Australia’s reformed AP evangelical periodical AUSTRALIAN PRESBYTERIAN SPRING 2017 Reason to believe Reaching Muslims Children and Church You visited me Editorial responded by asking them where John unbelievers or for confused believers. the Baptist’s authority to baptise came At times the Bible is rather startling in from. They felt unable to reply, because its approach. When Job has questions to say “From heaven” would raise the about his suffering as a righteous man, issue of why they had not believed God simply tells him that he was not John, and to say “From man” would be there at the creation and is not running risky for the crowd viewed John as a the universe (Job 38). When someone prophet. They took refuge in evasion, wants to question the doctrine of as we do in awkward situations. Their election, Paul responds that we have no pologetics tends to be both dishonesty and hypocrisy, however, right to answer back to God (Rom. 9:20). over-rated and under-rated. It meant that Jesus refused to answer their Apologetics has its place. Like John the Ais true that no one is ever questions (Matt. 21:23-27). Baptist himself, it can point people to converted through apologetics. We can To those who are genuinely struggling Christ, clarify issues, and repudiate easily end out on a pseudo-intellectual with questions, Jesus was tender. When error. Yet it cannot do the work of the merry-go-round where we are “always John was imprisoned, he wondered Holy Spirit, and we should recognise learning and never able to arrive at a how if Jesus was the Messianic king, both its strengths and its weaknesses. In knowledge of the truth” (2 Tim. 3:7). things were not better than they were the end, as Blaise Pascal said of God’s for His followers. Jesus responded by Not all questioners deserve an answer. revelation: “There is enough light for pointing to His own miraculous deeds The chief priests and elders once came those to see who only desire to see, and and to the Old Testament prophecies to Jesus with the question: “By what enough obscurity for those who have a (Matt. 11:1-6; e.g. Isa. 35:5-6). authority are you doing these things, contrary disposition.” and who gave you this authority?” Jesus Apologetics can clear the decks for Peter Barnes Editor Peter Barnes | Social Media Coordinator Rosemary Timmins | Website ap.org.au | Online Blog apmagonline.org Facebook facebook.com/apmagonline Welcome to C17 RELIGION IN THE PUBLIC SQUARE Spread over two days, C17 will be structured as individual presentations followed by interactive discussions. 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We have more reason than ever to trust the New Testament Dr James White talks to Peter Barnes ames White is the director of Alpha 20 years of age. It was founded to give theology. And that theology must be a and Omega Ministries, a us a platform to witness to Mormons, living theology, one born of true Jpresuppositional apologetics for that was the only thing we were commitment to Christ. organisation based in Phoenix, Arizona. focused upon doing. If anyone had told Can we deal briefly with some of Among his many labours, he served as a us at that time what would develop your major areas of interest? What critical consultant for the Lockman over the next third of a century, I think prompted you to write about the Foundation’s New American Standard we would have run for fright! King James Version debate? Bible. He is perhaps best-known for You are perhaps best-known as an In Bible college and seminary I focused having participated in more than 150 author and an apologist. Martyn especially upon the biblical languages, public debates, covering topics such as Lloyd-Jones once commented that textual criticism, and church history, Calvinism, Roman Catholicism, Islam, “Nothing has so caused us to recognising how important these are for Mormonism, the King James Only forget God … as our concern for the work of apologetics, which I had movement, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and apologetics.” Granted that begun in earnest when I encountered my atheism. He has also been an elder of preachers are often guilty of throw - first two LDS (Latter-Day Saints, or Phoenix Reformed Baptist Church since away lines, do you have any Mormon) missionaries shortly after my 1998, and is married with two children. comment on what Lloyd-Jones said? marriage at 19. I was also a double major Tell us something about your in college, studying both Bible and background and how you became The irony is that comes from the biology (minoring in Greek). Working a Christian. Evangelical Magazine of Wales , April of in evangelising Mormons quickly 1981. In context, the doctor was I was born into a Christian family so I brought me questions about Jehovah’s lamenting imbalance, and especially a heard the gospel at a very young age Witnesses and The Way International. deadening spiritual imbalance, in the and I believe I sincerely responded. In the late 1980s I was challenged to church and spiritual life. The entire There are a number of incidents I recall consider the teachings of Rome, and my article is an interesting read, but what is clearly from my youth where I sought first two books, surprisingly to many, ironic is that at that point he seemed to to make the Lord known and call were on that subject. believe that the necessary battle against others to follow Him, though I surely When I was in college I encountered the liberalism was a thing of the past. had no idea that this would lead to the King James Only movement, which was kind of work I am doing today. Surely, if anything has been proven over causing tremendous division among Honestly, in the circles I grew up in, no the past 40 years, that battle never churches in the southern United States. I one did the kind of work I do. ends, and rages today, only under new bought and read a number of the books guises. So in context, he was saying, Could you tell us something of the available back then, and corresponded possibly a bit passionately I admit, Alpha and Omega Ministries, and with some of the leaders of the movement . something I have said many times, and your involvement in it? I did not have serious interaction with it that is that theology determines again until late 1993 when I did a radio My wife and I co-founded Alpha and apologetics, never the other way discussion with Gail Riplinger, author of Omega Ministries along with Mike and around. We cannot enshrine one of the strangest books ever published , Linda Beliveau in 1983. I was a ripe old apologetics first, it must flow from New Age Bible Versions . This large volume “The battle against liberalism never ends, set the standard for the number of utterly absurd logical errors per page of anything and rages today, only under new guises.” I had ever read from Christian or cultist. SPRING 2017 3 The resultant recordings immediately “We possess more reason to hold to the led to a flood of inquiries about how to respond to her, and hence I wrote The accuracy of the transmission of the text of King James Only Controversy over the the New Testament today than any course of about four very intensive months of work (oh to have the preceding generation.” freedom to work like that again!).