Apologetics is the discipline that deals with a rational defense of Christian faith. It comes from the Greek word apologia which means to give a reason or defense.
The most important reason to [be involved in] apologetics is that God told us to do so. The classic statement is 1 Peter 3:15, which says, “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:”
This verse tells us to be ready. We may never run across someone who asks tough questions about our faith, but we should still be ready to respond if someone does. Being ready is not just a matter of having the right information available, it is also an attitude of readiness and eagerness to share the truth of what we believe. We are to give a reason to those who ask the questions. It is not expected that everyone needs pre-evangelism, but when they do need it, we must be able and willing to give them an answer.
If he is really Lord, then we should be obedient to him as we are “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;” (2 Cor 10:5).
In Phil 1:7 Paul speaks of his mission – “Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace.”
Jude 3 adds, “Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.”
The people Jude addressed had been assaulted by false teachers, and he needed to encourage them to protect the faith as it had been revealed through Christ.
Jude 22 And of some have compassion, making a difference:
The classic case of apologetics in the New Testament is Acts 17 where Paul reasoned with the philosophers on Mars Hill. He not only presented evidence from nature that God existed but also from history that Christ was the Son of God. He cited pagan thinkers in support of his arguments.
[Apologetics is not to be used as a weapon; we are not suppose to get in arguments-]
2 Tim 2:24 And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, 25 In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; 26 And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.
God calls upon his people to use reason –
Isa 1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
God calls upon us to discern truth from error, and right from wrong –
1 John 4:6 We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.
Heb 5:14 But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
Socrates said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” He surely would have been willing to add that the unexamined belief is not worth believing. Therefore, it is incumbent upon Christians to give a reason for their hope.
Since God created humans as rational beings, he expects them to live rationally, to look before they leap. This does not mean there is no room for faith. But God wants us to take a step of faith in the light of evidence, rather than to leap in the dark. Evidence of truth should precede faith. No rational person steps in a elevator without some reason to believe it will hold him up. No reasonable person gets on an airplane that is missing part of one wing and smells of smoke in the cabin.
The rational person wants evidence that God exists before he places his faith in God. Rational unbelievers want evidence that Jesus is the Son of God before they place their trust in him.
One objection often made is that the Bible does not need to be defended; it simply needs to be expounded. “The Word of God is quick and powerful” (Heb 4:12). It is said that the Bible is like a lion; it does not need to be defended but simply let loose. A lion can defend itself.
This begs the question as to whether the Bible is the Word of God. Of course, God’s Word is ultimate and speaks for itself. But how do we know the Bible, as opposed to the Qur’an or the Book of Mormon, is the Word of God? One must appeal to evidence to determine this.
The analogy of the lion is misleading. A roar of a lion “speaks for itself” with authority only because we know from previous evidence what a lion can do. Without tales of woe about a lion’s ferocity, its roar would not have authority. Likewise, without evidence to establish one’s claim to authority, there is no good reason to accept that authority.
In this very book of 1 Corinthians Paul gives his greatest apologetic evidence for the Christian Faith—the eyewitnesses of the resurrection of Christ which his companion Luke called “many infallible proofs” (Acts 1:3). [Seeing is believeing]
[They have all they need before them to come to a logical conclusion that ‘God’ does indeed exist. But, they choose not to ‘receive’ it in their heart, even though it might make perfect since in their brains.]
Rom 1:19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. 20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
Paul insisted that “the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” (1 Co 2:14)
What use, then, is apologetics? In response to this argument against apologetics, it should be observed that Paul does not say that natural persons cannot perceive truth about God, but that they do not receive it. Paul emphatically declares that the basic truths about God are “clearly seen” (Rom 1:20). The problem is not that unbelievers are not aware of God’s existence. They do not want to [accept God as ‘real’] because of the moral consequences this would have on their sinful lives.
Ps 14:1 The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.
Heb 11:6 insists that without faith it is impossible to please God. This would seem to argue that asking for reasons, rather than simply believing, displeases God. But, as already noted, God does call upon us to use our reason (1 Peter 3:15). Indeed, he has given “clear” (Rom 1:20) and “infallible proofs” (Acts 1:3). Second, this text in Hebrews does not exclude “evidence” but actually implies it. Faith is said to be “the evidence” of things not seen (Heb 11:1). Just as the evidence that a witness is reliable justifies my believing testimony of what he or she saw and I did not, even so, our faith in “things not seen” (Heb 11:1) is justified by the evidence that God does exist. The latter evidence is clearly seen, being understood from what has been made (Rom 1:20).
Logic in itself can tell us some things about God—at least hypothetically. For instance, if God exists, then it is false that he does not exist. Further, if God is infinite and we are finite, then we are not God. Also, if God is truth, he cannot lie (Heb 6:18). For it is contradictory to his nature to lie. Likewise, logic informs us that if God is omnipotent, then he cannot make a stone so heavy that he cannot lift it. For whatever he can make, he can lift.
Logic cannot “prove” the existence of anything. True, mere logic shows only what is possible or impossible. We know by logic, for example, that square circles are impossible. We know that something actually exists in another way – We know it intuitively. For I cannot deny my existence. The statement “I don’t exist” is self-defeating, since I have to exist in order to be able to make the statement. So, while mere logic cannot prove the existence of anything, we have undeniable knowledge that something exists. And once we know that something exists (e.g., I do), then logic can help us determine whether it is finite or infinite. And if it is finite, logic can help us determine whether there is also an infinite being.
According to classical apologetics, there are certain logical steps in the overall argument in defense of the Christian faith. Only the [main] logic of the argument will be sketched here.
The overall argument in defense of the Christian Faith can be put in twelve basic propositions. They flow logically one from another:
1. Truth about reality is knowable.
2. Opposites cannot both be true.
3. God exists.
4. Miracles are possible.
5. Miracles performed in connection with a truth claim are acts of God to confirm the truth of God through a messenger of God.
6. The New Testament documents are reliable.
7. As witnessed in the New Testament, Jesus claimed to be God.
8. Jesus’ claim to divinity was proven by a unique convergence of miracles.
9. Therefore, Jesus was God in human flesh.
10. Whatever Jesus (who is God) affirmed as true, is true.
11. Jesus affirmed that the Bible is the Word of God.
12. Therefore, it is true that the Bible is the Word of God and whatever is opposed to any biblical truth is false.
The Application. If a theistic God exists and miracles are possible and Jesus is the Son of God and the Bible is the Word of God, then it follows that orthodox Christianity is true. And since mutually exclusive propositions cannot both be true, then all opposing world religions are false religions. Therefore, only Christianity is the true religion.
(Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics by Norman L. Geisler)
