Apologetic Insights

I have mixed feelings about the field of Christian Apologetics, but I enjoyed Beyond Opinion Ravi Zacharias' newest work because it combines reservations of the heart and the heart regarding Christian faith. A couple of insights that stood out to me:

1. The historical growth of atheism dating from the eighteenth century was fueled in part by the French revolution in which the church was deemed on the side of the establishment, and so an oppressor rather than a liberator. Atheism has since had little appeal when the church is on the side of the people. [p. 25]

This seems to resonate with my experience working with the homeless and my knowledge of the account of Desmond Tutu's autobiography, as well as the incredible account of Archbishop Romero's work in El Salvador.

2. The difference between the way redemptive violence is portrayed in the Koran and the Old Testament is that in the Old Testament the reader is not encouraged to take up arms.

This has been a point of interest for me after reading certain Surah's in the Koran and the Old Testament book of Joshua. I could tell there was an objective difference between the emphasis and intention of the two but this seems to capture the difference.