Author: Jonathan Dodson

Atheist Applauds Christian Work in Africa

Posted on January 13, 2009

Now a confirmed atheist, I’ve become convinced of the enormous contribution that Christian evangelism makes in Africa: sharply distinct from the work of secular NGOs, government projects and international aid efforts. These alone will not do. Education and training alone will not do. In Africa Christianity changes people’s hearts. It brings a spiritual transformation. The rebirth is real. The change is good. – Matthew Paris, Self-proclaimed Atheist

Read the rest here.

PlantR: From Planting to Movement

Posted on January 12, 2009

It’s easy to get stuck planting your own church. With so much to do in the first couple of years, it’s difficult  to think beyond the boundaries of your own plant. The funny thing is that most church plant visions are bigger than their own church, like ours—“redemptively engaging peoples and cultures“? Or what about “To call every person to the Life Change found in Jesus Christ”? Yet, if our visions are going to translate into reality, planters need to work in partnership with like-minded leaders, churches, planters, and organizations to see their God-sized visions fulfilled.

In Austin, we are discovering planters who want to think beyond planting to city renewal. The remarkable level of kingdom-mindedness has fostered an attitude among planters that suggest moving from planting to movement is possible. With churches and plants partnering together, we envision a Christ-centered, context-sensitive church planting movement for social and spiritual renewal of Austin and beyond. This is the vision of PlantR, a trans-denominational network committed to helping church planters plant and reproduce healthy missional churches.

PlantR is coming into its first full year as a formal network. We have a lot of dreams about seeing this vision fulfilled. But what is most exciting is the people who are willing to partner across theological and denominational lines to bless a city in the name of Christ. Our cool new website, designed by John Chandler at Strange Idea Labs, is up and is filling out. Consider joining us by:

We need your help to reach this city! Look for more thoughts to come on moving from planting to movement in the future. I will be co-leading a breakout on this topic at the Missional Community Leader Conference on Feb 6-7.

The New Atheism

Posted on January 12, 2009

I recently spoke on Atheism. Here are a few nuggets I picked up along the way that I didn’t share in that message:

New Atheists Aren’t So New

“The new atheists are “new” primarily because they share in common the conviction that the latest advances of scientific discovery and thought make belief in God unnecessary.” And, Haack adds, because they are heavily evangelistic about their faith. The way to deal with their aggressive proselytizing and name-calling is to: “Exude quite confidence in the gospel, not arrogant combativeness towards those who oppose your beliefs.” – Denis Haack, Engaging New Atheists,” Critique vol.4, 7. A helpful piece on how to engage atheists.

Atheism Nor Theism Can Be Proved

Failure to rationally prove the existence of God doesn’t mean that God doesn’t exist; it simply means one failed at a rational argument. Atheism, like Christianity, requires faith. Atheists believe that God does not exist, but they cannot prove it. The real question is which worldview rings true and offers the highest good.

Self-refuting Nature of Natural Selection

Natural selection works on the principle of adaptation, which means that a better human with a better idea about how things came to be will eventually evolve. If that is the case, what faith can we put in Darwin/Dawkins theories about human nature and the existence of God? On the other hand, if we are made in the image of God with reason and a soul, created to relate to God, then we rely not on theories but his self-revelation. For more on this point, see Plantinga’s article, “The Dawkins Confusion