. You will also post two replies with a minimum of 150-200 words per reply by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Monday of the assigned module: week.
You are required to add and cite content from two sources (scripture, course materials, and or research) in each thread and each reply. A word count is required after each thread and reply. For each thread, you must completely answer the assigned prompt and offer the needed personal reflections required. For each reply, you must also completely address the areas noted in the prompt and provide helpful commentary and reflections on your classmates’ posts.
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Kyndall Brown
05/19/2024
The gospel is the nucleus of any Christian faith, as it is grounded in and offers hope and salvation through Jesus Christ. However, various beliefs and obstacles hinder how this message is presented and accepted. In our culture , beliefs about the gospel message vary widely. Some view it as the literal truth and a source of hope and salvation, while others see it as a myth or a moral guide. Secular views perceive the gospel as one of the many religious stories without exclusive truth.
Emotional reasons that a person could reject the gospel are past experiences with religion, usually of a negative nature. Such experiences would include hypocrisy and the judgmental behavior of Christians (Fingerhut & Prinx, 2020). Another reason is personal suffering and the problem of evil, which may incline a person to doubt if there can be a friendly God.
Moral objections can be alleged when a conflict of interest exists between contemporary ethical standards and traditional Christian teachings. Issues like sexual ethics, gender roles, and social justice can have a tension that makes them repudiate the gospel as old-fashioned or oppressive in nature.
Intellectual reasons primarily lead one to be skeptical about Christianity’s supernatural
elements, such as miracles and the resurrection (Fingerhut & Prinz, 2020). Scientific and philosophical objections can be leveled against the plausibility of the gospel narrative.
For those holding out for the gospel itself, Christians can share it winsomely, leading with—who Christ is and what he has done—bringing the fringe issues to the background and the main things to the center. The testimonies of how Christ met real emotional, moral, and intellectual needs will have a more significant effect (Horowski, 2020). Scrupulously engaging alternate views and addressing head-on the most challenging questions by evidential apologetics may also go some way to reassure intellectual sceptics that faith in Christ is not necessarily unreasonable.
References
Fingerhut, J., & Prinz , J.J. (2020). Aesthetic emotions reconsidered. The Monist, 103 (2), 223-239
Horowski, J. (2020). Christian religious education and the development of moral virtues: a neo-Thomistic approach. British Journal of Religious Education, 42(4), 447-458