What's true About Christianity? An Introduction to Christian faith and Practice.

2020·15.4 MB·English

by  Don Thorsen

This series is designed to free scholars to write
What’s True About Christianity?
outside the artificial constraints which too
commonly separate the scholar and the saint. In
this series, we are inviting seasoned scholars to An Introduction to Christian
write for the masses. We invite these scholars to
Faith and Practice
write about what they care about, to write in the W
idioms of their everyday lives and to write for the h
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connect the scholar with the saint in pursuit of s

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accessible insight.
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Thomas E. Phillips, series editor e

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Those within the church should focus upon
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becoming more welcoming, more hospitable, u
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more loving—as they would want to be loved….
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To everyone, I say welcome, just as Jesus h
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welcomes you. Christianity should be known for
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welcoming all people… This message of t
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hospitality may seem too good to be true, and, in a
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Jesus welcomes everyone.

Don Thorsen Don Thorsen
What’s True About Christianity?
An Introduction to Christian
Faith and Practice

What’s True about Christianity?
An Introduction to Christian
Faith and Practice
Don Thorsen
THE HEART OF THE MATTER 1
What’s True about Christianity?
An Introduction to Christian Faith and Practice
©2020 Claremont Press
1235 N. College Ave.
Claremont, CA 91711
ISBN 978-1-946230-40-9 (print)
978-1-946230-42-3 (ebook)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
What’s True about Christianity? An Introduction to Christian Faith
and Practice / Don Thorsen
Xiii + 213 pp. 22 x 15 cm. –(The Heart of the Matter 1)
Includes indices.
ISBN 978-1-946230-41-6 (print)
978-1-946230-42-3 (ebook)
1.Theology, Doctrinal Popular works. 2. Christian life.
3.Christianity Essence, genius, nature.
BT77 .T467 2020
Contents
Editor’s Preface viii
Part One
John 3:16
All Are Welcome 3
Born Again? Anew? From Above? 11
No Condemnation 19
Part Two
“For God So Loved”
Yes, God Exists 29
God is Love 37
Relationship of Father, Son and Holy Spirit 45
What Apologetics Accomplish 51
Part Three
“The World”
Created and Evolved 63
People and the Image of God 69
The Problem of Evil 77
Sin, Ignorance, Misery and Bondage 83
Part Four
“That He Gave His Only Begotten Son”
God With Us 91
v
At-One-Ment with God 97
God’s Advocate 105
Scripture, Tradition, Reason and Experience 113
Part Five
“So That Whosoever Believes in Him Should Not Perish”
Our Choices Made a Difference 123
Orders of Salvation 131
Justice and Justification 139
Varieties of Christian Spirituality 147
No Holiness but Social Holiness 155
Priesthood of Believers 163
The Problem of Hypocrisy 171
Part Six
“But May Have Eternal Life”
End Times 181
What About Those Who Do Not Believe? 189
Heaven and Hell 197
Epilogue 203
Scripture Index 207
Subject Index 213
vi
Editor’s Preface
The lives of theologians, Biblical scholars and similar
religious studies scholars are odd. Most such scholars enter into the
profession because they believe that truth matters and that there is
great value in doggedly pursuing truth and in sharing the results of
that pursuit with communities of faith. However, most of these
scholars practice their truth-seeking vocation in the professional
setting of higher education where they serve as college, university
and seminary professors. Almost without exception, the spoken and
unspoken strictures of the academic world leave these religious
studies scholars—like all scholars—feeling pressured to write and
publish in academic journals and scholarly book series. This
academic pressure to publish only in the most exclusive and
prestigious forums typically results in a greatly diminished
readership for these scholars’ literary output.
In the meantime, while religious studies scholars are busy
producing tomes for a few dozen scholars who happen to share
their particular expertise, millions of reflection-hungry persons of
faith struggle to find mature and critically engaged religious studies
content to meet their own needs for insight and growth. The
cultural pattern is clear: Scholars write for scholars. Critically
minded non-specialists are left to their own devices. Engagement
with the reading public is not a part of the scholarly mission.
Wordsmithing for those outside the guild of religious studies
scholarship is left to popular writers with less training, less
expertise and often less insight.
This series is designed to free scholars to write outside the
artificial constraints which too commonly separate the scholar and
the saint. In this series, we are inviting seasoned scholars to write
for the masses. We invite these scholars to write about what they
care about, to write in the idioms of their everyday lives and to
write for the reflective non-specialist. This series is designed to
connect the scholar with the saint in pursuit of accessible insight.
--Thomas E. Phillips, editor
vii

Part One
John 3:16
1