Media, worldview markets and the Christian faith
The marketplace (agora) in ancient Athens has been called the first mass medium. The way to our modern media world is therefore surpisingly short. Both the ancient Athenian agora and our present-day media has a key cultural function as worldview markets.
My PhD thesis in Religious Studies from The Open University (UK 2001) explores these issues, with specific emphasis on how the apostle Paul argued for the truth of the Christian worldview in Athens and to what extent this apologetic approach may be a model for Christians in today’s pluralistic media world.
A. The following video resources provide a summary of my research findings:
- Talk: Paul in Athens (40 minutes talk, ELF 2014)
- Answers to questions ([recommended] 2-5 minutes, ELF 2014):
- How does Luke depict Paul in the Book of Acts?
- What is the aim of apologetics according to Paul?
- How does Paul present a model for Christian apologetics in Acts?
- How can Paul’s form of apologetics be used to engage post-modernism?
- How is Paul’s form of apologetics based on the evidence of the resurrection?
B. I also recommend the following articles on Acts 17:
- «Acts 17 as an apologetic model» [Whitefield Briefing March 2002, vol. 7, no 1]
- «Encountering and engaging a postmodern context: Applying the apologetic model in Acts 17″ [Whitefield Briefing December 2002, vol 7, no 6]
- «Acts 17:16-34. An Apologetic Model Then and Now?» in Tyndale Bulletin 53.2 (2002) 313-316 [Dissertation Summary]
C. The following related resources may also be of interest:
- «Truth Christian Mission and Apologetics A Response and A Proposal» (NTM 2013:1, 21-38) [recommended]
- Lausanne Global Conversation 2010: Making the Case for the Truth of Christ: Exploring a Biblical Model
- I also recommend the audio file with my lecture Biblical Foundations and Models for Christian Apologetics.
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Medier, livssynsmarked og kristen tro
Torget (agoraen) i antikkens Aten har blitt kalt det første massemediet. Veien er dermed ikke lang til vår tids medier – som også fungerer som livssynstorg.
I min doktoravhandling i religionsvitenskap (Open University [UK], 2001) utforsket jeg hvordan Paulus argumenterte for den kristne troens sannhet på livssynstorget i Aten – og hvordan dette kan være en modell for kristne i dagens pluralistisk mediesamfunn.
Les gjerne følgende introduksjonsartikkel:
- «Med Paulus på livssynstorget» (norsk) – eller på svensk: «Med Paulus på livsåskådningstorget«
Se også de engelskspråklige ressursene som er nevnt ovenfor.
(Updated 15th January 2015)