THE CELL LEADER’S MANUAL
An Apologetics Primer:
Caribbean Apologetics Issues, No. 1
GEM ’85, this
rev. Aug. 2002a
"Always be prepared
to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope
that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect . . ."
(1 Peter 3:15)
3.1
The Sectarian Civil War
Too often in
the Caribbean, church
is pitted against church in a vicious war over doctrine and over followers.
As a direct result, many simply dismiss the church as a whole, and the gospel
— "If you Christians can't even agree among yourselves, why should we believe
any of you?"
I
suppose this is part of why Jesus prayed that we would "be brought to complete
unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you
have loved me." (John 17:23.) Clearly, we have to learn to accept one
another in Christ, and to show the love that is the proof of the discipleship
we profess. (John 13:35.) Thank God that the UCCF, YFC and many other groups,
over the past several decades, have (however imperfectly) modelled a framework
that can show the way forward:
§ Unity in essentials (such as our understanding
of God as Creator and Sovereign Lord; the Person and Work of Christ; the Scriptures;
the Gospel and why and how we must be saved — cf. the UCCF Statement of Faith);
§
Respect for diversity, and room for dialogue
and personal convictions on other important (but less essential) concerns and
issues;
§
Balanced by a stress on faithful discipleship
under the Great Commission, that leads to a life of service, love and purity
in the power of God’s Holy Spirit.
If such a model
is to work out on the ground across the Caribbean,
the area of Bible study will need much attention. For, many of our doctrinal
and practical quarrels, frankly, are rooted in sloppy interpretation that does
not understand or respect context, language, logic or the culture gap between
two or three thousand years ago and today.
For
example, some sects reject the historic Christian understanding of Jesus’ claim
to be the Incarnate, unique Son of God: that is, that Our Risen Lord is the
Second Person of the Trinity. What is sad is that members of such groups often
fail to realise why the Church, upon much careful reflection, has come to see
that the real alternative would be to conclude (with the Jewish leaders who
put him to death) that he was a blasphemer.
Mark
2:1-12 will make this point clear. Jesus is teaching in a house, and a paralytic
is let down, through a hole in the roof. He pauses and says to the paralytic,
"Son, your sins are forgiven."
Some
teachers of the Mosaic Law were present, and reacted sharply, thinking to themselves,
"Why does this fellow talk like that? He's blaspheming! Who can forgive
sins but God alone?" Jesus knew what they were thinking, but did not
respond: “No, you are mistaken,[14] it is not God alone who can forgive sins — so can I.”
Rather, he healed the paralytic as a visible sign of this power.
Some may object
that an account of a miracle cannot record an event that actually happened in
a certain house in Capernaum
some time around AD 30; it “must” be a pious myth. To such, we must ask on
what grounds they reject the possibility of miracles?
If the response is that they violate laws of nature, we must point out that
the God who made nature plainly has power to act beyond the usual course of
nature.
Others
may feel that, perhaps Jesus did say such things; but, although a great teacher
and reformer, he was clearly mistaken. The problem with this objection (as
C. S. Lewis so often pointed out) is the sheer magnitude of the “error” — it
would immediately call his sanity into question; or worse. And, that simply
will not wash.
Yet
others, perhaps
influenced by the Jesus Seminar, may feel that the whole story is made up
by second century church leaders to respond to their own times.
To
these, we point out that: (1) there is no solid evidence for such a charge;
(2) the canonical gospels simply do not play to the debates of the second century
(or even the later First Century); and (3) the history of the Church, from the
First Century on, knows of no other Jesus than the one who worked miracles,
made amazing claims about his Person and Work, who died on a cross for our sins,
and who rose from the dead in power and glory. This is attested, not only by
the New Testament documents — for which we now have significant manuscript evidence
and citations dating to the very edge of the First Century — but also by the
early and later Church Fathers, by opponents, and by secular historians and
commentators.
We
then see a stark choice: is Jesus our Divine Lord, a demonic Liar, or a crazed
Lunatic? No other significant option exists — Jesus saw to that.
In
the text we are examining, this is very clear: either Jesus is able to exercise
a prerogative that belongs only to God, or else he is a crazed or demonised
blasphemer,[15] for he clearly claims that his
ability to heal, in this case, is a proof of his power to forgive sin. And,
in the end, only God can have this power.
In
our dealing with such doctrinal controversies, then, we should use the power
of inductive Bible study to unearth what the Bible actually says, as opposed
to what people may claim it says. Once we clarify the significance of what
happens or is said, we can apply it to our own situations. As is clear from
the above, this approach can yield startling insights and forces momentous decisions.
But
also, we must go beyond mere arguments and controversies, so that “speaking
the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the head, that
is, Christ. From him, the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting
ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.”
[Eph. 4:15 –
16.]
If we do otherwise,
we will simply be to be traitors to the church and its message in the wider
community, contributing to its rejection of the true Messiah, resulting ultimately
in ruin.
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NOTICES: This
course module was originally created by Gordon Mullings, in 1985, for use
as part of a manual for Cell Group Leaders for the UCCF, in Jamaica and the
wider Caribbean. It has been subsequently revised and developed, to date.
(DISCLAIMER: While reasonable attempts have been made to provide accurate,
fair and informative materials for use in training, no claim is made for absolute
truth, and corrections based
on factual errors and/or gaps or inconsistencies in reasoning are welcome.)
FAIR USE: The contents of this module are intended for use as a support
for learning about responding to the typical intellectual challenges to the
Christian Faith and gospel
that are commonly encountered in the Caribbean, especially in tertiary education
and in commentary in the regional and international media. Permission is therefore
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being debated or disputed. PDF version
available, under similar terms. COPYRIGHT:GEM 2002. All rights are
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FOOTNOTES: