Instead of hurtling toward the ultimate questions, we should take them in a leisurely stride, building upon common ground and the common pursuit of truth with non-Christians.
Much needed reminders concerning apologetics and evangelism. We are not to treat others as means to an end, but as ends in themselves. Therefore, we should not treat them as scalps to be taken or as potential notches on our belts. Impatience for conversion really treats someone else as an object to be conquered.
Many things spring immediately to mind--this is quite off the top of my head and off the cuff--which bolster your argument:
1. The Bible records the Almighty God giving evidence constantly of His existence and nature, both to people with whom He is covenanting and those who remain His enemies, robust engagement with the existential doubts and philosophical/theological objections of the prophets and apostles, and appeals to the witness and testimony of His broader creation and the natural conclusions men should draw from observation of it.
2. An entire book of the Bible demonstrates the covenant love of God for His people without mentioning His name explicitly, another speaks of love--whether with a merely human or analogically ecclesial referent--with the same oblique approach to the Almighty and His name, and the wisdom literature is borne out of observations of life under the sun and its vicissitudes, bequeathing a way to live in God's world and not worship Him in His temple or to proselytize.
3. Jesus, Who Is The Truth, is not excited that Nathanael, who is initially skeptical about Jesus, changes his mind on the basis of what might be explained as a clever parlor trick. This shows that belief in Jesus, which is objectively good and right, is not always unequivocally desirable.
4. When John the Baptist doubts in prison and has one of his followers ask Jesus if He is, indeed, the Messiah, Jesus does not castigate John, but gives him concrete and abundant evidence supporting the claim that Jesus, Himself, does not doubt.
5. Jesus, committed to the mission for which the Father sent Him, nevertheless rebukes Peter as a tempter for suggesting avoiding the cross and asks the Father to spare Him the cross, if possible. In this, Peter presented something akin to what Satan did in the desert and Jesus did not sin in the Gethsemane.
6. The book of Revelation, constantly abused to make navigational charts for bibliolatrists, is meant to encourage the faithful on the basis of God's concrete plans in history; crucially, the comfort does not come from knowing them precisely, but neither does it come from merely considering the character of God.
God Himself, then, does not expect man to have faith, hope, or love without warrant, trustworthiness, and merit built up in nature, covenant, testament, action, incarnation, indwelling, unification, and rule. We have been told of some of these by reliable witnesses, seen others with our own eyes, and confidently expect still more to come in glory. To boil all of it down into the gospel does not elevate Jesus Christ--who does not need our assistance in this--but impudently and foolishly lectures the Father about streamlining His revelatory process and begins, like a bad consulting company hired by private equity after a leveraged buyout, cutting costs to boost profitability in converts. Such puerile ingrates have Marcion as their father and Magus as their patron saint.
Much needed reminders concerning apologetics and evangelism. We are not to treat others as means to an end, but as ends in themselves. Therefore, we should not treat them as scalps to be taken or as potential notches on our belts. Impatience for conversion really treats someone else as an object to be conquered.
Many things spring immediately to mind--this is quite off the top of my head and off the cuff--which bolster your argument:
1. The Bible records the Almighty God giving evidence constantly of His existence and nature, both to people with whom He is covenanting and those who remain His enemies, robust engagement with the existential doubts and philosophical/theological objections of the prophets and apostles, and appeals to the witness and testimony of His broader creation and the natural conclusions men should draw from observation of it.
2. An entire book of the Bible demonstrates the covenant love of God for His people without mentioning His name explicitly, another speaks of love--whether with a merely human or analogically ecclesial referent--with the same oblique approach to the Almighty and His name, and the wisdom literature is borne out of observations of life under the sun and its vicissitudes, bequeathing a way to live in God's world and not worship Him in His temple or to proselytize.
3. Jesus, Who Is The Truth, is not excited that Nathanael, who is initially skeptical about Jesus, changes his mind on the basis of what might be explained as a clever parlor trick. This shows that belief in Jesus, which is objectively good and right, is not always unequivocally desirable.
4. When John the Baptist doubts in prison and has one of his followers ask Jesus if He is, indeed, the Messiah, Jesus does not castigate John, but gives him concrete and abundant evidence supporting the claim that Jesus, Himself, does not doubt.
5. Jesus, committed to the mission for which the Father sent Him, nevertheless rebukes Peter as a tempter for suggesting avoiding the cross and asks the Father to spare Him the cross, if possible. In this, Peter presented something akin to what Satan did in the desert and Jesus did not sin in the Gethsemane.
6. The book of Revelation, constantly abused to make navigational charts for bibliolatrists, is meant to encourage the faithful on the basis of God's concrete plans in history; crucially, the comfort does not come from knowing them precisely, but neither does it come from merely considering the character of God.
God Himself, then, does not expect man to have faith, hope, or love without warrant, trustworthiness, and merit built up in nature, covenant, testament, action, incarnation, indwelling, unification, and rule. We have been told of some of these by reliable witnesses, seen others with our own eyes, and confidently expect still more to come in glory. To boil all of it down into the gospel does not elevate Jesus Christ--who does not need our assistance in this--but impudently and foolishly lectures the Father about streamlining His revelatory process and begins, like a bad consulting company hired by private equity after a leveraged buyout, cutting costs to boost profitability in converts. Such puerile ingrates have Marcion as their father and Magus as their patron saint.