LogosTalk

My Christian tradition has heroes like every other. This is good, at least when the heroes are good; it’s biblically sound to have heroes (Heb 12:1). The Bible itself offers its (nonetheless flawed) characters in part as moral examples, as heroes. Part of the purpose of the story of Joseph is to make us say, “I ought to be like that”; and Paul outright calls on us all to imitate him, repeatedly (John Frame calls this phenomenon “revelation through persons”).

In my tradition of Reformation Protestantism, all the heroes tend to have arrived on the scene precisely (and this year, I mean precisely) 500 years ago or less. People named “Saint So-and-so” don’t get much airtime.

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Nabeel Qureshi, the subject of a 2015 Bible Study Magazine cover story, died of stomach cancer on Saturday. Guest author Dr. Michael Licona offers this remembrance. 

About 20 years ago, my wife Debbie and I started a small group comprised of a few Christian students at Old Dominion University (ODU) and an English professor there who were interested in becoming more knowledgeable in Christian apologetics. We ended up meeting at our home twice a month. One of those students was David Wood, a former atheist who had been imprisoned for trying to murder his dad. While in prison, David had a radical conversion to Christianity and became a model inmate. After being released, he actually led his dad to Christ, after he had seen David’s radical transformation.

While attending ODU, David had become best friends with a Muslim student. Both were brilliant, had charismatic personalities, and served on the university’s debate team. David asked if he could bring his Muslim friend to our new group. I said that would change the dynamic and, to an extent, the objective of the group. I asked the others what they thought and they agreed to include him. So, David’s friend began coming on a regular basis. That friend was Nabeel Qureshi.

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If you go to seminary, there are a certain tasks you will be asked to do. I don’t have to know which school you’re going to or what classes you’re taking. You’ll be doing these things. Three of them. Promise.

I’ve used pretty much all the major tools out there to do them, and I’m going to show you the best ones—and how to get them for free.

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Truly understanding someone you deeply disagree with is exhausting. It’s a labor of love.

A friend with different politics recently brought up a subject about which I know “my side’s” position but not my own. I sensed he was attacking my tribe, but I couldn’t speak intelligently enough about the issue to have a worthwhile debate. I found my mental energy flagging as soon as this friend brought up the topic.

The same fatigue occurs sometimes when it comes to biblical and theological questions. I sometimes sit staring at my Logos screen wondering whether I have the energy to tackle a given question. I take comfort from two proverbs:

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