Ever since I became a Christian, I’ve always found myself moving towards apologetics. And whenever a Christian finds out that my interest lies in that area of theology, I’m always greeted with a warning. “That’s great, but remember, no one comes to Jesus because of arguments,” or “Oh, that’s nice, but don’t focus on that.”
I understand the warning, and in part, I agree with it. People deeply interested in apologetics need to be careful not to neglect other areas of their walk including worship, prayer, quiet time, and fellowship. It’s also important to take seriously the warning the bible gives when it says that “knowledge puffs up.” And lastly, we should not neglect our own personal testimony in evangelism.
However, the negativity that many Christians have towards apologetics I believe is largely unwarranted. From my experience, many Christians feel like apologetics is a dangerous distraction that is at best, simply unimportant. This attitude I believe is not accurate, not helpful, and not biblical.
In the book “Reasonable Faith”, Dr. William Lane Craig tackles this attitude by expressing three major functions of apologetics. Those are shaping culture, strengthening believers, and evangelizing unbelievers.
Apologetics should be an essential part of the Church because it can help to shape the intellectual climate of society. This is important because in many parts of the world, the gospel is not even seen as an intellectually viable option. To many people, talking to people about Jesus is the equivalent of talking to people about unicorns and elves. And when that’s the case, evangelism becomes exponentially more difficult. In Europe for instance, the soil is so hard that sowing the Word is getting more and more laborious. Today, over 22% of Europe is reported to have no religious affiliation, and the number is growing. The Church needs apologetics to keep the soil soft where it still is, and to move towards softening the ground where it has become hard.
Apologetics is also important because it strengthens believers. When a believer finds out that there is actually strong evidence to believe in a Creator, in the resurrection, and in the historicity of the bible, it just makes their faith more substantive. Many people rely on emotional intimacy to fuel their faith, and while that’s good and necessary, they cannot stand alone. Feelings wane. Reasons remain. And believers need to be strengthened in both the areas of the emotional and the intellectual to be healthy.
Lastly, apologetics is important because of the role it plays in evangelism. It’s funny that many people believe that apologetics doesn’t have a role to play in personal evangelism, when in the book of Acts, the apostles used apologetics over and over again. When talking to Jews, the apostles referred to the fulfillment of prophecy and to the objective miracles of Christ to talk to them about the gospel. When talking to the Greeks, the apostles used natural theology and the proof of the resurrection. These are all examples of apologetic evangelism. While our personal testimony is extremely important and useful, that does not mean that apologetics is unneccessary. The most effective evangelists will always be those who can combine their personal testimonies with a reasonable justification for their beliefs.
We are told in the Word of God to “be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” 1 Peter 13:15
This reason includes apologetics. So many Christians have a personal experience, but don’t understand why they believe what they believe. They are then hampered in their ability to witness to others.
There are huge segments of the population, particularly in America, who are weary of the emotional religious appeals. Apologetics is a critical piece of witnessing to these people.
Of course, the Holy Spirit convicts, but we are called to share the gospel of Jesus. Sometimes that includes explaining why there is truly only One Way to heaven, why the Bible is the holy, inerrant, infallable, very Word of God, why Jesus had to die exactly the way He did. (And much more, as you well know)
Jesus is no fairy tale, and there are so many out there who would perhaps believe if they could be given and explanation (different from an argument) to their sincere questions that went beyond, “just have more faith, “” we’ll find all of it out when we get to heaven,” or “that’s just one of life’s great mysteries.”
The God of the Universe is not offended by our honest desire to know the Truth and not be deceived. There are those who have been wounded by ‘the church’ or in the name of religion, who would benefit from a loving explanation that would include apologetics.
Bless you as you seek His face and seek to share the Truth in love to others, thereby fulfilling the command of Christ.
Shannon
http://whatsgodgottodowithit.blogspot.com/ (my serious blog)
http://shannonsays.wordpress.com/ (my silly blog)
I totally agree on the third part. People nowadays want to take everything logically. Unbelievers whom I talked with, when I ask them why do they prefer their belief system, they answer with rational ideas. For example, they choose to live in the now. For some of them, their worry about the future is too hard for them to carry, and now, they choose things that satisfy them in the present. Which is, partly, a good thing, of course. They enjoy their lives now, and that’s why they live that way.
Another told me that he doesn’t like the bounds that are set by the church, he feels so limited when he just follows the rules that are given to him. In a way, yes, there’s a reason to that.
But yes, we still have this burden that despite all of these reasons that they have, we can still choose to live yet a better life in God. Yes, enjoying the now is so enjoyable, but not thinking of the future is insane. Being free is also fulfilling but eventually, this will make chaos when everything breaks loose.
The reasons that are stated are completely acceptable. But it only applies if we look at things in a smaller detail. When we see through a macro-perspective, this will all change and of course, living a life in Christ will always be superior.
Good post. Your thoughts are appreciated. May more and more Christians heed the call to love God with all their minds and defend and confirm the faith.