🏛️ Apologetics Fact

People often object to Christianity because they find certain teachings, e.g., homosexuality is a sin, life begins at conception, male headship in the family, etc., to be distasteful. However, something being perceived as bad has no bearing on its reality. Believing humans shouldn't need oxygen to survive will not prevent asphyxiation. This fallacy is called 'Appeal to Consequences' or 'argumentum ad consequentiam.' The consequences of something being true don't change the reality (or unreality) of that truth.

🗣️ Quote

"It has been said that most revolutions are not at first caused by revolutionaries, but by the stupidity and brutality of governments." — Shaun McStephens

🏅 Person: Josh McDowell (1936-)

Born into a difficult family situation that included childhood abuse, McDowell intended to enter politics after a legal career. In college he began writing a research paper to disprove Christianity, but found instead that the evidence for it was overwhelming. Following his conversion, he began working with Campus Crusade in 1964, eventually being appointed as a full-time campus speaker in Latin America before coming back to America, where he would focus on apologetics. His first book, 'Evidence that Demands a Verdict,' is one of the most widely distributed Christian apologetics books in the 20th and 21st centuries. McDowell continues working in apologetics ministry to this day.

📕 Book: The Ugly American

This classic geopolitical novel is set in a fictional East Asian nation with strong resemblances to Vietnam or Burma, and displays the failings of the American diplomatic services as their economic power and arrogance lead to their ignorance of the people they are meant to be befriending, contributing to a rising Communist insurgency. As we see a resurgence in American power internationally, this book is an excellent reminder of how our enemies can turn populations and governments against us.