When I first arrived at Boston University, I found the Christian students were often involved in theological debates. Unfortunately, Scripture was seldom referenced in these debates. They made reference to sermons and rumors they had heard. I refer to this as pop theology, the theology of rumors.
I often hear believers speak about the importance of truth. That is commendable. What is disturbing is how often our behavior incurs that belief. Recent surveys have shown that biblical ignorance is on the rise, even in the church. Why is this important? For a lot of reasons, but when youth begin to learn that what they have been taught in small things is in error, then they begin to question everything they have been taught about the faith. We have a responsibility to check out what we teach. We can't just repeat what we have heard.
This is more than merely practical advice. There is a spiritual principle here. The apostle Paul gives us an example of how we should treat the things we hear: "Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true." (Acts 17:11) We are responsible for our growth and learning. We are called by God to do extra homework. How important is God's truth to us? Is it important enough for us to spend time actually studying it? Are we willing to invest the time to read Christian authors who have passed the test of time? If we are not, then that alone speaks volumes to our youth concerning just how important Jesus is to us.
I have to balance two things as I prepare for a presentation. One one hand, I want to be as prepared as possible. Not only do I want to be able to represent truth, but I have also opened myself up to questions. I need to anticipate and prepare for those questions. On the other hand, I have a limited time to prepare, so I will make the most of the time I have. I can't expect myself to become an expert on everything, but I will do the best I can. It helps to remember that you don't need to present yourself as the Bible Answer Man. It's okay to say, "I don't know." In fact, it will earn you some respect. But try to follow it up with, "I'll try to look that up for you."
Do not start your serious research on the Internet. It's okay to go there to look for some ideas on where to start your study, but the Internet is notorious for bad information. Wikipedia is very helpful for facts since it is heavily monitored, but you will need to go elsewhere to develop your theology.
Where do I go for my research? I start with a concordance and with trusted authors. The concordance helps me to find individual scriptures that deal with my topic. That's helpful, but if I look up "the problem of pain," I won't find too many entries. Trusted authors are often my first helpful source. I test what they say against Scripture in order to be a good Berean, but some books that deal with the topic I am going to cover are a good place to start.
Here are some recommended authors that I often start with. It is by no means exhaustive, and I find that I seldom agree with everything an author has to say, but that doesn't make them unhelpful. Two apologists you should have in your library are C. S.Lewis and Peter Kreeft. I recommend Lewis' essays even more than his books. If you don't check these two out, then you are not even trying. Other authors include: Timothy Keller, N. T. Wright, Stanley Grenz, Eugene Peterson, Alister McGrath, Gordon Fee, John Stott, and F. F. Bruce. For science and faith I recommend Francis Colins, Kenneth R. Miller, and John H. Walton. Again, this is a very short list. Later I will give some author recommendations based on topics.
I do not restrict myself to Christian books. If I am going to deal with a scientific topic, then I better understand at least a little of the science involved. If I am going to respond to a book such as The Da Vince Code, then I need to read that book. Always go to source material. It is irresponsible to read about someone else's work without reading that work yourself.
I want to hear from at least a couple of people who discuss the subject in book form. After I've understood what they have to say and done my best to test it against Scripture, I will use other resources such as the Internet, friends, and pastors. As I develop my presentation, I'll test out some of the ideas with Christian friends. This can sometimes alert me to some blind spots.
I should have grown through this process. Only God has a full handle on the truth. I don't. I do the best I can with what I know, but it's my goal to continue learning. If I am not open to having my mind changed, then I have stopped listening to God. That sense of life-long learning and openness to God is another thing I want to communicate to youth.
I always have more information to share than anyone should be forced to sit through. I will have to cut most of it out of my presentation to keep within my time limit, but that research won't be wasted. You never know what is going to come up in the question time. I believe that the question and answer time is more important than my presentation. It's when people start talking about what really matters to them. So I do extra research to prepare for that time.
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