Category: Apologetics

Deeper Waters Podcast 11/5/2012: John Koessler

What’s coming up Saturday? Let’s plunge into the Deeper Waters and find out.

First off, we’re getting started on putting new episodes up. I’ve got some of the sound issues worked out so hopefully we’ll be on schedule again soon. Having said that, what are we going to be talking about when this Saturday comes?

In the apologetics world, we can often be running at full throttle most of the time. There are people to answer and books to read and debates to watch. Let’s not forget that many a spouse has become an apologetics widow. We get so busy doing this and that and we fear falling behind and before too long, we just can’t take it anymore. Do we need to maybe take a break?

Is it proper to ever rest when the Kingdom is what we’re working for? Can a soldier ever stop on the battlefield and rest? If there are souls at stake, by what reasoning can it be said that we should not be working with all our might at our duties? To answer these questions, I’ve brought on someone who does not work primarily in apologetics, but whose book I think can help, and that’s Dr. John Koessler. Who is he?

koessler

According to his bio:

John Koessler serves as Chair & Professor in the Division Applied Theology and Church Ministry at Moody Bible Institute where he has been a member of the faculty since 1994. He is an award-winning author who has written ten books including The Radical Pursuit of Rest: Escaping the Productivity Trap (InterVarsity, 2016), The Surprising Grace of Disappointment: Finding Hope When God Seems to Fail Us(Moody, 2013), Folly Grace and Power: The Mysterious Act of Preaching (Zondervan, 2011), and True Discipleship: The Art of Following Jesus (Moody, 2003). He has contributed articles to Christianity Today, Mature Living, Leadership Journal, Discipleship Journal, Decision, and Moody Magazine. He also writes a monthly column for Today in the Word entitled “Theology Matters,” and is a regular contributor to that publication’s devotionals. Prior to joining the faculty of Moody, John was pastor of Valley Chapel in Green Valley, Illinois, for nine years.

How can the Christian properly integrate all that they need to do in their life with rest? What is rest? Is it proper to actually not be engaging in study and debate and actually just be taking a break with the loved ones? Furthermore, how does this work with worship? What is worship and are we really doing it? Could it be that sometimes we’re so eager to get people to come and fall on their knees before Jesus that we don’t often go and do that ourselves?

Join me this Saturday as I interview John Koessler on this. We’ll be talking about the proper role that rest plays in the life of a Christian and what difference it makes. We’ll also be talking about the need for worship and why it is that we should actively participate in worship. Be watching your Podcast feed for this one and please consider going and leaving a positive review on the Deeper Waters ITunes page.

In Christ,
Nick Peters

 

Halloween Research: A Case Study

How can we research claims? Let’s plunge into the Deeper Waters and find out.

Around Halloween, I always find myself debating with people who want to claim that Halloween is pagan and I’m compromising with the devil by celebrating the day. Of course, I’ve been accused of compromising in so many areas that it doesn’t really affect me anymore. Many times, I’m told that what is being taught is common knowledge.

You know, like the fact that the Council of Nicea determined the New Testament canon, or that the ancients all believed the Earth was flat until Columbus sailed, or that the Dark Ages were a time where the church ruled the world and scientists were oppressed. These are claims that everyone knows. No need to back them.

Except these claims that everyone knows are just false.

Excuse me then if I grow skeptical, especially after finding out that such claims took for granted are just myths. If you want to tell me that a day is pagan, you’d better make a case. For anyone wanting to make this case about Halloween or Christmas or Easter or any other day, I have some rules for you to follow.

First off, find good sources. I’m sure your favorite pastor on television is a great guy and unless you’re watching Word of Faith teachers, they probably really love Jesus. Unfortunately, they can also be wrong. Pastors can be just as credulous as anyone else can be.

For instance, recently a picture has been going around Facebook that has even been shared by a well-known Christian apologist. This is the image that is going around.

laveyquoteonhalloween

Your average Christian reading this will be shocked by this. “My children are worshipping the devil?” Unfortunately, people on Facebook will take such a quote and run with it without bothering to answer some questions first. Here are some problems I notice with this meme.

Where did LaVey say this? There isn’t a quote. There isn’t a reference. There’s nothing. Now at this point, what you can do is take some of it and put it in quotes in a search engine and see if anything comes up. When I did this, I got nothing. Therefore, until someone shows otherwise, I do not give the benefit of the doubt to a random quote on the internet. I need to see the evidence.

Second, why should I care? Seriously. LaVey thinks children are worshipping the devil. Well, what makes him right? Is he infallible in this area? Could it be that children are just playing games and eating candy? Even if the quote is an authentic quote, why should I believe it?

These questions weren’t answered. Instead, the meme was just shared and a debate ensues immediately. Now notice in all of this that I have not claimed definitively yet that Halloween is not a pagan holiday. I have said that the claim has not been backed. So how can it be backed better?

I already spoke about preachers. If your preacher makes a claim like this, feel free to email him and ask him what his source for this claim is. Go and check that source. Look up what it says. What you especially want are historical sources close to the events under question. If you read about the Crusades, for instance, it would be better to have accounts from the time of the Crusades. An account 500 years later won’t have information in it nearly as good. If you read scholars today on the Crusades, make sure they cite those earliest sources.

Maybe you have a website. Good for you. Unfortunately, websites can make bogus claims. If you want to say Halloween is stolen from the pagans because you found it on a website, then brace yourself. I can show you several websites that claim the idea of Jesus dying and rising again was stolen from the pagans and by your standards, you would have to believe it.

If you have a website source, you need to see who wrote the article and how knowledgeable are they on the subject in question. Anyone today can set up a website. That doesn’t mean they are right.

“Hey Nick. You have a website as well. Do you want me to be suspicious of your claims?”

By all means be suspicious. Check out what I say. I am also not infallible. I can make mistakes. (Ask my wife. She’ll be more than happy to testify.) Check what I say with the scholars in the field.

If your website has links, check those links out. I am a political conservative, but unfortunately, I have found that many conservative websites just link to other sites saying the same claim without any primary source being cited or without specifically named individuals being cited. I refuse to share such stories then. Sadly, I find many of my fellow conservatives don’t think the same way that I do.

So let’s suppose then that you’ve found the proof that Halloween or any other holiday was originally a pagan holiday. Wonderful. Is your work done? Not a bit. You have to show me why it matters today. That’s an even more difficult argument to make.

The example I always use is wedding rings. Let’s suppose you convinced me that wedding rings were pagan in origin. Am I taking mine off? Not a chance. Mine is a reminder constantly of the covenant relationship I made with my wife years ago. It is a covenant made with her before God and man. It was not done to honor any pagan deity. You need to show that my actions are intentional wrongdoing. Showing that people did something wrong years ago is not enough to show I am doing such today.

Also, just saying that you will not have anything to do with the works of darkness or anything like that doesn’t work. That begs the question. Holiness, believe it or not, is not an argument. Because you think you are being holy in a position does not mean that you are being right. Just look at the Pharisees. These people were the ones who weren’t hanging out with “sinners” like Jesus was because they were too holy for that. We all know which side was right in this case.

Be careful on the internet friends. If you’re making truth claims, be ready to back them. This is especially so if you’re one in the public eye. People will take your claims far more seriously. Test everything. Hold to that which is true.

In Christ,
Nick Peters

 

 

What Is The Point Of Christianity?

Why is Christianity here? Let’s plunge into the Deeper Waters and find out.

I’ve been reading a book by an atheist called Good Without God and while I think it’s fallacious, I think of the main point. Why is it that so many atheists make this kind of argument? Now I do know that we do say that God is necessary for realities such as goodness and the moral law, but at the same time, there is also much missing of the point. Some people will say “Well you can be good without being a Christian or even a theist so what’s the point in being a Christian?”

Now move forward to your average church service. What will you usually hear? You’ll hear a sermon where you read the text and then you pretty much jump straight to application. I’m not opposed to application of course. We have to apply the text to our lives. I’m opposed to an application hanging in the air. You can get the impression that the only reason for the Bible is so we could all be good people.

Along these lines, I can’t help but remember when I was in a sunday school class in college. Our teacher was leading us through the book of Joshua. We were told that Joshua was written so that we would learn to obey God. There’s no doubt Joshua wanted Israel to do that, but Joshua included a lot of historical information. How does the division of the land get the reader to say “Wow! I have to obey God!”?

The Bible contains a story. We tend to cut out most of it and have the parts relevant to us. We can remove all this stuff about Israel. That was just failed plan in the past after all. The Gospels are nice, but we really only need the death and resurrection of Jesus. Paul’s epistles are good, but that’s only when they tell us what we need to do. We can appreciate Revelation because it just satisfies our curiosity about the end times because hey, that’s why it had to be written. Right?

What happens as a result? We go to church and then we wind up leaving being good people, which I’m not objecting to, and then think that we’ve reached the goal. God broke us of our bad sinful habits. Thanks to God, we gave up smoking or stopped abusing our wives or learned to be patient or found a hope in life and hey, that’s the point. None of those are bad things, but what if the end is actually not us. What if, shock of shocks, it’s not all about us?

We do tend to end the story with us. In this case, God becomes a means to an end. I need to lose those extra twenty pounds. God should help me. I need to learn to calm down. God should help me. I need to get a new job. God should help me. I need to overcome my addiction to alcohol. God should help me. Now, of course, God can and will help those who earnestly want help, but it doesn’t mean that’s the sole goal. Once that has happened, the story hasn’t ended. That would be like saying that once a couple goes to the altar and says “I do” to each other, then the story is completed. No. It’s only just begun.

You see, God didn’t create us to turn us into good people. He created us so we could rule over His creation on His behalf. Did He make Adam and Eve and then say “What can I do to make these two into good people?” No. They were already good. He had an original purpose for them. Rule over creation. That purpose hasn’t changed. God just has to get us in a position where we are fit to rule again.

That means that in our sermons, we need to hear about the story of the Gospel. What is going on in history when Israel acts or when Jesus speaks? What is the historical situation Paul is addressing? All of this matters greatly. None of this will detract from application. It will enhance it.

We also have to stop thinking that being a Christian is all about being a good person. Christians should be good people, but that is not the point. The point of Christianity is to make us ruling people. We are to be Kingdom people. We are to be seeking to bring this world back to God. We are going forth proclaiming a victory. That victory will bring about change in people’s lives as the kingdom of the devil is destroyed bit by bit, but that is not the end. Once you set a prisoner free, you have to give them a purpose in life.

Let’s show our church people that they have a role to play in this cosmic drama. In fact, if C.S. Lewis is correct, you will play a role. You will serve God somehow in this Kingdom. You will do it willingly or unwillingly. This applies even to people who don’t believe in Jesus as Christianity teaches. They will wind up serving God somehow. All their actions will be turned toward their service, but it will benefit them nothing.

Christianity is not all about you. It’s not all about making you a changed person. God is not a means to an end. He is the end. He is the point of all that we do. God is not here to enhance your glory. You are here to enhance His.

In Christ,
Nick Peters

My Annual Halloween Post

What are my thoughts on Halloween? Let’s plunge into the Deeper Waters and find out.

You have to love it when the holiday season comes around. We get all the regular crowd coming out and condemning Christians for following pagan festivals. How do we know they’re pagan? Well, we read it on the internet and we know it is. Either that or we heard it from a preacher and we know it is. Unfortunately, many such people have not done their own research at all. So what do I think of the matter?

Having seen so many of these claims show up bogus, I just don’t take them seriously anymore, but I’ll go further than that. I’ll go further and say it doesn’t even really matter. If you go out on Halloween and dressed up in a costume or your kids are dressed up and you’re getting candy, you are not preparing their souls to be possessed by demons. In fact, if you think going out and getting candy is enough to send your children flying into the arms of satan, then I think you have worse problems, such as what kind of flimsy faith are you passing on to your children?

One illustration I like to use is a wedding ring. Let’s suppose you could convince me beyond a shadow of a doubt that wedding rings are really pagan in origin. Am I taking mine off? Not a chance whatsoever. I know why I put on that ring, to begin with. I didn’t do it to honor a pagan deity. I did it to honor God and my wife. No pagan deity is involved. What I did I did in service to God because the pagan deities aren’t real.

In fact, it’s sad to me that so many Christians are concerned about their children falling into the arms of the devil, but have done nothing to equip their children with good Christian apologetics to overcome the lies of the culture around them. Even if not that, what other threats are out there? Are you preparing your children with good sexual ethics and a worldview that has a place for sex for when that temptation comes up? Are you preparing them to answer questions they’ll get from an atheist professor in a classroom someday about their faith? Are you preparing them to not fall in love with their possessions or other addictions out there? I guarantee you we are losing more young people to a culture of wanton sexuality, atheism, and materialism than we are to Halloween.

I don’t doubt that many of you do want to be God-honoring in this, and that’s great, but also try to realize that your fellow Christian can celebrate Halloween and do so with a clear conscience. Too many Christians don’t do that and then think that they are more righteous for their neighbor for doing such. In that case, then they have fallen into pride. Now, of course, you can give your reasons why you don’t, but listen to what your neighbor says. Maybe something you’ve believed is wrong.

If you hear a preacher or someone else say something about Halloween, by all means, look it up. To use an example, I had some friends getting into Jim Staley’s material on Christmas once. I emailed Staley’s organization and asked for references to Mithras being born on December 25th. The references I received had nothing specific and were quite outdated. I pointed this out to them and asked them for something more.

That was over a year ago. I’m still waiting to hear back.

You might say that this is common knowledge, but common knowledge is commonly wrong. I have seen so many claims disproven such as people used to think the Earth was flat that I have learned to question all these claims. Unfortunately, this time of year Christians fail at that.

If you showed up on our door this evening, you’d find candy waiting there for you. We would love to have you. By the way, we’re also not giving out tracts. I’m all for sharing the Gospel, but make your house one a child will be happy to come to and one they don’t think they’re being preached at. Give the best candy on the block. Show them that you’re a house they are welcome at. This is one day that you have little children coming to your door. Welcome them.

When Jesus came to this Earth, He didn’t come just to redeem sinners. He came to redeem the world. This planet is not an accident. He means to reclaim it for the Father. That means every day belongs to Jesus. Halloween does too. Could some occultists and others misuse the day? Sure. They can do that with any day. That does not mean fear of them dominates us. We’re Kingdom people. Let’s live like it.

In Christ,
Nick Peters

Questions That Matter

Are we really thinking about the things that matter? Let’s plunge into the Deeper Waters and find out.

My mother-in-law recently got Allie and I watching This Is Us. I find it interesting that it’s got Justin Hartley who played the Green Arrow on Smallville in it, but that’s beside the point. It’s a good show and gives a lot of different perspectives on issues. In the last new one, Hartley’s character was babysitting his nieces and got asked a question ultimately about death. It’s hysterical how he just ends up causing chaos with the whole situation having his nieces worried about the deaths of their parents.

Yet it got me pondering.

You see, we all know kids are going to ask the hard questions. If you’re a parent, you expect that. How many commercials and stories do we see that are about the dreaded question of “Where do I come from?” or “How are babies made?” Of course, those are fine questions to ask and we should be glad children start asking those questions because they are thinking about difficult issues. My concern today is that we don’t think about those issues anymore.

In internet debates and elsewhere, we will often find ourselves thinking about the big questions. Is there a God? What is the nature of right and wrong? What does it mean to be a human being? What happens to us after we die? Of course, we come to radically different conclusions on these questions. The problem it looks like in our culture is that we don’t really even ask the questions anymore. Most people do not really spend a lot of time thinking about such questions. It could be one way in which we are “amusing ourselves to death.” I’m not opposed to entertainment, but it has often been done as a way to avoid any deep thinking.

Even if we accept the “Biblical” answers, what then? Is there a God? Yes. Okay, well what’s He like? He’s good and loving. Okay. What do those mean? We could keep going on and on. What happens when you die. “You go to Heaven or Hell.” Okay. What is Heaven and what is Hell? Listening to some Christians, you’d think Heaven is just supposed to be a big reunion and God is kind of there as an afterthought. Is it any wonder some young people look at our description of Heaven a lot of times and ask “Am I going to be bored in Heaven?” (Which is another good question we should be asking.)

Keep in mind we are going to make mistakes along the way with the questions. Of course, we will. I can guarantee you that I teach a number of things that are wrong. Why do I teach them? Because I don’t know what they are! I just know that Christianity is a big field and I seriously doubt I am the one person in history who has got everything right. We just need to ask the questions and encourage the church to ask the questions and never shy away from them. We often dread people asking questions about our Christianity, quite likely because we’ve never thought about them ourselves. I don’t. I relish it. It is wonderful.

We need to get our priorities straight. If you’re more interested in finding out the truth about your favorite TV show, movie, video game, sports team, etc. than you are about what you claim is foundational in your life, then you have a problem. Enjoy the other things of course, but remember they can never be God.

In Christ,
Nick Peters

Book Plunge: Paul The Ancient Letter Writer

What do I think of Jeffrey Weima’s book published by Baker Academic? Let’s plunge into the Deeper Waters and find out.

Writing letters nowadays is a lost art. Very few people do anything like that with email being available now. In the digital age, it’s hard to think about what it was like in prior ages, especially in an oral age. When you wrote a letter, you had to use few words and say much with those words. It was timely and expensive.

Paul in writing would have to be a master and demonstrate masterful rhetoric to get his point across. Unfortunately, in our society we see that as a negative where rhetoric has in fact become a word to refer to talk without substance. In Paul’s day, it would mean making a great substance for a talk using keywords.

Also, we have to understand the mood of the day. Was Paul engaging in emotional blackmail to Philemon? Were Paul’s greetings or closings just throwaway material? Can there really be anything in a simple benediction or introduction? What difference does it make to list the names of people you were with as you start or introduce a letter?

Fortunately, we have Jeffrey Weima’s book to help with this. Weima goes through each section of a letter wrestling with the implications of what is meant. Of course, no thorough analysis of long letters like Romans or 1 Corinthians are available and we can only touch some of the letters like Galatians or 2 Thessalonians. Still, what there is dealt with should be grabbed onto.

There is also looking as I said at the introduction and closings. For instance, Galatians 1 starts with saying “And all the brothers and sisters with me.” Is Paul just being friendly here? Nope. Paul is pulling weight. He is saying he is not just a lone wolf apostle. He is saying that he is backed by all of the brothers and sisters there. Not just some. All of them. Immediately the Galatian hearers would know that if they challenged Paul back, it would be a challenge against not just him, but several others.

When Paul lists who he is with, is there something to this? Yes. In his closings, Paul often makes some final appeals and usually has his autograph statement to show that it is his letter. Compare the names in Colossians with those in Philemon. Is Paul again pulling weight?

We often look at the body and can miss some of the main points Paul makes because we don’t think the way Paul did. We miss ideas like chiasms for instance, such as Paul speaking about sending Timothy in 1 Thessalonians. We also miss that if he sends Timothy, it’s a big deal, since Timothy is practically his right-hand man. We can miss that in the correspondence in 2 Thessalonians, Paul seven times refers to his audience as “brothers and sisters.” Let’s not get so caught up in the argument that we miss underlying points.

Weima wraps this up in the end by looking at Philemon as a case study. It’s a good and short letter and everything he mentioned is in it. When you finish it, you’ll get more out of Philemon than you ever did before.

This work will give you plenty to think about. I would have liked seeing some more interaction with the idea of secretaries. If we say Paul wrote the letter, just how much did he write. Was this the master craftsmanship of a secretary or of Paul? After all, we know some of his letters, and quite likely all, were written with the help of secretaries. Just how much did Paul influence?

This is a good book still that you will want to add to your library. It’s a wonderful look at the Greco-Roman rhetorical style for writing. Your reading of Paul’s letters will never be the same.

In Christ,
Nick Peters

 

Deeper Waters Podcast 10/29/2016: Kim Wier

What’s coming up? Let’s plunge into the Deeper Waters and find out.

As we near the season of Halloween once again, I am bringing on another guest for our fourth Halloween of doing so to talk about the holiday. This year we’re not really talking about ghosts and the occult. Instead, we’re talking specifically about how Christians can celebrate Halloween. What can families do to honor God on this day? This is especially so since this is a day many Christians see as honoring the devil.

Recently on the blog, I reviewed the book Redeeming Halloween. The book has two co-authors and we are going to have one of them coming on the show. Kim Wier will be joining us to talk about her book and what we can do as Christians. Also, she will be joining us for only an hour. (And for all interested, I do have someone working on the sound on some of the past podcasts to get it properly fixed so we can release those.)  So who is Kim Wier?

kim-wier

I am the mom of grown kids – who are still doing some growing up. All are gainfully employed so I am one happy mom and now a new grandmother – and a busy woman.  Like many of you, I’m sandwiched between a growing family and growing older parents. I have a kind and funny husband who has been my partner in this life for 30 years now and who is thrilled we are finally empty nesters. Well, almost empty nesters – if you don’t count the pig, the dogs, the cats, the bird and other sundry critters. And I am blessed to have a circle of friends who have taught me much. That is my real life. When I am not doing family, I am a writer, a Bible teacher, a speaker and a talk radio host.  My passion is engaging women in an exciting life of faith, because from there, everything else makes sense.  I’ve authored four books, written more than 1000 newspaper columns, hosted a radio program for 11 years and traveled the country engaging women with the Word of God and each other.

Like you I am on the journey of being God’s woman in the 21st century.  It involves joys and struggles, heartbreaks and triumphs.  It is both hard and easy.  It takes incredible strength and fully embracing our weaknesses.  Being a woman is the most blessed position in all creation – but being God’s woman is the most privileged. It is an honor to engage with other women from all walks of life, backgrounds, and seasons of life who share our enviable position as God’s beloved daughters.

She is also a graduate  of Stephen F. Austin Statue University with a degree in Journalism and an author of 4 books and a freelance writer with 1000+ newspaper columns as well as a contributor to Christian publications – current article on Halloween on Focus on the Family http://www.focusonthefamily.com/parenting/holidays/should-my-family-celebrate-halloween. She’s also a  Radio Talk host- 11 years, currently KSBJ in Houston.
If you’re a parent with children wondering how to spend the holiday, this will be a show for you. I encourage you to be listening. I am working on getting the new shows out as soon as I can. Also, please go on Itunes and leave a positive review of the Deeper Waters Podcast.
In Christ,
Nick Peters

Book Plunge: Redeeming Halloween

What do I think of Kim Wier and Pam McCune’s book published by Tyndale House? Let’s plunge into the Deeper Waters and find out.

Halloween can be an odd time of year. A lot of Christians actually really look forward to it. A lot of other ones dread when this event comes around. You can find many houses with decorations all around meant to spook and delight. Others with the lights turned off and wanting to hide more than a nuclear launch site.

For my family, it was never an issue. I went out every year that I could. In fact, I shocked my wife earlier this week by saying I never even went through all of my candy. I’ve never been much of a candy guy. It was more fun just going around in costume. (Either Link from the Legend of Zelda or a ninja were my favorites.) My wife, on the other hand, had it different. Her family for awhile was afraid of pagan connotations. This was a concept that I would not have understood then, but growing up I have seen more and more that Christians can be afraid of anything if you just say “This has pagan origins.”

In Redeeming Halloween, Wier and McCune look at Halloween and how it can be observed by Christians without having to sell out as it were. The book has both history and application. The history was the part I was looking forward to the most and I wish that there had been a little bit more there. Some parts though I am questionable on. It is false indeed that Constantine declared Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire. That was actually done in 380 by Theodosius. I also question the idea that Christmas was a date taken from the pagans and that December 25th was the day they celebrated the winter solstice.

Still, there were some interesting things in the history. I find the tale of the origin of the Jack-o-Lantern to be interesting and I have found some independent confirmation that turnips were originally used before pumpkins. I certainly think that was a step in the right direction.

Some of the events for kids could be interesting. I like that many of them centered around history in that Halloween originates around a day to remember the saints who have died before. Many of the activities invite us to think about what it would have been like to have been a Christian when the Roman Empire was opposed to Christianity or to be a Christian in areas today where Christianity is still opposed, such as heavily secular or Muslim countries. This will also get young people interested in history and Christian history as well and get them out of the “me-centered” thinking that we have today. By all means enjoy the candy and such, but also realize there is much to learn about from the world around you and that many Christians care a lot more about other things than “feeling good about themselves.”

As someone who is not a parent, I could not relate to a lot of the parental advice yet, but that doesn’t mean that parents will not. Thus, I’m not the best one to speak on that point. I do think that most parents will certainly find something that their children can enjoy in this book.

The book will be an interesting read if you’re looking for ideas on how to spend the Halloween season. Like I said, I would have liked to have seen more on history, but I’m glad to see it wasn’t entirely ignored. I also appreciate that history came rightly before application. (If only some pastors would learn that lesson!) If you want to know how to spend Halloween, this could be a good book to consider.

In Christ,
Nick Peters

What Do You Want To See?

What can we do here? Let’s plunge into the Deeper Waters and find out.

In this post, I just really want to get some feedback from you all. You see, we have a new website address if you haven’t noticed. Have you been going to ddns.net? Look up at this page now. It’s listed as Deeperwatersapologetics.com. I’m quite pleased with the website, but at the same time, I do want to have more than just a blog page.

So now I turn it over to you. I really want to hear from you as much as I can. If you like this page, and I hope you do, what do you want to see? I will give some suggestions as well so you can see if you like them and I’ll see how many of them my webmaster can do.

If you follow me on Facebook, many of you have said you like my marriage posts that I make every morning except for Sunday. I have been told I need to start a site for those. I would prefer to just set up a separate page on here for those. They could be marriage minutes as it were that can be referenced and discussed. I happen to think that good marriage is essential to good apologetics today.

I would also like to get a better indexing system in somehow rather than just the regular search engine. If you want to look up a post about Richard Carrier, just go to a C area and look for Carrier. If you want to see a book, just go to a book section and see if I’ve responded to it.

I would have no complaints if a forum got started for discussing views as well. Keep in mind I don’t know how much of this is really feasible or not. In all honestly, many times I do not get notified about your comments so sometimes they slip through. I do not really mean this and I am not sure how to fix it. Someone else really handles all of those kinds of issues for my page.

Having said all that, I throw it out to you. What do you like when you come here? What do you not like? If you are a regular reader, what keeps you coming back for more? Have you ever thought “I really like to see what he says, but I would like it more if X were the case.”? If so, now is the time to let me know about it.

What about the podcast and our YouTube channel? Do you like the way that those are going? Yes. I do realize we need to update the feed some. That is still being worked on, but overall, are you pleased with the episodes that we have and with the people that are brought on? Do you find it beneficial and is there anything that could be done to make it more beneficial?

I leave this all up to you. I’m talking with my webmaster about what we can do with the site. I would like to hear your honest feedback as well and I will take all ideas into consideration. Please let me know.

In Christ,
Nick Peters

Book Plunge: Defending Constantine

What do I think of Peter Leithart’s book published by IVP Academic? Let’s plunge into the Deeper Waters and find out.

If you want to go see a bad guy in secular history, you go with Hitler. If you want to see a bad guy in religious history, you go with Constantine. If anything has gone wrong in church history, somehow it’s connected with Constantine. Everything went wrong with him. From the average internet skeptic, you’ll hear that Constantine dominated the Council of Nicea or chose what books would be in the New Testament or changed the date of the Sabbath.

Historically, there are real questions about Constantine. Did he really have a conversion? Was he just an opportunist? What about the claim that he murdered his own family? Was he just a showman?

These are real questions.

Leithart takes an interesting look at these questions. He starts the stage not with Constantine but with what went on before Constantine. What was the state of the Roman Empire and how did that lead up to Constantine? Then once he got into office, what happened? How did he handle the Arian controversy? How did he handle the donatists?

Leithart also looks at the impact that Constantine had. What is the relationship between the government and religion? Does Jesus really have anything to say about how a country is run? Does Christianity have anything to say about a Caesar being a Christian?

What about questions of pacifism? Were Christians serving in the Roman military before Constantine came along? Was the church pacifist and then when Constantine came they became more hawkish? Leithart looks at this question as well.

If Constantine did not cause a major theological shift, did he cause any shift? What was the world like pre-Constantine and what is it like post-Constantine? Has Christianity been forever damaged because of the actions of Constantine?

It’s important to note that this is a defense of Constantine. While Leithart wants to show that many of our viewpoints on Constantine are just wrong or not very fair, this does not mean that Constantine was a Messiah. The case is not being made that we should start speaking about Saint Constantine. It is just being said that we should seek to understand Constantine in his historical and social context.

I do wish there had been more on other issues. It’s important that Leithart does respond to scholarly objections, but more and more in our day, we need responses to non-scholarly objections as well. Leithart does rightly speak on Nicea and show that Constantine did not dominate it, but it would have been nice at this point to have shown that a lot of popular myths about Nicea are just myths. These are the myths that the Sabbath was changed at Nicea or that the canon of the New Testament was decided at Nicea. The scholars might not really discuss that seriously, but that does not mean it’s not what the average Christian hears regularly.

Overall, this is an interesting read. It will definitely give you some to think about. If you want to see if there could be any good from Constantine, then get this book and see what Leithart has to say.

In Christ,
Nick Peters