This past week at KI, we went in detail through the history of the church starting with Peter. We got to see how the church grew, was persecuted, expanded, split into denominations, and how it has impacted the culture and been affected by the culture also. The church has grown the most during times of persecution because persecution is always a purifying and strengthening factor. When Martin Luther saw error in the doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church, he sought to find the truth that scripture explicitly taught and apply it. By his faithfulness to the pursuit of absolute truth, the Protestant reformation began and truth was uncovered. For many, it was the first time they got to know what the Bible actually said rather than what the priests propagated. Luther committed to translate the Bible from Latin into German so that people could read it for themselves rather than depend on the clergy to relay it to them. This was a watershed moment for the church.

Through our study of the church’s complicated history, I was made overwhelmingly aware of the severity of importance of one’s interpretation, application, and handling of truth. As the church, we should understand how great the responsibility we have in doing this. Scripture is the basis of our faith; everything we believe hinges on it’s accuracy and validity. Its words contain life and the very breath of God. I am motivated to study Scripture with this knowledge, understanding that what I say and do should always be a product of what I believe. This is essential because other people are influenced by the interpretation and application of Scripture; they only will judge by what they see – we have an important role as believers to handle the truth accurately.

This past week at the ‘Tute we had the privilege of hearing from Kerby Anderson on the topic of Apologetics. He shared about lots of different world religions to shed light on their core beliefs and how we can accurately confront those beliefs that contradict Scripture. It’s so important, especially in our world today, to be adequately informed of religions and belief systems that are outside of Christianity so that we can defend our faith. It’s one thing to believe in something, but to know why you believe it is something deeper.

I really enjoyed gaining insight into our society and how it functions in relation to belief and faith. Over the years, the way that truth is viewed in society has shifted from absolute to relative – “what’s true for you may not be what’s true for me.” That’s not possible because for truth to exist, it must be absolutely true or it cannot be true at all.

Our culture, specifically the millennial generation, is narcissistic and addicted to media. We live in a culture of the here and now and, as a whole, have lost Christian values to the “changing of times and tradition.” Faith and belief are not a matter of preference, though. We are held accountable to the Truth no matter what our culture says. God’s Word is the only absolute truth and can be proven by archaeology, manuscripts, and other outside sources.

In light of all of the in-depth apologetic information Kerby has provided for us, I will seek to deepen my understanding of other common world religions like Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism. I want to be better prepared to have conversations with people who believe in other faiths and religions that miss the Truth. I want to have more of a heart for the nations and consistently intercede on behalf of the people across the world who haven’t accepted the Truth of God’s Word.