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Why? How? Idk…
Does God exist?
How can you believe Jesus rose from the dead?
If God exists, why do bad things happen?
Faith and Reason
Humans are emotional beings, but we are also rational beings.
And as ambassadors of Christ, we hope to be all things to all people. Christian apologetics (the field of explaining the reasonability of our faith) has always been important and even used by New Testament authors like John, Luke, and Paul, and it is as important today as it has ever been.
[su_quote cite=”1 Peter 3:15″]Always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear.[/su_quote]
Apologetics is too large a field to compress into a single post. In the future I might share brief apologetic arguments, but here I want to explain how I’ve personally used apologetics in campus ministry, and then point you to an excellent online resource. (A resource I recommend for everyone from novice to expert.)
Apologetics on the College Campus
More than once I’ve received some variation of the following question: “Wait, you believe in God? But what about science!?”
You see, no one exists in a void. I’ve found that our culture in the North Eastern US is fairly secular, and what many are taught is a world view that looks down on faith in God as something that was significant only before science explained life and the universe.
Science is amazing, and truly has advanced remarkably, and I hope it continues! That said, science points toward the answer for some key questions and that answer is itself God! In fact, modern science brings questions concerning the origin of life and universe to head in such a way that the only reasonable answer for both is God. Further, as we better understand the complexity of life and the universe, there are three possible conclusions: intrinsic necessity, chance, and design; and the most reasonable of these is design. By whom? God. And this is apologetics, providing these answers (and in much greater depth).
When it comes to apologetics, it’s possible to have futile debates. I generally avoid debating at all. When I’m debating someone, they’re probably not interested in changing their mind. In fact, even when I won handily, my opponent simply walked away saying if they studied more they would win next time. For the record, I do occasionally engage in such debates, but generally when there are spectators and I want to make sure truth is represented.
What I prefer to debates are discussions. Especially with persons who are searching for truth but have some intellectual roadblocks keeping them from putting their faith in Jesus as the Son of God. And these students exist. Here’s one example:
One evening fairly late (10 or 11pm) I received a text from a student asking me to come meet her and her friend. Turns out her friend was interested in Jesus, but she had questions concerning the existence of God, the problem of evil, and why we would believe the Bible. I met them that night and walked through a number of defenses of the faith, and she was super interested! At the end of the conversation, she didn’t put her faith in Jesus, and, actually, she transferred after that semester and I didn’t see her for a year and a half. But guess where I saw her next? At a Christian conference (BASICcon)! I walked in on a Friday night and realized the girl sitting in front of me was the same person with whom I’d discussed these various apologetic arguments more than a year earlier. I was able to reconnect, and that conversation had been a part of her journey to Jesus!
In short, I’ve found that because of our cultural context, sometimes apologetics is necessary for evangelism. Someone might be seeking God, but if they feel like it is irrational to believe, they will be understandably wary.
Further, apologetics encourages the faith of those who are already born again. As they face a barrage of criticism, they don’t necessarily always need to argue back, but an understanding of the basics of Christian apologetics will allow them to stand strong.
Note: our relationship with God must go further than just our minds (intellectual ideas), but I think it should include our minds! (Luke 10:27.)
Reasonable Faith with William Lane Craig
At times I’ve felt woefully unprepared to defend my faith. When people ask questions and we don’t know where to turn for answers, we often get emotional, defensive, and maybe our own faith is shaken.
First and foremost it’s important that we have a grasp on the basic doctrines of our faith. Things like salvation, justification, water baptism, our future resurrection, baptism of the Holy Spirit, prayer, worship, the Word of God, and more. And there is no substitute for just plain old spending time with Jesus! But the Bible encourages us to be prepared to give a defense of our faith.
Most of us are familiar the basic doctrines of our faith or at least know where to find info. But what about apologetics?
There are a number of resources, but there is one that has particularly impressed and encouraged me over the years: Dr. William Lane Craig. He has a ministry called Reasonable Faith, he is super well published (grab a book or two), and their website is outstanding!
(Public domain graphic: Syllogism Venn and cube by Tilman Piesk.)
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