Paul Derengowski, Ph.D.
Wednesday morning, the day before our departure, we were up early for a long day of opportunities scheduled by Dr. Stoker to speak with some of the students and faculty on various subjects. If I am not mistaken, the order was ethics, chapel, and then apologetics. Of the three, the chapel was the largest of the groups, with the ethics and apologetics classes having only a handful of students.
The 9:30 a.m. ethics class centered on the subject of relativism. Dr. Stoker told me prior to the start of class to jump in wherever I felt compelled to comment and add my two cents-worth. Relativism versus absolutism is a favorite argument of mine when I am addressing the atheist worldview. Few people seem to understand the necessity of starting points when arguing for either position, which is why the atheist always paints himself into a corner by asserting with absolute confidence that God does not exist. Anyway, the meeting with the students was real short given that Dr. Stoker and I had to be at the chapel by 10:00 a.m.
At the chapel session, I was the guest speaker. Dr. Stoker wanted me to discuss with those in attendance the substance of an article I had written dealing with the version of the Bible that was available to Muhammad when he was alive and why that was important to the Christian in his/her witness to Muslims. Also, he wanted me to address the subject of Mormonism and address some of the reasons why the claims of Joseph Smith were patently untrue. As is usually the case, the hour went by in a flash, as it was an open forum that allowed the attendees to ask questions.
The most entertaining part of the chapel session involved the discussion about Mormon racism and how
the black man had been cursed with his skin color because he did not fight valiantly in the preexistence. Several black students came up to me afterward to ask questions and make comments about Mormonism’s rationale for drawing such a conclusion. Well all had a good laugh as I went through the details and they thanked me for coming, as well as sharing something that obviously they had never heard before. Dr. Stoker had informed me that the Mormons had just begun canvassing the Potchefstroom area. So, it was good that I had broached the subject. Perhaps, later on, I will be invited back to go into the subject more comprehensively.
The last speaking engagement was later that afternoon. It would be held back in the Theology building with the apologetics class. Dr. Stoker is the head professor of apologetics at NWU. The class, though, was small, much like the ethics class. The subject they were touching on that day basically dealt with the five approaches to apologetics. Both Dr. Stoker and I are Presuppositionalists, which basically means that we begin our defense of the Christian faith with the God’s existence. As I explained to the class, the four remaining approaches start with man and then argues its way back to God utilizing the “evidence.” I have written about this in my article, ‘Methods of Apologetic Practice.’ In both classes, they students were attentive, intelligent, and hospitable. Thank you, Dr. Stoker, for allowing me to be a part.
In between the chapel session and apologetics class, my wife and I went to lunch, which was an experience in itself. Dr. Stoker had drawn us a map by hand of some of the places nearby that we could go. He was a on tight teaching and administrative schedule, so he could not go with us. The map, though, was not quite as precise as he probably intended. So, we ended up walking and walking and walking to the wrong places. What made it somewhat precarious is that I was carrying around my computer bag, with my laptop, unaware that thieves often prey upon tourists just like us wandering about looking like we did not have a clue what we were doing or where we were going. Amazingly, we happened to stumbled upon the places that Dr. Stoker recommended, we had lunch, and we made it back to the school without incident. We all had a good laugh about it later with Dr. Stoker, as I gigged him about his cartography prowess.
At the end of the day, Dr. Stoker, my wife and I stopped by a local deli and picked up dinner. He took us back to our efficiency apartment at the Villa and we made preparations to get ready to come home.
