Cultural Apologetics: You're Already Doing It!

This season of With All Due Respect is sponsored by Morling College, a Christ-centred higher-education institution shaped by its Baptist heritage and broad evangelical vision. Morling is committed to rigorous theological study, deep spiritual formation, and learning how to engage faithfully and thoughtfully with difference. Study options include ministry and theology, counselling, chaplaincy, and education. Download a course guide to explore whether Morling is the right place for your next step. 

Sam Chan
Reverend Dr Sam Chan is a cultural analyst, public speaker and medical doctor, born in Hong Kong, who studied medicine in Sydney and completed a PhD at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Chicago. He is a fellow at The Keller Center, a public speaker for City Bible Forum and Third Space, and the head trainer and mentor at the EvQ School of Evangelism. He is also an award-winning author of books on evangelism and cultural engagement. He carries the unique talent of playing the recorder with his nose, complementing his engaging personality.

Key Points:

• Cultural apologetics is expanding beyond traditional apologetic approaches to include engagement with society's broad cultural landscapes, focusing on what is considered true, good, and beautiful.
• Sam Chan highlights that "evangelism today is not just about what is true, but about what is good and beautiful," underlining the relevance of cultural apologetics in the modern world.
• Through a lens forged by thinkers like Kevin Van Hooser, cultural exegesis involves a dialogue with cultural texts to understand societal worldviews.
• The overlap between cultural engagement and apologetics offers fresh avenues for articulating Christian truths within the cultural fabric, reaching out to believers and non-believers alike.
• Jane Austen's enduring works provide a historical perspective, underscoring the synthesis between faith and cultural storytelling, which remains relevant in navigating contemporary cultural dialogues.

Notable Quotes:

1. "Evangelism today is not just about what is true, but about what is good and beautiful." - Sam Chan
2. "Cultural apologetics strives to fulfill cultural storylines, making the gospel relatable in a rapidly changing world." - Sam Chan
3. "Every culture has a worldview and cultural texts that express this worldview, which we then interpret, and that these texts further shape" - Sam Chan outline of how culture and worldview interact.
4. "No one's ever truly a blank slate." - Sam Chan outlining the historical rootedness of cultural engagement.
5. "We need to talk in a way that isn't cobblers—we need to do that act of translation in a way that resonates." - Michael Jensen

Resources

• Book Discussed in Episode: "The Gospel After Christendom" by various authors including Sam Chan.
• Paul Gould's Book: "Cultural Apologetics" (2019)

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.