Scholarly Reading
9/24/26
Espinosa, Alfonso. (2025). "Introduction: Contending while Loving." (pp. 1-15). In Contending for Christ Through the Creed: Apologetics for Loving Answers on the Christian Faith. Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock. (Personal Library)
Espinosa, commenting on Jude 3 and the appeal to contend for the Christian faith, takes the contention to be a firm but gentle insistence that Jesus is the king of all (Espinosa 2025, p. 1). In other words, it is different from what we would culturally call "contentious." Arguments are not to be argumentative in nature. The whole is intended simply to maintain the truth claims Jesus makes in Scripture. Our contentions are to harmonize with the love of Christ (Espinosa 2025, p. 3).
The object of our contention, says Espinosa, is the faith delivered to the saints. It is not something abstract in nature (Espinosa 2025, p. 3). Rather, it is something which can be identified in concrete terms.
Espinosa evaluates interactions based largely on their tendency to label and demonize those with whom the speaker disagrees (Espinosa 2025, p. 5). The inconsistency between a message of God's love for others and a person's apparent hatred for others discourages onlookers from being open to the Christian faith.
In contrast to this inconsistency, Espinosa builds a case for Christians to communicate the way God in Christ does (Espinosa 2025, p. 6). This involves gentle and persistent loving encouragement to people who need to live life in a way that honors God. Espinosa provides numerous examples of this pattern in Scripture.
Means of communication shown in the Scripture are manifold. Espinosa identifies the use of words for dialog, which may include lecture or interactive questioning (Espinosa 2025, p. 9). The discussion normally acknowledges dignity and respect for all points of view even as there is a search for a right conclusion.
To engage in positive dialog, it is necessary to understand both the culture and what the Christian message has to say to that culture (Espinosa 2025, p. 10). An understanding of a culture is not easy. Espinosa observes that cultures change quickly and that, in our culture, the Christian faith has increasingly been seen as irrelevant. Espinosa also suggests an important issue in a recent decline of people's concern with face-to-face communication.
In this book Espinosa sets out to apply the Apostles' Creed as a framework of contending for the Christian faith in our current culture (Espinosa 2025, p. 11). He provides the text of the Creed (Espinosa 2025, pp. 11-12), then briefly describes the articles of the Creed as being derived directly from biblical texts.
The chapter concludes with a number of questions for reflection and discussion (Espinosa 2025, pp. 14-15).
9/24/26
Espinosa, Alfonso. (2025). "Introduction: Contending while Loving." (pp. 1-15). In Contending for Christ Through the Creed: Apologetics for Loving Answers on the Christian Faith. Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock. (Personal Library)
Espinosa, commenting on Jude 3 and the appeal to contend for the Christian faith, takes the contention to be a firm but gentle insistence that Jesus is the king of all (Espinosa 2025, p. 1). In other words, it is different from what we would culturally call "contentious." Arguments are not to be argumentative in nature. The whole is intended simply to maintain the truth claims Jesus makes in Scripture. Our contentions are to harmonize with the love of Christ (Espinosa 2025, p. 3).
The object of our contention, says Espinosa, is the faith delivered to the saints. It is not something abstract in nature (Espinosa 2025, p. 3). Rather, it is something which can be identified in concrete terms.
Espinosa evaluates interactions based largely on their tendency to label and demonize those with whom the speaker disagrees (Espinosa 2025, p. 5). The inconsistency between a message of God's love for others and a person's apparent hatred for others discourages onlookers from being open to the Christian faith.
In contrast to this inconsistency, Espinosa builds a case for Christians to communicate the way God in Christ does (Espinosa 2025, p. 6). This involves gentle and persistent loving encouragement to people who need to live life in a way that honors God. Espinosa provides numerous examples of this pattern in Scripture.
Means of communication shown in the Scripture are manifold. Espinosa identifies the use of words for dialog, which may include lecture or interactive questioning (Espinosa 2025, p. 9). The discussion normally acknowledges dignity and respect for all points of view even as there is a search for a right conclusion.
To engage in positive dialog, it is necessary to understand both the culture and what the Christian message has to say to that culture (Espinosa 2025, p. 10). An understanding of a culture is not easy. Espinosa observes that cultures change quickly and that, in our culture, the Christian faith has increasingly been seen as irrelevant. Espinosa also suggests an important issue in a recent decline of people's concern with face-to-face communication.
In this book Espinosa sets out to apply the Apostles' Creed as a framework of contending for the Christian faith in our current culture (Espinosa 2025, p. 11). He provides the text of the Creed (Espinosa 2025, pp. 11-12), then briefly describes the articles of the Creed as being derived directly from biblical texts.
The chapter concludes with a number of questions for reflection and discussion (Espinosa 2025, pp. 14-15).
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