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Christ on Campus

Christ on Campus: Christendom on Campus

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Bethany Lange

It comes as no surprise that Christian students are facing theological challenges in the classroom. I witnessed this firsthand when I entered college for the first time in 2011. As I read the first chapter of my book in geology class I found anti-Christian statements, which I expected. However, when I took the first exam, I found three questions I had not anticipated—questions that referred to “absolute truths” when these “truths” were unproven. I discovered that, in good conscience, I could not say “the age of the Earth is 4.5 billion years old,” even though this was what the textbook said. I simply could not say that this was true, especially when I have seen and heard so much evidence to the contrary—including in the teacher’s very own lectures.

My difficulty was that false or unproven information, specifically about the distant past, was stated as fact. I had expected wording such as “according to the textbook, …” or “according to the theory of ….” I was completely unprepared for a multiple-choice online test. Given the questions, I decided to get the answers as right as I could get them—but according to research I trusted. I lost some points for my answers, but I realized that if I decided that grades were more valuable than truth, I would be compromising what is most important.

In the past year especially, Christians around the world have watched in horror as the Muslim Brotherhood has violently attacked Christians in various countries. Thousands of Christians have been brutally persecuted and martyred, and these attacks have prompted me to ask myself, What would I do if I were in this situation? Deep down, I fear I might compromise. Which type of Christian is more devout—someone who renounces his faith with his fingers crossed, or one who refuses to renounce his faith no matter what the cost? It is good to remember that ultimately, faithfulness is not something I can achieve on my own. Only by the Holy Spirit and the gifts of Jesus do I have any confidence that I will have the words to say or the courage to resist even if I am persecuted for my being a Christian.

While the persecution in science classes is clearly far less of a threat than martyrdom, the school system’s way of persuading youth to leave Christianity is still quite effective. Students are pressured to scorn Christianity and Christian principles by classmates, teachers, textbooks, school rules, and federal laws. Many of those who leave home for college lose their faith. In my church alone, ten out of fifteen youth have left the faith after high school. If we, as students, cannot even stand firm in school, how can we expect to be able to testify to Christ when it’s a matter of life and death?

The current scientific trend is to separate faith and fact entirely, in keeping with the separation between church and state. However, the Christian faith is based on facts—not just murky “truths.” The world asserts that religion is about morals and good deeds, not the reality around us, and therefore has no relevance to the real world and science. Our responsibility, however, is to understand how matters such as science point to God’s creation and laws. There is comfort in knowing that the Christian faith is not about proving science wrong but about God’s grace and forgiveness in Jesus. There is nothing that can overturn what Jesus has accomplished for us by His death on the cross and His resurrection!

I have often been told that I should just repeat what the teachers want me to say, but not believe it in my heart. How would the Apostles have responded to this philosophy? I cannot imagine St. Paul saying mildly, “I don’t believe that evolution is right, but I’ll say whatever you want me to say … for now.” Is it right to say and do nothing to defend the faith that Christ has given? I know that I can personally do nothing to stay in the faith, but I do know that Satan is constantly throwing out that old question, “Did God really say?” He wants me to question God’s Word. The Lord’s promise to never leave us or forsake us is a good defense when that worry comes.

What, then, is the solution? There are several options for Christian students to follow, and they don’t have to threaten your success in school. First of all, work hard in class, be respectful, and, when theological points cause conflicts, do not deliberately incite more conflict. Martin Luther explains the 4th Commandment in the Small Catechism by saying, “We should fear and love God so that we do not despise or anger our parents and other authorities, but honor them, serve and obey them, love and cherish them.” When in doubt, consult with a pastor and find a Christian support network to help you when you get discouraged or overwhelmed. Pray constantly for discernment and strength, for we cannot prevail against our own doubts and fears without the Armor of God. Most importantly, remember that we are not fighting “against flesh and blood, but against principalities … [and] powers” (Ephesians 6:12). Federal laws, teachers, classmates—they are not our enemies. Look to Christ for wisdom and faith! Your pastor is the Lord’s gift to help you answer questions that your classes might bring about your faith. He is also there to comfort you with the promises of Jesus that He is always faithful.

Even in the face of open challenges to Christianity within school, many students today are becoming more and more used to doing what is expected of them without thinking about or questioning their reactions. All Christians who see this type of attack in their lives should assess what is happening, what is true or false, and what their reactions are. Christians should not attack their teachers, but school should not be excluded from the areas in which we should be Christians. Our duty as Christian students should be clear: work hard, be respectful, and do not act or speak contrary to God’s Word. But above all, recognize that when the world brings you trouble, Jesus has overcome the world (John 16:33) and He has made you a part of His kingdom forever.

Bethany Lange is a lifelong Lutheran and the oldest daughter of nine children. She is a junior studying English Teaching at Utah State University. She lives in Wyoming and likes to spend her time reading, teaching violin, knitting, and crocheting. She can be contacted at prestissimo93@yahoo.com.

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Christ on Campus

Christ on Campus: Evangel-less Christianity on Campus

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Craig A. Parton

The modern American university campus is a product of three centuries of secular culture. The roots of that secular culture are found in the earliest attempts within the university to engage in what was thought to be a “safe” biblical criticism aimed at the first books of the Old Testament. Radical surgery on the Old Testament was soon performed within the university on the New Testament, and the untethered campus man concluded that he did not need any word from God to give him either morals (found so obviously in nature and her laws) or an explanation for the origin of the species. The Bible was dead. God was dead. Man was free and had in hand a self-diagnosis of perfect health. This brief moment of delusional peace came to a decisive end with World War I. Man was now dead, too.

Culture and university life went from a total optimism in man’s ability to create his own meaning and to save himself, to utter pessimism and a retreat into despair. Painting, music, and literature, unleashed from any concept of being entrusted with gifts from God, degenerated into narcissistic efforts to shock the conscience. Good or bad did not matter because it was all about accepting the mantra on the university campus that all views (save for biblical Christianity) are equally valuable. Rushing into the vacuum came Eastern religious positions like Buddhism and Hinduism, pointing out that Christianity in particular had kept man from discovering inner divinity and his essential oneness with the cosmos.

Christians on campus were defenseless against the inroads of Eastern and New Age religious positions. Why? Instead of proclaiming the faith once delivered to the saints and defending it with the factual arguments honed over the centuries by apologists from Cyprian to Chesterton, Christians defaulted from defending the Gospel to being the Gospel. The casualties on campus have been the loss of apologetics, evangelism, and the Gospel itself.

Ignore Apologetics on Campus and You Get a Defense-less Christianity
The word “apologetics” comes from the Greek text of I Peter 3:15– “be ready always to give a defense (apologia) for the hope that is within you, yet with gentleness and reverence.” Two broadsides are delivered from this passage.

First, apologetics, or defending the faith, is biblically commanded. It is not optional to give a reason for the hope that is within us, nor is it relegated to the pastoral office or to a special class of “intellectual” Christians with a university degree. Second, sharing you (whether it is your heart or your testimony) is not biblical, let alone apostolic, apologetics. Instead, we are to give reasons for believing in Jesus’ perfect life, atoning death, and resurrection from the dead, and are to persuasively present the evidence that demands a verdict. We can see how Paul brilliantly did this before Herod Agrippa in Acts 26:26-28.

Apologetics is about giving reasons. It is not, therefore, simply a form of philosophy, nor is it a species of systematic theology, nor is it simply a subset of preaching, as if defending the faith is something only pastors do!

Apologetics is not only biblically commanded, it has a long and noble history. There was even a so-called “Age of the Apologists” in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th centuries that developed a Hall of Fame of defenders of the faith (Cyprian, Irenaeus, Tertullian, and Augustine to name but a few). Today, there is an impressive pedigree of trial lawyers that have investigated the truth claims of Christianity and found them utterly compelling. The Canadian Institute (www.ciltpp.com) has the finest array of resources for the college student on the defense of the faith today.

There is something to learn from the fact that the most effective apologists in the last century were not trained in formal theology at all (C.S. Lewis, G.K. Chesterton, Dorothy Sayers, Charles Williams, and J.R.R. Tolkien). One need not have a seminary education to be effective in the defense of the faith on the modern secular campus. In fact, an insulated theological education may end up impeding one in the apologetical task since theologians tend to maximize the assumptions that are to be accepted and minimize the evidence to be marshaled.

Lose Apologetics on Campus and You Get A Christ-less Christianity
We ignored apologetics on campus and lost what apologetics was defending. Well, what is it we are defending in apologetics? The Gospel, of course! Or, to be more specific, what C.S. Lewis of Oxford University called “Mere Christianity.” Think of the central propositions of the Apostles’ Creed, most especially that Jesus Christ, true God and man, died for the sins of the world and rose again to life.

But this is exactly where so many well-meaning Christians on campus miss the 3:10 train to Yuma. Because the Gospel is not the center and circumference of their theology (it is just one of many equally important doctrines), they end up with what is secondary in Scripture becoming primary while what is primary becomes secondary. Arguments are centered on, for example, what went on before time, or at the beginning of time, or what happens at the end of time. Speculation has the front seat, and facts get stuck in the back seat if they are there at all.

So apologetics is about the defense of the faith, and specifically of the Gospel. What then is the Gospel? Just this: Christ died for sinners and you qualify. The Gospel is all about what was done for you and in spite of you. We are the problem, not the solution. Any “apologetic” that is about your anything (except your sin) is decidedly not defending the Gospel.

In summary, when defending the faith in the dorm or in the classroom, every once in a while stop and ask: Is what I just talked about in the Apostles’ Creed or not? If not, a flare should go up that you are very likely headed in the wrong direction.

Christians on campus thought they could ignore apologetics with no harm to evangelism or the Gospel. Christians in the college square stopped contending, then stopped evangelizing, then stopped believing there was anything worth contending for or evangelizing about.

Defense-less Lutherans and Christ-less Liberals: A Campus Trainwreck
Our situation today on campus? A multiplicity of religious options are being presented, essentially all claiming to change one’s life, and none of them offer anything resembling persuasive factual evidence. The Christian at the modern university has the answers. In fact, offering evidence for belief is unique to Christian truth claims.1 Apologetics that focuses on the case for Christ is not antithetical to evangelism. In fact, such a defense of the faith is evangelism.

Instead of providing historical, scientific, and legal evidences on behalf of the Christian position, Christians on campus have jettisoned the apostolic admonition. Instead of learning the many convincing proofs referred to by Dr. Luke, they are way too busy learning the purpose-driven life while buying work out programs so that they can exercise like Jesus did.

Apologetics as Evangelism on Campus
It is not apologetics instead of evangelism. It is not apologetics versus evangelism. It is not apologetics without evangelism.

Apologetics on campus that centers on the authenticity and centrality of the death and resurrection of our Lord for the forgiveness of sins is apologetics as evangelism. It is the tool of apologetics that helps Christians to boldly give to others those reasons for the hope that is in them.

  • 1* For a superb summary of those evidences, see John Warwick Montgomery’s Tractatus Logico-Theologicus, 4th ed. (Bonn: Culture & Science Publ., 2009, available through the Canadian Institute for Law, Theology, and Public Policy), esp. Proposition 3 (“Historical, jurisprudential, and scientific standards of evidence offer the touchstone for resolving the religious 

predicament by establishing the truth claims of Christian proclamation.”), pp. 65-128. See also, R.C. Sproul, Reasons to Believe (Dallas: Regal Books, 1978), which deals with the ten most common objections raised on campus by unbelievers.

Craig Parton is a trial lawyer and partner in a law firm in Santa Barbara, California. He is the author of three books on the defense of the Christian position and is the United States Director of 
the International Academy of Apologetics, Evangelism and Human Rights 
(www.apologeticsacademy.eu) which conducts its annual summer study sessions in Strasbourg, France. He can be reached at cap@ppplaw.com.

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Christ on Campus

Christianity’s Answer to the Problem of Evil

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Rev. Ian Pacey

Introduction
Of all the questions Christians encounter as challenges to our fundamental beliefs, the problem of evil is without a doubt one of the most popular. Why do we suffer? Why do terrible things happen to my family and friends? Why do horrors like 9/11 or Auschwitz take place? Why are “natural” disasters allowed to bring forth death and destruction? If there is a God, why do these things happen?

The Question or “Problem” of Evil
Formally, the question or the problem of evil (the typical term) goes something like this: Christians, on the basis of Scripture, believe God is omniscient (all knowing), omnipotent (all powerful), and omnibenevolent (all good). If God is omnipotent, He can do all things. If God is omniscient, He knows all things. If God is omnibenevolent, He desires to prevent all things that would frustrate or corrupt good. In other words, He would eliminate the very possibility of evil.

Let’s put this together: If God is who the Christians say He is, evil should not exist. Nevertheless, evil does exist. Therefore, as the argument goes, the God of Christianity does not. If there is any “deity” out there, because evil exists, he is not all powerful, or he does not know, or he does not care. In any case, He is not god as Christianity declares and He is not worthy of our concern.

Answer the Question!
As we begin, it is necessary to remember some ground rules. Too often, when we Christians are faced with this question and others like it, we often respond with nothing more than a challenge of whether those asking the question can even know good from evil. If the questioners cannot know good from evil, then they are in no position to ask the question. It is true that, without objective standards, the knowledge of good and evil is an utter impossibility. Nonetheless, this is not an acceptable answer. In fact, it is not an answer at all. What we need here is a real, truthful response to the problem of evil.

Defining Good and Evil
For Christians, the first part of our response is establishing basic, Biblical definitions. The claim we are countering is: The Christian view of God and evil cannot coexist. For this reason, we must first define what we mean by God and evil. Establishing the Christian view of God is fairly simple. For brevity’s sake, let’s go with something like the “supreme being.” When it comes to evil, things are a bit trickier. This is because evil is all too often identified as anything that causes pain. When it comes to evil, Christians do not narrowly define evil as what causes pain, but as any thought, word, and/or deed that is not in accord with God’s moral will.

Philosophical and Existential Problem of Evil
With God and evil defined, an answer can now be worked out. At the core, there are three basic points the Christian must make: 1. God is not the author of evil. He cannot go against His own will; 2. Evil exists because of human sin, or human desire to reject God’s will; and 3. The existence of evil does not necessarily preclude the existence of God. Man, not God, is responsible for evil. God could or does have reasons for allowing evil to happen.

Again, the charge skeptics make here is that it isn’t logical for God and evil to coexist. These three factors, taken as a whole, dismiss the logical problem of evil. The problem we now have is many who struggle with evil are not addressing it logically. Instead, they are working on the emotional or existential problem of evil. People in this situation see evil in the world and their gut level response is: “This cannot be right!”

The True Answer to Evil: Jesus
For those struggling for an answer at the gut level, the one answer, the best answer the Christian has to offer, is Jesus! Jesus as revealed in His life, His death, His resurrection, and His eternal promises. Jesus as summarized by what we call the Gospel. It may sound trite. It may sound cliché. But, overuse and abuse notwithstanding, Jesus is the best answer; He is the ultimate answer to our struggle with evil.

With the coming of Jesus in the flesh, what we have is nothing less than God coming into our world and declaring His war against sin, death, and the devil; against all evil. Follow this up with our Lord’s life, death, and His resurrection, by which He paid the debt for sin, and the reality is an actual, true overcoming of evil in this world and in the world to come. Does this mean evil will cease to exist in this life? No, it is not quite that simple. Scripture is clear on that point. What we learn in Christ is the fact that God is not indifferent to our troubles. By becoming man, Jesus has entered into our suffering, and in His death and resurrection, He has removed both the power and the problem of evil forever.

Rev. Ian Pacey is an LCMS Campus Chaplain at the University of Arizona. He can be reached at revpacey@yahoo.com

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Christ on Campus

Rev. Mark Jasa: Getting to the Heart of the Matter

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Katie Micilcavage

For 47 years the University Lutheran Chapel has faithfully ministered to students at UCLA—from those who need their faith nourished to those who have no faith at all. And since August 2005, Rev. Mark Jasa has served as pastor there, bringing his unique life experience and apologetics skills to the table, sometimes literally.

In the beginning
Pastor Jasa was born into a Lutheran household and has fond memories of going through Little Visits With God with his parents. However, he was a skeptic at a young age. He recalls believing that everything was finite, that there was no infinite God and he feared, therefore, that perhaps he himself didn’t even truly exist.

In junior high Jasa came to the conclusion that all religions were basically the same, or as he put it, “You need to be good to get the good stuff.” He reasoned, why choose one? So, he chose nothing. By the time high school rolled around, he had developed a keen interest in biology. He felt his teachers clearly cared for him and invested time in him, so he had no reason to doubt what they said. Jasa operated under the assumption that evolution was true and God really wasn’t necessary.

In the back of his mind he recalled hearing a sermon wherein the pastor said, “God loves you in spite of yourself.” And he remembered the words in the liturgy, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves…” (1 John 1:8). But he shoved those things aside and left the church for a time. No one seemed to have any good answers. It wasn’t personal. Not yet.

The turning point
In college at UCLA, this thinking was reinforced. Evolution=fact. Bible=lie. But a fear of death had begun to creep in and take hold. One day he was asked a question by a man named Cliff Knechtle, a Christian apologist who travels from college campus to college campus conversing with skeptics. “Is Hitler bad?” The question haunted Jasa. It dawned on him that of course he would have to say yes, but then that meant, logically, that there had to be a standard—a law. It was a watershed moment for Jasa, who vividly recalls that day when he said aloud, “I believe in God.”

However, it would be some time before the full impact of that truth settled in. He continued to grapple with these matters. There are things that are true. Right and wrong do exist. But how could he prove it? He was on a quest for truth, but not salvation yet.

During his investigations he began to see that Jesus as a Savior was unique. Reading through Isaiah 53, he saw that claim of the Bible began to take shape. Another benchmark: Jesus is God, but not necessarily my savior. In fact, for Jasa it all boiled down to: “Jesus is the one sending me to hell.” Clearly it was not good news yet.

Now it’s personal
Two Lutheran friends of Jasa would often take the time to engage him in many discussions and while he loved the interaction he was not personally convinced. His fear of death had continued to grow over the years. So one fateful day, these two friends took him to Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Hacienda Heights, California, where Jasa heard the words that he says changed the course of his life: “The good news is outrageous forgiveness for undeserving sinners.” Jesus’ promises were coming from the mouth of Rev. William Cwirla. “He has an amazing way of telling you that the Gospel is for you,” Jasa explains. Now it was personal. Now it was for Mark Jasa.

At this point Jasa knew that he wanted to be a pastor but he still lacked direction. At the urging of Rev. Cwirla and another pastor, he spent time as a missionary in Japan. He started putting more apologetics pieces together, reading Francis Pieper’s Christian Dogmatics and Josh McDowell’s Evidence that Demands a Verdict. He wanted to know how to be an effective apologist. He wanted to get to the heart of the matter.

What he began to notice was that in all of the world’s religions, there aren’t promises—only demands. Joseph Smith doesn’t make promises. Mary Eddy Baker doesn’t make promises. Mohammed definitely doesn’t make promises. But Jesus does…over and over and over again.

After Japan, Jasa went to Concordia seminary in St. Louis and served his vicarage at Humboldt State University in California. He recalls an incident after working with a student there, who claimed, “Mark Jasa has convinced me that God exists.” Jasa could only think, “I have failed!” Of course it was gratifying to lead someone to that point but he wanted to be able to clearly communicate the truth of the Good News—the promises. Lutheran attorney Craig Parton explained to him that the Lutheran doctrine of Law and Gospel, as well as Christ’s resurrection, are the keys to effective apologetics. Jasa took this and ran with it.

The harvest is ripe
In August of 2005, Jasa was installed as the pastor at the University Lutheran Chapel at UCLA. It was here where all of those pieces he had been gathering together formed a wonderful portfolio that would be utilized and tested in the most satisfying ways. His ministry there involves two worship services a week, Bible studies, fellowship and three days of evangelism on campus. He also gives lectures on various apologetic-oriented topics. Jasa has gained a reputation for posting unique and sometimes provocative signs, e.g. “Religion is for the weak,” in plain view on his ministry table that prompt people to stop and ask questions…all part of the plan, of course.

Jasa says that his preferred apologetics methods are ones anyone can use. He explains that, for the most part, we can approach apologetics with intellectual arguments or existential arguments (someone’s experiences). He likes to employ either or both, on a case by case basis. For example, talking to someone who feels guilty (existential) may drive that person to know the truth (intellectual). Jasa says we often try to include information/facts that aren’t necessary. He makes it a point to ask himself, “What does he or she need?” Then he leads them to the truth. This is an application of God’s Law and Gospel. He encourages anyone defending the faith not to focus on the existence of God, although it is okay to talk about that with someone if they bring it up. Also, he advises you not to spend hours trying to prove evolution is false. This will take you away from the heart of the matter. Instead, make sure you have your facts straight on the resurrection. He notes that the Josh McDowell book mentioned earlier, as well as John Warwick Montgomery’s book History, Law and Christianity are must reads in this regard.

Jasa says to keep in mind that there are certain things nearly everyone can accept. One of them is, “I have chosen to hurt others and have contributed to the way the world is.” Also, most people are afraid of death, so it is important to bring them back to that point. Finally, it’s okay to concede a point with someone, particularly if it is taking you away from the truth you are leading them toward. For example, if someone tells you the Trinity is a crazy idea, tell them they’re right, but on judgment day what do they think will happen?

“It’s a delight to be able to do what I do—whether I’m in the pulpit proclaiming Christ to our members or talking to atheists and telling them that Jesus is really free. Being a Lutheran is the easiest thing in the whole world because all you have to do is tell people what is true.”

Rev. Mark Jasa can be reached at markjasa@gmail.com You can read more about the LCMS ministry at UCLA at www.ulcbruins.org.

Katie Micilcavage is the editor of Higher Things Magazine and the mother of two active teens in Gilbert, Arizona. In her spare time she is an elementary teacher. She can be reached at katie.micilcavage@higherthings.org