Apologetics ch 2 test

Why does McGrath begin with discussing missionaries to China and India? What's his point?

• apologetics always takes place within a specific cultural context

• develop new approaches that resonate with the culture

• know the culture and what will work best for them

what is modernity? how does mcgrath describe it?

its the minds use of focusing on demonstrating the logical and rational grounds of faith - outlook was shaped by a universal human reason, common to all people and times, capable of gaining access to the deeper structures of the world

what does modernity neglect?

the relational, imaginative, and existential aspects of faith

what is the hallmark of good apologetics?

the ability to engage specific audiences

What sort of world do individuals and Christians now inhabit?

a postmodern world - the growing cultural beliefs that modernity had failed and needed to be corrected; leading interpreters views in different ways; rejects uniformitarianism

what does the author recommend as a response to this vast cultural movement?

get a good sense of proportion about the development

what opportunities does this cultural mood represent?

it offers challenges to churches and it forces them to do significant rethinking

"we have to connect to _________________ not with ______________________"

where people are where we think they ought to be

what is the most distinctive feature of postmodernism? how does the author define this feature?

it's rejection of uniformitarianism - there is only one right way of thinking and behaving

what does postmodernism celebrate? what opportunities and challenges does this kind of thinking represent?

diversity; challenges churches to do some rethinking

what does the method of "traditional apologetics" free us to do?

to develop apologetic approaches that are faithful to the gospel and adapted to our own cultural situation

what is "incarnational apologetics"? why has it become influential?

emphasizes the apologetic importance of faithful living; you're sitting with someone in the flesh and showing you care about them : trust, relationships, and love

what is the first step in McGrath's approach? why is it the starting point?

understand the faith- you have to have a good understanding of the Christian faith

you cannot lead someone somewhere you have not been yourself

what is an outsider perspective on faith?

how an unbeliever may respond to core aspects of the gospel

why did the author tell the story about the man who knocked on his apartment door?

he likes to watch things like that on TV, but seeing it in person / firsthand is so different and scary

what kind of evil are we attracted to?

fictional

what 2 things can we notice about moral disagreements?

• we are anxious to show that we have acted rightly

• we want to show others that we act rightly

for what must every worldview or philosophy account?

a story about goodness and one about evil

in what 2 ways do we often disagree with morality?

• about the content of morality (what's right, what's wrong?)

• about our moral theory (what makes something right or wrong?)

what is moral theory?

the nature of morality - an explanation of what makes an action right or what makes a person or thing good

what kind of people do we tend to admire?

people who exemplify whats good

what does the author mean when he says that evil is an intrusion?

when something intrudes, we want to know why

in the christian story, goodness is ______ and evil is a ________

primary; distortion

how do we use the terms good and bad as moral terms even when we are talking about nonmoral things?

when we say someone is a good person - she does good things and embodies good character; she acts as she ought

how is evil characterized?

that "things ought not be this way"

"... vice or evil in a person is a matter of __________ __________."

disordered loves

what if there is no way that things ought to be?

• there can be a way we want things to be but this is just our preferences

• there can be no such purpose or goal unless there is someone to have the goal

a reason that God is good outside of the scripture?

goodness is primary, evil is a distortion

how did music lead to the author's desire for an explanation?

he could find no explanation for the goodness in his life - God had to be real

what was Nietzsche's contribution to understanding our moral judgement?

human communities have always consisted of strong and powerful people as well as weak and powerless people - its all a game

what are moral truths according to Nietzsche?

they do not exist, they are only resentments and strategies to act them out (equalities we value are virtues upside down)

what is the ascetic ideal?

we are obligated to submit our passions and drives to some higher goal or calling - Nietzsche thinks that this is garbage and suppresses your desires and drives; do what you want

"in the christian story, __________ is good for us."

goodness

how is what we want most reflected in a christian view of moral life?

what we would label as bad or evil are the things that undermine the possibility of the quality of the relationships for which we long - the morally good life is the humanly good life

what do all Darwinian explanations of moral practices have in common?

the notion that our current moral practices originated in survival and reproduction

what should give us pause about the Darwinian explanation?

• can't explain why we're obligated to cooperate and have self sacrifice

• there are no objective moral obligations