Why Apologetics?
It is the start of a brand new year! As the industry is affected with delays due to the pandemic, politics continues to harken disunity in our country seemingly more than ever, and the assault on reality and truth surfaces more and more, let us be armed with the basics of why we believe what we believe. Apologetics, or in Greek, apologia, means “defense.” The Christian is exhorted in 1 Peter 3:15, “but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is within you.” We engage with the culture around us firstly because we are called to do so, but more than that, we know the Truth and want to share that with the world to provide the same hope we have in us for salvation in Christ Jesus.
We engage with the culture around us firstly because we are called to do so, but more than that, we know the Truth and want to share that with the world to provide the same hope we have in us for salvation in Christ Jesus.
In Stand Firm: Apologetics and the Brilliance of the Gospel, apologetics is defined as “an attempt to remove obstacles or doubts to, as well as offer positive reasons for, believing that Christianity is true and satisfying.” We are living in an increasingly hostile world for those that believe in the Christian God. More and more, the popular worldview is moving towards a growing secularism that embraces postmodernism (“there is no objective truth”) and post-truth (“truth is whatever my preferences are”). A great read addressing exactly this is Abdu Murray’s Saving Truth: Finding Meaning & Clarity in a Post-Truth World. Truth to the world is at best nebulous and at worst changing constantly. But we know our God, the source of all Truth, and He is “the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). Jesus Christ tells us that He is the truth (John 14:6) and “the truth will set you free” (John 8:32). So, as Pilate asked, “What is truth?” (John 18:38). What do we tell our friends, family, colleagues, and neighbors about this special knowledge we have? How do we convince them that it is the truth? Of course, the Bible does say that those who deny God would suppress the truth (Romans 1:18), and it is God who changes our hearts if only we are to “put on the Lord Jesus Christ” as Saint Augustine writes in his book, Confessions. But are we not to love the Lord God with all our heart, soul, and mind (Mark 12:30)? To be able to give a logical, rational, thoughtful answer for those who question our faith is not only beneficial for the hearer, but for ourselves as well as a great act of worship.
To be able to give a logical, rational, thoughtful answer for those who question our faith is not only beneficial for the hearer, but for ourselves as well as a great act of worship.
Endeavoring to know our Lord so well in the design of this world and the orchestration of His salvation plan enriches our own beliefs in these biblical claims. We are not merely leaping blindly into the abyss, but know there is a real Bridge beneath, even if it is invisible to the human eye. As Christians, we hold Scripture as authoritative in that we believe it to be the very Word of God. It is sufficient for our salvation, and yet we affirm the values that evidence demonstrates in accordance with what we find in reality, confirming the Bible’s veracity. Therefore, we can more boldly proclaim the truths of scripture when we can reasonably show its correspondence to reality. Aristotle says, “a claim is true when there is a match with reality.”
As Christians, we build our faith on the knowledge of God’s Word, the Bible, and with apologetics, we are able to defend the reasonable evidences of its truth.
Over the centuries we have had the benefit of time to appreciate the historicity of the documents found within the canon of the old and new testaments. We have seen these proven in archeological findings that correspond to names, places, and events in the Bible; we have seen the prophecies of the Old Testament deliver a statistically improbable Savior; and we know there is a presupposition of our morality, our conscience, the believer knows is of the Holy Spirit guiding what we know to be good and evil, right and wrong. When there is a truth claim (such as the ones made in the Bible) that corresponds to reality (validating knowledge), it only strengthens our faith. I like it said best from the King James Version, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” As Christians, we build our faith on the knowledge of God’s Word, the Bible, and with apologetics, we are able to defend the reasonable evidences of its truth.