by Chris Alexion, Copyright March 21, 2007, all rights reserved. 303 views
I just finished reading A Faith to Proclaim, an awesome little book by James Stewart (the 20th-century Scottish theologian, not the actor). I hope to write a short overview of the book later, but in the meantime I'll be posting some of Stewart's more arresting insights. Take, for instance, his stance on apologetics:
And particularly, in this day of rival philosophies and formidable ideologies, it is essential that there should be a reasonable defence of the faith. It is a great thing to be able to show, as I believe we can, that intellectually as well as spiritually Christian doctrine hangs together and makes sense of the world; that, from the point of giving a rational account of the universe, there is more to be said for Christianty than for any of the alternatives.
I would indeed go so far as to suggest that in this matter it is high time we Chrisitans stopped being diffident and apologetic and on the defensive, and carried the war into the opposing camp. The true strategy–when unbelief attacks our Christian faith and labels it credulity, the superstitious expedient of the unintelligent–is to draw attention to the towering, prodigious credulity of the critic himself. . . . [T]he intellectual difficulities in the way of consistent scepticism are ultimately more serious and insurmountable than those in the way of faith.
- James Stewart, A Faith to Proclaim (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1953), p 139
1 • Abigail • March 22, 2007 • 7:12 PM
Great quotes! I'm looking forward to reading the overview.