STAND FOR YOUR FAITH (Joe Goodspeed)

My devotional tonight is by my friend, Joe Goodspeed. Joe is a longtme minister of the Gospel who now writes extensively on Facebook. He is also the father of our WCS librarian, Dinae King, and the father in law of Randy King, my insurance agent and my brother Dave's college roommate! Pray for me as I am on my way back to the US!

I was just a 1st year graduate student, and he was a PhD, and high ranking professor of the English department. This of course meant he outranked me hands down.
But he had made a statement really out of his field when he said, "The apostle Paul often copied the ideas of Plato. 
I knew that by a direct argument I would have a hard time scoring much, but I remembered that it is amazing at times what can by done with a question. So I said, "Dr Reeves, did you have any particular quotations from Paul which are Platonic?"
Everything was very still. After a significant time, Dr. Reeves said, "Well, no, not at the time, but there are several times that Paul used Plato's ideas."
And then I used a tool of debate which is often overlooked, yet which can be very effective. It's called silence. Though Dr. Reeves may have felt that he had made his point, I believe it was evident to the class that the professor had made a charge against the Bible, and especially against the apostle Paul, but he was unable to sustain. He really was a brilliant man, but he was out of his field and he was wrong. "Be ready always to give answer to those who ask you a reason for the hope that is in you, yet with meekness and fear" (1 Peter 3;15).

God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1
www.hawleybooks.com
E-mail me at steve@hawleybooks.com