Author Archives

Andy Bannister

Dr. Andy Bannister is a popular speaker, author and broadcaster. Andy is the Director of Solas, an organisation that helps people think about the big questions of life. He speaks and teaches regularly throughout the UK, Canada, the USA, and the wider world on issues relating to faith, culture, politics and society. Andy holds a PhD in Islamic Studies and has published books on everything from Islam to atheism to communication.

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Thinking Clearly, Listening Well

I recently had the privilege of being interviewed by Servant Magazine about apologetics, my work with RZIM, and the Burning Questions TV series that I wrote and presented (it was aired on Canadian TV last year and is now available as a DVD). The transcript is below, or you can download it as a PDF if you prefer.

Servant Magazine: Is there a difference between the questions that people are actually asking and what Christians believe they are asking?

Sometimes, yes. Christians do have a tendency to assume we know the questions people are asking rather than really listening to them. The same goes for the culture: sometimes we think we understand it without actually listening to what’s being said, discussed or broadcast. Among the most common concerns that rise to the top are issues like the meaning of life, whether there’s more to life than the material, or where true, lasting peace can be found. Perhaps one might sum those up in the bigger question: “What does it mean to be human?” You can’t properly address that question without asking the “God question,” but if we jump straight to the latter, we’ll talk past people.

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The Magical Moral Mystery

When I was thirteen years old, one of my favourite hobbies was conjuring. Every Saturday morning, I would faithfully trek across London to attend classes at Davenports Magic Shop, an Aladdin’s cave of a place which was all the more wondrous for being located in an underground mall deep below Charing Cross. There I learnt how to baffle people with card tricks, make money disappear,[1] and pull rabbits from hats.[2]

Of all the tricks I mastered, my favourite was the shell game. One of the oldest tricks known to magicians, its premise is simple: behold, three small wooden cups. Beneath one is placed a small ball. The cups are shuffled and some innocent bystander asked to guess where the ball is. No matter where they guess, their answer turns out to be wrong: the magician always wins.

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Four Key Principles for Apologetics

TalkingSilh

At its heart, apologetics is beautifully simple and intricately connected to the heart of the gospel. As I’ve wrestled with people’s questions, I’ve learned there are a number of basic principles that apply time and again, no matter who I’m talking with.

1. Know what you believe

This is a challenge for those of us raised in the Church, or who have been Christians for decades. Too often we give how-shaped answers to why-shaped questions. If somebody asks you why you are a Christian, giving a narrative of how you became one isn’t always helpful. Many of our friends want to know why you’re a Christian now, today, with all of the challenges to your faith that daily attack you. What’s your elevator speech for Christianity?

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Isn’t Christianity Arrogant?

One of the most common accusations flung at Christians is that they are arrogant. “How can you believe that you’re right and Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims—all the thousands of other religions—are wrong?” Isn’t it the height of arrogance to claim that Jesus is the way to God? A way, possibly. But the way?

This issue haunts many Christians and makes us reluctant to talk about our faith. We don’t want to appear arrogant, bigoted, or intolerant. This pluralistic view of religions thrives very easily in places like Canada or Europe where tolerance is valued above everything else. It’s very easy slip from the true claim—”all people have equal value”—to the false claim that “all ideas have equal merit.” But those are two very different ideas indeed.