by Jonathan Shelton, University Junior at Lenoir Rhyne University and member of Ratio Christi, attended the recent atheist Reason Rally in Washington DC
The Reason Rally was a big experience for me. It was my first mission trip. The people I engaged with were fairly well read and many had developed hostility towards the Gospel. I was humbled when I did not always have the best answer (or an answer at all) or when I failed to maneuver conversations with wisdom and grace. I also found the balance of using scripture and extra-biblical apologetic arguments a tough line to walk in the heat of a conversation, but ultimately I trust in God's sovereignty over our errors and His Spirit's sanctifying power to give me greater discernment for evangelism in the future.
by Chris Van Allsburg, Ratio Christi Chapter Director at Lenoir Rhyne University (used by permission from vanallsblog)
Daniel is a home-schooled high school senior who attends Ratio Christi meetings from time to time and came with us to the Reason Rally in order to engage in rational dialogue with the many atheists present on the mall between the Capitol Building and the Washington Monument. The mist and rain bathed us intermittently beneath the canopy of a gray, solemn sky that hung overhead like a lid on a jar. No real hope of the sun breaking through today to warm our weary bones from an all-night bus trip from Greensboro to Washington.
The captive prisoner smiles as he notes he has been awaiting trial for two years now. The crime? Stealing a pack of gum. "I'm so very happy you've come to see me," he says to his American visitor. In the upper portion of this South American prison, where beatings and filth co-join as malevolent twins in a quagmire of bureaucratic arrest, the professor of criminology stares in awe at the man's happy demeanor. He notices the prisoner's Bible on the shelf of his cell, along with a picture of Jesus in a state of downcast agony, a head full of thorns with blood dripping down like sweat, and the deep lines of a worn, weary man etched into his face. "Not the handsome, happy, American Jesus," the professor tells the audience.
by Glenn Smith, Chapter Director at Texas A&M University
Ratio Christi operates differently from how Christian apologetics have traditionally been done. In the past, apologists were alone, doing work that was breaking new ground. Therefore, the only avenue available to them was through teaching, writing books and articles, and debates. So, when Ratio Christi came along, many Christians and apologists simply did not understand how we went about our work. From the perspective campus directors, we are finding that the Christian community needs an explanation of what we are not . . . and what we are.
“We MUST double the number of students getting an M.A. in Apologetics”
Rick Schenker, President of Ratio Christi
Ratio Christi is deploying apologists to grassroots assignments all over the country. They are putting “boots on the ground” at universities throughout the nation. Their biggest need is more trained apologists. Prior to Ratio Christi’s emergence on the scene of the apologetics movement, there was a “white elephant” standing in the room of almost every Masters level apologetics class. No one wanted to mention it, but it was on everyone's mind. The white elephant was the question, “What am I going to do with all this training once I am finished?”
We are all called to carry out the great commission, but who really holds the office of an evangelist?
Many Christians would describe an evangelist as someone that travels from church to church to preach messages. Their messages inspire believers to give to ministries that focus on taking the gospel to the unreached. Perhaps they would mention someone that preaches a message to bring revival to the church and convince people we bring to their meetings to become a follower of Christ. The right answer, however, according to Ephesians chapter 4, is that the evangelist is a person who equips believers to “do the work of the ministry so that they may build up the church.” That means the person who gives us the intellectual ability to answer the questions and objections of family and friends is really acting in the office of the evangelist. By training believers to give a reasonable answer, these people are probably doing more to win people to Christ than many traveling preachers. Apologetics is the branch of Christian theology that seeks to address the intellectual obstacles that keep people from taking faith seriously, and therefore it is the apologist who is the true evangelist.
“The Ratio Christi group here at Lenoir-Rhyne University in Hickory, North Carolina is doing very well. We will continue to meet during the summer as there is still interest from members of the community and also students who will be staying in the area. Amazingly, even after exams were over and the students had gone home, one young man drove an hour from his home to attend our 7:00 am Ratio Christi meeting, and another young lady drove 3 hours! It is so encouraging to see such serious commitment and spiritual hunger in these students.” Julia Byrd, (graduating senior, and one of the clubs founders).
Rick Schenker, President of Ratio Christi said, “I am very proud of these students at Lenor-Rhyne. Not only are they excited to learn how to fulfill our mission to Defend Truth & Christianity at the University, they have taken our “no competition zone” policy so seriously that they meet at 7:00 a.m. so they don’t interfere with the meetings of other campus ministries.”
