Seminary President: You Must Learn How to Defend Your Faith in These Chaotic End Times
In these chaotic end times, Dr. Richard Land says, God wants His people to be educated in His Word and to have the ability to defend their faith in a culture that has become increasingly hostile to—if not violent—to those who love Jesus.
The president of Southern Evangelical Seminary in Matthews, North Carolina, Land says he’s seen people from all walks of life and from all professional backgrounds make life changes to pursue the kingdom calling to which God has assigned them. And that means getting the training—perhaps through seminary or other forms of Christian education—that is required.
Southern Evangelical Seminary was founded in 1993 by Dr. Norman Geisler, one of the premier Christian apologists of the last third of the 20th century. Geisler was the mentor for Ravi Zacharias, the great Christian apologist who passed away earlier this week.
“I’ve been here (at Southern) for seven years, and I’ve been surprised at the number of folks we get here who are mid-career and changing professions,” Land told Dr. Steve Greene on a recent episode of Greenelines on the Charisma Podcast Network. “These are civil engineers, lawyers and businessmen who really don’t want to spend the last half of their life doing what they have been doing. They want to spend the last half of their life ministering to the church and witnessing for the Lord.
“So, they are coming to us at night and getting their master’s degree and beyond. And so, we are committed to producing men and women who can go forth and defend the Christian faith and evangelize the world. We teach apologetics, which, as you know, is always being ready to give a reasonable explanation of the hope that lies within you, using natural law, the hope that lies within the heart as well as God’s revelation as the inerrant and infallible Word of God.
“We try to integrate, in every one of our classes, theology, philosophy and the Bible. We try to do all three in every class.”
Land says enrollment at Southern Evangelical Seminary has actually increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Southern is a pioneer in online Christian education. Land says it’s affordable and it’s convenient.
To explore more about advanced Christian education and Southern Evangelical Seminary, listen to the entire podcast.
