Darrell Bock, professor of New Testament at Dallas Theological Seminary, offers some helpful advice on how Christians should respond when there’s a “groundbreaking discovery” like new gospels, ossuaries, tombs, etc., or when popular books take the world by storm to debunk Christianity or attempt to “kill God”. too many Christians, he says, too quickly resort to anger and dismissal, rather than openly and honestly engaging the issues that come up. he offers advice to a wide range of Christians, leaders and lay people, but his advice to individuals is most helpful:

Rather than seeing new media reports as conspiracies to rail against, why not see them as opportunities to discuss faith with friends and neighbors who will find them intriguing? Only we mustn’t do so with an angry or dismissive tone. Rather, we ought to respectfully explain the historic Christian view. Becoming equipped for such discussions may require seminars organized by local churches. Imagine churches working together to help believers contend for the truth in their communities.

of course, as he suggests, being able to explain the historic Christian view takes a concerted effort to become educated, to which he charges church leaders to undertake, but given today’s culture this is something that must be a priority, especially if the church is to continue to carry forth the Great Commission, not only to the far reaches of the earth, but to our immediate communities and cultural contexts. and it’s the Great Commission that i think is the heart of the matter.

Bock’s article is great and i highly recommend reading it. however, i think that while Bock does an excellent job with covering the “how” in getting to the point where Christians, lay and leader, can engage these things, i think he fails to rightly convey the “why” in getting to the point where Christians can intelligently respond. now that may be an unfair charge since his main intent was probably to focus on the “how”, but i’m afraid that a cursory reading of the article could leave people thinking that we need to be educated for education’s sake and to be able to engage the issues of the day intelligently so that we can put those nasty pagans in their place.

but if that’s what one comes away from the article thinking, then the point has been missed. if the motive of engaging the culture is simply to win arguments and appear intelligent, then this is a quick road to engagement becoming heated, tense, and hurtful. in this situation, the engagement, intellectual and informed though it may be, is no better than what is too often the current Christian reaction, namely holing ourselves up and cursing the darkness.

rather, Christians should pursue this education and these engagements of the culture, first, out of love for God, and, second, out of love for one’s neighbor. not for the purpose of winning arguments, but for the purpose of winning hearts. not in the confidence of one’s own knowledge and learning, but in the confidence that God, through his Holy Spirit, is at work in and around them, and it is he alone that opens the mind to discern spiritual things (1 Corinthians 2).

so it’s ok to read The Da Vinci Code or see the movie. it’s ok to read His Dark Materials or see The Golden Compass. it’s ok to watch National Geographic documentaries about tombs and lost gospels, and no one is going to hell for doing any of this. rather, Christians will be living up to their calling to be light in the midst of a dark and twisted generation. so, as Bock concludes his article:

the next time you hear an earth-shattering announcement about Jesus from the media [or hear about the next bestseller that seeks to undermine the Christian faith], don’t get angry. Rather, take three deep breaths, sit down with your Starbucks coffee, and…prepare yourself for the opportunities it presents.