BCF speaker urges students to not remain silent on views

GRACEVILLE (BCF)-Quoting the words of C.S. Lewis on the allowances believers make in order to accommodate the views of non-believers, David Noebel warned students and others at the Baptist College of Florida in Graceville to be vigilent and bold in presenting a Christian witness.

"As Christians we are tempted to make unnecessary concessions to those outside the faith. We give in way too much. We must show our Christian colors if we are to be true to Jesus Christ. We cannot remain silent and concede everything away," said Noebel at the March Powell Lecture Series at The Baptist College of Florida March 15-17.

Noebel spends his life’s work giving similar encouragement to college students all over the country through the Colorado based Summit Ministries where he serves as president. The organization, established in 1962, utilizes a variety of conferences to train Christians "to analyze alternative worldviews and equip them to champion the Christian faith."

In short, Noebel said he is in the business of teaching students how to defend their faith in the face of strong opposition from professors whom they will likely encounter with opposing worldviews.

"We are losing our finest Christian students right now on our institutions of higher education by the thousands," said Noebel. "And that’s bad enough . . . but when you lose Christian kids at some of our Christian colleges that’s a scandal. That should not be."

A recognized expert on worldview analysis and the decline of morality and spirituality in Western Civilization, Noebel said many of the concessions made by Christians, including students, are due to a lack of knowledge.

"We remain silent because we don’t know the issues, and don’t know the opposition’s worldview. We remain silent out of ignorance, not because we don’t have enough courage," he clarified. "We are in a huge clash in our western civilization with a great clash of worldviews."

In light of this clash, Noebel declares that Christians must become more knowledgeable about both their own faith and the secular humanist worldview in a necessary effort to stop conceding ground. He gave biblical reference to the cause citing II Corinthians 10:5 in which Paul states that it is part of the Christian responsibility to have the ability to overthrow the reasonings of those who say there is no God.

Accomplishing this, he said, requires a "total" worldview. "

The only thing that will speak to the secular humanist worldview is the Christian worldview," Noebel asserted. He outlined the philosophical foundations of this total Christian worldview as defined in his book The Battle for Truth, identifying the Christian response to each area of any worldview:

1. Theology- theism
2. Philosophy- supernaturalism
3. Ethics- absolute morality
4. Psychology- soul
5. Sociology- home, church, and state as institutions ordained by God, natural Biblical law
6. Politics- human government ordained by God
7. Economics- stewardship of property
8. History- resurrection of Jesus Christ

These philosophical foundations, he stated, are a necessary education for every Christian because ideas hold much power.

"Ideas will capture you or you will capture them," Noebel stated, "[They] rule the world."

To illustrate the importance of the idea, Noebel quoted Albert Camus: "'Mistaken ideas always end in bloodshed, but in every case it is someone else’s blood. That is why some of our thinkers feel free to say just about anything,'" concluded Noebel.

Noebel also said he is concerned that college students across the country will be destroyed by the views espoused by their college professors, whose lives are rarely affected by the views they themselves purport to hold.

To illustrate this crisis, Noebel told the story of a letter he received from the parents of a young girl who was raised in a Christian home, attended Christian school and had a personal faith in Jesus Christ. At the age of 20 she decided to attend a liberal state institution and within four years had turned her back on her faith in favor of the philosophical ideas she had been taught by her professors.

Noebel points out that this girl was not a philosophy or anthropology major as would be expected from the philosophical ideas she was taught, but was studying English and political science when she was faced with these new "ideas."

This story, he says, illustrates the dire need for every Christian to recognize and understand the Christian worldview in its totality and to be able to respond to the teachings of other philosophies. "Better she were ignorant than lost," he laments of the girl in the letter.

Noebel stays active in the pursuit of sharing this message through speaking engagements and the publication of books on the topic. The popular lecturer has been a guest on numerous national radio and television programs including The 700 Club, Focus on the Family, Truths that Transform, Point of View, Today’s Issues, the Moody Broadcasting Network, the AFA Network and the Josh McDowell Program. In addition, he has authored numerous books including his most recent works: The New York Times Best Seller Mind Siege with Tim LaHaye released in 2001, and The Battle for Truth released in January 2002.