I had a pastor ask me a few years back why I have an interest in apologetics. My answer to him was, “because our world demands it.” As I consider the question, I realize not just the world demands it, but our faith itself should demand it. The more interesting question is how did our society ever get to a point that apologetics was not a part of our Christian identity?
For those of you who may be unfamiliar with the term apologetics, it may, at first blush, seem like we are apologizing for our beliefs or faith. Based on our current cultural usage of the word, it may even imply weakness or conceding the high ground to superior ideals or beliefs. That couldn’t be further from the truth. The word itself simply means a reasoned defense of your beliefs. Merriam Webster defines it as follows:
1 : systematic argumentative discourse (see DISCOURSE entry 1 sense 2a) in defense (as of a doctrine)
2 : a branch of theology devoted to the defense of the divine origin and authority of Christianity
Right off, the definition may ruffle some feathers because of the use of the term “argumentative.” Again, these are connotations of current societal usage. You should not walk away from this definition thinking you should be argumentative, but that instead, you are making your case for what you believe. We should certainly be arguing our position, but not necessarily in an argumentative fashion. Though even that may be determined by your circumstances.
So in-short, apologetics is not a weak concession of our faith, nor is it a license to be argumentative or belittle those with whom you are having discourse. As Jesus said in Matthew 10:16, we are to be wise as serpents, yet as gentle as doves. I believe this teaching is what Peter had in mind when he wrote:
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 in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.
1 Peter 3:15 ESV
Though this verse is foundational to today’s Christian apologists, I see so many Christians abusing those whom they are meant to be witnessing to. They act as if some snarky “gotcha” question or answer is going to end a debate that has been going on for thousands of years. Instead of building bridges, they seem to be attempting to bludgeon their Non-Christian counterparts over the head. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good debate, but it must be done with the entire verse in mind, not just the statement the comes before the semicolon. We must be ready to give a defense, but we must “do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.”
On the other side, we have Christians who dismiss the use of logic, reason, and rational thought as part of our duty as believers. These people may lean heavily on the emotional or spiritual aspect of our faith, which can never be a balanced approach without the use of our minds and thoughts. If you see those traits in yourself, I would encourage you to develop strong relationships with others within the church who do operate out of a more logical or reasoned approach than you do. It may be hard to see right now, but I guarantee that you both are in desperate need of each other. I myself have a tendency to rely too heavily on the mind, sometimes to the point that I find myself neglecting the importance of the spirit and emotions. (and of course the Spirit). To fight against this, I have to make sure that I am living life with my brothers and sisters who balance me out. In turn their relationship with me helps ground and balance them as well. I believe we see the need for this balance in Mark 12:30
30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’
Mark 12:30 ESV
This verse tells us to love God using the word agapaó. It certainly means love, but it carries a deeper meaning with it. Strong’s Concordance words it wonderfully as “actively doing what the Lord prefers, with Him (by His power and direction).” This means we aren’t just acting out of ourself or what comes naturally to us, but we are actively living out who God meant for us to be. In other words, we actively seek partnership with God in how we utilize our heart, soul, mind, and strength in all of life; including how we interact with those whom we are being God’s witness to, so we are accomplishing what he wants for and from us. After all the combination of our heart (emotions), Soul, (spirit), mind (reason/rational thought), strength (body, physical work) are a reflection of our entire being.
The churches in America today (I am only speaking from the time and space that I have observed) has struggled to balance these four areas. Some may lean too heavily on emotions, others may be too obsessed with spirituality, while others may be too focused on works (though usually not actually going out and doing works). There may be some that have been caught up in being too intellectual; however, I would say for the most part, the mind has been shoved into a corner. It is my perception that the church has been wary of using the mind for fear of being led away into worldliness. However, in accordance with the verse above, all of these areas are dangerous when they aren’t balanced.
Paul writes in Romans 12:2:
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Romans 12:2 ESV
Living with a renewed mind should be part of the Christian experience. It is good to trust God to provide you with the answers to people’s questions in the moment, but It can also be spiritually lazy. The same as standing up to preach without having studied the scripture you are preaching; only praying that God will give you the words in the moment. Or singing a song during worship that you haven’t learned the words to; just praying God will give them to you in the moment. I have seen both of these happen, and it typically doesn’t go well. It doesn’t reflect God’s desire for us to love him with all of our being, actively doing what he prefers. He made us to do, to create, not sit around waiting on him to do the work, but to work, with Him.
The result of neglecting this part of our being as a Christian is a body of believers who lacks the ability to defend their faith. We have done a very poor job answering the questions of those outside of the church, because we haven’t even taken the time to figure out what the questions are. If we have never wrestled with the questions to discover the answer, how can we ever hope to articulate the answer to those we come in contact with? Unfortunately, the standard response is either to tell people to stop asking questions and just believe or to give them some stale, cutting or nonsensical response to try to get them to stop annoying us (by exposing our own deficiencies). Those we are meant to share the gift of life with become a burden we try to avoid.
I use the word “we” here, because I was very guilty of having no more than a surface level faith when I was younger. It was through a time of great pain and struggle that God forced me to dive deeper into my faith; to use my mind to balance my being. Now when considering why I am interested in apologetics I have to say that it is more than an interest of mine. It is more than my natural tendencies to think (or overthink). It is part of my being that God intends for me to exercise to accomplish his will in my life and the life of those around me; a part of my being that must be in harmony and balance with the others if I am going to be like Christ who was a perfect balance of heart, spirit, mind and strength. It is an essential tool in the gear God has equipped us with to reach other people and to fulfill the commission that we were given in Matthew 28 to go and make disciple. Paul wrote in his letter to the Romans:
How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?
Romans 10:14 ESV
And how will they get answers, if the preachers (us; people in the church) do not know the questions?
