Christian apologetics is self-defeating when it uses strawmen and simple-minded stereotypes to critique conflicting perspectives. For this reason, I have defended Catholic interpretations of Scripture and Tradition against simple-minded Evangelical mischaracterizations. Effective apologetics must take as its starting point a quest to identify the most articulate and compelling formulation of the views being opposed. Thus, great harm has been done to the cause of Christ because Fundamentalists dismiss evolutionary theory on the basis of biased and ill-informed Fundamentalist Creationist claims rather than on the basis of a serious engagement with the most qualified secular biologists (e. g. the Catholic evolutionist, Dr. Kenneth Miller, whose videos flood the internet) who are widely regarded as the best advocates for evolutionary theory. The twofold result is (1) a relegation of Fundamentalist views to a myopic island ideological Ghetto that outside scholarship views with amused pity and (2) a mass exodus of curious, honest, and intelligent college youth from the church, once they are finally allowed to breathe the fresh air of honest and open inquiry.
A useful starting point to address this theological catastrophe is a discussion of the superiority of the Wesleyan Quadrilateral (Scripture, Tradition, Experience, Reason) to Sola Scriptura as a way to "ste[e]r" us through the perils of false teaching. Please listen to this lecture on the Wesleyan Quadrilateral as a way of focusing a productive discussion of relevant issues:
I was raised in a Canadian Pentecostal church. As a young man, I witnessed to the Gospel in the streets and door-to-door for Youth with a Mission. I now consider myself an Evangelical Charismatic Christian. As such, I was hired to teach theology in a Catholic university for 12 years and was then recruited as a United Methodist pastor after I led a 6 hour workshop on prayer for United Methodist lay leaders. I pastored a conservative church in a liberal UMC conference and now celebrate the UMC Church's recent special global conference that rejected the liberal push to reverse its stance of opposing gay ordination and gay marriage. The inevitable schism that awaits us next year saddens me because it hurts the cause of Christ for the world to witness such acrimonious infighting.
A useful starting point to address this theological catastrophe is a discussion of the superiority of the Wesleyan Quadrilateral (Scripture, Tradition, Experience, Reason) to Sola Scriptura as a way to "ste[e]r" us through the perils of false teaching. Please listen to this lecture on the Wesleyan Quadrilateral as a way of focusing a productive discussion of relevant issues:
I was raised in a Canadian Pentecostal church. As a young man, I witnessed to the Gospel in the streets and door-to-door for Youth with a Mission. I now consider myself an Evangelical Charismatic Christian. As such, I was hired to teach theology in a Catholic university for 12 years and was then recruited as a United Methodist pastor after I led a 6 hour workshop on prayer for United Methodist lay leaders. I pastored a conservative church in a liberal UMC conference and now celebrate the UMC Church's recent special global conference that rejected the liberal push to reverse its stance of opposing gay ordination and gay marriage. The inevitable schism that awaits us next year saddens me because it hurts the cause of Christ for the world to witness such acrimonious infighting.
