Reasonable Faith Adelaide is a Christian apologetics group that is a local chapter of Reasonable Faith in the US, which is led by Dr William Lane Craig. We aim to provide a specific voice on Christian apologetics in South Australia, are non-denominational and adhere to mainstream Christian beliefs as summarized in the Nicene Creed.
The purposes of Reasonable Faith Adelaide are to:
Provide an articulate, intelligent voice for biblical Christianity in the public arena,
Strengthen the faith and foundational beliefs of believers,
Equip believers to engage unbelievers,
Reach out to unbelievers, and
Create an environment in which the Christian faith is perceived as a viable intellectual option such that the gospel can be heard.
The aim will be to provide events that are of interest to people of all persuasions.
I encourage you to invite friends or acquaintances who are likely to be interested in this venture.
We usually meet at 7-9 pm on every 2nd and 4th Thursday of the month via Zoom. Sign up to receive our twice monthly email using the sign up form on the right hand pane. This does not commit you to pay any money and you can unsubscribe at any time.
The wrath of God is not a popular or frequent topic for Sunday sermons. There is more focus on the positive aspects of the Biblical message. Why upset people? Will it offend people? Will it help build a church? Is it an apologetic liability?
However, it is mentioned frequently in the Bible and is a common theme from Old Testament prophets.
It is also a common topic of ridicule cited by Christianity’s opponents. Thus their criticisms should be considered and answered carefully. Otherwise, we fiddle while Rome burns.
Also, is the Biblical teaching on the wrath of God part of the whole counsel of God, and is our proclamation deficient if we ignore or suppress it?
Some of the topics that I will cover are:
My conversion and personal experience,
Does the Bible claim that God can be wrathful?
Historic treatments,
Common objections,
Can it be misused?
The kindness and severity of God, and
Is wrath an essential attribute of God?
Kevin Rogers and William Lane Craig
Dr Kevin Rogers is the director of Reasonable Faith Adelaide. He was an electrical engineer and then became a lecturer, researcher, and research supervisor at the University of South Australia. He is now mostly retired but continues with part-time research. He is also learning New Testament Greek, attends Ingle Farm Baptist Church and is blessed with a wife, 4 children and 8 grandchildren.
Here is Gordon’s summary of what he will be presenting:
Jesus’s instructions to His disciples are: “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cure those with leprosy, and cast out demons. Give as freely as you have received!” Most Christians in the Western world dismiss Matthew 10:8 as absurd and out-of-date babble from another age. They have enough faith to be saved, but zero faith for going further. For many, being led by, and abiding in the Holy Spirit, are evidently nothing but words without power. There are mainstream conservative denominations which, in direct contradiction to our Lord’s instructions, teach that wielding our Lord’s authority is unsound emotional foolery. For example, in the Lutheran church, pastors who get interested in healing and deliverance risk being hauled before their district authorities and held to stern account, or even expelled from their church duties! Demonstrating ‘kingdom authority’ is dismissed as ‘schwarmerei’ (fanatical rubbish). Other traditional churches have a similar attitude. Fortunately, a growing number of Christians recognize the contemporary reality and scriptural authenticity of the authority that they discover in Christ.
Dr Gordon Stanger is a geologist, hydrologist, water resources specialist, and a climate-change impact analyst. He is an RFA committee member and is semi-retired.
The Bible, along with Christianity, is regularly portrayed as being anti-women, misogynistic, responsible for the suppression & oppression of women, and a tool of “the patriarchy” to subjugate women.
On the other hand, Christianity is often accused and derided for appealing more to women than men. Churches seem to have a higher proportion of women than men and this was also true in the early church. So – what is going on? If the stereotype is true, why are women attracted to Christianity more than men are? What are we missing in all this?
Brian’s presentation answers the above questions and will also address the following issues:
What has been the historical norm for relationships between men & women?
What has been the Christian heritage?
How should the Greco/Roman culture be taken into account when interpreting the Bible?
Has Christian teaching and practices failed women?
What are the current popular opinions within Western culture?
Are they a reliable guide for what is right?
What is a Biblical perspective?
What is the difference between authority and value?
Should we preference responsibility or rights?
What is the created order for male and female?
Was Moses enlightened compared with other nations?
What were Paul’s teachings on relationships between men/women and husbands/wives?
Brian Schroeder is a Reasonable Faith committee member. He has BSc and BA degrees from Adelaide University (Computer Science, Physics, Mathematics), and an MA in Theology.
The format will be a presentation followed by open discussion, which will include both local and remote participants. The total meeting duration will be approximately 90 minutes. We follow this with a small supper to encourage social interaction.
When I was a young Christian (in my teens), I thought I knew what the gospel was. It was an explanation of how a person became a Christian. I joined a church youth group, and we explained the gospel to people on Rundle Street using a booklet containing the 4 spiritual laws:
God loves you and offers a wonderful plan for your life,
Man is sinful and separated from God,
Jesus Christ is God’s only provision for man’s sin, and
We must individually receive Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord to be saved.
Eventually, I suspected this definition was simplistic and so I went back to reading the Bible to find out what it said about what the gospel was.
The Sermon on the Mount
Carl Bloch, 1890
So, I did a word search on ‘gospel’, especially in the 4 gospels. I found this approach to be frustrating. There are numerous mentions of Jesus preaching the gospel in the 4 gospels, but the meaning seemed to be assumed rather than defined. Try it yourself and you will see what I mean. However, others have asked the same question as me and there are good answers. The gospel includes how a person becomes a Christian, but there is much more. It also describes how we live in this world and what is our ultimate aim and destiny. It is very important.
Kevin Rogers is the director of Reasonable Faith Adelaide. He was a practising electrical engineer and then became a lecturer, researcher, and research supervisor at the University of South Australia. He is now mostly retired but continues with part-time research. He is also learning New Testament Greek, attends Ingle Farm Baptist Church and is blessed with a wife, 4 children and 8 grandchildren.
On Wednesday the 22nd November 2023 we were privileged to have Ken Samples, from Reasons to Believe (RTB), to speak to us on the big world view questions.
This presentation addressed the following questions:
1. What in the world is a worldview?
2. What does the Bible say about worldviews?
3. What are the four prevalent worldviews today?
4. How do we test worldviews for truth?
5. What makes the Christian worldview unique?
6. Are we experiencing a clash of worldviews today?
This is based on Ken’s Textbook, A World of Difference: Putting Christian Truth-Claims to the Worldview Test (Baker Books, 2007) by Kenneth Richard Samples.
Kenneth Richard Samples earned his undergraduate degree in philosophy and social science from Concordia University and his M.A. in theological studies from Talbot School of Theology. He is a senior research scholar at Reasons To Believe (RTB). He uses his knowledge to help others find the answers to life’s questions and encourages believers to develop a logically defensible faith and challenges sceptics to engage Christianity at a philosophical level.
