Os Guinness | April 17, 2011
As we discuss how the church can engage an increasingly post-Christian culture in the west, it is helpful to take a step back from our own times and historically examine how Christianity has dealt with cultures that seemed implacably opposed to it. Christianity was never expected to convert the Roman empire; nor was it expected to convert the barbarian tribes after Rome fell. Yet, it both cases it succeeded despite the odds. Similarly today, Christians must hold onto hope for a revival in the modern west.
This lecture was given as part of the Gospel & Culture Lecture series featuring Os Guinness. Os Guinness is an author and social critic. Great-great grandson of Arthur Guinness, the Dublin brewer, he was born in China in World War Two where his parents were medical missionaries. A witness to the climax of the Chinese revolution in 1949, he was expelled with many other foreigners in 1951 and returned to Europe where he was educated in England.
This Month's Featured Book
In The Prodigal God, Tim Keller examines the way Jesus presents the parable to speak both to those who run from God and to those who try to earn his love by being good. It reveals the heart of the gospel—a message of hope for both the rebellious younger brother and the judgmental older brother, and an invitation for all to experience God’s grace.