Simple Faith with Rusty George

Following Jesus isn't always
easy, but it's not complicated.

Join us each week as we
work to make faith simple.

This is simple Faith.

Hey, welcome back to Simple Faith.

I'm your host, rusty George, and man,
I'm excited for where we're going in our

mini series on relational apologetics.

We've talked about the importance
of connection and really honing

our empathetic listening skills.

If you've missed the previous two
episodes, I encourage you to go

back and listen to those two first.

But now in episode three, we're diving
into a crucial aspect of building

those bridges, which is finding
common ground in a very diverse world,

in a world filled with a huge amount of
differences in beliefs and perspectives.

The job of just sharing our
faith can feel pretty daunting.

How do we connect with those who see
the world so completely differently?

Well, according to relational apologetics,
the answer =lies in identifying the shared

threads woven through our common humanity.

The longings values and experiences
that bind us together regardless

of our individual beliefs.

That's right.

It's easy to get caught up
in the differences, isn't it?

We can focus so much on the
theological distinctions.

We forget that we're all just people
trying to make sense of this life.

Finding that common ground isn't
about watering down what we believe.

It's about finding a starting
point for a real conversation.

One of the most fundamental
areas of common ground lies in

our universal human longings.

Across cultures and belief
systems, people are longing for

purpose, love, justice, and beauty.

These are all the deep seated desires
that resonate in everyone's heart.

Think about it.

Doesn't everyone at some level want
to know that their life matters?

Don't we all crave connection and love?

Even when people express those
needs in different ways or look for

fulfillment in different places, the
underlying desire is often the same.

These shared longings can be powerful
bridges in our conversations.

In fact, author Todd Rose highlights
that many of the perceived polarization

in American politics is an illusion.

We may sharply disagree on the
process, but we're actually

sharing the same aspirations.

The American Aspirations Index was
populace's effort to understand the

private trade off priorities that the
public has for the future of the country.

We simply asked participants
whether they thought we were more

divided or united as a country.

Not surprisingly, 82% of respondents
said we were more divided.

And half of those people said we
were extremely divided as a country,

and yet when we put those same exact
people into this private opinion

instrument, it tells a different story.

If we take politics out of it and just
look at demographics, regardless of

your gender, race, geography, income,
education level, we share eight of the

10 top priorities we have in common.

But the disagreement over what those
aspirations mean and how to pursue them

is where we spend most of our time.

And to be fair, those are
pretty big differences.

So how do we create connection with
someone who thinks so differently?

By keeping a focus on the goals, we're
able to more productively disagree on the

processes, but the fruit of the spirit is
love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness,

goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,
and self-control against such things.

There is no law.

Those who belong to Christ's
Jesus have crucified the flesh

with its passions and desires.

If how we achieve our aspirations
is where we are getting divided.

Paul's reminder to live out the
fruit of the spirit is the remedy.

No one's gonna make a law against
faithfulness and gentleness.

The hard part of relational
apologetics is not sharing the truth.

It's really self-control, but this
crucifixion of the flesh is a part of

all of our sanctification, so let's make
it the cornerstone of our evangelism.

Not for the sake of unity, but
for the sake of unity in Christ.

Unity for the sake of
unity is false consensus.

We don't want to paper
over real differences.

What we want is a culture where
we treat each other with respect

so we can adjudicate those
differences in productive ways.

The strategy really is bridge building.

It really is using unlikely alliances
to accomplish amazing things together.

And so a call for unity
will fall on deaf ears.

A call to treat one another with
respect and dignity that every

human being deserves will actually
puncture the illusion of division.

And allow us to accomplish
more together as a people than

we could possibly imagine.

Right now, building bridges just
for the sake of having a bridge

is a waste of everyone's time.

Building a bridge that creates a road
to Jesus is an eternal investment.

And if it bridges communities,
just imagine how many souls

might cross that bridge.

Okay.

Another effective way to build bridges
is by engaging culture relationally.

This involves connecting with
both current pop culture.

And what some call retro cultural
apologetics, finding common

references in movies, music and
shared cultural experiences can open

doors for meaningful discussions.

I love this idea.

We see this with guys like Sean McDowell,
who talks about how even Marvel movies

can be a starting point for conversations
about deeper themes, and even our faith.

It's about meeting people where
they are and using what they already

understand as a launching pad.

Now, captain America famously says, we
are not in the business of exchanging

lives until the only one in 14 million or
so ways to save half the universe is for

iron Man to willingly lay down his life.

True love willingly lays down one's
life, and we all know Jesus said greater

love had no man than this, than a man.

Lay down his life for a friend.

You just think about that.

All the money all the time.

MCU trying to tell the
most epic story ever.

And they can't escape at root the
gospel now I don't think they did it

intentionally, especially where I see the
movies going, I think they can't escape

it 'cause it's written on our hearts.

We know love is sacrifice.

We understand what a real hero
is and the MCU is fiction.

But in the story of Jesus, that
is the greatest story ever told.

That's actually true.

Exactly.

It's not about forcing a connection,
but about recognizing the inherent human

themes that often exist in the stories
we tell and the entertainment we consume.

And this is also a practical
and modern way of practicing

the Celtic Way of evangelism.

What do I mean?

Well, St.

Patrick, in the early
Celtic Church used stories.

And metaphors and symbols to illustrate
the bigger objective truth to a

subjective and pantheistic audience.

These symbols were so effective and so
powerful that a lot of them still exist

and are used today over 1500 years later.

Symbols like Celtic knots and even
the Celtic Cross sometimes pre-existed

Christianity in Ireland, and they're
often used as symbols of pagan religion.

But St.

Patrick was able to use the symbols to
illustrate the truth of the gospel, and

to some degree, we do this all the time
and naturally without even noticing.

When you hear a sermon illustration
that illustrates the truth of

a Bible passage, you're hearing
this type of contextualization.

Even the form of the media
can be a form of adapting

cultural symbols and metaphors.

This very podcast series is meant
to adapt the form of podcasting

that we hear in journalism like
news podcasts or documentary series.

Culturally, we know what to expect
and we're able to engage with it

more than intellectually, but also
on a personal level, this is how we

like Sean McDowell, are able to adapt
things like movies or songs or even

memes in order to share the gospel.

The power of shared narrative
is also a significant tool

in relational apologetics.

Sharing our personal stories, our stories
of our own faith, the journey of how we

came to believe and how our faith impacts
our lives can resonate deeply with others

at an emotional and existential level.

Similarly, sharing the
overarching Christian story, I.

The big narrative of God's love
for all of us, for humanity can

connect with those universal
longings we talked about earlier.

Your story is powerful.

It's unique to you, and it can
connect with people in ways that a

theological argument alone might not.

When you share authentically about
your own struggles and doubts and

the hope you've found, it creates a
space for others to share their own

experiences and consider what's possible.

The Celts learned well, the lesson
that it is the Christian community that

witnesses not just individual Christians,
and that made a great difference to

leading whole countries to coly Christ.

The Celtic Church adapted
non-Christian culture to become

Christian culture without making
any changes that were unnecessary.

They used the symbols of non-Christian
culture to preach Christ.

Instead of fighting the culture
around them, the Celts adopted

many of the symbols of that
culture for Christian purposes.

One example of it is the
Shamrock, which is of course

the national symbol of Ireland.

Originally, it was a pagan symbol,
used and drew it worship, but St.

Patrick took the shamrock.

And used it to teach the doctrine
of the Trinity as the Shamrock

has three leaves and as one.

So Father, son, and Holy Spirit
are three, and yet one soon.

The pagan roots of the Shamrock
were completely forgotten

in the Christian community.

People took it as a sign of
one God with three persons.

Another example was a Pagan
celebration that was popular

in those days called Heim.

It was on October 31st.

It was a time for celebrating and
remembering the dead, the Irish church.

Decided to take that ritual and on
November 1st, the next day celebrate

All Saints Day, which was a time to
commemorate the martyrs of the faith.

All Saints Day rec replaced Heim on
the calendar and it wasn't in late.

It was much later.

In modern times when the Pagans reclaimed
it by looking at all Hallows are All

Saints Eve and calling it Halloween,
and that's where we get Halloween.

But the church and island is
still celebrates it as a, to

remember the martyrs for Jesus.

The Celtic Church understood that
cultural days and symbols can be

redeemed to call people to Christ.

Now there's a danger of taking
that too far and accepting pagan

customs that should be rejected.

Okay, so this does bring up the danger
of syncretism and syncretism is when

two cultures come together and blend
to form something else altogether.

To avoid this, we need to be rooted
in God's truth in the process

of translating, and when we do
that, we avoid compromising it.

The goal is to share God's truth in a way
that someone can understand, not change

it to fit into their current beliefs.

Again, this is building a bridge
for the sake of having a bridge.

We need to remember to build
a bridge to Jesus instead to

effectively find common ground.

It's also crucial to commit to
understanding other perspectives.

This involves taking the time to
learn about different religious

and philosophical world views.

This means not only listening,
but learning from your friend.

It doesn't mean you have to be an
expert, but you do have to be thoughtful.

Dr.

Douglas Gruas emphasized the importance
of Christians being informed about

other belief systems, even atheism.

It's not about agreeing with everything,
but about understanding where others

are coming from so we can talk with them
in a way that makes them feel like we

understand what they're thinking, where
they're coming from, what they might

possibly believe, and then we're able to
see and possibly even agree with some of

their aspirations, even if we disagree
with how they're trying to get there.

Knowing the basics of what someone
believes allows us to have a more

informed and empathetic conversation,
and it helps us identify genuine

points of connection as well as
potential areas of misunderstanding.

I.

As we've said, the big objection
to this approach is the concern

that finding common ground might
risk diluting the unique claims of

Christianity, and that's a valid concern.

We're not suggesting that we compromise
our core beliefs to connect with others.

Finding common ground is a
starting point for conversation,

not a compromise of truth.

It's about building a foundation of
shared understanding before we address

the specific and sometimes challenging
aspects of the Christian faith.

Focusing on universal human experiences,
engaging in culture stories thoughtfully,

and sharing our own stories and
seeking to understand perspectives.

We can begin to build bridges
with individuals holding a whole

huge variety of worldviews.

These connections are rooted
in our shared humanity.

They create fertile ground for meaningful
deep conversations about our faith.

Absolutely.

It's about seeing the person first,
hearing their heart, understanding their

world, and then finding those points
where we can connect on a human level.

That's where the real dialogue begins.

All right.

Let's consider together what are some
values or experiences that you believe.

Are shared across different
cultures and belief systems.

How might you be a little more
intentional about using these as

starting points for conversations
about faith in your own life?

Take some time this week
to think about that.

Look for those common threads in
your interactions with others.

Looking ahead to our next
episode, let's consider this.

While finding common ground is crucial for
building relationships, how do relational

apologists then address the core,
often divisive theological differences

and truth claims of Christianity in a
way that keeps and stays respectful.

And maintains the integrity
of both the relationship and

the message of the gospel.

Well, that's the big question we'll
be tackling next time on Simple Faith.

It's a delicate balance and we'll
be exploring how to navigate it.

Thanks for joining me today on the
Simple Faith You can find more resource.

And ways to connect with
us@pastorrustygeorge.com

and until next time, keep it.