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PEP Talk with Callom Harkrader

by Solas

How are the arts effective in sharing the gospel? What are the issues in reaching young adults for Christ? And what does it mean to be pastoral in evangelism? These are just some of the questions covered in a wide-ranging PEP Talk discussion today with Andy Bannister, Gavin Matthews and our guest Callom Harkrader from Southampton.

With Callom Hardraker – PEP Talk

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Our Guest

Callom Harkrader is currently the Young Adult Pastor at Above Bar Church in Southampton, where he has been on the staff team since 2015. Originally from the USA, he has apologetics training from OCCA The Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics. Callom also serves on the steering group for The Mark Drama, an innovative theatre tool for learning the gospel story.

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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Undercurrents: Ben Stokes and The Captain We All Need

by Editor

It’s been a sporting summer to savour – an Ashes like no other.

And for all the talk of Bazball, and regardless of the result and the rain ruining what might have been, the man who encapsulates the Churchillian ‘We Will Fight ’Til We Drop’ spirit more than anyone else is Ben Stokes.

Honestly, I can’t get enough of this guy.

There’s something about him – striding out to the crease, his team in crisis, the weight of a nation being carried on his broad shoulders – and then with absolute abandon, clobbering the best of the antipodean bowlers back from whence they came, one colossal six after another – his battered body, falling apart from the strain of it all, refusing to give in.

Dodgy knee? Who cares.
Glute strain? No bother.
Back spasm? All good.

And so we find ourselves watching, with wide-eyed wonder, thinking: How is he doing this? Once more, when all hope seemed lost, dragging us out of this mire and into the light of a possible victory?

He’s the Gladiator in the ring – sensing the fever-pitched beer-fuelled excitement of the watching crowd; the army growing ever more barmy by the minute; the panic growing amongst Aussie fielders (what joy!), and then revelling in the guttural roar of 20,000 people when the winning runs are scored.

This is Ben Stokes.

I won’t tell you how many times I’ve watched his highlights reel on YouTube. He’s dragged us over the winning line so many times from seemingly impossible positions, we’ve lost count.

And so we love him.
He leads in such a way that makes us all want to follow him anywhere.
He’s our captain.

In fact, forget cricket – I want him as my life coach. I want a pep talk from him as I eat my cornflakes at the start of the day. I want him going into bat for me in that difficult meeting at work.

But alas. He can’t. I don’t even know the guy. It’s just me and another 2.7 million people on Instagram following him. And even if I did know him – the shine would soon wear off.

Because what I really need in my life isn’t a cricket warrior, who can guarantee a good result in the Ashes. Ben Stokes as the saviour of English cricket makes me realise that I need a personal warrior, who can actually deal with my biggest problems.

Because believe it or not, there is something more serious in my life – much more serious, in fact – than how the England team are going to fare when facing rockets from Cummins and Starc.

Here’s the thing – no matter which way you slice it, or whatever name you give to it, we can’t get away from the fact that we all have this problem – this propensity to royally stuff things up.

Our self-centred selves causes havoc in our relationships.
We act or speak or think in ways that cause harm.
We live in a world of pain and frustration and turmoil and hurt – so much of which seems to stem from within – and we don’t ever seem to be able to do anything about it.

And so when we pause for a moment – when we’ve turned off the TV and we allow those big realities to break in to our thinking – we find ourselves longing for a champion to fight for us; to lead us through the mess of this life and safely out of the other side.

Someone to be our Personal Stokes.

**

As a follower of Jesus, this is my reality.

I don’t know what your view of Jesus is. Perhaps we’re inclined to think of him as the baby in the crib, or the meek and mild, sandal-wearing guy you’d take to meet your nan. The Bible would say otherwise – he’s described in one place as the Lion of Judah.

And here’s how one of Jesus’ friends describes seeing him in a dream, after he had returned to heaven: [Rev 19:11-15]

I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean… On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: king of kings and lord of lords.

Stokes-like, you might even say.

And the thing is, we need a Jesus like that.
A warrior; a leader; a King.
Someone who is going to lead us through this life, fix the mess we’ve made of things, and win the day.

And that’s exactly what he did. When we were nine wickets down, with 300 more to get, he came to the crease, faced every ball, and hit the winning runs.

He dealt with our biggest problem, when all hope seemed lost.
The victory he’s won? Defeating sin & death.

Going to the cross to suffer and die, so that all who are on his team can enjoy the rock-solid certainty of being on the winning side – earning the trophy of life – forever with God in his eternal kingdom.

Ben Stokes battled, sometimes single-handedly, to try and win the Ashes.
Through Jesus’ champion innings, death itself turns to ashes.

So – cheer on Stokes and his Baz-balling men in this strange, sweet season of English cricket. But do so knowing that when they retire, or when the whole thing runs out of steam – the true champion, the death-defeating King, will still be on the throne – and one day everyone on his team will be celebrating with him for all eternity.

That’s the side to be on; that’s the Captain to follow.

The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God: In Conversation with Justin Brierley

by Editor

With Justin Brierley’s new book, The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God about to hit the bookshops, Gavin Matthews from Solas spoke to Justin about the book, and what he has set our to achieve.

GJM: Hi Justin, it’s good to speak to you! Can I begin by asking, what’s the ‘big idea’ in your new book?

Justin Brierley: The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God’ is a book that I’ve tried to summarise by its subtitle: ‘Why new atheism grew old and secular thinkers are considering Christianity again’.

The victorian poet Matthew Arnold famously described the ‘melancholy, long withdrawing roar’ of the ‘sea of faith’ in his generation, and for the last 150 years the tide of Christianity has continued to recede in the West.

However, in this book I recount the ways in which, after a long spell in the grip of the atheist materialist worldview, we are seeing Western culture begin to open up to the idea of God again – in culture, history, science, philosophy and other areas.

It’s not a simple picture – when people get rid of God they tend to replace him with all kinds modern idols and quasi-religious stories. We don’t become less religious, we just become religious about different things.

However, I believe the Christian story may be ready to sweep in again and make sense of the many smaller stories people are telling themselves today as they tire of the thin gruel of atheist materialism and the confusion of the post-modern ideologies that have proliferated.

GJM: How did writing this book come about?

Justin Brierley: A couple of years ago when I hosted a conversation between atheist journalist Douglas Murray and New Testament scholar NT Wright, Murray referenced Arnold’s line about the sea of faith and said something that struck me hard: ‘The sea has a habit of coming back in again. That’s the point of tides.’

Murray was saying this in the context of noticing that several of his intellectual peers had recently converted to Christianity. I too had come across a number of surprising stories of adult converts.

I had also been noticing a shift in the conversations I was hosting on my Unbelievable? show. The combative debates between new atheists and Christian apologists were less frequent. In their place I was seeing secular intellectuals such as popular psychologist Jordan Peterson, historian Tom Holland and Douglas Murray himself, finding common ground with many Christian thinkers and questioning the atheist paradigm.

I felt there was a cultural moment here that needed to be captured – I’ve tried to do that in the book.

GJM: Who is the book for?

Justin Brierley: It is for thinking Christians and non-Christians. Naturally, I have written it from my own perspective as a Christian. But I’ve always tried hard to take all sides of the argument seriously and I hope that atheists and agnostics find their perspectives fairly represented in this book.

In the end the book is for anyone who is questioning what the ultimate purpose of life is, and whether there is an answer to the problems our culture is running into in an increasingly materialistic, individualist and technology-saturated world.

GJM: Why is the ‘New Atheism’ your starting point? What was the significance of that movement? What will it’s legacy be?

Justin Brierley: In the mid 2000s the New Atheism seemed to vaunt itself as the final step in an inevitable story of the demolition of religious superstition in favour of science and reason. But within a decade or so the movement had imploded under the weight of scandals and divisions within its own community.  Once they had agreed that God didn’t exist and religion was bad for us, the new atheists couldn’t agree on anything else.

We still feel the echoes of that movement in the generally skeptical approach many people take to religious belief. But the movement itself is a shadow of what it was. Few of its key leaders are talking about religion any longer – they have moved on to take various sides in the the culture wars.

To that extent the movement simply proved that religion is really difficult to extinguish, as quasi-religious forms of belief now increasingly appear in progressive ideologies around gender and sexual identity, or in right-leaning conspiracy theories and nationalistic fervour.

Ironically, I think the legacy of New Atheism will be that it forced the church to gird it intellectual loins and re-engage its apologetics tradition. For that we can be thankful.

GJM: In the introduction you say, “people need a story to live by”. What do you mean by that, and why is that significant in the UK in 2023?

Justin Brierley: Many atheists will say that religion springs from the fact that we are ‘story-making’ creatures. We need some sense of a purpose and meaning to life. That we aren’t just bouncing around chaotically. The atheist may believe that sense of needing a transcendent story to live by is an illusion instilled by evolution which we need to overcome.

But I think that’s false. I believe the universal need for a story to live by has something very real that meets it – the Christian story through which billions of people have found a pattern and purpose to life that makes sense of the world.

As our culture has drifted away from that story, people have not simply embraced a rational, science-driven view of reality. All kinds of esoteric stories are springing up in its place, and causing quite a lot of chaos as these competing stories bump up against each other.

I think the modern requirement to invent our stories from scratch is also very exhausting for most people and has contributed to the ‘meaning crisis’ and the rise in anxiety, depression and suicide. We live in a materially prosperous age in the West, and yet we are more unhappy than our forebears.

I believe that will only change when we return to the true story of a God who created us in his image and who, through an act of cosmic sacrificial love, stepped in to rescue and redeem us along with the whole of creation. That stands over and above every other ‘smaller’ story we can ever tell ourselves.

GJM: When did you first notice the “God conversation” starting to change? 

Justin Brierley: The meteoric rise in popularity of Jordan Peterson in 2018 was a key moment.

Here was a psychologist drawing crowds of thousands of young people to lectures on the book of Genesis… These were essentially the same crowd that would have flocked to hear Hitchens and Dawkins a decade earlier. The big difference was that Peterson wasn’t dismissing religion as poisonous – he was showing why the Bible and Christianity has been a source of meaning and wisdom to generations of people.

At the same time the popular historian Tom Holland published his book ‘Dominion’ in 2019 in which he laid out why he, as a secular person, had come to realise that all the moral instincts he took for granted as a citizen of the West, were actually a result of the Christian revolution.

Along with these examples I noticed more and more secular people pushing back against the simplistic rhetoric of the new atheists (e.g. the journalist Matthew Parris, philosopher John Gray, the comedian Russell Brand) by critiquing their own side, and and also taking Christianity a bit more seriously.

GJM: What do you make of these public-intellectuals who have moved as far as saying “We need Christianity” (for a shared, story, identity, values etc), but who have not said, “I need Christ” (or that they have found him)? Indeed, can the story of Christ be ‘useful; if it is not actually true’? Can we have Christian culture without conversions? 

Justin Brierley: I think many of the public intellectuals in this position find themselves conflicted (as Douglas Murray, who calls himself a ‘Christian atheist’, told me himself). They can see the value of Christianity but they can’t bring themselves to believe its supernatural claims.

I think some of them are on a journey towards faith in Christ. Others perhaps can see the cost that would be associated with making that leap, and it is holding them back.

I believe the story of Christ is only ultimately useful if it is indeed true. The benefits of the Judeo-Chrisitan heritage that we enjoy today were won by people who really believed in Jesus. Nowadays we have largely cut off the roots of belief in our culture but the fruits will eventually wither on the vine as they cease to be nourished.

That’s why a lot of these intellectuals seem to have a wistful desire for it to be true. The good news is, there’s actually really good evidence that the story of Christianity is true. Indeed the only reason it has worked so well for us in the past is because it is true.

GJM: The UDHR is a secular document which contains a problem for atheism! Is that true??

Justin Brierley: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is supposedly a secular document. But it emerged from the Christian West. Documents like that have never emerged out of other religious traditions, pagan cultures or modern atheistic regimes.

Its opening paragraph states ‘recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world.’

That belief is not one you can derive from science and reason alone. It is a fundamentally theological assumption about humanity which stems directly from Genesis 1: ‘So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.’

It is a problem for atheists because I don’t see how you can believe in such a claim without recourse to something like the Christian view of reality. I believe a lot of humanists try to dodge this fact, so it’s helpful when atheists like Yuval Noah Harari honestly acknowledge the difficulty they face by writing:

‘[We] got the idea of equality from Christianity, which argues that every person has a divinely created soul, and that all souls are equal before God. However, if we do not believe in the Christian myths about God, creation and souls, what does it mean that all people are ‘equal’? Evolution is based on difference, not on equality.’

GJM:  You describe changing perceptions of what the Bible is in the following rather striking phrase: ” from being book written by ignorant Bronze-age peasants” to one providing “a deep understanding of western culture….. vital to psychological health” ! Are people really more open to considering The Bible in 2023 than they were a decade ago? 

Justin Brierley: I think so. Whether you love him or hate him, Jordan Peterson has been a gateway drug for a lot of people to take the Bible more seriously. I don’t agree with all of Peterson’s conclusion about scripture. But I think he speaks with a lot more nuance and sense than the new atheists did about it.

Likewise, when I read other secular psychologists like Jonathan Haidt and John Vervaeke extolling the value of ancient scriptural wisdom in a culturally shallow age, I think we are seeing the pendulum swing back towards taking the Bible seriously in modern culture.

Sometimes it takes a while for that to percolate down into popular culture, but I’ve heard form many people myself who have a new appreciation for the Bible because of what those secular thinkers are writing and saying.

Of course it still leaves the question – ‘It may be useful… but is it really true?’. I believe its a real intellectual option to embrace the best of both worlds. Yes it contains a deep well of psychological truth… and Jesus Christ also really walked out of the tomb.

GJM: In terms of Christianity in the UK, is the tide coming back in, and is there anything we can do to affect that?

Justin Brierley: I think we are seeing the tide begin to turn… but it may not turn into a flood for some time yet!

However, the church can at least be making sure that it is preparing itself for the right kinds of questions people are asking.

Too often I see evangelistic and apologetic ministries that are essentially still answering the intellectual criticisms of Dawkins and Hitchens. There’s obviously still a place for that, but we also need to be engaging people at an imaginative level. To show them why they really want Christianity to be true… and then show them that it is in fact true.

Young people are often uninterested in the question ‘Does God exist?’ but are often fiercely invested in issues around justice and equality. We need to start there and point them to the ways in which only Christianity can make sense of that moral instinct and the stories they are telling themselves.

Likewise, many of the adult converts I’ve met (and those seriously considering faith) have advised the church to ‘keep Christianity weird’. People aren’t looking for warmed-over humanism or the same platitudinous messaging they already surrounded by in popular culture. They are looking for an unapologetically different story of reality – and the church shouldn’t be ashamed of announcing it.

GJM: What are your hopes and prayers for what the book might accomplish?

Justin Brierley: I hope people on every side enjoy it. I hope that it encourages Christians in their outreach and witness. I hope that it helps to change the narrative around God in our culture. I hope that some skeptics may be persuaded by it. In that sense, my prayer is that it will be a contribution in itself to the surprising rebirth of belief in God in our generation.

GJM: Finally then, when does it come out and where is the best place to buy it?

It officially releases on 12 Sep 2023 but you can pre-order the book now by clicking here where I will also be making signed copies available!

Also… look out for a forthcoming podcast documentary series (also titled ‘The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God’) that will accompany the release of the book!

GJM: Thanks Justin – we hope and pray that the book will make a really positive contribution to the discussion

Justin Brierley is a UK broadcaster, writer, and speaker who hosted the Unbelievable? show and Ask NT Wright Anything podcast for many years. He currently hosts the Re-Enchanting podcast and a newly-launched documentary podcast series The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God. Justin is passionate about creating thoughtful conversations about faith with both Christians and skeptics. His first book, Unbelievable?: Why, After Ten Years of Talking with Atheists, I’m Still a Christian, was published in 2017.His second book ’The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God’ (Tyndale) publishes in Sep 2023. Justin lives in Surrey, England, with his wife, Lucy, and their four children: Noah, Grace, Jeremy, and Toby.

PEP Talk with Rowena Cross

by Solas

Sometimes on PEP Talk, you just need a pep talk! Our guest today is full of passion, experience and enthusiasm for sharing Jesus that will get you excited to do the same. Have a listen to her amazing stories of how God does unexpected works when we just say yes to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

With Rowena Cross – PEP Talk

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Our Guest

Rowena Cross experienced a dramatic conversion to Christ, along with her husband, when they were in their thirties. While he went on to become a Vicar, she has been a passionate evangelist, working alongside him sharing the gospel in all kinds of ways – street-work, door-to-door, Alpha and organising large-scale evangelistic events. She has recently released a book, which is daringly entitled, “Be Bold Stop Faffing About and Crack On For Jesus“

Also check out “Mission Shaped Grace“  by John McGinley, which was significant in mobilising her church in evangelism. 

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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The Three Lies of the Fall

by Editor

I recently read A Foot in Two Worlds by John Chapman and was struck by his observation, based on the Genesis account of the Fall, of three lies that we come to believe when we rebel against God:

First ‘[Satan] tempts [Eve] to doubt God’s word with his innuendo, “Did God actually say…?”… The second suggestion he makes to her is that there will be no consequences flowing from disobedience to God…The third suggestion…is that God does not have her best interest at heart’.1

I want to look at each in turn and apply them to the context of sexuality – as a poignant case-study of the way temptation works.

  1. God’s word is doubtful

‘Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”’ Genesis 3:1

Of course, the answer to the serpent’s question is ‘no’. That’s not what God said at all, but Satan deliberately misrepresents God’s word to undermine Eve’s confidence in it. The root of doubt has started growing in Eve and she responds with:

‘We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, “You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die”’ (Genesis 3:2-3, emphasis added).

This is also a misrepresentation of what God said. God didn’t command them not to touch the fruit. Eve has also twisted God’s word and believed a lie instead of the truth.

When it comes to temptation, there’s a lot of ‘Did God really say…?’ about. Take sexuality for example. It’s easy to add to or change what God says about sexuality to make his actual plan for it seem less plausible.

‘Did God really say that gay people aren’t welcome in church?’ No!
‘Did God really say that gay people are more sinful than other people?’ Absolutely not!
‘Did God really say that he doesn’t love gay people?’ Are you kidding?! That’s the opposite of God’s heart.
‘Did God really say that without sex we are condemned to loneliness and lack of intimacy?’ Not at all!

Sexuality is just one area in which there is a tempation to push back against God. But the same temptations exist, and principles apply, with issues to do with the love of money, selfishness, pride, anger, gossip, and all the other aspects of life that the Bible addresses.

The point is that we always need to make sure that we pay close attention to what God has actually said, rather than assumptions we’ve made about his word or false conclusions we’ve drawn. It’s easy to be swayed by things our friends say, stuff we read on the internet, social media soundbites and even dodgy church teaching that seem quite convincing. But when we twist or add to what God has said we get ourselves into a mess. We need to go to the source of all truth. So, with sexuality as our case-study again, it’s clear that God loves and longs to cherish gay people (John 3:16; Acts 10:34-35), sees all people as equally sinful and yet equally welcome to have a relationship with him (1 John 1:8-9), welcomes gay people into his body (1 Corinthians 6:9-11), and says that a life without sex can be full of wonderful intimacy with him and others (1 Corinthians 7:32-35).

God’s word shows that sex is for a faithful, lifelong marriage between a man and a woman and there are good reasons for this. Singleness is a good gift and the gospel of forgiveness and new life is for everyone. Packaging Christian teaching with homophobia, judgementalism and rejection of LGBT people is to distort and betray God’s words and heart. Being good news for LGBTQ people like me means not doubting God’s good word to all of us and holding fast to the truth rather than being taken in by lies.

Again, sex is a powerful example of priciples that apply more widely in all of life.

  1. Disobedience has no consequences 

The second lie that Satan tricks Adam and Eve into believing is that disobedience has no consequences (or at least, no bad ones). This is a flat out, 100% major lie from Satan:

‘You will not certainly die,’ he says (Genesis 3:4). He entices them with the falsehood that they can do what they want without worrying about any judgement or negative fallout. The warning that God has given for their protection and wellbeing is callously disregarded.

We find the same thing happening in contemporary discussions about sexuality. Whenever we condone sex outside of a marriage between one man and one woman who are committed to each other for life (whether that’s adultery, cohabitation, one night stands, prostitution, gay sex, pornography…) we’re leading people into danger. The same applies when we don’t address greed, bullying, pride, anger issues, or unforgiveness. We’re watching in silence as someone steps onto a busy road not seeing the car coming straight for them. If we promote behaviour that leads people away from a deep and intimate relationship of obedience to Christ, we’re robbing them of the very best life they can have, both now and in eternity.

Sometimes the consequences of our rebellion against God aren’t immediately apparent. Lots of people who aren’t Christians or who claim to follow Christ but aren’t being obedient to him, seem to have lovely lives. But that’s not the whole story. Sometimes the damage to ourselves and others doesn’t show immediately. And the biggest damage of all is to our relationship with God – the very thing we’re created for in the first place. The Bible encourages us not to envy those who seem to be ‘getting away with’ ungodly behaviour because it isn’t going to end well for them:

‘For I envied the arrogant
when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
They have no struggles;
their bodies are healthy and strong.

‘From their callous hearts comes iniquity;
their evil imaginations have no limits.

This is what the wicked are like –
always free of care, they go on amassing wealth.

‘Those who are far from you will perish;
you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.
But as for me, it is good to be near God.
I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge;
I will tell of all your deeds.’
(Psalm 73: 3-4; 7; 12; 27-28)

This is why we can’t agree to disagree on sexuality. Ultimately sin – all sin – leads to death. Sinning is like drinking a cocktail laced with deadly poison. It may taste nice, but it will kill us. It’s not a little bit naughty. It’s lethal. As Romans 6:23 warns and promises: ‘For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.’

Whether or not we choose to be obedient to God in the way we conduct ourselves  has life and death consequences. For all of us. True love for someone includes having the courage to warn them when they’re in danger because of choices they’re making and ways they’re behaving. As it says in Proverbs 27:6, ‘Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.’ Saying that rebellion against God doesn’t matter, or will even make life better for us, is to offer a false promise with devastating consequences. I would much rather my friends helped me to see the seriousness of going against God’s design for my life, including my sexuality.

I can’t leave this section without injecting a note of hope. The fact is that we’re all terrible rebels. We’ve all rejected God’s authority in our lives and eaten the forbidden fruit of independence from God’s loving care and design for us. If sin doesn’t matter, then the gospel doesn’t make sense as there’s no need to turn from our disobedience and accept Jesus’s forgiveness. But sin does matter. Disobedience to God has serious consequences, so much so that Jesus died and rose again to take the death sentence for our sin on himself. Whatever ways we’ve been disobedient sexually, God loves us and wants to forgive us. And his offer to us is a wonderful, full, rich life of freedom from the consequences and power of sin.

  1. God doesn’t have your best interests at heart.

Having caused Adam and Eve to doubt God’s word and believe that rebellion has no bad consequences, Satan goes on to cause them to doubt God’s very character and goodness: ‘For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil’ (Genesis 3:5).

So, right at the start, Satan is accusing God of being a liar and a killjoy, and God’s people are taken in! The devil tricks people into doubting God’s word and it doesn’t take much for them to believe him instead of their loving creator God. He tempts Eve with the prospect of being equal to God, able to define good and evil for herself.

This is very similar to how many of us approach matters of ethics, if we’re honest. Rather than starting with God’s word, we use our own criteria to decide what is right and wrong. Maybe we use the metric of harm (‘How is what two consenting adults do in the bedroom causing harm to anyone else?’), maybe we appeal to fairness (‘It’s only right to allow gay people to marry each other, because it would be unfair not to celebrate gay marriage.’). The problem with this approach is that it is putting ourselves in God’s place. We’re saying that we’re better than God at knowing what’s best for us and that we don’t trust him – our creator – to know and show us how we can flourish.

Doubting God’s good character is always at the root of rebellion against him. As Timothy Keller wisely observes: ‘People find themselves at a crossroads where they say, “If I obey God I’ll miss out! I need to be happy.”… Sin always begins with the character assassination of God. We believe that God has put us in a world of delights but has determined that he will not give them to us if we obey him.’2

Let’s remember that Adam and Eve weren’t living in a miserable moral bootcamp. They were literally in paradise. The description of all the good things that God had surrounded them with is breathtaking. The garden is full of all kinds of trees that are ‘pleasing to the eye and good for food’ (Genesis 2:9). There’s a lovely river watering the garden (Genesis 2:10). There are multitudes of animals and birds that the humans have the pleasure and responsibility of naming (Genesis 2:19). The man and the woman are given each other for delight and pleasure and there is no shame (Genesis 2:24-25). And best of all, they have direct access to God, their loving creator (Genesis 3:8). God doesn’t deprive them of good things. In fact, he gives them the very best of everything. But they wrecked it all with their distrust of God, their greed and their desire for independence. Like Aesop’s dog with the bone3, their greed made them fail to appreciate the good things they had and crave something that looked better, only to find that they lost everything.

When we doubt that God has our best interests at heart, when we doubt the goodness of his plan for our lives, inclulding our sexualities – whether that’s faithful heterosexual marriage or celibate singleness – and chase after something that we think is better, we’re falling for one of the oldest lies in the book. Literally. And what applies to sexuality applies to all aspects of life, because God’s will is the best thing for us in all of them.

A truth injection

So how do we counter the lies that seduce us away from God? If I’ve been bitten by a rabid dog, I need to quickly get an injection of HRIG and rabies vaccine. If I’ve got caught up in the lies we’ve been discussing, I need an injection of truth.

In a culture that constantly reinforces the message that God’s word is doubtful, disobedience has no consequences, and God doesn’t have our best interests at heart, we need to make every effort to immerse ourselves in the truth. Here are some ways to do that:

  1. Honestly examine what Scripture does say. Don’t rely on rumour, other people’s ideas or out-of-context quotes on Instagram. Read the Bible for yourself, regularly. Find out what it says and what it doesn’t say. Read and study the difficult bits. Talk with Christian friends about it. Pray over it. Put in the effort to understand God’s word.
  2. Spend time alone with God, asking him to fill you with his Spirit and expose any lies you’ve been believing about him, his word or yourself.
  3. Remember that everything we do has consequences and that God’s judgement is a loving response designed to prevent us wrecking our lives. We all instinctively have a sense of justice – that people shouldn’t be able to get away with harming others. And yet we all harm others, harm ourselves and harm our relationship with God. We either have to live with the consequences or allow our amazing, loving God to take them for us.‘All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions – it is by grace you have been saved’ (Ephesians 2:3-5).
  4. Rehearse the truth that God is good and always has our best interests at heart.‘Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!’ (Psalm 107:1).‘Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits—who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s’ (Psalm 103:1-5).
  1. John Chapman, A Foot in Two Worlds: The Joy and Struggle of the Normal Christian Life (Matthias Media, 2009), pp.19-20.
  2. Timothy Keller, The Prodigal Prophet (Hodder and Stoughton, 2018), p.138.
  3. Aesop, ‘The Dog & His Reflection’, Library of Congress.

This article first appeared at LivingOut.org here and has been kindly reproduced here with Anne’s permission.

Confident Christianity – Report from Wroughton

by Editor

Andy Bannister took the Confident Christianity conference to the village of Wroughton in Wiltshire recently, at the invitation of Discovery Church Wroughton and the Wroughton and Wichelstowe Parish Churches. The churches had arranged for a half-day conference with Solas, leading into other social events later in the day, a format that semed to work really well. As well as having the opportutnity to work with new churches, Andy was delighted to do some Confident Christianity work in Wiltshire, where he is now based.

One of the features of these conferences is that the topics we address vary in different locations and with the different fellowships we work with. Although we will usually look at tools for conversational evangelism and some of the material explored in Andy’s book, “How to Talk About Jesus Without Looking LIke An Idiot“, as that is foundational; churches often ask us to vary the programme to suit local needs. One church told us that apathy was the great stumbling block in their community, whereas another told us that sharing the gospel with their Muslim friends and neighbours was what they needed help with. The churches in Wroughton had asked Andy to speak on the following subjects: “How to share your faith in Jesus with confidence”, “Can Life Have Meaning Without God?” “Given all the options, why Jesus?”. As ever, at Solas events this was followed by a Q&A session where folks could delve more deeply into applying the principles taught to the specific situations in which they live.

Geoff Naylor, Pastor of Discovery Church wrote, “The conference was well attended with around 65 people from the 2 churches and one or two others. It was an encouraging event helping folks to have confidence in the Gospel in a confused and hurting world. Andy’s talk ‘Can life have meaning without God’ brought a greater understanding of the weakness of the atheistic position and the strength of Christian thinking to many people.”

As ever, if your church would benefit from a day or halfday of encouraging, equipping and training in sharing the gospel in today’s world – then we’d love to bring a Confident Christianity conference to your city, town or village. We work with churches in every corner of the UK, and would be happy to hear from you about what would be most helpful for your church. Please do send us an email, or call us by using the Connect button above.

How Do We Remain Stable?

by Solas

How do we remain stable when everything around us seems like it’s falling apart? Whether it be relational turmoil, global pandemic or financial uncertainty, the storms of life batter us unceasingly and leave us searching for a way to anchor ourselves. Drawing on a quote from Fredrick Nietzsche, in this episode of Short Answers, Andy explores how our search for meaning in life becomes key in our ability to build our life on a solid foundation. 

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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 “Digital Media Fund” under the Campaign/Appeal button.

Introducing Steve Osmond, Solas’s New Speaker

by Editor

As we look forward to Steve Osmond moving to Scotland as an addition to the Solas speaking team, Gavin Matthews spoke to Steve who was at home in South Africa. 

GJM: Hi Steve! So, are you looking forward to the big move to Scotland?

Steve Osmond: Well, it’s a healthy mix of excitement and trepidation! There’s lots going on at the moment, plenty of admin that we’re trying to get through. But it really looks like God’s hand is at work and things are falling into place. So we are praying and trusting that things keeping plodding forwards and that we will get there without any hiccups.

GJM: So tell us how did this plan of working with Solas in Scotland come about? You were getting on with your life, your job, your ministry in South Africa; but now you are moving everything to Scotland? How did that happen?

Steve Osmond: That’s a question I keep being asked – family, friends and people at our church all want to know how this has come about. It begins because I have had a desire to do evangelism and apologetics ministry, for quite a while now. I do a lot of this kind of work, in a variety of settings already but abut ten years ago God really put on my heart a calling to commit myself full-time to it. Then, in talking to other Christians and through prayer, the Holy Spirit led me to spend ten years getting equipped. It came up a few times, in different contexts and at first I didn’t know what it meant. I sought to follow that leading and see where it went, and the result was working for our church for a while and completing a Master’s degree in science and then a Masters in theology and apologetics in the States. I completed the theology and apologetics degree in April.

Then my wife and I have had Scotland on our heart for quite a while now – and initially with no thoughts about moving there, just to go and visit! Scotland was top of our holiday destination wish-list, we wanted to see some castles, see the land, and meet the people. So we did that in August 2022 and while we were preparing for that holiday I googled to see who was active in evangelism and apologetics in Scotland. I wasn’t looking for a job, I just thought it would be good to chat to some like-minded people. So I discovered the Solas website, and was already aware of some of Andy Bannister’s work so recognised him immediately. I thought that what Solas was doing looked really cool, and then discovered that you were looking for an additional speaker. So then, when I was over, I came into the Solas office and had a really nice conversation. That led to a return visit in February and a more formal interview process including doing some talks at Solas events, and it seems that The Lord wants my family to come to Scotland and join the team! So that’s the story.

So for us it is the result of several things coming together over several years of preparation.  Things growing and burning in our hearts and The Lord definitely moving us towards what He has been preparing us for, for a while.

GJM: And your wife has some family connections in Scotland, I believe…

Steve Osmond: Yes, she has cousins who stay in Lanarkshire with their two children who are very excited that we are going to be joining them in Scotland.

GJM: So when you anticipate moving, what fills you with excitement and what makes you think… that will be a challenge !?

Steve Osmond: I’ve moved many, many times in my life through my younger years and my teenage years – I’ve lived in twenty-eight different homes. I love moving, I love change and so for me this is like a great big adventure. So I am really looking forward to putting down some roots and experiencing a different culture and place – that really excites me. In my science career I have worked a lot in river ecology, but South African rivers are not on the same scale as the rivers in Scotland. So that’s interesting for me. I’m also really excited about working with Solas, and focussing on the ministry of evangelism… getting out into universities and equipping churches too. Those are things that I just love and feel so called to. But of course the thought of going out to universities to share the truth of Jesus is also a terrifying thing because culture isn’t always receptive to that! So there will definitely be challenging conversations and interactions with people. I’ve experienced hostility to the gospel and the people bringing it, on campuses in South Africa and I expect to encounter it in Scotland too. So the thought of sharing the gospel and encountering different challenges and world-views both excites me and is a scary thought!

GJM: How will you set about learning a new culture, working your way in and finding out what the questions in people’s hearts and minds are here?

Steve Osmond:  For me the key is getting to know people, and having good conversations. It can be a long process, but I think the most authentic way to do it is to spend a lot of time rubbing along side-by-side with the people – especially people who don’t have the same views as me, or have a completely different worldview. That is how you learn, through good, honest, open conversation. The last thing I am going to do is to run in, thinking that I know what it is all about! There will be a learning curve when I arrive, because as much as Google is a very useful tool which can tell you about language and customs what really counts will be real conversations!

GJM: And my understanding is that Scotland is a much more ‘secular’ culture than South Africa, will that be an interesting shift for you?

Steve Osmond: Well Johannesburg where we stay is a bit of a melting-pot for all kinds of things including traditional African religions involving ancestor worship, but also a lot of very ‘western-looking’ materialism-atheism that you encounter as well. There is also a very big Muslim population in the city, as well as a lot of Hindus. The whole range of Christian denominations are present too, alongside a lot of nominal Christians who identify culturally as Christian in the census – but not much more in terms of personal faith. So in one sense, being in South Africa gives you a wide experience of encountering different views and beliefs. But, yes as a far more ‘post-Christian’ society, Scotland will be different and we will have to learn how this affects the kinds of deep-level questions that people are asking in this context.

GJM: And are your family looking forward to the move? Are they excited by change like you – or are they anxious?

Steve Osmond: Well, I’m a little more ‘leading the charge’ than Robyn! We do have a really good support base here, living close to our families, which is great, But we do really feel that God is opening the door for us here, so we have confidence that we are walking in obedience. But at the same time it is difficult, so they are ‘happy-sad’, is how I would describe it.

GJM: So in your own personal life this isn’t just the culmination of ten years of preparation, but of a process that goes back to when you became a Christian, because the Bible says we are saved by grace with good works prepared in advance for us to do! So, take us back to the start of that, how did you come to faith in Christ in the first place?

Steve Osmond: Well I was raised in a somewhat Christian home…

GJM: Somewhat??

Steve Osmond: Yeah, so my parents were Christian but we didn’t really go to church much. So growing up I would have called myself a Christian without ever really knowing what the gospel was, I rarely read the Bible and church attendance was sporadic. But when I was seventeen I was invited to a church youth event by a girl I quite fancied, so I agreed to go! At that event a guy preached the gospel really clearly in a way that I understood for the first time. I don’t know if prior to that it hadn’t been presented clearly to me, or if I just hadn’t been listening but that night I got it. He explained both who Jesus is, and the brokenness and sinfulness of the human condition and that just resonated with me. So when they invited people to pray with them, ask God for forgiveness and yield our lives to Christ – the Holy Spirit moved and pulled me toward God. I became a Christian just before my eighteenth birthday.

But my Christian life was a bumpy road for a while. I went to university, where I focussed on my studies – but also being in a rock band and going out partying. But after about four or five years of that, I was still yearning for a deeper satisfaction in life. I chased finding meaning and value and purpose in so many things, because even though I had become a Christian I hadn’t found the depth of relationship in Christ that gives you all of those things. But then, when I was twenty-three I heard a presentation in church on ‘why the Bible is trustworthy’ (and this is where my love of apologetics began!) and I had never heard anything like it before in my life. Somehow the deep searching in my heart, coupled with the rational defence this guy gave opened the doors for me. I realised that Christianity is actually true – not just some article of blind faith that I’d accepted, which was in conflict with reason, evidence and science; but that the two go hand in hand. So I started exploring apologetics and the arguments for the existence of God, reliability of the Bible, that Jesus is who he claimed to be, God-incarnate. That was at the same time I had started my honours degree in the sciences and having more and more opportunities to talk about my faith with other science students. They might say, ‘how can you study science and believe in God?’ and that opened up all kinds of conversations. That gave me a love of evangelism through evidence and reason. It was something I really enjoyed doing and led to some really fruitful conversations and some people coming to church.

I began formal academic study of apologetics through Southern Evangelical Seminary in 2015, which was great – really, really helpful.

GJM: So that’s your ‘historic’ testimony! But if I was to ask you what God is doing in your life now, (apart from leading you to Scotland) what would you say?

Steve Osmond: Well God definitely uses having children to humble you! I have two daughters aged 4 and almost 2. Parenthood… in terms of patience, self-control, gentleness, God has been using it to stretch me over the last couple of years. He’s giving me plenty of opportunities to both stumble and grow in these areas! Apart from that I’m praying that He will continue to grow a love for people in my heart. That can be difficult sometimes when you are trying to interact with people. The world is sometimes a crazy place with a lot of tension and animosity, and it needs the hope of Christ. But we can’t get that message across well, unless we have the love for people that God does. You can’t do that from any other motivation, so what I am praying for (along with wisdom) is for that love as the motivation for reaching people.

GJM: “It’s the love of Christ that compels us” is Paul’s statement about mission!

Steve Osmond: Yes, absolutely!

GJM: You mentioned earlier that you had spent your youth playing in bands! What did you play, and do you still play?

Steve Osmond: Yes, I still play! I began when I was sixteen, I play guitar and bass – mostly bass. When I started I was terrible at guitar so I changed to bass because it only had four strings! I loved playing bass, and now I play a six-string bass. Early on I got involved in heavy-metal bands from the age of seventeen until I was about twenty-two. I still love a bit of heavy music, but I really moved out of that phase as I got more involved in church, began playing there and learned to play in different styles. I love music, and a couple of weeks ago my wife Robyn and I led worship at a youth event, she plays keys and sings really well. So that was a real blessing for us.

GJM: So will the bass, the amp and the keyboard be coming to Scotland?

Steve Osmond: Well we have some family members who are going to come over and visit us  and they will bring some of my guitars when they come!

GJM: You mentioned that your ‘main calling’ is evangelism and apologetics. Give us some examples of the ways that you pursue that where you are at the moment?

Steve Osmond: Yes, well I never really thought of myself as ‘an evangelist’ because the thought of evangelism terrifies me! But when I began to explore the apologetics side of things, I realised that this was a door into sharing the gospel. In fact, evangelism and apologetics go hand-in-hand, you can’t really pull them apart! Then as I learned about how to have good conversations, I started having those good conversations with people about the gospel.

So I have done quite a lot of university missions, with student Christian groups on campuses. That would often involve sharing a defence on an aspect of the Christian faith such as the existence of God, the existence of Jesus in history (which some people question), the reliability of the Bible, or competing worldviews.. and through those issues getting to the gospel. That in turn leads to Q&A at the events and then really good conversations with the people who have come. These events are just like those that Solas does and I’m really looking forward to doing a lot more of them, I love it!

Then, I have done a good amount of “church equipping”. I was a pastor in a church where I was the content and training ministry lead. That meant not just evangelism programmes, but also equipping the church to help them to get thinking. The Bible says, Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and Christians have sometimes neglected the “mind” part of that. So I was involved with helping the church to think through issues so we could share and defend the gospel more faithfully. Recently I’ve done a series of talks at my church on questions of science, faith, evolution and Genesis. I loved that because there was apologetics, theology, biblical studies, all in the mix.

I’m also committed to personal evangelism – sharing my faith with friends and family. Some of that doesn’t involve argument and apologetics, but also living a life of transformation to show the power of the gospel to change lives, starting with mine. Living a life of long-term obedience to God is really noticed by people – they really do see that.

GJM: So imagine this scenario. You are sitting in the audience at an evangelistic meeting, and there are loads of non-Christian people present. Then, just before the speaker is due on the platform he turns to you and says, “I feel really unwell, I can’t do this. Steve, mate- you’re on!” So without time to prepare, what’s your go-to message?

Steve Osmond: That’s a cool question! I think I’d probably go into the area of ‘worldview’ because Christianity truly makes sense of the whole of life, whereas other worldviews tend to truncate things. So if you threw me up there on the stage, I’d go for origins (where have you come from?), meaning (what is your purpose?), morality (how do you know what is right and wrong?) and destiny (where will you spend eternity?). I’d very quickly outline the truth that the Christian worldview brings to those things in comparison to other worldview which lack something!

GJM: So as you prepare to move to Scotland. What do you think you will miss most about South Africa?

Steve Osmond: Oh, the usual answer to that question is the weather! But actually it’s the people. South Africa is an open, friendly country where people smile at each other and greet strangers. We’re not sure what Scotland will be like yet – but we know we will miss a lot of people here when we move.

GJM: The Solas family of supporters has got lots of good, faithful, prayerful people who will be reading this. So what can they be praying for you and the family as you get ready for the big move?

Steve Osmond: I think we know the absolute value and necessity of being surrounded by a good family of faith. So we would covet peoples prayers that very early on we would get plugged into a church that we can call home – and make some friends. We are leaving a community and a church community, so will need that in Scotland. We need to be part of ‘the body’ – so that’s a huge one and prayer for that would be great. Then, for us as a family we need to find new rhythms alongside some of the complexities and stresses of the move. We will need to serve and love each other well as a family. Then in terms of the ministry we will need wisdom, that God will grow me in whatever ways He needs to. I know I need wisdom about where to focus my thinking and the messages I will be preparing. There is so much to say, and wisdom is needed to know where to focus in different settings like churches and universities. I want to be well-equipped to represent Christ well.

GJM: And we’ll also be praying that the paperwork all gets sorted quickly and easily too!

Steve Osmond: Another thing would be that we find a home too, in a community and near a school!

GJM: Jesus said “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” Well, people in and around Solas have been praying that we would find another evangelist-apologist, praying that we would find someone to work with us. And Steve… God sent you! So we are delighted that God has answered our prayers and the prayers of so many people. And it will be good to change the prayer letter from ‘please pray that we will find’ to ‘thank God that Steve is here’! And we’re delighted that it’s you that God has sent.

Steve Osmond: And I can’t wait to meet a lot of the supporters and the wider Solas family!

The Forgiveness of Sins – Solas in Ayr

by Editor

Riverside Church in Ayr is a place we love visiting, at Solas. They were one of the host chuches for the Confident Christianity conference that we did in conjuction with Keswick in Ayrshire not long ago. On that memorable day, Andy Bannister, Sharon Dirckx and Dave Hutchings spoke, but this time it was Gavin Matthews who went to Ayr to preach at their service and bring them a Solas update.

Riverside have been studying The Apostles Creed over the last month or two, focussing in on that concide summary of key Christian beliefs about God and humanity. Gavin was given the line in the Creed “I believe…. in the forgiveness of sins”, which he said was a delight to preach on.  Gavin’s sermon is available to watch in the video above, and begins at 36:30 and the Solas update at 23:15. The whole Apostles Creed series is available on their YouTube channel.

“It’s always a privilege to visit Riverside Church”, Gavin said. “The place was really full, the church was in good heart and it was encouraging to see so many children heading off to Sunday School too. Riverside is a church which is intentional about sharing the gospel and serving their community and God is clearly blessing them as they faithfully serve. It was so good to be there with them in Sunday.”

PEP Talk with Glen Scrivener

by Solas

Equality, compassion, consent, enlightenment, science, freedom and progress: beliefs that are the air we breathe as a society and values that most people hold dear. In that sense, nearly everyone we meet is already a believer! But only one Person makes real sense of these beliefs, and it’s our privilege to introduce Him to them. Andy and Kristi are here to chat with Glen Scrivener this week on PEP Talk.

With Glen Scrivener – PEP Talk

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Our Guest

Glen Scrivener is an ordained minister and the Director of Speak Life, an organisation that exists to share the love of Jesus through creative communication. An author, speaker and media presenter, his latest project is The Air We Breathe. He has also authored The Gift, 321, The Story of God, the World and You and Long Story Short: The Bible in 12 Phrases. Glen is married to Emma and they have two children.

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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Book Review: ‘SEEK’ by David Robertson

by Editor

Although David Robertson has been in Australia now for many years, he is still very active in Christian speaking and writing. Of all his many publications, the one I personally appreciated the most was “ASK”, his youth book published in 2019, which we reviewed here.

His new book SEEK follows a similar format to ASK. Each of the 52 chapters of the book is based on a question sent in by a teenager from a wide assortment of countries around the world. The agenda is therefore set by the teenagers and the struggles they have, and issues they face. David’s short chapter-length responses to all these questions contain a Bible text, a simple apologetic for an answer to the question from a biblical worldview, questions for reflection and some suggested further reading for anyone who needs a deeper dive. Inundated with questions, David selected and responded to the most popular ones which were raised, from across cultures.

As anyone familiar with David Robertson would expect, the answers he provides are orthodox, well thought-through, compassionate towards the questioner and combative in style. It’s vintage Robertson in other words! David’s answers not only reveal his saturation in scripture, but also his extensive reading in both Reformed and Puritan writings, and contemporary debates. I’m not sure of any other youth book that will reference BLM activists, Puritan John Flavel and Reformer John Calvin!

The questions in the first volume (ASK) contained some surprises as well as some more common questions. The same is true with the questions that have been thrown David’s way this time. In SEEK he grapples with everything from interpreting the Bible (666, Job, Heaven, the 2nd Coming of Christ) to  ethics (Abortion, Euthanasia, Trans, The State, Pacificism) and onto other contemporary topics (Factory farming, Education, Other faiths, Nightclubs, Swearing, Maths, Music and Art). And that is only a small sample of what is covered! As each chapter is short and pithy, this makes the book an engaging and fast-paced read.

In the introduction David wrote:

“When you are younger you tend to ask a lot of questions. That is a good thing. Sometimes as people get older, they become more cynical and doubt that there are any real answers. I don’t have all the answers – and some of the questions are complex – but I do know the One who does. Each of the answers in this book is meant to help you in your search and encourage you to think for yourself and find out answers. You don’t have to wait until the day you die to get answers. As Jesus said, ‘seek and you will find’.

SEEK fulfils this noble ambition rather well, and would make a very worthwhile gift for any teenager wiling to read and engage. Youth leaders might find it a handy resource to keep within reach too, because when difficult questions arise, David’s research, quotes and arguments can be really helpful. For example, in the chapter ‘Can Christians Join the Army?’ his little summary of pacifism/just war theory is a terrific little intro to the main ideas – all in one place. The same is true for many other chapters.

When I asked David why he had written this follow-up, he replied, “Because I got so many questions from teenagers from all over the world….and could only do 52 in the first.   The first volume sold really well and was reprinted a couple of times.  It continues to sell.  The responses were excellent. We were surprised at how many adults as well as teenagers were reading it.  I suspect because most adults liked the format and that the answer to each of the questions was 700 words not 7,000!

Then I asked him what he would say to a secular teenager who might find some of the biblical answers in the book shocking, or perhaps even outrageous. He responded, “Excellent.  I’m glad you find it outrageous and shocking – because so was the teaching of Jesus to the culture of his day.  It turned the world upside down.   Teenagers especially need to think and challenge the current zeitgeist.  It’s time for us to become biblically ‘woke’ – that is woken out of our stupor and brought out of the darkness of secular ideology into the light of Christ!

Another striking front cover from Christian Focus Publications is a great asset for the book, the green luminous brain image looks great, especially when lined-up alongside the first volume with it’s pink and blue handprint. The luminous green, over black in the chapter headings aren’t easy to read though – and that is a minor production blemish. Nevertheless, this is a stirring, thought-provoking, wide-ranging and sometimes controversial book that will create great debates, serious biblical reflection and many helpful conversations about living for Christ in today’s world.

David wrote: “My hope and prayer is that “SEEK” will encourage teenagers and older people to think biblically about our culture.  To learn to read the culture through the Bible, rather than the Bible through the culture.    What especially encouraged me was the number of fathers who told me that they were reading a chapter a week with their children…..and praying with them.   I couldn’t ask for any better reaction!”

SEEK is published by Christian Focus Publications (July 2023) and is a hardback priced £12.99 and available here: 

The third volume in this series, which will be entitled “KNOCK” is currently being planned. If you are aged 10-19, and would like to submit a question for consideration, David would love to hear from you at theweeflea@gmail.com .

Confident Christianity at Deeside

by Editor

It was a real joy to welcome Andy and Gavin to Deeside Christian Fellowship in the western suburbs of Aberdeen, for an evening of Confident Christianity, on Tuesday 6th June. Deeside has been building fruitful links with Solsas over the last few months, not least as we supply them with two board members – Derek Leith, recently retired from Ernst and Young, and an elder at Deeside, as well as Elizabeth McQuoid, Commissioning Editor for Keswick Ministries.

Over 150 enthusiasts gathered, mostly from Deeside, but including a group from our church plant at Donside, as well as a smattering of other local believers, to listen to very engaging talks from Andy and Gavin. The evening represented the firstfruits of a partnership we pray will blossom, encouraging church members to become bolder in sharing their faith, and giving very practical pointers on how to open up conversations with unbelievers.

Andy gave the first talk, helping remove some of the barriers, both theological and psychological, that prevent us from speaking out about Christ. He suggested that asking good questions is a better way of opening the secular mind than going straight for a ‘Romans road’ version of unsubtle evangelism. His assertion that Jesus asked a lot more questions (306 in the Gospels) than He gave answers was thought provoking, and the easy-to-digest questions he suggested, for both those interested and those showing no interest in Christianity, were as helpful as they were accessible.

Gavin then gave a passionate argument about the need for persuasive evangelism. We may feel that using logical arguments bypasses the necessary work of the Holy Spirit in convicting men and women, but Gavin dispelled that myth by showing how the Spirit’s power is unleashed in tandem with the kind of persuasion that the apostles consistently presented. Passionate prayer allied to well thought through arguments are a dynamic combination that can lay bare the most obstinate heart.

The talks were interspersed with ‘time outs’, necessary on a Tuesday evening after a long day at work, and a gentle introduction to the work of Solas to inform and enthuse those new to the ministry. As a refreshing conclusion to the evening, we enjoyed a Q and A session where people further probed how to use questions skilfully in very secular contexts, and included an advert for Andy’s newest book, hot off the press, ‘How to Talk about Jesus without looking like an Idiot’.

Excellent feedback has followed the evening, and a deepening desire from church members to pursue this partnership with Solas.  We aim to have another session with Gavin and Andy in November, before moving into home group studies, prepared by Solas, for Deeside small groups to study in the New Year. In the words of Humphrey Bogart in the movie Casablanca, ‘this could be the start of a beautiful friendship.’

—
Jeremy McQuoid is the Teaching Pastor at Deeside Christian Fellowship Church, and author of several books including “The Amazing Cross” with his wife Elizabeth.