Make room for thought: is faith unreasonable?

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MAKE ROOM FOR THOUGHT: Is faith unreasonable?

Students in Leiden here in The Netherlands run a week with talks about the meaning of life.

So they asked me to prepare a talk about the question of faith in relation to reason. My talk was under the general topic of MAKE ROOM FOR THOUGHT. Here then is a summary of my talk in 5 minutes.

We all have the same starting point: we believe something about reality. The real question then is: which view makes more sense? Would like to hear what you think. leave a comment or ask a question. Stay safe!

Tagsapologetics, Corona, passionweek, Vlog

Passionweek Leiden 2020

Make Room

Students in Leiden organized a “passionweek” (PW) in February 2020. I gave three of the lunch talks and Mark Pickett gave one lunch talk and the evening talks during this PW. Attendance during these meetings went from about 60 to more than 150 students for each meeting.

We had many good conversations after the talks and some students expressed their desire to meet again and talk further.

See in the flyer below the topics of the talks. If you want to know more about the talks and/or have a question then leave a comment and I will try to reply within a week.

Do you also want to organize a passionweek in your city? Then contact me or leave a comment. For more information about the PWs have a look here.

Tagsapologetics, FEUER, passionweek

Training for speakers in the university setting: some reflections

Passionweeks is a movement in The Netherlands that allows students to hear a message from a Christian point of view. I participated in one of the training days in October. Benno van den Toren gave a workshop on how to prepare a talk in a university setting. Here are some highlights of this workshop. 

• Christians sometimes feel they have to keep their faith in the private sphere. But the Christian faith is a worldview that attempts to explain all of reality. Therefore Christians should bring their faith to the public square and not just keep it private. 
• Christians could make an effort to built bridges with people outside the Christian faith. A good approach is to invite non-Christians into our world so they can see that the Christian faith is meaningful and reasonable. 
• First, introduce people to Christ. Show them that Christ is attractive, trustworthy, and meaningful to you as a speaker. After you have done this you can remove some of the barriers, things that keep non-Christians away from considering the Christian faith as a life option. Benno said that “a witness from someone trustworthy makes a huge difference.” 
• Furthermore, show why Christ is both the answer to issues like guilt, shame, overcoming evil, and also that he is a solid foundation for our lives. 
• Finally, as a speaker find your voice. Don’t be afraid to stand and speak with your vulnerabilities and questions. Even then we have a reason to trust our message. 

It was a good and helpful workshop for people who give talks in the university setting. 

TagsFEUER, passionweek