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True for You, But Not for Me: Overcoming Objections to Christian Faith
When today's culture glorifies all the Bible says is wrong, how are we, as Christians, to engage in love and truth--especially when we're seen by the world as intolerant, oppressive, and irrelevant?
With engaging insight and clear, concise answers, popular apologist and professor Paul Copan helps you navigate today's culture wars with wisdom and humility. Whether engaging with family, friends, neighbors, or coworkers, this fully revised, accessible, and must-have resource will help you respond with thoughtful, gentle responses to remarks such as
· "I can choose to love whomever I want."
· "I'm a woman trapped in a man's body."
· "Christians are intolerant of other viewpoints!"
· "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."
· "Christianity is oppressive."
Moreover, he shows how, with patience, practice, prayer, and God's grace, you can move into meaningful, effective, and loving conversations even as you stand firmly for truth.
With engaging insight and clear, concise answers, popular apologist and professor Paul Copan helps you navigate today's culture wars with wisdom and humility. Whether engaging with family, friends, neighbors, or coworkers, this fully revised, accessible, and must-have resource will help you respond with thoughtful, gentle responses to remarks such as
· "I can choose to love whomever I want."
· "I'm a woman trapped in a man's body."
· "Christians are intolerant of other viewpoints!"
· "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."
· "Christianity is oppressive."
Moreover, he shows how, with patience, practice, prayer, and God's grace, you can move into meaningful, effective, and loving conversations even as you stand firmly for truth.
192 pages, Paperback
Published June 1, 1998
2 people are currently reading
12 people want to read
About the author
Paul Copan
85 books166 followersPaul Copan is a Christian theologian, analytic philosopher, apologist, and author. He is currently a professor at the Palm Beach Atlantic University and holds the endowed Pledger Family Chair of Philosophy and Ethics.
From 1980-1984, he attended Columbia International University and earned a B.A. degree in biblical studies. Copan attended Trinity International University, where he received his M.A. in philosophy of religion, as well as his M.Div. at Trinity International. Copan received the Prof. C.B. Bjuge Award for a thesis that “evidences creative scholarship in the field of Biblical and Systematic Theology.”
In May 2000, Copan received his Ph.D. in philosophy of religion from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His dissertation topic was "The Moral Dimensions of Michael Martin’s Atheology: A Critical Assessment."
From 1980-1984, he attended Columbia International University and earned a B.A. degree in biblical studies. Copan attended Trinity International University, where he received his M.A. in philosophy of religion, as well as his M.Div. at Trinity International. Copan received the Prof. C.B. Bjuge Award for a thesis that “evidences creative scholarship in the field of Biblical and Systematic Theology.”
In May 2000, Copan received his Ph.D. in philosophy of religion from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His dissertation topic was "The Moral Dimensions of Michael Martin’s Atheology: A Critical Assessment."
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September 7, 2024
THE POPULAR APOLOGIST CRITIQUES VARIOUS "RELATIVISTIC" SLOGANS
Paul Copan (born 1962) is a Christian theologian, philosopher and apologist, who is currently a professor at the Palm Beach Atlantic University; he has written many other books such as 'That's Just Your Interpretation: Responding to Skeptics Who Challenge Your Faith,' 'How Do You Know You're Not Wrong?: Responding to Objections That Leave Christians Speechless,' 'When God Goes to Starbucks: A Guide to Everyday Apologetics,' etc.
He wrote in the Introduction to this 1998 book, "[This book] gives Christians a concise response to our society's slide into relativism and religious pluralism... I have written this book to make a case for the existence of objective truth and morality and to defend the claim that Jesus is indeed the unique and sole Savior of the world. The material is organized as a handbook. After brief background on each core issue, material is presented slogan-by-slogan, providing easy reference to specific questions. Included are some suggested responses to relativistic slogans." (Pg. 12-13)
About evangelism, he says, "Anything that smacks of 'proselytizing,' 'conversion,' and 'evangelism' is usually condemned as immensely arrogant. Of course, this presupposes that truth is relative. And it assumes that all Christians act like Crusaders, who at least on a popular level are known only for 'cramming' their beliefs 'down another's throat.' God calls us, rather, to communicate and defend our faith, with gentleness and respect (1 Pet 3:16)... After all, PERSUADING someone else by offering good reasons to change beliefs... is hardly arrogant or intolerant. Done well, it's just the opposite." (Pg. 38)
Against the "If you grew up in India, you'd be a Hindu" argument, he replies, "Simply because there are many POLITICAL alternatives in the world (monarchy, Fascism, communism, democracy, etc.) doesn't mean someone growing up in the midst of them is unable to see that some forms of government are better than others. That kind of evaluation isn't arrogant or presumptuous. The same is true of grappling with religion." (Pg. 85)
He observes, "If Christ was more than human, why didn't he say it more plainly? If the belief that in Christ God became man and dwelt among us is such a crucial doctrine for his followers, why didn't Jesus spell that out more bluntly?... It wasn't that Jesus went about the Galilean hills announcing, 'I am God.' (Thus we should maintain an 'implicit Christology' rather than an 'explicit one.') ... given the political overtones ... in first-century Palestine, Jesus had to show remarkable reserve even about identifying himself as 'Messiah.'... Although Jesus understandably didn't say, 'I am God,' he SAID and DID a number of things that indicated not merely a God-consciousness or a more intimate relationship to his Father, but that he was much more than human... Interestingly, Jesus didn't so much ASSERT his special status as ASSUME it without needing to defend it." (Pg. 115-116)
Of the "What about those who have never heard?" question, he wrote, "The middle-knowledge perspective assumes that there are other worlds God COULD have made but did not. It also assumes God's full knowledge of what free creatures COULD and WOULD freely choose to do if placed in a particular circumstance rather than another.... Those who are beyond the reaches of the Gospel in the actual world could be those who would never have responded to the Gospel in any possible world. So if I COULD have been born in an unevangelized region and WOULD have responded to the Gospel had I heard it, then God ensures that I am born into a time and place in which the Gospel is proclaimed so I can respond to it." (Pg. 128)
Copan presents some fairly sophisticated arguments in a more "popular" style, as well as using "current" language; his books are all very helpful tools for Christians studying apologetics.
Paul Copan (born 1962) is a Christian theologian, philosopher and apologist, who is currently a professor at the Palm Beach Atlantic University; he has written many other books such as 'That's Just Your Interpretation: Responding to Skeptics Who Challenge Your Faith,' 'How Do You Know You're Not Wrong?: Responding to Objections That Leave Christians Speechless,' 'When God Goes to Starbucks: A Guide to Everyday Apologetics,' etc.
He wrote in the Introduction to this 1998 book, "[This book] gives Christians a concise response to our society's slide into relativism and religious pluralism... I have written this book to make a case for the existence of objective truth and morality and to defend the claim that Jesus is indeed the unique and sole Savior of the world. The material is organized as a handbook. After brief background on each core issue, material is presented slogan-by-slogan, providing easy reference to specific questions. Included are some suggested responses to relativistic slogans." (Pg. 12-13)
About evangelism, he says, "Anything that smacks of 'proselytizing,' 'conversion,' and 'evangelism' is usually condemned as immensely arrogant. Of course, this presupposes that truth is relative. And it assumes that all Christians act like Crusaders, who at least on a popular level are known only for 'cramming' their beliefs 'down another's throat.' God calls us, rather, to communicate and defend our faith, with gentleness and respect (1 Pet 3:16)... After all, PERSUADING someone else by offering good reasons to change beliefs... is hardly arrogant or intolerant. Done well, it's just the opposite." (Pg. 38)
Against the "If you grew up in India, you'd be a Hindu" argument, he replies, "Simply because there are many POLITICAL alternatives in the world (monarchy, Fascism, communism, democracy, etc.) doesn't mean someone growing up in the midst of them is unable to see that some forms of government are better than others. That kind of evaluation isn't arrogant or presumptuous. The same is true of grappling with religion." (Pg. 85)
He observes, "If Christ was more than human, why didn't he say it more plainly? If the belief that in Christ God became man and dwelt among us is such a crucial doctrine for his followers, why didn't Jesus spell that out more bluntly?... It wasn't that Jesus went about the Galilean hills announcing, 'I am God.' (Thus we should maintain an 'implicit Christology' rather than an 'explicit one.') ... given the political overtones ... in first-century Palestine, Jesus had to show remarkable reserve even about identifying himself as 'Messiah.'... Although Jesus understandably didn't say, 'I am God,' he SAID and DID a number of things that indicated not merely a God-consciousness or a more intimate relationship to his Father, but that he was much more than human... Interestingly, Jesus didn't so much ASSERT his special status as ASSUME it without needing to defend it." (Pg. 115-116)
Of the "What about those who have never heard?" question, he wrote, "The middle-knowledge perspective assumes that there are other worlds God COULD have made but did not. It also assumes God's full knowledge of what free creatures COULD and WOULD freely choose to do if placed in a particular circumstance rather than another.... Those who are beyond the reaches of the Gospel in the actual world could be those who would never have responded to the Gospel in any possible world. So if I COULD have been born in an unevangelized region and WOULD have responded to the Gospel had I heard it, then God ensures that I am born into a time and place in which the Gospel is proclaimed so I can respond to it." (Pg. 128)
Copan presents some fairly sophisticated arguments in a more "popular" style, as well as using "current" language; his books are all very helpful tools for Christians studying apologetics.
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