Everyday Apologist

Apologetics is kind of like a tool. It can be used properly or improperly. Think of a hammer. You can use it to pound nails into lumber, or you could hit someone with it. Proper use, is use out of love for our neighbor, not to beat them up, or to win.

We live in a world today where Christianity is not simply accepted by the majority. People will not be coming from a position of accepting Christianity until they feel they have found some flaw. They will instead, be skeptical unless they are given a good reason to believe. This makes apologetics crucial. Francis Schaeffer famously referred to it as ‘pre-evangelism’.

Here are some tips:

• Build relationships. This can’t be emphasized enough. While there are times when apologetics will take on other formats (academic debate, group discussion, Internet forum debate, etc.) most of the hard work is done through relationships built on trust. A great example of this is Gary Habermas’s friendship over the years with Anthony Flew (the famous atheist). For a very interesting apologetics story, look him up.
• Be willing to listen. You need to understand where the other person is coming from and what they are saying. If you do not, you are simply spouting or preaching. Think of how you respond when someone of another religion or worldview unloads their view on you without considering your concerns.
• Be ready to admit where Christianity has gone wrong, and apologize for it.
• Get your terms and definitions clarified. Otherwise you will just be talking past each other.
• When you do correct some point, do so out of love, gently and humbly.
• Style is important – Try to refrain from stating your position as something that only a fool would not agree with. But, present your case with confidence in what you believe to be true. After all, would you believe it if you didn’t believe that to be the case? Hopefully not, and hopefully the person you are talking to can appreciate this. They likely believe their position to be true as well. Just be aware that there is a line that is too often crossed between confident (while humble) and arrogant.
• Intellectual integrity is critical. When you don’t know, say so. Do your research. Don’t overstate things. Above all… DON’T CHEAT (One would think this would be obvious for Christians, but I catch Christian apologists doing it all the time. Just because our opponents do it, doesn’t mean we should.)
• Read your opposition – I can’t stress this one enough, and it goes along with intellectual integrity above. How can you respond or critique something you don’t understand? Of course we’re all going to be guilty of not understanding our opposition fully. We can’t be a specialist in everything. But, we should try our best to understand as much as we are able.

Here are some dangers:

• Dealing with skepticism and doubt all the time can rub off. Be sure to realize God is in control. Read Revelation… we know how the story ends. Be involved in a church community. Be aware of cynicism and pessimism.
• Watch out for people who just want to argue (while being aware of 3rd parties). There are some people who are just ‘baiting’ and looking for arguments. It doesn’t really matter what you say to these people, they aren’t really listening. You can usually tell after a couple exchanges. However, if you have a listening audience, it can be worth engaging these people for the benefit of that audience. At that point, being civil and gracious (especially when contrasted to this other person) will clearly register with those 3rd parties.
• Watch out for urban legends. Check out your sources and details. Many Christian apologists have fallen for stuff like “Evidence for Joshua’s Long Day,” which was a set-up, or things like ‘Dino and Human footprints together’ type stories. I’ve seen the later even used by some pretty major ministries.
• Prosperity gospel – Don’t make arguments that by becoming a Christian, your life will improve. It certainly might in some aspects, but the Bible usually talks about how much more difficult life will now become BECAUSE you are a Christian. Good things will follow, but trying to build a 1:1 case, or that Christianity provides ‘the good life’ will always backfire eventually.
• Experiential arguments – Most people are not going to change their deeply held convictions or worldview based on the experiences of another person. Think about this for a second. Would not the advocates of just about any religion make such claims? When the Mormon presents their ‘burning in the bosom’ case, do you as a Christian convert? Why should they for your story? I’m not saying do not present your story. They can be powerful under the right conditions, and possibly foundational our own faith. But, they should not be your primary mode of evangelism. People should believe Christianity because it is true, not because you do.

Hopefully these tips are helpful and will prepare you in communicating the ‘meat’ of apologetics, presented in other posts here and elsewhere. Unfortunately, you will find that I will often fail in many of the above points. When you see me doing so, please don’t be afraid to call me out on it in the comments (just try to do it nicely please).

Since the previous post on faith I did a bit more digging.

First, the word faith – remember, faith is an English word translated from the Greek = pistis from peitho (persuade) – which means trust of that which I am persuaded to believe is true or real.

The root of pistis is peitho, which is defined by Strong’s Greek Dictionary as: to convince; to pacify or conciliate; to assent; or to rely (by inward certainty). Thayer’s Greek Lexicon defines peitho as: 1) to persuade; 2) to be persuaded; 3) to trust, to have confidence, or to be confident.

Easton’s Bible Dictionary gives the following definition: “Faith is in general the persuasion of the mind that a certain statement is true. Its primary idea is trust. A thing is true, and therefore worthy of trust. It admits of many degrees up to full assurance of faith, in accordance with the evidence on which it rests.”

Now, let us look at how Scripture itself defines faith.

Heb. 11:1   Now faith is the assurance (hupostasis = ‘a support, substance, steadiness, confidence’) of things hoped for, the conviction (elegchos = ‘a proof, test, conviction’) of things not seen. (NASB)

I especially like how Eugene Peterson put it in The Message paraphrase:

Heb. 11:1  ”The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It’s our handle on what we can’t see.”

A couple of other verses to consider:

John 10:37-38 “If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do them, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father.” (NASB)

Jesus was not above giving evidence to back up his claims.

Luke 1:1-4  Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile an account of the things accomplished among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word, it seemed fitting for me as well, having investigated everything carefully from the beginning, to write it out for you in consecutive order, most excellent Theophilus; so that you may know the exact truth about the things you have been taught. (NASB)

It seems Luke could have more easily just have told Theophilus, just believe! Notice that Luke is interested in the facts and details.

Acts 17:11 “Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.” (NASB)

The Bereans more noble for testing what they received.

1Th. 5:21 “But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good;” (NASB)

All of this should pretty much do away with the ‘just believe’ mentality which comes out of some Christian circles. We certainly need to guard against becoming overly skeptical, but God wants us to build our faith on a firm foundation.

But, what about the skeptic who says, “sure, I understand what you are saying about faith… but that is just the problem… there is no foundation you are speaking of. It IS just wishful thinking.”? To answer this charge is what the discipline of Apologetics is all about.

1Pet. 3:15 ” … but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence …” (NASB) [emphasis added, mine]

I often hear people talk about faith as if it is ‘wishful thinking’. This is especially true in the ’science vs. religion’ debates. “I have my reason…. you have your faith…” is the general sentiment. I have even heard Christians use a similar way of speaking. In some circles, there seems to be an attitude that you should ‘just believe’ and not question anything.

These views of ‘faith’ are a misunderstanding of epistemology (how we know what we know… what separates a justified belief from simple opinion) on one side, and what the Bible teaches on the other. The assumption from non-believers is that faith has no foundation. The assumption from some Christians is that the Bible teaches us to ‘just believe’ and that searching for reinforcement of our beliefs is some kind of sinful doubting.

Faith, though… whether in religion or secular… is a very similar thing. If I decide to fly to Chicago tomorrow, I’d go to an airport and travel in a jet. I don’t know for certain that gravity will work the same way tomorrow, and the jet will get to its destination (baring other things which could go wrong). However, I am reasonably confident in what science has discovered about the nature of gravity and its consistency. I am also reasonably confident in flight safety records. My chances of a safe flight are extremely good. If this were not the case, I wouldn’t have so much ‘faith’ in the whole process and would walk or drive.

In this use of ‘faith’, everyone can see what I mean. It is a trust or confidence in what I do know, even if I might have fears, doubts, and lets face it… in this case, some uncertainty. There is no full guarantee or promise that I will absolutely get there; nor can I prove it before I leave! It is, a leap of faith.

Christian faith is similar in many ways. I can’t put it all in a set of test-tubes and beakers in a lab and test it. I can’t, in some complete way, prove it to you. But what, when you think about it, can you ultimately do this with? The set of things is pretty limited. I can’t prove my senses are 100% accurate, though without them, life would be incredibly uncertain. I can’t prove my wife loves me in a ‘naturalistic scientific’ way. There is no lab test for that kind of thing…. any such tests would depend on things we already suppose we know about the way things work.

Christian faith is based on trust in what God has done for us, and will do for us. This is based on our relationship with God, God’s revelation to us, history, science (yes, I said science… more on this in another post), and experience. It may or may not be something I can ‘prove’ to you (depending on what prove means to you), but it is certainly NOT wishful thinking.

Faith is essentially trust. We trust things based on many criteria. Just like the factors involved in my jet flight, or my wife’s love for me, some of these criteria can be ‘proven’ to various degrees, and some are harder to measure. We do this all the time, every day of our lives. Christian faith is really no different. How faith differs from belief, is that we are confident enough in it to put it into action. I might reasonably believe the jet will get me to my destination safely, but until I climb aboard, it doesn’t really become faith. Christians believe in the promises of God in Christ, and then exercise faith by putting their lives (and souls) in Christ’s hands.

Hello everyone…. Once I get the place set-up, we’ll get the conversation started.