Thursday, April 26, 2012

The Revised Four Spiritual Laws

Perhaps you are aware of The Four Spiritual Laws. You may or may not also be aware that from a Biblical perspective, there are quite a few problems with using these laws as a Gospel presentation. While it presents  part of the truth, it make presumptuous claims regarding the person to whom it is being presented (eg. You cannot know what God's plan is for any given individual) and is woefully inadequate in its presentation of salvific themes (eg. Sin is mentioned, but nothing is said about why it merits God's judgment or the fact that man needs to repent from it). You can read more on such criticisms here, here and here. That being said, I do think that there is enough truth in this Gospel presentation that, given some revision (and a complete overhauling of law #1), it can be used to present the Gospel to lost sinners. This is my attempt at a "revised" Four Spiritual Laws. If anyone has any comments or suggestions regarding it, I am more than happy to take them into account.
The Four Spiritual Laws (Revised Edition) 
  1. God is our Creator, Who has granted us life and breath and everything, and has revealed Himself to mankind that we may seek Him and know Him. (Deuteronomy 29:29, Acts 17:24-28, James 1:17) 
  2. However, instead of seeking God, humanity has sinned against Him by breaking His law and has fallen under His just condemnation. Therefore, we must one day give an account to God for breaking all of His laws.  (Psalm 14:2-3, Ecclesiastes 7:29, Romans 3:23, Romans 6:23, Hebrews 9:27, James 2:8-10) 
  3. In order that we may be saved, God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, as the one provision by which man's sin may be atoned for. By Christ's life, death and resurrection, we may be forgiven of our sins and restored to a right relationship with God. (Isaiah 52:13-53:12, John 14:6, Acts 4:12, Romans 5:6-11, I Corinthians 15:3-6) 
  4. In order that we may we receive the benefits of Christ's sacrifice, we must all repent of our sins and put our faith in Him as Savior and Lord. Only then may we be made acceptable to God and escape the condemnation that we justly deserved. (John 1:12-13,  3:1-18, Romans 5:1-2, Ephesians 2:8-9, Titus 3:4-7)
Don't know God? Learn more about how to be in a right relationship with Him here.

Saturday, April 07, 2012

The Christology Symposium: Multiple Christian and Muslim Views on Jesus


On Thursday, March 15, 2012, the University of Toronto and St. Michael's College hosted "The Christology Symposium" -- an academic forum featuring presentations on Jesus from multiple Christian and Muslim perspectives followed by a panel discussion. The presentations consisted of the following:

1. "Roman Catholic Christology" (at 5:50) -- Greg Rupik (PhD Candidate, University of Toronto)

2. "Sunni Muslim Christology" (at 22:00) -- Shabir Ally (PhD Candidate, University of Toronto)

3. "Evangelical Christology" (at 39:15) -- Dr. Tony Costa (PhD)

4. "Shi'a Isma'ili Muslim Christology" (at 57:30) -- Khalil Andani (Master of Theological Studies Candidate, Harvard University)

5. Panel Discussion with all Presenters (at 1:16:44)