First off, what is apologetics? Apologetics is providing a reasonable defense for my faith in Jesus Christ as my perpetual sacrifice that reestablishes my relationship with God.Growing up in a Christian school, I was taught to completely ignore the culture of the world. “Don’t listen to the music- its evil! Don’t watch movies rated over PG- they contain bad language! Don’t go near philosophy- its of the devil! You can’t trust science- nature has been cursed! You can’t even trust your reasoning!” Summed up, as soon as you start thinking, you WILL be convinced that Christianity is false, and you’re on your way to hell- don’t try to use reason, JUST BELIEVE!!!
As I grew up, I started questioning this. I came across several verses that seemed to run contrary to this.
I started with Christ’s commandment before he ascended into heaven “…go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matt 28:19)
Then I came across Peter’s words, “…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.” (1 Peter 3:15)
Later I came across something else that Jesus said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” (Matt 22:37), then I saw, “’Come now, let us reason together’ says the LORD.” (Isaiah 1:18) These two don’t seem to flow with what I was being taught. Why would Jesus tell us to use our mind and God tell us to reason (use our mind) if they can’t be trusted to find truth? And how could a Christian “give an answer…for the hope [he] has” that would make sense to someone searching for the Truth if they could not recognize truth when presented with it? If the unbeliever (all of us were once one) can’t recognize truth (because of the cursed mind) how could they (we) come to Christ of their own free will?
One of the things that I discovered was that the “blind faith” concept is actually not biblical. Pistis, the Greek word translated as “faith” actually is defined as a conviction based on the facts. “Without faith, it is impossible to please God” (Heb 11:6a) It would be impossible to please God unless our minds can accurately discern the facts.
Not only does Christianity have plenty of room for people to use their mind, but the Bible even commands us to. "Test everything. Hold on to the good." (1 Thes 5:21). Its really cool that God invites us to test Him and what He has said. There is nothing wrong with asking questions or looking for reasonable answers.
As Christians we should never be afraid to ask questions, and we should also never discourage unbelievers from asking questions. Answering the tough questions is one of the ways to "...go and make disciples of all nations..."
Apologetics is extremely important, but never the first step in leading someone to Christ. In fact, if someone does not have intellectual stumbling blocks, I don't wish to create them. Apologetics should only be used if and when I first identify that there is an intellectual stumbling block standing between the person and their belief in, trust in, and commitment to Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior.
Related Posts:
Can Religion Be Tested For Truth
What is Faith
Other Related Posts:
Brian Auten: The Case for Apologetics
Jonathan Sherwin: What is Apologetics?
Please listen to these two episodes of Just Thinking (about 12 minutes each) from Ravi Zacharias International Ministries.
Engaging the Culture with Conversations That Count
Part 1
Part 4
Greg Koukl explains the goal and purpose of Christian apologetics in this 6 minute video.
