UTT - Blog Post 2

"As you share your faith with your friends, what are some things that you need to keep in mind to be an effective witness?"

There are, honestly, a lot of things that one must keep in mind to be an effective witness, especially among one's friends. But, there are a few specific topics that stand out in my mind as ones that should be discussed.

        First of all, there is the idea that I (for hypothetical and real situations, I will be using myself as an example for convenience), as a Christian witness, will always be watched in whatever I am doing, and all Christians will be judged as a result. It’s not enough to act right most of the time and then slip up every once in a while, because it’s the slip-ups that will be the ones leaving a lasting impression on a person. Every moment of my life is a picture of who a Christian is—and if that moment falls, then I am not who I claim to be. I know that my tennis friends from Highline have told me before that the way I act is different than a lot of other kids because I don’t engage in the cursing, fighting, or other commonplace activities around the school, and that really encourages me because it shows that I’m standing out rather than blending in, which is my original intention. If they want to see what a Christian is like, I can only hope that they would look at me and see what that means.

        But, at the same time, we must realize that “being apart” from people doesn’t mean acting above them—far from it, in fact. Everyone is human, fallen, and heading to the same place. Just because we see a way out doesn’t make us any better than them over it. Honestly, we’re all human, we all have failings, it’s just how we deal with those shortcomings that make us who we are. If we use those failings to relate to people and show them just how alike we are, we can reach out to them in empathetic ways that we couldn’t have reached before. Besides, let’s be honest: anyone who acts arrogant or high-handed with someone else just puts their back up in the first place and leaves them so defensive that they will be unresponsive and even hostile to whatever they’re trying to say. I’ve seen it waaaay too many times.

        Further, relating to the empathizing point, we can take that a step further and learn to converse rather than attack another person. One of the best things a Christian who is acting as a witness can say is that they “don’t know” the answer to something or to acknowledge a good point in a discussion rather than trying to force out an unsatisfactory, even insulting answer to a question. Being real with a person about what you do or don’t know is always appreciated—I know that one for a fact. If you can’t be completely truthful with the person that you’re trying to witness to, then you shouldn’t be out there telling them to be something you can’t; after all, isn’t one of the most powerful Christian qualities honesty and, by extension, integrity?

        Finally, I’ll wind this down by pointing out how necessary being informed can be. If you don’t know anything about Islam and you’re trying to witness to a Muslim, it probably won’t go nearly as well as if you had read up on Pantheism before going to talk to a Hindu. Finding knowledge on a subject is huge because it shows a respect for the other person, their beliefs, and how seriously you are taking the time that you spend with them. It’s worth its weight in gold, believe you me.

        There are so many things that a Christian can do to be an effective witness, but these are just the few that popped into my head as I mulled this question over. As I think of more, I’ll probably update this into something like a list. =3

UTT - Blog Post 1

"What is a worldview and how do I go about developing a Christian Worldview?"

     Well, a worldview is, to be rather tongue-in-cheek, the way one views the world. To expand on that, it would be the ethics, morals, beliefs, and actions of a person--mainly, what drives them to think, speak, or act the way that they do. It can be imagined like a pair of glasses through which someone sees the world: Maybe a Christian would see the events that happen through one types of lenses, while a Secular Humanist would experience the exact same events and come away with a different opinion.
     To develop a Christian worldview, which is definitely not an easy task, one must know what they believe and why they believe it, and how that applies to their lives. It takes a change of mind from our self-focused sensibilities to something far more God-focused, which requires His help because we can't do it on our own.

Citation:
The UTT Textbook provided general ideas for this answer

LA 12 -- Mere Christianity

Well, I chose to tackle a touchier question than most, and if anyone other than the teacher sees this, I may be getting some...interesting responses. But, here we go:


I disagree with this statement, and would love to take the time to explain why:
9.       The more discoveries Science makes, the more Science becomes at odds with the teachings in the Bible.


     In my opinion, the subject of science versus religion is one of the most heated topics today in the scientific community, with the main point of the attack being led by the waves of evolutionary, secular-oriented scientists attacking the bastion of religious-minded philosophy that has been the base of science since time immemorial. Ever since Darwin's "Origin of Species" rocketed onto the scene, this debate has raged. One of the key points in the battle is the idea that science, which people take to mean Evolutionary theory--and possibly our scientific advances in all--disproves the "purely religious" text on which religious scientists base their own worldviews. I would wholeheartedly disagree with that statement for a number of reasons.
     For one thing, so much of science today is theory, and that is the issue. Evolution is not, as treated so often in the scientific and public communities, a fact. Now, I can understand the argument that the Bible is not as well, but I will deal with that in the next paragraph, so just hang on to that protest for a sec, okay? To continue, Evolution does not hold the proof that it needs--so much of the evidence today, such as Lucy, the Cro-Magnon Man, and more are all fabricated from small pieces and the rest reconstructed according to the scientist's "best guess," and even carbon-dating is used only to validate the scientist's "projected opinion" rather than provide an accurate date of the substance tested--and the desperate search and hullabaloo whenever another "example" is found lead me to believe that they have not, as of yet, discovered something valid enough to put this argument to rest. So, without the proof necessary to take this Evolutionary theory to a fact, science cannot simply eliminate religion out of hand like they claim it can.
     As well, the crux of religious science is based on the Bible, which holds historical and factual relevance to a point that evolution, the "secular religion," cannot match. For example, the Bible has proven useful to both historians and archaeologists as a startlingly useful resource in locating ancient biblical sites such as Sodom and Gomorrah  as well as placing certain historical events like the sun standing still for a day--a formerly outlandish  concept first found in the book of Joshua and yet proven by computing technology to be true in the last few years. Further, the "strange, restricting, and useless" laws that have been under such controversy have been revealed to be common remedies to many health issues--as things such as eating blood and raw meat have been proven to be quite unhealthy. So, from those respects, the Bible has a base layer of truth to it that the scientific alternative cannot provide.
     Moreover, the basic principles and complex discoveries of science are related to the Bible rather than negating it. As we delve deeper into the realms of biology, anatomy, and the organic sciences, we find an inset order and stunningly well-arranged system of organs, neurons, electrons, and so much more. By chance alone, it is said, it would take such an improbable number of years that it would round out to infinity, and thus be impossible according to logic. At the same time, this complexity lends itself to the idea of some designer behind such a complex and intelligently-made piece of work, for which the Bible has an answer. One Christian author said that, "Science cannot be used to prove the existence of God," but I would disagree because we can use science to see His handiwork. We can't see the wind, but we see when it makes branches dance in the open, clear air, don't we? That is the crux of my argument. Science, in itself, does not disprove the Bible as it advances--rather, it can lead to discoveries regarding the validity of both the book itself and the Author behind it.

I hope that is said nicely--I didn't go for a conclusion because it felt repetitive and I already used up past my 3 paragraphs. =)