The Camping Rapture Fail

Harold Camping before an interview

 Hey, boys and girls! Guess what? It's May 21st! That means, according to this guy on the left, that the end of the world is nigh! The rapture is taking place at 6 PM tonight! Everything that Tim LaHaye wrote about in the Left Behind series is coming to pass! (Okay, so not really on that last sentence.)

It would kill me if I didn't write something about the Harold Camping hullabaloo, because not everyone realizes the kind of fallout that will come from this. We can point our fingers and laugh, but come Monday, Christianity as a whole will be held up and mocked again thanks to the exploits of this extremely misguided man who thinks he has found the secret formula identifying the day of Christ's return. I, for one, find this to be a serious issue, but I also think there are several valid lessons to learn from this. But first, let's take it one point at a time...

Let's compare statements concerning the coming of Christ...
Now, Harold Camping claims to be a Christian. If he is a Christian, then he recognizes Jesus Christ as the Lord of his life, and has put his faith in Christ alone for salvation. So let us start with what Jesus has said on His return. All of these verses are the spoken words of Christ in the Gospels.

“If anyone tells you then, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘Over here!’ do not believe it! False messiahs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. Take note: I have told you in advance. So if they tell you, ‘Look, He’s in the wilderness!’ don’t go out; ‘Look, He’s in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it. For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever the carcass is, there the vultures will gather. Matthew 24:23-28 (HCSB) "

“Now concerning that day and hour no one knows—neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son—except the Father only. As the days of Noah were, so the coming of the Son of Man will be. For in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah boarded the ark. They didn’t know until the flood came and swept them all away. So this is the way the coming of the Son of Man will be: Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and one left. Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and one left. Therefore be alert, since you don’t know what day your Lord is coming. But know this: If the homeowner had known what time the thief was coming, he would have stayed alert and not let his house be broken into. This is why you also must be ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. Matthew 24:36-44 (HCSB)

“Now concerning that day or hour no one knows—neither the angels in heaven nor the Son—except the Father. Watch! Be alert! For you don’t know when the time is ⌊coming⌋. It is like a man on a journey, who left his house, gave authority to his slaves, gave each one his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to be alert. Therefore be alert, since you don’t know when the master of the house is coming—whether in the evening or at midnight or at the crowing of the rooster or early in the morning. Otherwise, he might come suddenly and find you sleeping.
And what I say to you, I say to everyone: Be alert!” Mark 13:32-37 (HCSB)

“Be on your guard, so that your minds are not dulled from carousing, drunkenness, and worries of life, or that day will come on you unexpectedly like a trap. For it will come on all who live on the face of the whole earth. But be alert at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place and to stand before the Son of Man.” Luke 21:34-36 (HCSB)

There are several things worth emphasizing in these passages. Of course, these are just snippets of a much larger picture. I am not trying to provide a crash course on eschatology and it's various views, but given these passages above, let us establish a few facts:

• The coming of Christ will be instantaneous.
• The coming of Christ will be unpredictable and unexpected.
• The Body of Christ is to stay constantly alert for His coming.

There is a very important point that arises from these facts, but we will get to that in a second. Here is what Harold Camping has said about the return of Christ. This is his formula from which he was able to pin the date down for May 21st.

1. The number five equals "atonement", the number ten equals "completeness", and the number seventeen equals "heaven".
2. Christ is said to have hung on the cross on April 1, 33 AD. The time between April 1, 33 AD and April 1, 2011 is 1,978 years.
3. If 1,978 is multiplied by 365.2422 days (the number of days in a solar year, not to be confused with the lunar year), the result is 722,449.
4. The time between April 1 and May 21 is 51 days.
5. 51 added to 722,449 is 722,500.
6. (5 × 10 × 17)² or (atonement × completeness × heaven)² also equals 722,500. (retrieved here)

The Bible guarantees that you are just plain wrong.

Now, it is so very tempting to go through this argument and highlight the unproven premises, mainly in the first two premises. That, however, would simply be a waste of time, in light of what Christ Himself said on the subject of His return. For Harold Camping to think that somehow this argument can overshadow and supersede the words of His Lord Christ is nothing but the height of arrogance. He has elevated this calculation over the words of Christ, and this is nothing short of pure, raw arrogance. Unfortunately, he fits the description of the false prophet as Christ mentioned in Matthew 24:23-28 above, as his nationwide campaign for awareness of May 21st has been basically claiming "Look, here is the Messiah" (see picture above). In order for Harold's claims to even get off the ground, he must create a convincing and plausible case that Christ did not say those things - if he can't do that, his prophecy arrives dead on arrival, condemned at the very conception of the idea. As long as Christ's claims are true, Camping's are necessarily false.

Now, this is more than enough to convince the reasonable mind that Harold Camping's "prophecy" should be dismissed. However, before I move on to the damage that this campaign has caused, allow me to point out that, technically, May 21st could be the day when Christ returns. James R White wrote an excellent piece on this point in a blog post last week about how it is entirely possible that Christ returns today. If He does, however, it would not be because Harold Camping predicted it would be - it would be on God's timetable. Just because an extremely misguided false prophet claims a date for Christ's return doesn't mean that God cannot return on that date - like the verses said, "now concerning that day and hour no one knows". It is up for Christians to not say that Christ's return will not be today. We are to stay on alert and make the most of each day, knowing that Christ's return is guaranteed, just not when we expect it. Who knows? Christ could return on June 1st. He could return 10 years from today. He could return on August 7th 1000 years from now. It is not up for us to pin dates on the wall for His return - as I will explain later, it is up for us to live like His return is soon.


The fallout of this whole debacle

Allow me to copy/paste a segment from James R White's blog post concerning some of the actions Harold Camping's followers have take. 

I listened to two NPR reports on Camping's prophecy today, and it was truly disheartening to listen to these folks. One lady had been about to enroll in medical college, but did not, so that she could warn people about "Judgment Day." Another man had left wife and children behind, as they did not "believe." A couple, the woman expecting their second child in June, were interviewed. They had given up everything, and had just enough money to make it till May 21. After that…well, they will be destitute. The New York Post just reported on a man who squandered his $140,000 life's savings to buy advertisements in the New York area promoting the May 21 prophecy. (James R White, retrieved from here)

This is what separates Harold Camping from just the average doomsday guy - this guy will ruin the lives of many people who have followed him. To be sure, those who follow him are doing so out of their own free will - regardless, if there is no message, then there is nothing to follow. This guy will give Christianity a very bad taste in those who have abandoned everything for this false prophecy. This is simply inexcusable for any Christian. Camping owns an entire radio station chain called Family Radio (which has been his chief propaganda arm for decades) to which he will still have even when some of his followers have given everything to follow Him. I will pity his followers - I have little pity for Camping.

Of course, the atheist camps will take great advantage of this opportunity. I imagine the atheist organizations will have some new members in their ranks come next week, and that there will be a circus parade in the media (although it appears that the media is already calling this a failed prediction - and good for them). As my apologist friend Lauren Kimball pointed out, it is funny that a clearly misguided Christian gets a large amount of screen time, yet when it comes to Christian charities or other good things that Christians are doing (or worse, the persecution against Christians that is already well documented in other countries) gets relegated to Christian publications and news sources. Bias, much?

Of course, there is a lesson to be learned from this as well - as my apologist friend Steve Bedard, the editor of the apologetics journal Hope's Reason, wrote on his blog,if people are willing to give everything they have for a cause they believe in, even when it is a false cause, what does it say about the majority of American Christianity? Are we willing to give up our stuff and sell it for a cause which does matter? I can testify that I am not. Though charitable giving is a major part of my life, there is always more I can be doing besides giving. The American Church would do well to not write off the followers of Camping when it comes to what they have done for their belief - indeed, the American church should learn a lesson from them. I would do well to learn a lesson from them. This ultimately leads to my last point.

Christian don't get to choose how they want to live

There are valuable lessons to learn from all of this. Christians should not waste the time that they are given here on Earth. We are not guaranteed tomorrow, so how we live out lives is not a matter of personal preference, but of unquestionable importance:

"Besides this, knowing the time, it is already the hour for you to wake up from sleep, for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is nearly over, and the daylight is near, so let us discard the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk with decency, as in the daylight: not in carousing and drunkenness; not in sexual impurity and promiscuity; not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no plans to satisfy the fleshly desires." Romans 13:11-14 (HCSB)

"Therefore, I say this and testify in the Lord: You should no longer walk as the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their thoughts.They are darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them and because of the hardness of their hearts.They became callous and gave themselves over to promiscuity for the practice of every kind of impurity with a desire for more and more.But that is not how you learned about the Messiah, assuming you heard about Him and were taught by Him, because the truth is in Jesus.You took off your former way of life, the old self that is corrupted by deceitful desires;you are being renewed in the spirit of your minds;you put on the new self, the one created according to God’s ⌊likeness⌋ in righteousness and purity of the truth.Since you put away lying, Speak the truth, each one to his neighbor, because we are members of one another.Be angry and do not sin. Don’t let the sun go down on your anger,and don’t give the Devil an opportunity.The thief must no longer steal. Instead, he must do honest work with his own hands, so that he has something to share with anyone in need.No foul language is to come from your mouth, but only what is good for building up someone in need, so that it gives grace to those who hear.And don’t grieve God’s Holy Spirit. You were sealed by Him for the day of redemption.All bitterness, anger and wrath, shouting and slander must be removed from you, along with all malice.And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ". Ephesians 4:17-32 (HCSB)

"Therefore, with your minds ready for action, be serious and set your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires of your former ignorance. But as the One who called you is holy, you also are to be holy in all your conduct; for it is written, Be holy, because I am holy." 1 Peter 1:13-16 (HCSB)

This whole event can serve as warning for Christians that we don't get the luxury of living life for our own benefits, and that we are called to live differently from the ways of this world. Christ has given us the directive of the Great Commission, to make disciples of all nations and baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19-20). That is not an optional call for Christians to take up when they feel like doing so - for those who call themselves Christians, they are acknowledging Christ as the Lord of their lives (or as my former youth minister Ryan told his daughters, "Jesus is Boss"), and that Lord has commanded that disciples be made over the world. The focus of my life is to make disciples - Christ has commanded me to do so, and as someone who has surrendered my life to Him acknowledging that without him I am an object of God's wrath that is due my sin, I am to obey in that calling wherever I am located (and guess what? If you are a Christian, that last sentence applies to you as well).American Christianity is great at communicating a lukewarm commitment to Christ, and while I am certainly guilty of being a lukewarm Christian at times, it is not acceptable for any of us. And at the end of today, if Christ has not returned today (again, if He does return today, it is not because Camping called it), it does not diminish our call to "be holy in all your conduct, for it is written, Be holy, because I am holy". His coming is certain, so let us be faithful servants until that time.

The Dual Nature of Apologetics [pt 2]

The other day I wrote on apologetics as a discipline and apologetics as a form of evangelism. If you didn't read that post, you can read it here. Today, I want to expound upon apologetics as a form of evangelism. Since I used the football analogy last time, I will use it here again.

If you watch football (and shame on you if you don't), you know that there are two parties involved in the game - the teams. At any given time, one team is on offense, and the other is on defense. Both teams cannot be on offense at the same time or defense at the same time. When it comes to apologetics in evangelism, there is usually two parties involved: yourself and the person/group of people you are talking to. If you are talking to a person, hopefully you are being gracious and having a conversation about God and salvation through Jesus Christ and not preaching in a monologue to them. If you are speaking to a group of people (i.e. giving a Gospel presentation at an event or something), then you have greater control whether you play offense or defense when it comes to apologetics. But what exactly do I mean when I say "offensive" or "defensive" apologetics? Let's look at defensive apologetics first.

Defensive Apologetics

In football, the defense prevents the other team from advancing the football to the endzone (or close enough for a field goal) to earn points and win the game. When it comes to defensive apologetics, sometimes someone will raise an objection to Christianity to which, depending on the objection, can call Christianity on the carpet as whether or not it is true or not. Defensive apologetics invalidates those potential defeaters, or to put it another way, defensive apologetics shuts down objections to Christianity being false. The goal of defensive apologetics is to make sure that Christianity cannot be rightly condemned as being untrue - it isn't to explain why Christianity is true (per se - I will explain that in a bit), but rather explain why Christianity cannot be claimed as false on the basis of the objections given.

Offensive Apologetics

It would be important for me to point out that when I use the words "offensive" and "defensive", I am not referring to your attitude. 1 Peter 3:16 gives the ethic for how we are to conduct our apologetic efforts: "However, do this with gentleness and respect, keeping your conscious clear, so that when you are accused, those who denounce your Christian life will be put to shame". It is guaranteed that people will reject Christianity. However, if the person you are conversing with rejects Christianity, it had better be because of the beliefs of Christianity and not because you presented those beliefs with an unchristian attitude.

Offensive apologetics, contrary to defensive apologetics, are given to establish Christianity is true. I can think of at least 5 such offensive arguments for the existence of God (not necessarily Christianity): the Cosmological argument family, the Teleological argument family, the Moral argument, the Ontological argument, and the Argument from Reason, which is quickly becoming one of my favorite arguments against naturalism and materialism. Those arguments are positive arguments that establish the existence of a theistic God - however, they do not necessarily prove that Christianity is true. When it comes to establishing Christianity is true, like I wrote in a post on Easter Sunday, giving evidences establishing the historicity of the Resurrection, along with the reliability of the Gospels, help establish Christianity specifically as being true. Of course, for the Christian, the icing on all this cake is talking of the transformation of his/her life as a result of putting their faith in Jesus Christ for salvation. Your personal testimony is equally powerful as any argument - yet if your personal testimony is marred by your conduct, you are crippling your efforts. Your life, in it's entirety, should reflect the work Christ has done in your life, and if it doesn't, congratulations on shooting yourself in the foot.

Fumbles and Interceptions

Fumbles and interceptions, in football games, are always a highlight. They are unexpected, they are the last thing the offense wants, and in a single instant the roles of the two teams switch - the defense becomes the offense, and the offense goes on the defense. The losing team could have just turned the game around to possible win or solidify their loss. A good apologist will create as many fumbles as interceptions as possible - taking an objection to Christianity (defense) and turning it around into a positive case for Christianity (offense). Skilled apologists will look for these opportunities, and just like I talked about in the first post of this series, it required a lot of training and practice with apologetics as a discipline. If you do not train and practice for interceptions, it will hardly happen.

I taught my last lesson for First Baptist Youth this past Wednesday, and I couldn't have asked for a better last lesson - it was on apologetics and learning more about your faith. I left my students with a small list of "getting started" resources so that they can begin learning more about their faith (apologetics as a discipline) so that they can use it when sharing their faith and dealing with doubt (offensive and defensive apologetics as a form of evangelism). Underlying this whole thing, however, is a desire to fulfill what Jesus listed as the greatest commandment of the Law: to "love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength" (Mark 12:30). If you do not have a desire to love the Lord your God, then you should not consider any of what I have said until you have that desire to love God - your relationship with God is the most foundational piece of information that is assumed in this entire discussion. If you lack this, then everything I've talked about becomes secondary - learn to love God first.

Since tomorrow is the end of the world (according to Harold Camping), I figured I would write a post on all this May 21st hullabaloo. Don't worry - if the world doesn't end tomorrow, it isn't because this guy predicted it would be. Trust me on that one.

The Dual Nature of Apologetics [pt 1]

The field of apologetics is a very misunderstood field. It is a pity, I think, that Christians have no real idea of what apologetics is. Allow an analogy to help.

If I were to ask the question, "Is football an exercise or a game", the answer one would expect would be "both". It is an exercise that takes place as a game, and the game provides a form of exercise. If you are practicing for the game, you are working out for the game. While you play the game, you get a workout. Yet if you do not practice, you will absolutely fail at football. I could insert a really bad joke about the Dallas Cowboys, but I will refrain from doing so.

In the same way, apologetics is a discipline (exercise) and a form of evangelism (a game). Let's look at each:

Apologetics as a discipline

1 Peter 3:15, easily the bedrock verse for the practice of apologetics, gives a twofold directive for apologetics. The verse reads, 

"But honor the Messiah as Lord in your hearts. Always be ready to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you." - 1 Peter 3:15

The basis for apologetics being a discipline is derived from "But honor the Messiah as Lord in your hearts" and "Always be ready to give a defense". Notice, the first basis of the first is putting God in His proper place. The only way to practice Christian apologetics is when the Messiah is honored as Lord of your life. If Christ is not the Lord of the Christian's heart, then his/her apologetic efforts will be greatly lacking. They will be going out to play a game of football without even doing warm ups. That is the first step of apologetics being a discipline. The second step of apologetics being a discipline is taken from "Always be ready to give a defense". To be ready to give a defense, one must know what defense he/she will give. Here, apologetics shines as a study of knowledge. If you are going to give a defense of your faith (which is the subject of the verse), you have to be familiar with what you believe and why you believe it. Can your beliefs hold under to scrutiny? Is there evidence that undermines your beliefs? Are the objections against your beliefs powerful? For the Christian, I can confidently say that the Christian belief can withstand scrutiny and that the objections against it, though convincing to some, are not powerful enough to discredit it. That being said, the Christian must learn more about what he/she believes, and this comes through the training of the mind in the disciplines of philosophy, science, history, theology, ect. For the discipline aspect, the mind is getting the workout - studying apologetics is like learning the plays and techniques necessary for playing football. Few things are more satisfying than the deep study of one's faith - whenever I am increasing my apologetic knowledge, my confidence in God increases, and my desire to be more connected with Him goes up as well. Sometimes, the things I learn in the study of my faith carry over into my worship. Though it can seem daunting at first, practicing apologetics as a discipline is vital for the sake of one's intellect.

Apologetics as a form of evangelism.

Apologetics, though it is a robust and fulfilling mental workout regime, is also a form of evangelism. Evangelism is the practice of telling others about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. On my left arm I have a series of bandanas wrapped around my wrist in 5 colors: black, red, white, green, and gold (in that order). These bandanas I have tend to strike up conversation with people, and when that happens, it allows me to give into a presentation of the Gospel. When conversing with people about Christianity (which is something that should be done according to 1 Peter 3:16, with gentleness and respect), there will be those who bring up objections to Christianity. If these objections are not answered, then it will hinder that person's desire to become a Christian. It is up to us to be well-equipped to remove these objections that hinder people from putting their faith in Christ. Yet, we must know the answers to objections (or know what to do/where to go when objections come up) beforehand - if we don't, we will not be successful in our evangelism. This is why the discipline portion of apologetics is crucial to the evangelism portion - the discipline portion is the exercise that prepares you for the game. Football players who practice hard are the ones who win. In the same way, Christians who practice apologetics as a discipline will have much better success in evangelism.

When talking about apologetics as a form of evangelism, this can be broken down into two more ideas: offense and defense. Just like football, you must have an offense and a defense in order to win. Implied in 1 Peter 3:15 is that once you have given a defense, you make an offense (without being offensive in attitude, mind you) for giving reasons why Christianity is true. Next post, I will explain the offensive and defensive portion of apologetics as a form of evangelism.

As a shameless plug, the one book I can think of that prepares you for both natures of apologetics is a book I reviewed earlier in the year by Greg Koukl called "Tactics". If you are looking for a place to start, I would start there.

 

James Spiegel on Love in Apologetics

The book that started it all for me - James Spiegel's controversial book "The Making of an Atheist". I remember listening to a podcast from the Apologetics.com radio show while hiking the Palo Duro Canyon that was all about this book. Shortly after checking this book out, I got involved in the Pray for an Atheist campaign, and that was God throwing me headfirst into an intense apologetics experience.

Book Review: Reasonable Faith - Christian Truth and Apologetics

Reasonable Faith: Christian Truth and Apologetics by William Lane Craig

4 out of 5 Stars

Buy it: www.amazon.com


It's no secret that I am a fan of William Lane Craig. He is one of my heroes as an apologist, and one of the main apologists that inspired me to take up the field. While I don't see eye to eye with him on everything, it is his dedication to the subject of defending the faith in a Christlike manner that has inspired me to study philosophy, theology, science and history.

Yesterday, I finished reading his signature work, "Reasonable Faith: Christian Truth and Apologetics". It took me about 6 months to read this work, and while there were some parts that were over my head, the things that I learned from it made this book a very worthy read

First and foremost, this is not a suitable book to read for an apologetic newbie. To read this book, you will need to be at least casually acquainted with the fields of philosophy, science, and history. I consider myself to be a more-than-novice-yet-not-quite-intermediate apologist, and there were are few times when the subject material went right by over my head without a care in the world. This book, while it claims to be usable amongst laymen, is more for someone who is already involved in these fields. In other words, I would not give this book to someone who was just now getting their feet wet; I would give them something easier to digest. This is a pretty technical book, and it can be pretty difficult to read at times.

Reasonable Faith covers a wide range of issues. While notable absences include any discussion on the problem of evil and the creation/I.D./evolution debate, what it includes justifies the purchase of this book. Topics include how we can know Christianity is true, the absurdity of life without God (probably my favorite chapter in the book), the 4 classical theistic arguments and their objections, the resurrection of Christ, miracles, and more. It is all laid out in a systematic fashion that starts with basic theistic arguments (the various Cosmological arguments, the Teleological argument, the Moral argument, and the Ontological argument) and then moves to demonstrate Christian theism by focusing on miracles and then the radical self-understanding of Christ and the evidence for His resurrection. Each chapter opens up with a historical examination of past thinkers on this subject, which I personally found to be very enjoyable. He then moves on to discuss the subject and it's objections, and then ends each chapter with a practical application of how to put into practice what you just read.

I've already mentioned that the material in this book, while certainly worth reading, can be technical and difficult at times. This isn't a bad thing, but when it is tacked on to what I believe is the biggest problem with the book, it makes the book a more difficult read. The biggest flaw that I find with Reasonable Faith is the length of the chapters. These are easily some of the longest chapters that I have ever read from any book- especially the first chapter on the existence of God. You should expect that it will take you a few sittings to get through a single chapter. While I can understand wanting to keep all the information under one heading, I wish he had broken down the chapters into various sections or something, because these chapters are so big that it is not feasible to read them in one sitting. That being said, that is really the only flaw that I can find with the book. Everything else about the book is presented in an excellent manner, and the material contained in each of these massive chapters is enlightening, stimulating, thought-provoking, and high-quality food for you intellect.

Craig's book is definitely a testimony to his passion for the Christian intellect, and his desire to equip the church in apologetics is certainly contagious - just look at me. Still, if you are looking for a easy introduction into apologetics, this is not the place to start looking. That being said, if you are an apologist and you haven't read this book, you will definitely want to add this to your reading list. This is a great work written by a great Christian thinker, and the impact that this book has had on the Church has been nothing short of incredible.

4 out of 5 Stars

Greg Koukl on 21st Century Ambassadors for Christ

Greg Koukl is an incredible guy. One of his teachings that has stuck with me is the concept of the 21st century ambassador for the Christian faith. In January I wrote a review for his book "Tactics", which is a book I wish every Christian would read, especially those who are mission/evangelism minded. I think Greg hits it perfectly when he describes three basic skills for being a modern-day ambassador: knowledge, wisdom, and character.

"Representing Christ in the new millennium requires three basic skills. First, Christ's ambassadors need the basic knowledge necessary for the task. They must know the central message of God's kingdom and something about how to respond to the obstacles they'll encounter on their diplomatic mission. 

However, it is not enough for followers of Jesus to have an accurately informed mind. Our knowledge must be tempered with the kind of wisdom that makes our message clear and persuasive. This requires the tools of a diplomat, not the weapons of a warrior, tactical skill rather than brute force.

Finally, our character can make or break our mission. Knowledge and wisdom are packaged in a person, so to speak. If that person does not embody the virtues of the kingdom he serves, he will undermine his message and handicap his efforts.

These three skills - knowledge, an accurately informed mind; wisdom, an artful method; and character, an attractive manner - play a part in every effective involvement with a nonbeliever."      - Greg Koukl, Tactics: A Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian Convictions, pg.24-25  (underlines mine)