What Is Apologetics?
Wow, the summer flew by, and here we are watching leaves change color. I’m sorry for the delay in releasing the second installment of my apologetics series. The summer had many demands, and finding time to sit down and focus was difficult.
Every time I start my 9-month apologetics course, I begin by answering the question, “What is apologetics?” The reason I do this is that the word ‘apologetics’ can imply to some that we are apologizing for the truth, when we are not and never should.
As always, it’s essential to start with the bible, for what matters most is to ground everything in the greatest book ever written and the source of truth for the world.
- 1 Peter 3:15-16 “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.”
1 Peter 3:15-16 forms the core of apologetics, because we are commanded to answer all who ask us why we have such hope. But it also commands us not to harm our witness by answering disrespectfully. In fact, as someone who has taught apologetics for over thirty years, I can tell you that the methods Charlie Kirk used on college campuses are those I’ve used for many years, just on a smaller scale.
In other words: – It is a discipline that deals with the defense and establishment of the Christian faith. In Greek, apologia means “to give an account” or “to answer.” It emerged as a discipline in 1794 and is considered by many to be “pre-evangelism.” The reason I consider this a valid description is that the methods I use to teach can lead people to see why science and the Bible are in complete agreement, for example. Once the walls are broken down and questions are addressed, it becomes a lot easier to bring a person to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
This has happened many times in my life. Still, my favorite example is from Kandahar, Afghanistan, where I was deployed as an aviation task force Executive Officer and taught my nine-month course. (Soldiers even started calling me Chaplain) Towards the end of the course, a member of the task force who was an admitted atheist became a die-hard Christian and was baptized before we came back to the United States. The discipline of apologetics allowed me to answer every question he asked, and in the process, I was able to lead him to Christ.
Two critical considerations.
- Please double-check everything I write. The only standard is truth.
- Challenge me if you believe I’m wrong. If I am, I’ll admit it, correct it, and thank you.
- 1 John 4:1 – Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:21 …but test them all; hold on to what is good,
There are four functions of apologetics.
- Vindication (Proof) – philosophical, scientific, or historical evidence, developing a case to stand up in court
- Defense – against attack, wrong assumptions, and intellectual obstacles
- Refutation – answer someone defending their faith
- Persuasion – apply truth to their life, bring them around to another way of seeing things
There are two primary types.
- Defensive: defending a biblical position against attack.
- Philippians 1:7 “It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart and, whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me.”
- Offensive: destroying arguments made against biblical truth.
- 2 Corinthians 10:5 “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”
There are also two specific categories.
- Classical – studying manuscripts, the resurrection, prophecy, miracles, rationality, appealing to reason and evidence, applying regression of cause (all things have a first cause), and all things exhibit the mark of a creator (Romans 1:20, 1 Corinthians 15:3-7)
- Presuppositional – To presuppose is to assume in advance, regardless of evidence. We all do it, only some admit it. Seeks out inconsistent logic. Attacks the foundation of a worldview. We presuppose God’s existence; many presuppose other things about God, or that there is no God. When you view evidence through a particular lens, sometimes you need to change your prescription. (2 Peter 3:5)
It’s also important to emphasize the fact that we are not talking about some hidden, special, or esoteric knowledge. In fact, the more people study these things, the more they, too, can see how it is impossible to explain observed reality without God. (Romans 1:19-20) In a later article, I’ll use the complexity of the cell as an example of how this works. Below are the slides I use during my teaching sessions. They work well for me. Some slides cover logical fallacies that are worth reviewing. Because God is the example of perfection in all things, He is also perfect in logic and created us with rational minds. It is a good idea for all of us to revisit the study of logic and apply it to our daily lives.
Here are some topics you can expect to cover. If this topic interests you, I also recommend reading this article.
