Cultural Apologetics
A walk through the agora (the marketplace) would reveal a pantheon of idols, indicative of the Athenians’ religious devotion. One could find temples for the worship of Roman Caesars, Greek and Roman gods, and countless other shrines and idols. A novelist at the time wrote of Athens, a city of roughly 25,000 people, “It is easier to meet a god in th
... See morePaul M. Gould • Cultural Apologetics
It is interesting how we forget that godlessness isn’t a new phenomena. The Apostle Paul struggled with it in culture, in fact, it reaches back to Genesis 3 in the beginning. We just experience it differently in modern times, but there is nothing new under the sun.
One of the great mysteries about God is that he calls us, as the church, to join with him to bring hope and healing, justice and peace, to a watching world. How will we respond to his call to be agents of shalom?
Paul M. Gould • Cultural Apologetics
The Holy Spirit woos us through the beauty and imaginative stories depicted in these works of art. Ultimately this quest can only be satisfied with Jesus and the gospel. These stirrings in art and media provide a means of escape that is, according to J. R. R. Tolkien, heroic.16 They remind us of our homeland and invite us to embark on an epic journ
... See morePaul M. Gould • Cultural Apologetics
The collective mind of our culture is largely anti-intellectual and shallow, lacking the intellectual categories or ability to think deeply about things that matter most. Many are guided more by feeling and desire than by reason.
Paul M. Gould • Cultural Apologetics
In the Bible we find not only the greatest story ever told but the greatest possible story ever told.15 It features man’s tragedy, a divine comedy, and a fairy-tale ending.16 It’s an inviting story that points us, relentlessly, to the deep and abiding love of a God who creates, pursues, redeems, and restores all that he has made.
Paul M. Gould • Cultural Apologetics
He powerfully demonstrates how technology is not neutral, and carried within it are the seeds of our own destruction as our loves and longings are redirected toward the petty and perverse.
Paul M. Gould • Cultural Apologetics
Another argument against technology. I’m reading this book on the Kindle app on my iPad. I read the Bible, do Bible Study daily, listen and memorize scripture all on digital platforms. Sure, technology can be used negatively, but it can also be used positively, which I believe by definition makes it neutral? It will certainly be interesting to see how AI plays into this. I am afraid, as we have already observed with AI girlfriends, etc., it will have an overall negative impact on society. But, again, we have also seen a lot of positives with AI. I would argue technology is simply another tool, like guns, shovels, pens, or otherwise. Surely, all of those implements could be used for good or harm, rendering them neutral.
We, like Odysseus, must also face three jolting facts: we long for home, we are not home, and we can’t find our own way home.
Paul M. Gould • Cultural Apologetics
“turned me into believing there is a power greater than myself and there is a purpose for me on this planet.”
Paul M. Gould • Cultural Apologetics
What began as the suppression of truth about God has led to, in the West at least, disenchantment. Emptied of transcendence, the human experience of the world fades to grey.