When I was a seminary student I was a surprised to hear one of my professors make the statement that he did not believe Christians really needed to do apologetics. The professor was an evangelical. Nonetheless, he felt that, though apologetics was helpful to a limited extent for Christians, it was of no real value for convincing nonbelievers to become Christians. He argued that it was only by the Holy Spirit convicting someone’s heart that a nonbeliever would turn to Christ. In his view the intellect was not that deeply involved in the salvation process.
His perspective caused me to evaluate my own view of the place of apologetics in evangelical Christianity. I read a number of books by authors including C. S. Lewis, Josh McDowell, Francis A. Schaeffer, and Walter Martin. I also read some of the testimonies of former atheists, agnostics, or adherents of non-Christian religions and cults who had taken the time to examine the evidence for the historic Christian faith and decided it had to be true. For example, Malcolm Muggeridge (1903-1990) was a famous leftist and agnostic British journalist. In 1969, at the age of 66, he became disillusioned with Marxism and Socialism. He then looked into the truth claims of Christianity and found them compelling. Later, he wrote a rather forlorn book looking back at his early life titled Chronicles of Wasted Time.
You may ask, just what is “apologetics” anyway? Does it mean we have to apologize for our beliefs? Absolutely not! In fact it is the exact opposite. It is the reason why we need never apologize for our faith. The English word “apologetics” is derived from the Greek word apologia. (The word apologize also is derived from the same Greek word, but it has taken on a different meaning than the original.) Apologia literally means “to give a defense.” As philosophers J. P. Moreland and William Lane Craig define it, “Apologetics is the task of giving a reasoned defense of Christian Theism in light of objections raised against it, and of offering positive evidence on its behalf (Moreland and Craig, Philosophical Foundations for a Christian Worldview, Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2003, p. 14).
It does not mean to sheepishly shield oneself from attacks, but rather that we can boldly assert the truth of who Jesus is and how people may be saved based on verifiable facts of history The word apologia is found eight times in the New Testament (Acts 22:1; 25:16; 1 Cor. 9:3; 2 Cor. 7:11; Phil. 1:7, 16; 2 Tim 4:16). It is found most notably in 1 Peter 3:15, where Peter tells his readers… “but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense (apologia) to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence” (NASB). That verse is the foundational biblical basis for the study of Christian apologetics.
Unfortunately, in the 19th and 20th centuries, modernists (theological liberals) gained control of many of the mainline theological seminaries. As a result, conservative and fundamentalist churches of the time disengaged from the debates by calling, not for intellectual dialog, but for separation. Therefore, people’s confidence in the Bible and Christianity slowly waned as secularism took control of the culture. Only in the past 60 years or so has there been a real revival of conservative Christian scholarship.
Apologetics encompasses a wide variety of disciplines in philosophy, theology, science, literature, history, etc. Sciences like astronomy, archaeology, physics, biology, forensics, and others, have important implications when considering the truth of Christianity. New research fields, like that in the Intelligent Design Movement, though not overtly Christian (many Jews, other theists, and even some agnostics are involved in ID), provide significant support for Theism and the Christian worldview.
So, with all respect to my former professor (if he is still living), I must disagree with his perspective. Based on my nearly fifty years of observations, it is my contention that Christian apologetics is a critical aspect of theological research. In this article I will present what I regard as five essential reasons why we should do apologetics.
1. Apologetics challenges Christians to examine objectively the truth claims of Christianity for themselves.
Many believers grew up in a church and Christian environment. Often their parents were Christians (or at least nominally so). So when they were presented the basic Gospel by a parent, a pastor, or a friend, they gladly accepted Christ as Savior and Lord. This is certainly a good thing. However, later they were exposed to naturalistic concepts, or even outright anti-Christian theories, in school or college. In many cases, because they always took their faith’s truth claims for granted, they never learned how to respond to skeptical intellectual challenges.
So, young believers need to examine, early in their Christian experience, not just what to believe but why they should believe it. No intelligent Christian in the current secular environment should be expected to believe just because it was how they were raised. Learning apologetics will allow the believer to find reasonable answers to their own legitimate questions.
2. Apologetics provides intellectual encouragement for strengthening Christians in their faith.
When a believer examines her own faith and sees that it can stand intellectually, it will naturally encourage her spiritually and strengthen the faith she already possesses. Learning apologetics can be a strong enhancement for the thinking Christian’s faith. Certainly Christianity involves the emotions, the heart, and spiritual experience, but it also includes the mind.
When Jesus was asked which was the greatest commandment, he paraphrased Deuteronomy 6:5 saying, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37 NASB). Intelligence is one distinguishing characteristic of humanity being made in the image of God, unlike any other creature. Thus, we need the encouragement apologetics can provide for the intellectual dimension of our Christian lives.
3. Apologetics provides Christians with solid arguments to defend their faith against anti-Christian skeptics, or adherents of non-Christian religions or cults.
As we already mentioned, Peter told believers to be… “ready to make a defense (apologia) to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence” (Peter 3:15 NASB). We discussed the meaning of the Greek word apologia, as correctly translated here as “defense.” Just as the old saying goes, however, “The best defense is a good offense.” We should prepared to respond firmly and aggressively to those who disparage our faith as intellectually untenable.
Now it is crucial we understand what Peter does not mean by “gentleness and reverence.” He is not suggesting that Christians should simply roll over when confronted by skeptics or anti-Christian adherents of other faiths and cults (e.g.: Muslims or Jehovah’s Witnesses). Peter is only saying that when we confront those challengers of our beliefs, we should be on guard not to get sucked into an argument or to allow ourselves to get overly emotional. If we have confidence that our views are true, there is no reason get upset (though we may upset the challenger with our sound arguments).
Learning apologetics arms us with the information we need to “defend” our faith in the marketplace of ideas. As Paul boldly faced the pagan scholars in Athens by using their own philosophers against them (Acts 17), we can boldly address the attacks of those wishing to discredit our faith today. Does that mean we can always change people’s minds? Of course not, most people are locked in to their worldview. Nonetheless, we do not have to passively stand by and take their criticisms of our worldview and beliefs. Sometimes, however, we can challenge them to revaluate their own ideas and presuppositions.
4. Apologetics provides a reasonable point of contact for witnessing to unbelieving intellectuals.
One of the common challenges in doing personal evangelism is finding a way to engage someone in a conversation that can lead to presenting them the Gospel. Most traditional evangelism training methods suggest discussing a person’s family life, occupation, special interests, hobbies, or sports. Then, they say, ask the person about her religious background. If she or he has a Christian foundation, then, at an appropriate point, present the way of salvation using an outline and quoting specific Bible verses.
That approach works well with someone who is already predisposed to believe the Bible or in Jesus. But what if the person is a committed Atheist, Skeptic, Agnostic, or adherent to another faith group? To immediately dive into a Gospel presentation and quote Bible verses will likely be met with indifference, ridicule, scorn or antagonism.
Apologetic studies can suggest areas of intellectual curiosity that we can use to open a discussion of spiritual issues. For instance, two good questions to address with an Atheist or Agnostic are: (1) “How did the universe come to exist out of nothing?”; and (2) “How did life begin on earth?” Those are two issues for which Atheism has no adequate explanation. We can then suggest that only a God could create them both. This may open her to at least consider the possibility that God exists, which can then lead to what the Bible says. This may begin the process of her honestly examining the foundations of her beliefs.
5. Apologetics helps the Holy Spirit to breakdown spiritual, intellectual, and cultural barriers people may have to believing in Christ.
Legal Journalist, Lee Strobel, in his popular book, The Case of Christ, describes his transformation from skeptical Atheist to committed follower of Jesus, by studying the evidence. “I plunged into the case (for Christ) with more vigor than with any story I had ever pursued. I applied the training I had received at Yale Law School, as well as my experience as legal affairs editor of the Chicago Tribune. And over time, the evidence of the world – of history, of science, of philosophy, of psychology – began to point toward the unthinkable” (Grand Rapids MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1998, p. 11).
So, once a person has opened themselves to the possibility of supernatural phenomena, we can use solid apologetic facts to support, as Sobel calls it, the case for Christianity. Of course, no one can come to Christ purely by intellectual assent to a set of facts. It is the work of the Holy Spirit to convict a person of his sin and to acknowledge his need to receive forgiveness through faith in Jesus. That being said, it is the facts of the Gospel (1 Cor. 15:1-8) that he needs to believe are true in order to have real faith in Jesus. Therefore, explaining why those historical facts (especially His resurrection) are historically valid and reasonable, gives the Holy Spirit a door into the person’s spirit via their intellect. As was true with Strobel, many unbelievers have come to Christ by studying the facts of his life, death, and resurrection, and discovering His reality in their lives.
So, these are five reasons I believe the study of apologetics is crucial for Christians, especially in this postmodern milieu. For the sakes of our children, young believers, and the souls of lost people, we indeed must be ready “…to make a defense…” for our faith. We certainly don’t need to apologize to anyone for that!
Here is a short list of recommended books for those wanting to learn more about apologetics.
Craig, William Lane:
Reasonable Faith: Christian Truth and Apologetics
Davis, Freddy and Tal Davis:
The World of Christian Worldview
Bridges: How to Share a Witness Across Worldview Barriers
Dembski, William A.
Intelligent Design – The Bridge Between Science & Theology
Dembski, William A. and Michael R. Licona, eds., et.al.:
Evidence for God – 50 Arguments for Faith from the Bible, History, Philosophy, and Science
Dembski, William A. and Jonathan Wells:
The Design of Life – Discovering Signs of Intelligence in Biological Systems
Geisler, Norman L.:
Christian Apologetics
The Big Book of Christian Apologetics
Geisler, Norman L., ed., et. al.:
Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics
Geisler, Norman L. and Ronald M. Brooks:
When Skeptics Ask: A Handbook on Christian Evidences
Geisler, Norman L. and Thomas Howe:
When Critics Ask – A Popular Handbook on Bible Difficulties
Habermas, Gary R. and Michael Licona:
The Case for the Resurrection of Christ
Lewis, C. S.:
Mere Christianity
Miracles
Licona, Michael R.:
The Resurrection of Jesus: A New Historiographical Approach
McDowell, Josh:
Evidence That Demands a Verdict
The New Evidence That Demands a Verdict
Moreland, J. P. and William Lane Craig:
Philosophical Foundations for a Christian Worldview
Ross, Hugh:
The Creator and the Cosmos (3rd ed.)
Why the Universe is the Way It Is
The Fingerprint of God
Schaeffer, Francis A.:
Escape from Reason
The God Who is There
He is There and He is not Silent
Strobel, Lee:
The Case for Christ
The Case for Faith
The Case for Christianity
Zacharias, Ravi:
Can Man Live Without God?
© 2016 Tal Davis