RC Talk - The Official Blogs of Ratio Christi Chapters

What are the inherent philosophical presuppositions about the nature of society and about society’s relation to the individual?

“Supporters of same-sex marriage believe that ALL traditional notions about gender, marriage and family result from artificial social institutions rather than from an immutable human nature endowed to us by God or nature.  This is the social construction theory of human nature and institutions.

Contrast this with what opponents of same-sex marriage believe to be true.  They maintain that sexual egalitarianism, the belief that all sexual practices are equal, is false.  They hold that informed consent is not a necessary condition for an act to be permissible legally or morally.  And they assert that traditional notions of gender, marriage and family are best understood as the result of moral reflection on human nature and history.  However varied these notions have been expressed throughout history, they are part of the furniture of the universe and are essential to maintaining the moral ecology of society.”

Quoted from the book “Relativism: feet firmly planted in mid-air,” by FJ Beckwith and G Koukl Baker Books, 1998, pages 120-121.

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The upcoming vote on North Carolina's constitutional amendment draws attention to the ongoing debate about the position government should take on the issue  of homosexual marriage. This topic of same-sex marriage is extremely controversial, and discussion on the topic is often heated. I believe that many people miss the key point of this debate.   

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by Josh Welch (RC Member & Student at Ohio University)

In American pop culture, Christians who share their faith (or even admit to believing in Christ) are viewed with disdain and perceived as threatening. Of course, a few Christians do act like jerks, but this is not why people are so upset at Christians. In fact, it is evangelism itself that upsets them. I was discussing this topic with someone once, and in a burst of passion, she finally admitted what upset her about evangelism. “You Christians think you’re right!” she burst out.

The fact that Christians claim to have the truth is offensive. It flies in the face of the widely held idea that questions of morality and religion are open to individual interpretation. Nobody has any right to tell another person that what he is doing is wrong. I mean, who do these Christians think they are? They have no right to tell others that the way they're living is wrong, right? As one author put it, “The freedom of our day is the freedom to devote ourselves to any values we please, on the mere condition that we do not believe them to be true.” Most people in our culture hold this view, though they may not ever consciously realize it.

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by Josh Welsh (RC Member & Student at Ohio University) 

One of the arguments atheists most frequently raise against the existence of God is the problem of evil. What they don’t realize is that evil is a bigger problem for atheism than for theism.

Simply stated, the problem of evil is as follows:

1. If God exists, then he is all-powerful and perfectly good
2. A perfectly good God would want to put  an end to evil
3. An all-powerful God could put an end to evil
4. Evil exists
5. Therefore, a God who is both all-powerful and perfectly good does not exist

The argument hinges upon showing a logical contradiction between God’s character and the existence of evil. However, the two do not necessarily contradict. One plausible way of reconciling the two relates to the idea of free will.

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The Ohio University chapter of Ratio Christi  is looking for someone who has or is working on a master's degree in apologetics, or has other significant apologetics training, who is interested in becoming a full-time apologist at the university and in the local community. The position at OU is a Ratio Christi-supported missionary position and leaders at RC OU are eager to help the right person raise his or her support in the local area. The position could start as early as January 2012, so please apply immediately.

Please forward a letter of inquiry and resume outlining your background and why you are interested in this position to info@ratiochristi.org or contact us here.

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"We dream of a day when the university will radiate with faithful followers of Christ, who present a brilliant and beautiful Christ to the world and engage in their scholarly work and life as fully integrated, fully devoted worshippers."

If you are sensing God’s calling to the academy, if you value the life of the mind and see it as integral for the fulfilling of the Great Commission, or if you are a grad student on a secular campus and wonder “How do I navigate this as a Christian?” then this project is for you.

The 2 week event, organized by Faculty Commons, will focus on five areas: how to study the Scripture, how to integrate your faith with your scholarship, how to grow in Christ, how to share your faith, and how to survive, even thrive, in the (often) turbulent waters of graduate school.

For details and application information see http://vocaresp.wordpress.com/  

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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.

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“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?”

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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.

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