A few weeks ago, Christianity Today published an article by Michael Licona titled, “I Befriended Bart Ehrman by Debating Him.” In the article, Licona recalls how he initially debated Ehrman in 2008 and how a friendly acquaintance grew out of the exchange. Reading about their casual friendship, I am reminded of the rather more famous camaraderie that […]
friendship
Beyond so-called Friendship Evangelism
Back when I was growing up in the eighties, “evangelism” consisted of accosting people in the street with a tract and a bracing question: “Do you know where you’d go if you died tonight?” (For an example of the kinds of tracts I might have used, see my article “Evangelistic tracts so bad that they’re […]
We’re probably not friends … but don’t take it personally
These days people throw around the word “friend” with an extraordinary glibness. “Joe’s my friend!” may mean nothing more than “I used to work with Joe at McDonalds.” News flash: being in a position where Joe will recognize you on the street does not automatically make Joe your friend. So what is a friend exactly? […]
