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PEP Talk with Nathan Rittenhouse

by Solas

One of the most effective methods for sharing the gospel is through personal conversations. But in our modern world, many of us struggle with ‘personal’ and ‘conversation’ for a variety of reasons. Today on PEP Talk we discuss the issues and struggles we have with conversation, personal connection and empathy in an age of digital distraction and polarised public discourse.

For further reading, books mentioned in this episode include Disruptive Witness by Alan Noble and Reclaiming Conversation by Sherry Turkle.

With Nathan Rittenhouse – PEP Talk

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Our Guest

Nathan Rittenhouse is a speaker, preacher and podcaster. After double-majoring in Physics and Philosophy, Nathan studied theology and pastoral studies in several institutions and holds an M.Div from Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary. Nathan has been preaching and speaking in the field of Christian apologetics at churches, campuses, and conferences for the last 8 years. He is the Co-Founder of Thinking Out Loud. Nathan, his wife Erin, and their four children enjoy the great outdoors and are grateful for the wisdom, support, and opportunities to serve and grow in their local church.

About PEP Talk

The Persuasive Evangelism Podcast aims to equip listeners to share their faith more effectively in a sceptical world. Each episode, Andy Bannister (Solas) and Kristi Mair (Oak Hill College) chat to a guest who has a great story, a useful resource, or some other expertise that helps equip you to talk persuasively, winsomely, and engagingly with your friends, colleagues and neighbours about Jesus.

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Launch Pad 2: Wondering How To Start Conversations About Jesus?

by Editor

How do you even start a spiritual conversation with a friend or colleague, especially if they’re apathetic or disinterested? One approach is to try asking them a wondering question: that’s when you start from something that your friend is already interested in and get them wondering about its source, significance, or meaning.

There’s a good example in the Bible. In Acts 17, Paul is in Athens and as he explores the city he stumbles across the Altar to the Unknown God. Later in his speech at the Areopagus, Paul gets his Athenian audience to wonder about the identity of this god they’re worshipping as unknown.

We can use a similar approach. Whilst our friends may not have erected altars to unknown gods, nevertheless they will have things they care deeply about, things that actually only make sense if God exists.

Here’s an example. During the Christmas holidays, a friend remarked to me that she loved Christmas because it’s a good time to pause and be grateful for all the good things of the last year. We chatted about the kinds of things she had in mind and then I asked: “Have you wondered why we see gratitude as something to aspire to?”

“I hadn’t really thought about that before,” she said.

I then explained how I’d recently read a blog which had included the line: “The greatest problem for many of us is not that we have nothing to be thankful for, but that we have nobody to be thankful to.”

“That’s so right!” she said. “But then … who are we supposed to be thankful to?”

That quickly turned into a much bigger conversation!

With prayer and practice you can learn to ask wondering questions about everything from human rights and justice to beauty, music to movies, love to loneliness and more. You can find loads of examples on the Solas website to inspire you, as well as in chapter 10 of Andy Bannister’s book How to Talk About Jesus Without Looking Like an Idiot. And look out for Solas’s Have You Ever Wondered? book coming this Easter: the ideal gift for a non-Christian friend!

And try praying: Lord, would you please open my eyes to the things my friends care about. Help me be attentive as Paul was attentive in Acts. And then, Lord, please inspire me to ask good wondering questions that might start conversations that lead to you. Amen.

Previously:Launch Pad #1: “No More Undercover Christian”

Next: Launch Pad #3: “The Humble Tract”

Confident Christianity – Donwfield Mains in Dundee

by Editor

Recently Andy Bannister from Solas was at Downfield Mains Church in Dundee for a Confident Christianity evening conference – ‘Sharing the Gospel in an Age of Uncertainty’. Andy shared some thoughts from his most recent book How to Talk About Jesus without Looking Like an Idiot, followed by a talk on the uniqueness of Jesus among all the other options out there. We are always encouraged to see how well attended these events are, and how engaged the audiences are too.

Following the talks there was at time of Q&A which was really lively, with some good, challenging questions coming from the floor. Andy and Steve, our new addition to the Solas speaking team, were able to engage with the questions and have some good dialogue with the audience which led to some very fruitful conversations after the event as well.

You can never really know where people are on the journey of faith as you come to these events, but what remains true is our need for the grace of God in Jesus Christ, no matter where we are. The pastor of the church, Nathan, led a time of prayer at the end of the event, giving people an opportunity to respond to what they had heard, and turn to Jesus Christ in faith.

Nathan McConnell, the minister at Downfield Mains was enthusiastic about the event and said:

What Is The Meaning of Life? Part One – Identity

by Solas

Perhaps the oldest and most significant question we can ask ourselves is this: “What is the meaning of life?” One reason it is a difficult question is because it really can only be answered by first considering four related questions concerning our identity, value, purpose and agency.

In the first of a four-part Short Answers series, Andy Bannister considers the question of identity: “Who am I?” If your answer is “a chance collection of atoms”, then you’ll not get far with value, purpose or meaning. Of course, the Christian view provides a radically different basis for human identity and our place in the universe.

Part Two: Value – Part Three: Purpose – Part Four: Agency

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Short Answers is a viewer-supported video series: if you enjoy them, please help us continue to make them by donating to Solas. Visit our Donate page and choose a free book as a thank-you gift!

Launch Pad 1: No More ‘Undercover Christian’

by Editor

Welcome to Launch Pad, a brand new series from Solas. Each week throughout 2024 we’ll be sharing a short article designed to help you talk more about Jesus: at work or school, among your family, friends, and colleagues.

Many Christians are naturally nervous of talking about our faith and so the rocket of evangelism just sits on the ground. But Launch Pad will help get some rocket fuel into your tank, as it provides ideas for prayer, practical ideas to try out, stories to motivate you, and biblical wisdom to inspire you.

It can be helpful to begin by realising that when it comes to being afraid of sharing your faith you’re not alone. Survey after survey has shown that the majority of Christians don’t find it easy. In his book, How To Talk About Jesus Without Looking an Idiot, Solas Director Andy Bannister tells the story of his first job. Andy worked for the NHS for six years, helping a hospital in London organise medical conferences. He loved his job but admits there was a bit of problem. For outside work Andy was very involved in his local church. But inside work he was something of an Undercover Christian.

Undercover Christian would make a great movie title, wouldn’t it! All about Christians sneaking around at work or school, hoping nobody ever points the finger and says: “Hey, you’re a Christian, aren’t you?”

It’s very easy to play Undercover Christian at work, at school, or among our friends. Keep your head down, talk about anything but faith, whilst inwardly feeling ever more guilty and inadequate. And each day that you don’t mention your faith it gets that little bit harder.

How did Andy break free of the Undercover Christian mould? He was helped by the encouragement of friends, by praying, and by discovering the many examples in the Bible of God using ordinary, flawed people as evangelists. But it also helped when he began praying, each day he went into work, for God to create natural opportunities for him to talk about his faith. Then committing to have the courage to step into them when they came.

So why not start this New Year with a prayer: Lord, I’m sorry for the times I’m tempted to be an Undercover Christian. Please forgive me—and please begin creating opportunities for me to naturally introduce my faith into conversations this year. Amen.

Next: Launch Pad #2: “Wondering How To Start Conversations About Jesus?”

Steve goes to Forres

by Editor

A few weeks ago we (me and our Operations Director, Mike Causey) were in Forres for a Confident
Christianity evening at Forres Baptist Church. It was my first trip up north since arriving in Scotland a
few months ago, and so I thoroughly enjoyed the trip – what a beautiful country we’re in!

This is the third Confident Christianity event Solas has done at Forres Baptist Church, and we came
away very encouraged by the response to the event despite the wet, chilly weather on the evening.
Being invited to do an event is always great, but even more so to see that the work of Solas is highly
valued in that we are invited back again, and again!

On the evening I did two talks. The first titled What About the Bible: Fact or Fairy Tale? This is one of my favourite topics to speak on as it’s something that really intrigued me when I was in my late
teens and heard someone share some evidence for the reliability of the Bible. The second talk was
on Jesus and the Failures of the Church – a tough topic, but one that we can’t shy away from as we
look to bring real and honest answers to some of the stumbling blocks that people have when
considering the Gospel.

All in all it was a great evening with some lively Q&A where there were a wide range of questions, and some tough ones given all that is going on around the world in terms of war, such as we currently see in Gaza and Ukraine.

We look forward to serving our friends in Forres again soon.

With Sir Brian Souter

by Solas

Today we hear from an incredibly successful businessman and philanthropist and discover his heart for the gospel. Starting with the influence of his mother, he explains how his relationship with Christ has shaped his life, his giving, his ministry and his own personal evangelism.

With Sir Brian Souter – PEP Talk

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Our Guest

Sir Brian Souter grew up on a council estate in Perth, Scotland. He and his sister built the Stagecoach company into one of Britain’s largest bus companies in the 1990’s, moving into other transport and international ventures. He set up the Souter Charitable Trust with his wife Lady Elizabeth in 1992. Since 2006 the Trust has awarded more than 15,000 grants totalling over £100 million (including support for Solas). He received a knighthood in 2011 for his contributions to transport and the voluntary sector. Still resident in Perth, Sir Brian has four grown up children and five grandchildren.

About PEP Talk

The Persuasive Evangelism Podcast aims to equip listeners to share their faith more effectively in a sceptical world. Each episode, Andy Bannister (Solas) and Kristi Mair (Oak Hill College) chat to a guest who has a great story, a useful resource, or some other expertise that helps equip you to talk persuasively, winsomely, and engagingly with your friends, colleagues and neighbours about Jesus.

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Hope in Times of Darkness

by Editor

Earlier this month I celebrated someone’s fiftieth birthday and conversation turned to how much the world has changed over the last half-century. Fifty years ago, there were tensions with Russia spilling over into proxy-wars around the world, war in the Middle East, a controversial referendum on UK membership of the European Community, a fuel supply problem, high inflation, and a cost-of-living crisis – while the most famous band in the world was the Beatles, even after their split. How much has changed since then! Now we have tensions with Russia, war in the Middle East, a contentious EU Referendum, a fuel supply problem, high inflation, and a cost-of-living crisis – while as I write the #1 song in the UK is by The Beatles, years after their split! Everything has changed but nothing has!

The human condition remains that we are a species capable of both beautiful and abhorrent things. We make great art, and perform acts of gentle kindness, but yet equally manage to fight, quarrel, argue and fall out with each other. We use our ingenuity to build hospitals and operating theatres to put people back together and weapons to rip them apart. The result is that we experience life bursting with potential, but also are pained by dissapointment and tinged with despair. We see this internationally, but we also know that these things touch our personal lives too, not least at Christmas. It’s at this time set aside for joy and celebration that families report that they experience their most bitter arguments!

And as we see the tinsel glittering, and the lights twinkling, we are often more aware than ever that the way things actually are, is not as they ought to be: in the world, in our homes, and indeed in our own hearts.

Christmastime perhaps brings such thoughts to the fore, especially when expressions of jolity can  seem to be compulsory – even when we are not feeling it and on Christmas Day the Six O’Clock news can be depressing. In World War One, the soldiers may have laid down their weapons and played football on the first Christmas in the trenches, but they took them up again on Boxing Day, and the Generals made sure that such ‘fraternising with the enemy’ was never allowed to happen again. The hype of Christmas, can fall flat today too.

Yet, despite many reasons to feel dispondent – I still find hope at Christmas. That hope doesn’t come from circumstances – because they can sometimes look woefully unhopeful. The hope doesn’t come from looking within msyelf either. The cultural messaging we receive usually says that if we can only reach deep enough within ourselves, and summon up enough courage to believe in ourselves – then we can find hope and meaning for our lives there. My experience (and I know I not alone in this), is that such a quest leaves me even more dissapointed and dissilusioned than seeking to find hope in circumstances. Frankly, in the cold light of day, looking within myself for answers merely exposes many of my flaws, and reminds me of a plethora of missed opportunities. Sometimes the biggest dissapointment in life is actually: me.

Where then can hope be found, if it’s not in the world, or within me? The answer that satisfies the soul is that in Christ, hope has come into the world. The first Christmas, (which Christians call, “The Incarnation”), celebrates the fact that rather than scorning this world, Jesus Christ, the Son of God has come and joined us in it. Rather than neglecting or rejecting humanity, Jesus Christ, has joined us as a human. And even more surprisingly than that; rather than scorning me, Jesus Christ the Son of God came to love, serve and save people like me.

The Christian calendar hinges on two hope-filled events. At Christmas, we remember the incarnation. that God is with is – and so we do not face life alone, or without purpose. At Easter we recall the death and resurrection of Jesus in which he conquered both death and the sin which blights our lives. In so doing he inaugurated a restored humanity, and promises one day to remake heaven and earth in all its intended peace and glory: something which he calls us all to trust in him to participate in. In short, hope isn’t then something we find in the world. It isn’t something we try and generate within oursleves – but is God’s gift to us in Jesus, to be received.

That means that while this hope can sometimes grow dim when life is hard – the light of the hope that Christ brings into our lives can never be snuffed out. The late Timothy Keller, as he faced cancer wrote:

“Even in a life filled with suffering Christians are justified in God’s sight, adopted into his family, indwelt by the Holy Spirit, and guaranteed a place in the new heavem and new earth – priceless things” 

This means, that when we meet Christ, put our faith in him and walk with him we do not lose hope, Christian people are by no means exempt from pain, suffering and dissapointment (especially with ourselves). But we have been given an exemption from hopelessness. And that is the gift that God wants as all to know this Christmas. The hope that Christ brings can never be extinguished.

Random Acts of Kindness: A YouTube Phenomenon

by Editor

I try to not spend too much time on YouTube. I find that I easily slip into the habit of endless scrolling down the rabbit hole of human strangeness displayed for all to see. But, with my penchant in check, I do every so often dip my toes in the water –  so to speak – and if I’m lucky I come across something that surprises or encourages me. Some months ago I stumbled onto a few YouTube channels that really made me smile. I know what you’re thinking – but no, it wasn’t a video montage of cats in knitted Santa suits…as delightfully moving as that may be.

It turns out that I’d come across something that’s become somewhat of a trend in certain reaches of the YouTuber world: giving! That is, random acts of kindness in the form of extravagant giving to the unsuspecting. What fascinated me even further on taking a closer look, however, was the number of subscribers these channels have, as well as the number of views that these giving videos rack up. As a disclaimer I must naturally add that this is in no way a wholesale endorsement of everything on these kinds of channels – they have other content too – generally some pranks. But it got me thinking. What is it about giving that resonates with us so – especially when we see people receiving gifts that they don’t expect, gifts that they haven’t earned, and gifts that are extravagant?

If, unlike me, you’ve been able to assuage your scrolling penchant with something more productive – like arm knitting, croquet, or competitive mobile phone throwing (an official sport in Finland) – then perhaps you’ve not come across these types of videos. In general the videos include things like giving students in public libraries new laptops, tipping excessive amounts to servers and delivery drivers, going into areas where people are struggling and paying their rent, giving people at the bus stop a new car, paying for cataract surgery, and the list goes on. Some of these channels have more than 200 million subscribers and their giving videos getting upward of 150 million views. This isn’t exactly a new trend though. I remember in the past there have been many TV shows that do the same kind of thing. One in particular would select a family who couldn’t afford it, and build them a whole new home. There is something about seeing this that draws us in and pulls on our heart.

One example in particular that does this kind of thing is a YouTube channel that has more than 10 million subscribers has a series of videos in a section called ‘Giving Back’ with a collection of 70 videos where he gives away expensive tech to random students at university campuses, or huge cash tips to servers at restaurants. Some of these videos have up to 18 million views, so I’m definitely not the only one who found something interesting to see here. In general the response of those on the receiving end is something like “are you serious?”. They’re in complete disbelief. A few of the videos were filmed in the thick of COVID lockdown and he 1 in particular stood out to me. A young lady arrived at the YouTuber’s house to deliver an order and he tipped her $1000. Immediately she began to cry with gratitude and through tears began to share how she had recently lost her baby and had hospital debt to pay, and that this would help her family more than he knew. He ended up finding her details and setting up a GoFundMe page to get her family more support, raising nearly $70 000. That video has almost 4 million views, and a quick reading of the comments section has one resounding sentiment: this is good! Watching this I was deeply moved in seeing someone who’d been through such trauma receiving a gift that made such a difference in their life.

It goes without saying that these YouTubers use the platform as a form of income generation, which is directly linked to the number of views and subscribers that they have – and there’s much that could probably be said about this. But what I want to focus on is the sheer number of views that these giving videos attract, and what it is that makes us resonate with them seeing kind acts.

There’s a story that Jesus told which is recounted for us in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 10, which has come to be known as the Parable of the Good Samaritan. Jesus tells the story of a man on a journey who was attacked by robbers and left for dead. A priest passed by and didn’t help. A Levite, a member of the Hebrew tribe of Levi – meant to be holy people, passed him by. Then a Samaritan came along – Samaritans were considered the enemy – but he saw the need, and he helped. There are many, many complex contextual points Jesus was making through the parable, but the point I want to highlight is that intuitively we all look at the last man that came along and we say that what he did was good – we see the compassion he had and our heart resonates with it, saying this is good. We see it as something noble, worthy of praise. And we look at the former 2 passers by and say that their indifference was wrong – they should had compassion.

When I consider the story Jesus told, and what we see in these videos that are so popular, I begin to wonder. I wonder why there is the seemingly universal experience that we call this good, and have the reflex to condemn opposite actions as bad. We see justice delivered and we applaud. We experience the mountain-top vista and exclaim beautiful. We see a gift given to the undeserving, or someone in need restored, and our hearts sing in compassion as we feel the glow of hope that it brings. In a world that is so full of hate and despair we want to draw near and be part of the experience.

Have you ever wondered if maybe, just maybe, the deep longings and intuitions we have are an indicator of something more going on – a homing beacon of sorts. The Bible teaches that we are made in the image of God. If this is true, then this shared experience of seeing these acts of giving as something noble is what I think we should expect. We resonate with them because there is more to us than meets the eye – we have the love of God written on our hearts, and that love pulses as we see the good done in the world around us. Perhaps God has put this there in our hearts as an indicator of His presence and reality – to point us to Him.

I think there is another level on which we resonate with this though, perhaps in a way that is less apparent at first. When we see those in need or the undeserving getting a great gift we resonate with it because ultimately we too are in need – deep spiritual need – and are undeserving – not living the perfect life God would have us live, we don’t deserve God’s love. The message of the cross of Jesus Christ – the foundation of Christianity – speaks directly to this experience. God, in seeing our need, and in His great mercy, has given us the most lavish and unexpected gift of all – He has given us Himself. And God’s supreme act of kindness wasn’t random, like our YouTuber; but deliberate, targeted, planned and costly.

This is the core of Christmas that is celebrated in so many places around the world. For many Christmas is about the giving of gifts and being with those we love – which is something I love – but sadly I think the core message has often been overlooked or misunderstood. Christmas is about a baby in a manger – but no ordinary baby. Christmas is the celebration of the most extravagant gift of all time. The gift of God entering in to our human experience, taking on the human nature and experiencing life alongside us. God saw our spiritual need and brokenness and entered in, not remaining far off and removed from our human experience came into the world to bring forgiveness and life through Jesus Christ.

The more extravagant the gift, the more unbelievable that it is ours. But the gift of God’s grace is ours – all we need to do is receive it. As you give gifts this Christmas and spend time with those you love – which I hope you will have the opportunity to do – remember the gift of Jesus Christ.

May the Lord bless you abundantly this Christmas.

Can Happiness Last? – Outreach with Glasgow Grace

by Editor

Steve Osmond reports from a good night with Glasgow Grace Church. His topic was ‘Can Happiness Last?” and was part of “Bridges”, the regular outreach events held by Glasgow Grace Church. In the video, Steve talks about the event, and why he spoke on that topic – as well as how encouraging he found Glasgow Grace, and their consistent commitment to sharing the gospel.

Why Does God Seem So Far Away?

by Solas

Why does God seem so far away? Often times it can feel as though God just isn’t there. Even when we search and call out for Him, it can feel like He is just silent and distant. How do we know he is there, and that He does care? In this short answer video Steve Osmond considers how the events of the first Christmas, when Jesus was born, speaks powerfully to this question.

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Support

Short Answers is a viewer-supported video series: if you enjoy them, please help us continue to make them by donating to Solas. Visit our Donate page and choose a free book as a thank-you gift!

Undercurrents: Dr Who and the Human Longing for a Messiah

by Editor

“Do you wanna come with me? Because if you do, I have to warn you… it won’t be quiet, it won’t be calm, it won’t be safe. But I’ll tell you what it will be – the trip of a lifetime!”

I thrilled with these words as a teenager. Christopher Eccleston’s Doctor Who invited the audience to join him on his adventures through time and space, in the trailers for the long running science fiction show’s 2005 return.

We all long for purpose, for an adventure to be part of. And the adventures of the Doctor and Rose, Billie Piper’s everyday shop assistant from London who joined in his travels in the TARDIS, spoke to my longings for something more.

A better way of living

In Christopher Eccleston’s final episode, The Parting of the Ways, the Doctor sends Rose home to protect her from the Daleks. Rose is distraught. She tells her mum, “It was a better life. And I don’t mean all the travelling and seeing aliens and spaceships and things. That don’t matter. The Doctor showed me a better way of living your life. You know he showed you too. That you don’t just give up. You don’t just let things happen. You make a stand. You say no. You have the guts to do what’s right when everyone else just runs away.”

We hunger for justice, to be able to stand up for what’s right. If you’re a Doctor Who fan, I suspect that you find a similar resonance – it’s not just the exciting adventures with Daleks and Cybermen that appeal, but the character of the Doctor, the values that the show stands for.

The lonely god

The Doctor is a brilliant hero – a lonely god, a madman in a box. He is paradoxically both a scientist and a messiah-figure. He (or sometimes she) appeals both to our desire for something rationally believable. The show is science fiction, not out-and-out fantasy – it at least gestures towards grounding its flights of imagination in scientific possibility.

But the Doctor also appeals to our longing for a rescuer, a messiah. The Doctor uses his brain rather than brawn. The Doctor makes a stand, but gives enemies a chance to turn back from their schemes. He is willing to forgive his enemies and lay down his life for his friends. Sound familiar at all?

As much as I love the Doctor as a character, he is only a fictional hero. But what if everything we find appealing in the Doctor is a signpost to a real hero, a true messiah?

A better Time Lord?

Two thousand years ago, someone else asked, “do you wanna come with me?” Jesus of Nazareth called ordinary fishermen to leave their nets and “Come, follow me”.  Like the Doctor, he didn’t promise a life that would be calm or safe. But he did promise life – spiritual life, a life of meaning and purpose, in harmony with God.

If you’re not familiar with the Gospels, you might be surprised at the Jesus you discover there. Like the Doctor, he seems to take command of whatever situation he finds himself in, always finding a way to escape the traps of the religious leaders and turn the tables on them. No mild-mannered hippy urging people to simply be nice, the Biblical Jesus is quick-witted, funny and caustic.

Like the Doctor, Jesus invites us to a life of not giving up, of standing up for what’s right, even if it meant being killed by the unjust and the powerful – just as he was himself when he died on the Cross.

Regeneration and resurrection

In The Parting of the Ways, Rose found a way to get back to the Doctor. She looks into the heart of the TARDIS, directly into the time-space vortex. And for a brief moment, she gained the power of a goddess. Glowing with energy, Rose scattered the Daleks to dust and restored her friend Captain Jack from death to life.

But this power was too much for any human to bear. Only by the Doctor absorbing the energies of the time vortex, giving up his own life, could she be saved.

The Doctor died – and yet was reborn, regenerating into a new body (that of David Tennant, no less!), as is his ability as a Time Lord, though the Doctor’s ultimate origins have been revealed in recent stories to be even more mysterious.

Jesus’ story doesn’t end with the Cross.  The astonishing claim of the Gospels, of the New Testament writings, is that Jesus rose from the dead. This is the extraordinary proof for Jesus’ extraordinary claim to be the Son of God, the promised Messiah.

‘Of God’s party without knowing it’?

What’s more, the amazingly appealing values of the Doctor – caring for the weak and oppressed, the use of violence as a last resort, self-sacrifice, forgiveness – are remarkably Christian values. As Tom Holland brilliantly describes in his work of history Dominion, we take these values so much for granted because our Western culture stands so much in the shadow of Christianity, but there isn’t anything inevitable or obvious about them.

The scientific rationalism that is the default worldview of Doctor Who is unable to ground these values, to give a foundation that can nourish them and make sense of them. If the universe is only the product of impersonal scientific laws plus chance plus time, then there’s no ultimate meaning, no reason to see the Doctor’s values as any more true or valid than the racial purity of the Daleks or egotistic power-seeking of the Master.

Of course, atheists can share these values derived from Christianity. Atheist writers like Russell T Davies and Steven Moffat put their own humanistic spin on the Christ-like imagery that tends to accumulate around the Doctor. Note for example how it’s Rose, the ‘ordinary’ shop worker from London, who becomes the Bad Wolf with god-like powers, not the Doctor. When the Doctor encounters a being that may just be the devil himself in The Satan Pit, he says of Rose that ‘if there’s one thing I believe in, it’s her’. And after building up the mythos of the Doctor as someone who had ‘put a lot of work into the universe’, Steven Moffat tried shifting the emphasis of the Doctor from being a ‘lonely god’ to a ‘madman in a box’.

But if Christian poet John Milton’s sympathetic Satan in Paradise Lost made Milton ‘of the devil’s party without knowing it’, then perhaps the Christ-like heroism of the Doctor makes writers like Davies and Moffat ‘of God’s party without knowing it’. For all the Doctor’s rationalism, with David Tennant’s Doctor cheekily saying of the Easter story in Planet of the Dead “what really happened was…” before being cut off, he lives in a way that isn’t perfect, but is remarkably and wonderfully Christ-like.

Making your story a good one

We all need a story to live by. But is the story of Jesus any more real, any more substantial than the story of Doctor Who?

A story invented by BBC scriptwriters might not have the pedigree of a world religion, but it doesn’t have the body count of Christianity’s complex history, either. Why not write our own script, whether as a humanist or Buddhist or Jedi or Harry Potter fan, or whatever other story we might choose to follow? As Matt Smith’s Doctor said in The Big Bang, “we’re all stories in the end, just make it a good one, eh?”

But I think we know deep down that truth does matter. It’s not enough for Doctor Who to be a good story; it’s not good enough for Christianity either. For a story to give us a meaning big enough to live by, it needs to be true.

Mad, bad or (Time) Lord?

The historical evidence for the story of Jesus is remarkably robust: the Gospels aren’t myths set ‘a long time ago, far far away’, but in specific time and place, based on the testimony of eyewitnesses to the events. Something happened to give the early church extraordinary confidence that Jesus was God, risen from the dead.

Having studied the Gospels carefully and considered their historical context, I’m convinced that the only explanation is that these things really happened, just as the Gospel accounts say.

Why Doctor Who fans should follow Jesus

So the way I see it, if you’re a Doctor Who fan, then you should become a Christian for three main reasons:

One, because Jesus is the reality that your love of the Doctor points towards.

If you love the Doctor, if you want a hero to inspire you, to forgive you, to help you become better and make the world better, don’t just settle for a fictional character. Discover the reality of Jesus, who is in so many ways the template for the Doctor’s heroism.

Two, because Christianity best gives a foundation and grounding to the moral intuitions that the Doctor embodies.

If you know in your bones that the justice and love and forgiveness that we see in the Doctor aren’t just a subjective perspective or evolved human consensus, then you need a better explanation for your moral intuitions than atheism or materialism can offer. If you aspire to live like the Doctor, then there’s no better foundation than knowing that the ultimate ground of reality being a God of love: Father, Son and Holy Spirit in eternal loving unity.

Three, you should become a Christian because Christianity is objectively true.

Jesus really lived, died and rose from the dead. Why not investigate this for yourself? Read the Gospels, look into the historical data. If you’re willing to allow the possibility, I believe you’ll discover that Jesus is the real Time Lord who stepped onto planet Earth in real space-time history. And like Timothy Latimer said of the Doctor in The Family of Blood, Jesus is the one who ‘sits at the heart of the sun and sees the turn of the universe – and he’s wonderful’.

Do you wanna come with Jesus?

So how about it? Jesus: do you wanna follow him? Being his disciple won’t be quiet, won’t be calm, won’t be safe. Jesus regenerates us, transforming us not externally like the Doctor, but on the inside, making us new people who can live new forgiven lives of love and courage. Being Jesus’ companion means working to heal the world of danger and injustice and burnt toast.

Following Jesus is better than the trip of a lifetime – it’s the start of eternal life adventuring with him forever.

Andy At The Filling Station Arbroath

by Editor

In this short video, Andy Bannister talks about the work of “The Filling Station” trust, and why he enjoys travelling and speaking at their local gatherings around the country. He recorded this after his first visit to one of the newest Filling Stations, in Arbroath on Scotland’s east coast. He did some trianing for them on conversational evangelism, and sought to empower and encourage the Christians there to be more confident and competent in sharing their faith.

Have You Ever Wondered If God Is A Hypocrite?

by Solas

Is God being unfair or hypocritical when He seems to do the things that we are told not to do? Why does God make rules for humanity that we are expected to keep, when it looks like He doesn’t abide by them himself? In this short answer video we explore this tricky question from the perspective of God’s justice as a perfect God with a perfect moral standard.

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The Challenge of Evangelism – Andy at Moorlands College

by Editor

It really enjoyed the recent opportunity I had to go and preach and speak at Moorlands College, down on the south coast of England. I was invited to preach at the college’s chapel service, which was a real honour – and hugely enjoyable too. Moorlands College is a practical theology training institution and a really great place for Christians to dig deeper into their faith go and study for one-year short courses, or for many years of deeper study. The aim is to help them all become more equipped and trained, not just to understand their faith better- but to put the theology they learn into action.

At Solas we have had a great relationship with Moorlands over the years. Chris Sinkinson, who is on the faculty there, is an old friend of mine who has spoken at a Solas conference, and appeared on our PEPTALK podcast too.  The new principal at Moorlands College, Andy du Fey, I have also known for some years, and I love the passion everyone at Moorlands shares to equip the next generation to take their faith and put it into action, on the mission field, in the secular workplace and in the church.

I spoke about conversational evangelism: How to Talk About Jesus Without Looking Like An Idiot! I have recently released a book with that title, so it seems to be the subject that everyone wants to me to address wherever I go! Discussing this with the staff at Moorlands was interesting, because Bible Colleges can be very sheltered environments. It could be very easy to go to somewhere like Moorlands and hide away from the world for two or three years while studying. So I tried to stir things up a bit by saying to the students, “You may be here during term time, but you will have family members, friends and neighbours who you see at weekends or during holidays. You will meet people who do not share your Christian faith when you are out and about in the town. So how do you take this faith that you are studying and learning so much about at Moorlands, and share that with the people that The Lord bring across our path?”

We ended the session with a time of prayer. I encouraged the students to call to mind the name or face of a non-Christian friend or neighbour who they might expect to meet soon -and to pray that The Lord will create opportunities for conversation with them about Him, next time they meet. I was so encouraged to hear from some admin staff and the guy on the sound desk about how they had really resonated with the topic and were planning and praying about how they could be more intentional about sharing their faith in Jesus.

Solas remains a partnership ministry, we supply speakers and training to churches, other ministries like SU, and CU’s and also Colleges like Moorlands. We don’t run our own events, but only serve the church, running events at the invitation of the churches to build up what is already on the ground around the country, never replicating or competing with the existing expressions of the body of Christ! So, please do get in touch if we can serve you in evangelism or evangelism-training and equipping.
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Editor’s footnote. Andy du Feu, the Principal of Moorlands College was obviosuly encouraged by Andy Bannister’s visit. He wrote:

“One of the possible dangers of training at a bible college is your brain expands but the passion you started with dwindles. That’s one reason why Moorlands is committed to putting faith into action, whether it is leading and teaching in a church, serving in a homeless shelter, youth club, CAP centre, or hosting a warm space.

But even then, I’m reminded of Tim Chester’s challenge, that “without explanation these are like signposts pointing nowhere, or worse – pointing to our good works. The gospel is good news: a message to be proclaimed, a truth to be taught, a word to be spoken and a story to be told.” In very simple but powerful words, Andy instilled confidence in our students to share the good news, dismantling many of the barriers that can cripple our good intentions.

Theology can get so complicated. R.C. Sproul defined evangelism as one beggar telling another where to find bread, but we can make it the job of professionals, and abdicate our responsibility by leaving it “to them”. But it’s our job. And our time. Andy brought a timely challenge with pastoral concern to address the fears that can exist, of looking like an idiot, feeling like a fool, and ending up embarrassed about Jesus.”