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EPS Blog

This is the blog area for the Evangelical Philosophical Society and its journal, Philosophia Christi.

Monday, November 30, 2009

How can Christian Intellectual Leadership Serve Non-Western Cultures?

Many have asked for audio or a transcript of J.P Moreland's EPS reception talk that he gave to a little over one-hundred people at the annual meeting.

While audio or a transcript are unavailable, here are the main points from J.P.'s talk:

  1. The church is exploding all over the world outside Western culture, and the disciples in these countries hold to an overtly supernatural worldview.
  2. The emerging young intellectual leadership in these countries look to the ETS/EPS/SCP for guidance and help.  They read our writings and follow us.  They are confused and hurt when we advance ideas that undermine the commonsense, supernatural worldview of the Bible that they embrace.  Thus, we have a responsibility to do our work in light of how it impacts our brothers and sisters in these countries.
  3. Here are four suggestions for how to better fulfill that responsibility:
  • Work together with others to write books, produce edited works, and so forth.  The synergy of such efforts increases our impact and it models the importance of the body of Christ and cooperation among its members.
  • Produce works that range from popular to technical, but be sure we do not look down upon those who work at the popular end of the spectrum.  The key is to find one's role and play it well.
  • Beware of living for a career and for the respect of the "right" people in the profession instead of living for the Kingdom and seeing one's work as a calling from God rather than a place to re-assure oneself that he/she is respected.
  • Require a burden of proof before one adopts a view, e.g., Christian physicalism, that if read by a brothers and sisters outside Western culture, would hurt their supernatural faith, especially if the view is not one held by a significant number of people in church history and if it is "politically correct" to adopt it under pressure from the academic community.

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2 Comments:

Blogger Andrew Ter Ern Loke said:

Amen! I am a Christian from a non-Western country and I think Dr Moreland is right on target. Let us not seek praises from men but from God (John 7:18) and let us work together for Christ's kingdom.

--Andrew Loke

By Blogger Andrew Ter Ern Loke, at December 13, 2009 at 8:44 AM  

Blogger zsoltáros said:

Dr. Moreland is so right! Trends of secularization, as we had experienced them for the past 100 years in politically charged Eastern Europe, are giving way to previously unimagined opportunities for the Gospel. Authentic Christianity, Kingdom living IS the PROOF that people understand and search for in this new climate. We need each other. Denominations and self-defined sub-categories for Christ's so-called presence are associated with historical malfunctions and empty buildings around here. Loving and truth-ing, hearts and heads used by Christ in His supernatural workings are needed now.

I highly value the work of EPS: learn from it, and use it. And now, thank you for it.

Joseph Novak

By Blogger zsoltáros, at December 15, 2009 at 1:44 PM  

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