)
3. [3.] MacDoctor Moments 17.5 (18 – 17)
4. [4.] Something Should Go Here, Maybe Later (HalfDone) 19 (10 – 28)
5. [5.] Say Hello to my Little Friend (Beretta Blog) 21.5 (8 – 35)
6. [6.] Being Frank 34.5 (36 – 33)
7. [7.] Liturgy Worship Spirituality* 37 (34 – 40)
8. [8.] Brad Heap 44.5 (46 – 43)
9. [N.] Manawatu Christian Apologetics Society 46 (43 – 49)
10. [N.] The Briefing Room 51 (81 – 21)

While you have a few moments, check these blogs out. I've only ever come across the 1st and the 5th before, myself, so I'll be doing some investigating of the others over the next period.

The Reason for God

I've recently finished reading Timothy Keller's book, The Reason for God: belief in an age of scepticism, and thoroughly enjoyed it. It's an original approach to apologetics, and as soon as I can find a copy I can afford, I'll buy it. (It's only available in hardcover at present.)
Surprisingly, my local library had a copy of it, for which I was very grateful. In fact, over the last number of years they've accumulated quite a store of good books in the Christian area. Obviously someone on their staff has realised that they have a lot of Christian readers amongst their 'customers.'
If you want a bit of an introduction to Keller's book (apart from the link already given) you can check out the site dedicated to the book. It has a video of Keller talking about his book on it as well.

William Lane Craig on Postmodernism

The idea that we live in a postmodern culture is a myth. In fact, a postmodern culture is an impossibility; it would be utterly unlivable. People are not relativistic when it comes to matters of science, engineering, and technology; rather, they are relativistic and pluralistic in matters of religion and ethics. But, of course, that's not postmodernism; that's modernism! That's just old-line verificationism, which held that anything you can't prove with your five senses is a matter of personal taste. We live in a culture that remains deeply modernist.

Otherwise, how do we make sense of the popularity of the New Atheism? Dawkins and his ilk are indelibly modernist and even scientistic in their approach. On the postmodernist reading of contemporary culture, their books should have fallen like water on a stone. Instead, people lap them up eagerly, convinced that religious belief is folly.

Seen in this light, tailoring our gospel to a postmodern culture is self-defeating. By laying aside our best apologetic weapons of logic and evidence, we ensure modernism's triumph over us. If the church adopts this course of action, the consequences in the next generation will be catastrophic. Christianity will be reduced to but another voice in a cacophony of competing voices, each sharing its own narrative and none commending itself as the objective truth about reality. Meanwhile, scientific naturalism will continue to shape our culture's view of how the world really is.

from an article entitled God is Not Dead Yet: how current philosophers argue for his existence, which appeared in the magazine, Christianity Today, July 2008.

To confront or not to confront?

Apologist/evangelist Jay Smith confronts Muslims with the same kind of fanatical fervour they use in getting their own message across.
In public, that is, at Hyde Park's famous Speaker's Corner. And sometimes he's been beaten for it.
Some critics of his approach feel he deserves what he gets, because he's so confrontational with Muslim speakers. However, Smith believes that a strong apologetic is required to break through to Muslim speakers, and even more so, to their listeners. Passionate presentation is one key to reaching Muslims, he says. Many will not be convinced, he believes, "unless we look like we believe what we're saying."

Western seminaries teach "friendship evangelism" as the primary way to share Christ with Muslims. Nothing should offend, they say. Never point out contradictions, inconsistencies, or historical inaccuracies in another person's religious beliefs. Everything aims to convert. Judge results by the number of conversions.

Smith, however, has decided to take an alternate approach:

• To defend historic, orthodox Christianity.
• To answer untruths that Islam proclaims about the Bible, Jesus, and Christians.
• To hold Islam itself accountable for the actions of its followers.

The full article, Unapologetic Apologist, can be found on the Christianity Today site. It makes for fascinating reading in terms of deciding which approach works best with Muslim people. Note that Smith also meets Muslims face to face over coffee, for long and deep discussions about faith.

Is God a Delusion?

Next month will see a debate between NZ rationialist, Bill Cooke, and William Lane Craig, the well-known Christian apologist. Craig is also speaking at other venues during his fortnight in New Zealand (8th June to the 21st).
The debate takes place on the 19th June in the Regent Theatre on Broadway, Palmerston North. Start time is 7.pm
Cooke is a professor at the Manukau Institute of Technology in Auckland, with a PhD from Victoria University. He's the Vice President, and National Spokesperson, of the NZ Association of Rationalists and Humanists.
Craig has PhDs in Philosophy and New Testament Studies. He's written numerous books, and speaks around the world on the reasonableness of the Christian faith, communicating complex issues in an accessible way.