Mark Coppenger – författare

Have Christians grown accustomed to those who defame the Church? Whether it’s a best-selling author who claims “religion poisons everything” or an atheist comedian whose punch lines aren’t hassled by the burden of proof, foes of the faith continue to declare Christianity morally deficient without much resistance. In Moral Apologetics for Contemporary Christians, Mark Coppenger mixes compelling references—from classic philosophers to modern entertainers—to reasonably push back against both harsh critics and less intense cultural relativists, contending that Christianity is morally superior to its competitors as well as true.Coppenger doesn’t avoid uncomfortable realities like the misbehavior of many Christians and false teachers, but he sets the book’s course in defense of his faith with evidence that a Christian approach to life makes people and societies flourish, while those who turn their backs on genuine Christianity are more liable to behave wickedly.“I hope to help replenish our cultural confidence,” he writes. “We have a great moral story to tell, and it surely points to the Author of Light and Life.”Acclaim for Moral Apologetics for Contemporary Christians:"I wish every Christian could have the opportunity of sitting in Mark Coppenger''s classroom—a place of constant intellectual exchange, all aimed at developing a consistently biblical worldview. Well, reading this book is as close as many Christians may ever get to sitting in that classroom, but it is an experience not to be missed. This book is a tour de force of apologetic thought, revealing ethical issues to be apologetic opportunities. Fascinating on every page . . . get ready for a guided tour through contemporary culture and Christian apologetics." R. Albert Mohler, Jr., president, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary"Mark Coppenger is not only the author of a strategy for doing moral  apologetics, he is a skilled practioner. As a seminary professor, church planter, soldier, and world traveler who has never met a 

stranger, Mark''s method has been tested in the laboratory of personal experience from New York City to Jakarta and from Toronto to Rio de Janero."C. Ben Mitchell, Graves professor of Moral Philosophy, Union University"Pascal noted that ''the heart has reasons that reason cannot know.'' Mark Coppenger in his extraordinary book realizes the mind has positions the brain cannot fathom. Here in poignant argumentation is the case for faith and the natural state of morality. His explanations are breathtakingly persuasive regardless of your religious conviction."Herbert I. London, president emeritus, Hudson Institute"Mark Coppenger has rendered a great service to the Christian church in the 21st Century. Moral Apologetics is a special gift to all of those faithful Christians who believe that Christianity brings new life to the mind as well as to the soul. Moral Apologetics should be added to every thinking Christian''s bookshelf."Richard Land, president, Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention

Evangelical discourse on the role of arts in the church can be radioactive, and the twenty-one contributors to this book walk right into the "hot zone" to pick up on twenty contentious questions. The volume is a series of written dialogues, each one keyed to a cranky question, one that a skeptic might raise (hence the title). Herein, the gainsayers are taken seriously and given their voice. They even find support in some of the contributors'' comments. But apologists for greater use of arts and artists in the church have their say, and things can get edgy. Topics range from the biblically august (the Second Commandment; the regulative principle; Great Commission priorities) to the prudential (expense; "bohemian" influence; weaker brothers) to the programmatic (Christmas festivities; committee makeup). Some of the parties to the discussion are church staffers (pastors and ministers of music); some are professors; several are doctoral students; one is a college student; another, a gallery owner; yet another, a denominational ethicist; and there''s a Canadian and a Korean in the mix. The collection of speakers and opinions is illuminating and bracing, and the fruit of their thinking makes for great reading and discussion.

A dying man hires the services of a cannibal; a customs official insults a world-class sculptor; a farmer complains that low-flying bombers are killing his chickens; two rock groups claim the same name; a monkey takes a selfie; and a minister with mail-order credentials performs a wedding. The resulting court cases (and sixteen others) serve to introduce a wide range of philosophical notions (such as libertarianism, speciesism, and speech acts). Next, a subway employee draws a revolutionary map; a mountain loses its name; a strange cineplex puts people in each others' movies; the art museums of Madrid loom over neighboring buildings; a nautical chart guides seamen into a Connecticut port; and Jerusalem stands "e;due north"e; of the Mediterranean. These maps (twenty-three in all), whether real or imaginary, introduce yet other philosophical notions (such as pragmatism, universals, and paradigms). Along the way in both sections, we meet a wide range of thinkers, from Plato to Aquinas to Hume to Kant to Searle. The explanations and discussion questions are written from a Christian perspective, inviting believers to join in the perennial dialogue with the conviction that if you don't have philosophical and theological positions sorted out, then they will have you.

Apart from the work of God in creation, it''s notoriously difficult to explain the presence of beauty in the world and man''s appreciation for it. Indeed, the aesthetic realm (with its array of phenomena which engage the senses, the mind, and the heart) not only suits the biblical account of the universe, but also points toward it. In making this case, sixteen writers address the shortcomings of naturalistic narratives, the virtues of theistic accounts (particularly those grounded in Christ), and the manner in which the various arts resonate with Scripture.Along the way, readers will encounter the peacock''s tail and Farnsworth House; a Schubert piano sonata and "chopsticks"; Kintsugi and Kitsch; Hugh of St. Victor and Hans Urs von Balthasar; Kandinsky and Eisenstein; the Lydian and Phrygian modes; eucatastrophe and liminal space; McDonald''s and Don Quixote; Smeagol and the Blobfish; Stockhausen and Begbie; Adorno and Kinkade; Mount Auburn Cemetery and Narnia; Fujimura and Schopenhauer.

The movie We Are Marshall brought national attention to the tragic loss and dramatic reconstitution of the school's football team. But neither this film nor the Emmy-winning documentary, Marshall University: Ashes to Glory, explores the spiritual context and effect of the plane crash. Few know that a visiting campus preacher touched the life of a popular defensive lineman the week before his ill-fated flight; that a campus minister was surprised several weeks later by a nighttime visit from students who'd come to ask "e;the Jesus man"e; how to be saved; that two years before the crash, a new, young professor, with a doctorate from India, enlisted five students to help evangelize the campus; and that three decades later, a devout linebacker urged the coach to change the name of a play since it was demeaning to women. The story extends back to the school's log-church beginnings, up through the decades when campus Ys generated foreign missionaries, to the national championship years, when key players testified freely to their faith--nearly two centuries of spiritual highs (and yes, lows) in the life of this remarkable school.