ABOUT

Ratio Christi (a Latin term meaning “the reason of Christ”) serves to defend the Christian faith in honest dialogue with both our skeptical & believing friends at Texas A&M. Together, we investigate the historical, philosophical, and scientific reasons for the truth, rationality, and significance of the message of Jesus Christ, a discipline known as apologetics. Ratio Christi is an international organization with university chapters around the world.

Apologetics is a branch in Christian theology that aims to provide a rational basis for believing in Christianity and defending it against objection. This includes things such as giving reasons to believe in the existence of God, reliability of Scripture, and historicity of the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth.

Ratio Christi officially endorses what is called mere Christianity which consists of the essential truths shared by all branches of Christianity as summarized in the historic Apostles’, Nicene, Chalcedonian, and Athanasian creeds.

We are not part of any particular denomination or church. Membership is open to adherents of any faith or of no faith.

Chapter Statement of Faith

The Holy Scriptures
We believe the Holy Scriptures contained in the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testament are God's Word, inspired by the Holy Spirit, completely trustworthy and without error. They alone are the ultimate authority and standard for all saving knowledge, faith, and obedience in life.

God

We believe in one true and living God, the Creator and Sustainer of all. He is eternal, infinite, and unchangeable in power, perfection, goodness, glory, wisdom, and truth. He works all things according to his will and for his glory.

The Trinity
We believe in one true and living God in three Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, distinct yet undivided, equal in substance, power, eternity, and glory.

The Human Race
We believe all persons are created in the image of God their Creator to glorify and enjoy him forever, and are called to fulfill his purposes in this world. However, we as the human race, on account of our first parents, have become fallen in nature and estranged from our Creator through the power and bondage of sin. Apart from God, we could not fulfill the original purpose for which we were created, but instead live in misery and would perish forever.

The Person of Jesus Christ
We believe that, out of God’s love for us, the Son became a man in the person of Jesus Christ in order to deliver the human race from its fallen and estranged condition by reconciling us to God. Jesus accomplished salvation for his people. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary. Through his sinless life, empowered by the Holy Spirit, Jesus perfectly obeyed and satisfied the righteous requirement of God’s Law, securing the reward of eternal life with God for us. Through his suffering and death upon the cross, Jesus came under the penalty of God’s Law as a Substitute for us, taking the punishment for sin upon himself and satisfying the justice of God. Through his bodily resurrection on the third day, Jesus overcame death so that we could share in the righteousness that he secured for us through the shedding of his blood and live a joyful life in the hope of the resurrection. Jesus is now ascended to heaven and seated at the Father’s right hand, and we await his imminent return in glory and judgment.

Salvation
We believe each person may receive salvation by renouncing their former manner of life and believing in Jesus Christ alone for salvation. Such are united to Christ. Salvation is not earned by good works, but is a gift of God through faith alone. An obedient life is lived by the power of the Holy Spirit and is a response in gratitude for what God has accomplished for us in Christ, which is evidence of the salvation we have freely received by grace alone.

The Holy Spirit

We believe the Holy Spirit is granted irrevocably to all who are united to Christ. He enables us to understand God’s Word and to live a life of prayer, conforming us to the image of Christ. He convicts of sin, comforts, guides, bestows spiritual gifts, and places the desire to obey God within us.

The Church

We believe in the visible and invisible church. The invisible church is the people of God across time and space. They are sojourners in this world who are called by God and united in Christ, who is the head of his church, and as such are “the body of Christ.” The visible church is composed of professing Christians who join together in local congregations to worship their Lord, grow together in his likeness, and enjoy serving him together. They follow the commandment of love and minister through the faithful preaching and teaching of the Word of God and celebrations of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.

We believe all persons are created in the image of God their Creator to glorify and enjoy him forever, and are called to fulfill his purposes in this world. However, we as the human race, on account of our first parents, have become fallen in nature and estranged from our Creator through the power and bondage of sin. Apart from God, we could not fulfill the original purpose for which we were created, but instead live in misery and would perish forever.

We believe that, out of God’s love for us, the eternal Son of God became a man in the person of Jesus Christ in order to deliver the human race from its fallen and estranged condition by reconciling us to God. Jesus accomplished salvation for his people. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary. Through his sinless life, empowered by the Holy Spirit, Jesus perfectly obeyed and satisfied the righteous requirement of God’s Law, securing the reward of eternal life with God for us. Through his suffering and death upon the cross, Jesus came under the penalty of God’s Law as a Substitute for us, taking the punishment for sin upon himself and satisfying the justice of God. Through his bodily resurrection on the third day, Jesus overcame death so that we could share in the righteousness that he secured for us through the shedding of his blood and live a joyful life in the hope of the resurrection. Jesus is now ascended to heaven and seated at the Father’s right hand, and we await his imminent return in glory and judgment.

We believe each person may receive salvation by renouncing their former manner of life and believing in Jesus Christ alone for salvation. Such are united to Christ. Salvation is not earned by good works, but is a gift of God through faith alone. An obedient life is lived by the power of the Holy Spirit and is a response in gratitude for what God has accomplished for us in Christ, which is evidence of the salvation we have freely received by grace alone.

Just show up to the meetings/events that interest you!

Yes, we welcome members of a non-religious or skeptical background, not as “conversion projects” but as fellow seekers of truth. We strive not to create an echo chamber with only those who share the same views. “The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him.” – Proverbs 18:17)

Each week, we meet to discuss one of a wide range of topics. Such as…

• Difficult questions, e.g. 'Why does God allow evil?'

• Philosophical arguments for/against the existence of God

• Historical evidence for the resurrection of Jesus

• Interaction between science and faith

• The reliability of the Bible

• Controversial topics from the Old Testament, such as genocide, slavery, historicity, etc.

• Responding to objections to the Gospel and the Christian faith

Ratio Christi is not a Bible study group. We do discuss topics relevant to the study of the Bible. For example, we discuss:

• Understanding what the Bible is and how it functions. We explore topics such as inspiration, authority, sola scriptura, inerrancy, infallibility, etc.

• Interpreting the Bible and unpacking difficult passages and ideas (e.g. the creation narrative(s), the Mosaic law, the conquest of Canaan, salvation and free will, etc.).

• The role of science, history, and culture in the interpretation of the Bible

However, we do not dedicate a semester to studying a book or section of scripture week by week. 

Guest Speakers: We periodically host experts in philosophy, apologetics, and theology to speak on-campus.

Reading Group: Each semester, we pick a book to read and meet a few times throughout the semester to discuss.

Apologetics Library: We have a growing library of online resources which includes original outlines from our own meetings as well as links to other online apologetic ministries. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, you can email us and one of our members should be able to help you out.

Fun Things: We also just hang out and have fun too!

We would be glad to work with your organization; contact us at RatioChristiTAMU [at] gmail [dot] com. Below are a few suggestions. 

Coordinate a Lesson: If you would like to present an apologetics oriented lesson to your group but are unsure of how to put it together, we can work with you to construct (and even help present) such a lesson to your group. We would be able to accommodate the format or structure that is unique to your group.

Host a Meeting: In RC, we have our own style of doing things. Beforehand, one of our leaders will select the topic for the evening, research it, and put together a short handout. Then, we set up a type of forum where the topic is presented for about a third of the time and open discussion takes up the remainder of the time. We then conclude with a brief summary that ties together the loose threads of the discussion.

If this is something you would like to do with your group, we would be able to send some of our leaders to host an RC style forum during your meeting time with your members. The topic of discussion can be completely up to you!

Offer an Invitation: If you think that some of your members may be interested in what RC does, but, you do not have the time to dedicate a full meeting to apologetics, we would be able to send one of our leaders to give a brief presentation on apologetics and answer any questions your members might have. We would then provide our contact information for anyone whose interested to contact us in their free time.

Visit an RC Meeting: We have our own meetings every Thursday at 8:30pm (check schedule for location). If one of our topics piques your interest, feel free to come!

Create Your Own: If you have an idea that you think will maximize our resources for your group but is not listed here, be sure to contact us and we’ll do our best to work with you!

If you support what RC does and if we can be a benefit to your group, please let us know, even if it is as simple as pitching your group in our announcements!