Apologetics Courses

Why The World Hates Christianity II

The Root Cause

The root cause is the rebellion in human heart. With sin in Eden, the human heart became not only sinful and corrupt, but also rebellious against God. The basic preferences and inclinations of the human are always towards evil, never good. Since the Bible presents a clear analysis of this, and since it asks man to forsake his rebellion and return to God, people hate the Bible all the more. They simply do not wish to be called to accountability. They wish to indulge in sin, but do not wish their activities to be identified as sin, or themselves as sinners. We live in the ‘Do It’ and ‘If it feels good, it cannot be wrong’ culture. Thus the hatred for Christianity is  basically a hatred against clear classification of sin and consequences. A hatred against the Bible’s call to human accountability.

Many so-called  Christians try to solve the problem by embracing the Bible, but without embracing its essence. They do so by substituting or attributing meanings to statements of the Bible which are not there and which are totally contrary to what the Bible says. This has been going on for two millennia, but has become intense in the last two centuries because of a historical reason. About two centuries ago the German theological seminaries fell into Government hands, run by bureaucrats and flooded with government money. This created a situation where anyone from a high theological position in a University could make any proclamation against the Bible without fear. What is more, the abundant money available to them for publication ensured that their heretical views are published in most attractive volumes and distributed worldwide. This created a stream of people who claim to be Christians but who deep inside their hearts have no commitment at all to the fundamentals of the Christian faith. With the increasing relativism and inclusivism, the number of this kind of superficial Christians is unbelievably large in the Christendom of the 21st century.

Having understood that the rebellion of the human heart is the root cause for hatred against true Christianity, and having understood that true Christianity agrees with the stipulations of the Bible in practical life, it would be good to have an analytical look at the areas in which people dislike the stand taken by the Bible

Objectivity/Clarity: people want messages from the Divine. In fact they crave for divine messages, but only if the message is clear enough to appeal to them but is ambiguous enough to lend itself to a wide range of interpretation and manipulation. People can live with a semblance of religion and spirituality, but do whatever they please when the message is susceptible to manipulation.

What they need is something like the Oracle of Delphi which predicted things in such broad and non specific language that priest could tune it to the needs and expectations of every devotee. Even if two devotees came with exactly opposed and contrary expectations, the same  message could still be “fitted” to the expectation of both. However, here is the difference. Instead of speaking in ambagious language and a wishy washy style, the Bible speaks in an objective manner and with such clarity that one has either to take it or leave it. There is no scope for Making it mean what people want it to mean. When it says that man is a sinner, it applies to all — to the hardened criminal as well as to the seemingly most saintly human. When it says that the wages of sin is death, it declares the end in a manner so as to leave no ambiguity. When it says that there is no other name under heaven or on earth other than that of the Lord Jesus by which people can be saved, it means precisely that — that there in no Saviour other than Lord Jesus. It also means that all the others who claim to save people are impostors. This hurts the false messiahs, who are many and who keep multiplying. This also hurts those who would rather trust one of the false messiahs than Jesus, the real Saviour. The world hates this aspect of the Bible — that it is too objective and precise for their flexible needs.

Rationality/Precision: most people, even religiously devoted ones, expect religion to by mystical. This in turn means that a lot of things will be subjective and irrational, not susceptible to rational and logical investigation or explanation. What is subjective and what does not yield itself to logical explanation automatically yields itself to all kind of funny and fancy interpretation. What is more, one and the same phenomenon can be interpreted differently by different people. Even a single person can make such an experience mean different things at different times.

A good example is the “baptism of the spirit” experience seen among the pentecostals and charismatic in India. While the Bible clearly describes things that happened on the day of Pentecost, those who claim today to seek the same phenomenon consider anything and everything out of normal as a replication of Pentecost. For example, if a devotee sees a flash of light, that is interpreted as the baptism of the Spirit. They overlook the fact that seeing flashes, hearing strange voices, having strange feelings, etc are a normal part of human life. Objective assessment demands that every experience by analyzed. But such analysis would immediately show these experiences to be normal human aberrations and not divine manifestations and therefore people hate objective analysis or rational thinking.

The Bible, however, emphasizes rationality and precision. So much so that the historical books have been used to reconstruct history and geography with great accuracy. Chronologies have been constructed with great precision. But such precision also prevents people from arbitrary interpretation. When it says that “it was evening and morning and it was the fifth day” we need to interpret it objectively as it says, not according to our fancy or mystic ideas. This is disliked by many who would prefer to see earth-history in terms of currently popular theories or in the light of their own fancies and prejudices. The Bible sets forth things in rational and precise language, leaving no scope for interpretation according to personal biases, and a good number of people dislike it for that.

Authority/Dominion: people are basically religious. They desire to have deities, stories of the little gods, and also messages from these gods — provided these messages do not interfere with human autonomy and authority. Here comes their conflict with the Bible.

The Bible not only communicates divine word, it does so with authority and demands total subjection from people. It claims total dominion over human life and thought. People hate this aspect of the Christian faith because this goes totally against their desire for religion to be subject to them and not vice versa.

Demarcation/Boundaries: demarcation always creates a divide and a boundary. If it is an ethical or legal subject, demarcation always creates a distinction between right and wrong, holy and unholy, divine and human, sacred and profane. The human society has a tendency to use these words, but it defines them in relative terms. There are no fixed or rigid boundaries for them. Nor do they like uncha
ngeable boundaries.

The Bible and the true Christian faith, however, not only set boundaries but also insist that these boundaries are essential, divinely ordained, and unchangeable. Obviously, the world hates this kind of firmness because it deprives them of the freedom to play with moral and ethical values.

Why The World Hates Christianity I

Nobody needs to be shown that the world hates Christianity, and that it likes and tolerates anything and everything except the true Christian faith.

The twenty first century is full of reactions against the Christian faith. There are communists, gays, abortionists, theological radicals, moral relativists, pluralists, universalists, and even some Christians who hate the Christian faith. It should also be noted that the very same people love Christ as a teacher or as a revolutionary. Even people of religions that are hostile to the Christian faith love it when Christ is described as an enlightened incarnation (one among many). Even those who reject the claim of Christ to be the only Saviour of the world accept as good the moral teachings of the Sermon on the Mount. Christian social service is warmly welcomed even by those who are aggressively hostile to the preaching of the Christian faith. From these it is obvious that the opposition is not to Christianity as a whole, but is only to some portions of it.

In fact the bulk of what is seen today in the name of Christianity is liked, endorse, and even chased by people. Non Christians vie with each other to get their children admitted in Christian schools, and the sick around the world prefer hospitals run by Christian missions. Even atheists are at times willing to join hands with Christians in many endeavours if the Christian community would abandon just a few things thy consider improper. Fortunately those who do oppose Christianity in this manner have not kept the Christian community in suspense. They have made adequately clear the things they hate.

The first thing many of these people dislike are the ’solas’ of reformation. These are the Sola Scriptura (Bible Alone), Solus Christus (Christ Alone), Sola Fide (Faith Alone), Sola Gratia (Grace Alone). People love to hear that the Bible is God’s word, and they would respond that yes there are numerous religious books which are God’s word, including the Bible. But as soon as the sola is added and Bible is set forth as the ONLY book that is God’s word people dislike the idea. A number of reasons are there, the chief among which is the unwillingness to accept the concept of special revelation — that a particular book says exactly what God wants it to say. This places strict boundaries around a person who wishes to see all kinds of things prescribed in ‘the word of God’ our of which he can choose what he likes. They reckon that as long as a large number of books that contradict each others are accepted as God’s word, they can pick and choose what they wish to follow. Narrow it down to a single book, and there goes the freedom. Thus the dislike. The same is the problem with the other solas also.

Today the world wants an inclusive approach — where everyone irrespective of his beliefs, creeds, and activities is ‘included’ in whatever group one thinks of. Excluding people even for the most serious reasons is seen as a crime. Consequently, if Christ alone is the Saviour, then all those who are not believers in Christ are condemned. If faith is the only way for justification, then all those who wish to present their works to God come back empty handed. If grace is the only way of salvation then all the labors which people love to do for salvation are rendered futile. What is more, all the religious holy places that mint money by the minute would lose this loot. Finally, if Christ is the only Saviour, then every person needs to make a profession of faith in Christ. A good number of people do not like to make such a profession because they clearly know the implications of doing so on their future life and human liberty — they will have to order these things according to the words of Christ, which is the Bible.

In other words, it is only the gospel-proclaiming Bible-based stream of the Christian faith which people hate. That is because this stream restricts them from indulging in lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh, and pride of life. What is more, this stream of Christianity maintains that morality and moral values are absolute, and that they do not change with times, seasons, and human fads. What is more, the moral values are not flexible. In a lecherous society where serial marriage, pornography, and ‘living-together’ is a way of life for many, people would hate such an inflexible moral code. The flexible (read, non-existent) moral code ensures that divorce, sexual infidelity, and even financial corruption is not seen as bad. But the Biblical moral code adhered to by the Bible-believing variety of Christians does not allow this. Since the Bible-believing Christians proclaim this strict moral code, ethical code, and other principles that decide what is right and what is wrong, the present generation hates the way Bible-believing Christians respect and interpret the Bible.

It should be pointed here in this connection that two cardinal doctrines that any Bible-believing Christian adheres to are hated even more by those who dislike the true Christian faith. These are the doctrines of infallibility and inerrancy of the Bible. Infallible means that Bible is the sole and infallible guide to the Christian in every matter related to faith and practice. If it says something on a subject that is authoritative, and nobody is authorized to question it. This closes all possibilities of stretching Bible to suite what one wishes to do. It also closes the door to the possibility of explaining away what the Bible says. Added to it the doctrine of the inerrancy of the Bible. According to it, if the Bible makes a pronouncement on a subject, that will always be right and it will never have any error whether the subject is doctrinal, practical, historical, or scientific. Since these two doctrines define the boundaries clearly, even most non-conservative Christians hate them. They are ready to give assent to the Bible as long as they do not have to accept the Bible as any kind of final authority. Their human  wisdom is the ultimate authority in that kind of a system. However, once infallibility and inerrancy are accepted, the boundaries are drawn and the human wisdom no longer has a place. Thus the dislike for these doctrines (and those who propound these doctrines) even by many Christians.

History Of Christian Apologetics

Many people have this misunderstanding that Christian Apologetics and Polemics are subjects of recent origin. Nothing could be farther from truth. Biblical Apologetics and Polemics are as old as the Bible itself is. Both the Old as well as the New Testament give us ample evidence of this. 

APOLOGETICS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT: Attacks against the Word of God started as early as in the Old Testament period. Within the Old Testament record we can see many people who questioned whether the God of the Israelites is the true God, and we notice that in many cases God provided them suitable answers and demonstrations. Some of these proofs have been mentioned on the previous pages of this book, thus a repetition is not needed. 

It must be added, however, that the listing from the Old Testament given above is only a sample. The actual number of apologetic passages and incidents in the Old Testament is too numerous to be listed here in this book. 

APOLOGETICS AMONG JEWISH FATHERS: The Jewish Fathers and Leaders had to face much opposition from the pagans because the Bible emphsizes many things which are resented by the Pagans. For example, right from Genesis, the Bible teaches that man is a sinner, totally depraved, and unable to save himself. Grace is the only means available for salvation. This irritated and irked the pagans who had a Universalist theology.

Universalism teaches the salvation of everyone in the world irrespective of his religion. No exclusiveness of doctrines and practices is accepted by them. Thus it was natural for the Universalist pagans in Old Testament times to attack the Bible. 

Though writing materials were not in abundance at that time, many of these critics of the Bible produced large numbers of books to attack the Old Testament. History is our witness that people who attacked the Bible always got great reception from people, and consequently these critics were able to spread their messages very wide. Many of the Jewish Rabbis and scholars wrote countless volumes to counter the charges brought by these critics. One of the best known Jewish apologetic works is Contra Apion, written by the first century Army officer and historian Flavious Josephus. This book is easily available today in many Seminary libraries as part of the Complete Works Of Josephus. Archaeologists have discovered numerous other Jewish apologetic works also. 

APOLOGETICS IN THE NEW TESTAMENT: With the establishment of the New Testament Church came a new breed of heretics and critics. This was partially because of the extended influence of pagan philosophies coupled with easy availability of writing materials. The rise of professionals called “scribes” also made it possible for writings to be copied rapidly and economically. Thus these heretics were able to make their voice heard widely. 

Another reason for the rise of critics, heretics and heretical movements was the New Testament itself. Till the book of Malachi, doctrinal subject were taught indirectly and often in a veiled manner. However, in New Testament doctrines related to man’s sin, total depravity, salvation by grace alone and faith alone, etc. were proclaimed more clearly. All the unique Biblical doctrines received clearer explanation and exposition in the New Testament. This made a lot of people uncomfortable. 

As long as the divine message was partially veiled, these critics did not worry much. But clear proclamation to the Biblical message exposed their errors, biases, and prejudices clearly. No longer could they maintain their Universalism, Humanism, Accommodationsim, etc. No longer could they maintain their brand of theology, seeing that now the fundamental tenets of biblical theology were spelled out clearly. 

There were a large number of people who wanted to be called Christians, but who did not want to accept these biblical doctrines. Many of them were converts from various kinds of heathen faiths. They did not want to abandon their loyalty to the philosophies and theologies which they had believed before coming to the Church. Further, many of them loved the freedom for sensuality that was offered by their previously believed pagan philosophies. Thus using all their literary and theological skill they tried to popularize their varieties of perverted teachings. The main aim was self-justification. 

Thus there were Judizers who created problems in Galatia and other places. The Epistle To Galatians is an refutation of their teachings. There were Gnostics who tried to synthesize Christian theology with occult philosophies. The Epistle To Colossians is an apologetic against them. The Epistle To Hebrews is an apologetic against another heresy. Jude had to remind his readers to contend for the faith against those who would like to distort the Christian message. Peter had to warn his readers against those who mocked at statements in portions of the New Testament, and so on. Thus throughout the New Testament documents we notice the opposition of scornful people and heretics at distorting biblical truths. Instead of ignoring them, the New Testament writers wrote extensively to expose error, to condemn it, and also to establish truth. 

APOLOGETICS AMONG CHURCH FATHERS: The availability of New Testament documents irritated Christians not only in the first century, but also in the centuries that followed. Wanting to hold on simultaneously to both the Bible and their own pagan philosophies, many of them spread heretical doctrines using all means available to them. We have already mentioned the name of Gnostics, Nestorians, Ebionites, Montanists, Pelegains, Arians, and many others. Several Church councils gathered together to condemn these heresies, and that is one way in which these false teachings could be suppressed. 

Many of the heretics were dedicated writers, and they produced a large number of voluminous books to spread their ideas. Consequently, the Church Fathers of the same period were also forced to write lengthy books to refute these errors. A large amount of these heretical writings and apologetic refutations have been discovered by archaeologists. 

The availability of the New Testament documents irked not only the rebel Christians, but irritated many non Christian writers. Most of these writers were inclined to atheism, universalism, humanism, hedonism, or narcissism. Since the New Testament documents are totally contrary to these philosophies, they found it necessary (as self-justification) to attack the Bible. 

Further, the Bible is the only religious book in the world that insists that every human is a born sinner, totally depraved, and unable to anything at all for his own salvation. This, coupled with the New Testament insistence of Bible Alone, Christ Alone, Grace Alone, and Faith Alone, also irritated many of them. Further, the fast spread of the Christian faith, and the deep commitment of these new converts also overwhelmed many of these non Christian critics. Fearing that this spread of spread would soon convert the whole world int
o the Christian faith they launched out their tirades against the Bible, Jesus Christ, and Christianity. 

A notable example is the rationalist writer Porphyry. Living in Sicily in the third century, he wrote a work entitled “Against Christianity”. What is surprising is the size of this work which occupied a solid FIFTEEN volumes !! Obviously, such prolific writers were able to influence a large number of people. But here again the Church Fathers did not sit silent. Rather, they courageously combated Porphyry and similar rationalists and produced hundreds of volumes of Christian Apologetics and Polemics. Were it not for the warrior mentality of these Fathers, a lot more of damage could have been done by these rationalists. 

MODERN CREATIONISM AND APOLOGETICS: Though Christian Apologetics and Polemics was strong in the first five centuries of Church, it became somewhat dormant for almost a thousand years. This was the time when the Roman Catholic Church ruled the Christian world with an iron rod. Rather than reasoning and arguing with the dissenters, the Church found it easier and better just to kill them. Opposing voices were not heard much in public because of this life-threatening atmosphere. 

Today very few people know that from about middle of the fourth century to the middle of the fourteenth century, the Roman Catholic church indulged in a great struggle for ecclesiastical as well as temporal power. In this struggle they silenced, tortured, and killed millions of dissenting people. A revolt brewed in the hearts of people, specially of the thinkers in Europe. However, the dictatorial rule of the Church prevented them from expressing themselves. Thus when the Reformation gave them the freedom coveted by all thinkers, they came out in torrents against the Church. 

Since most bitter people did not understand the difference between the Roman Catholic church, the true church of Christ, and the Christ of the Bible, they opposed and rejected all of these things simultaneously. It was a case of throwing away the baby with the bath-water. This rejection of Christianity was coupled with the rise of a host of anti-Christian thinkers, philosophies, and movements. By the time the nineteenth century arrived, the number of such anti-Christian people and movements became simply mind boggling. What united them all was their opposition to the Bible and Christianity. 

However, since the idea of creation was widely accepted by the masses (including most of the educated people), it was difficult for them to overthrow the authority of the Bible. They were convinced that only a rejection of the Bible would solve the problem. By the middle of the nineteenth century there was a preparation of hearts and an expectation in the air that Christianity can now be challenged. But the crucial factor which could do this was nowhere in sight. 

The Theory Of Evolution was there already, but it was there only in philosophical form. The rise of modern science had convinced them that even the best philosophical speculation has no feet to stand upon till it is given a scientific basis. It was just this time when Charles Darwin proposed his Theory Of Evolution. For the first time someone was able to propose this hypothesis in the form of a theory of SCIENCE ! That was the reason why all of these dissenting movements eagerly and immediately swallowed Darwin’s theory and he became a hero overnight. 

Things changed rapidly and this theory took theology also into its influence by the close of the nineteenth century. The same was the period when infidels with degrees in theology were coming into positions of power in German universities. Some of these European and American evolutionists soon persuaded some theologians, specially in Germany, that evolution is a fact. A few of these theologians then began persuading other theologians and seminary teachers that now Christians must now accept evolution as a fact. The bolder theologians among them even started teaching that portions of the Bible that deal with this record of creation should be abandoned altogether. Germany provided an ideal ground for breeding these thinkers because German theological institutes are controlled and funded by government money. Government is interested only in academic degrees, not in whether a person is born again and committed to the Bible. 

Uncommitted radical German theologians had plenty of degrees, but not Christ in their hearts. Thus they began to act as mercenaries, destroying belief in the Bible. Having a clear agenda to destroy belief in the Bible, they aimed at destroying the foundations of Christianity first. Further, since Government funding was liberal, they had the financial muscle-power to print and spread their ideas worldwide. This is how the German atheists (though they called themselves Christians) were able to influence all the world through their theology. 

However, not everyone was willing to write off the Bible completely. Many were interested more in keeping both the beliefs together. Acceptance of evolution would make them respectable in the eyes of theological infidels, but at the same time acceptance of creation would keep them in the confines of evangelical Christianity. Thus began an era of compromises. This is the era when compromise interpretations of Genesis came into vogue. Many of these interpretations became widespread, partially through the influence of Scoffield, and partially through the influence of compromising seminaries. 

Compromise is never good for truth, because it is truth that suffers most when it is mixed with falsehood. Thus this mingling of evolution with creation eventually destroyed the Biblical foundations to such a level that radicals, humanists, evolutionists, rationalists, and atheists had a field day attacking Christians. Things came to such alarming state that in the first half of the twentieth century it was difficult to find qualified theologians in USA or Europe who would openly defend the Biblical story of creation. Since the Indian evangelical theology was mostly a copy of the Western theology, the Indian theologians also avoided defending the Biblical doctrine of Creation. 

A few American Seventh Day Adventists were the only people who were willing to defend the idea of creation during this period. However, there was a small remnant in some conservative churches in USA who were willing to take a strong stand. In the first decade of the twentieth century they produced 12 volumes of books known as “The Fundamentals”. While only a minority of scholars at that time identified themselves with the stand taken in these books, their influence eventually helped to turn the tide in favour of the Bible. 

American evangelical Christians have began to notice in the fifties that compromise is a slow poison that ultimately destroys respect for truth. Some of them came together and started writing aggressively on themes defending the historical and scientific reliability of the Bible. This gave birth to the modern interest in Apologetics and Creationism. At the dawn of the twenty-first century the influence of this revival has spread all over the world, and today more than one hundred and fifty organizations function around the world, devoted solely to apologetics. Their influence has be so strong that a large number of Seminaries all around the world have begun assert the historical and scienti
fic reliability of the Bible. 

CREATIONISM IN INDIA: Indian theological situation has many a times been a copy of what happens in the West. Thus with the rise of the German radical theology, most of the theologians and seminary-trained people in the mainline Protestant churches like the Lutherans, Methodists, CNI, CSI, and Marthoma churches became theologically radical. The situation is so bad that evangelical thinking is scorned in their seminaries, and it is difficult to discover theologians and priests in their forties who have an evangelical commitment or who are willing to take a stand for the historical and scientific reliability of the Bible. 

The separatist churches like the Brethren, the Pentecostals, and the Independent/Fundamental Baptists, and numerous other such evangelical groups were a little better. They did not forsake their high view of the Bible. At the same time almost all of them capitulated to compromise interpretations like Theistic Evolution and Gap Theory. The influence of C. I. Scoffield is notable is spreading the Gap Theory. 

The first Indian to take a strong stand against the Theory Of Evolution was the late Professor H. Enoch. This was in the early sixties. His English book Evolution Or Creation influenced a large number of young Indians, specially through the EU and EGF groups. He wrote many articles in the UESI student magazine also. 

In the sixties and seventies no evangelical magazine was willing to publish articles defending the historicity of the Bible or creation. The only exception was Cross And Crown, a Pentecostal Magazine edited by Dr. Thomas Mathews from Udaipur, Rajesthan. This magazine took a firm stand in favour of the accuracy of the Bible, and carried such articles in it regularly for decades. 

In the seventies a fellowship of scientists came up known initially as FOCMOS (Fellowship Of Christian Men Of Science), and later as CSFI (Creation Scientists Fellowship Of India). This organization soon became defunct because of lack of commitment from members, and also because their interests lay elsewhere. However, A. K. Skariah, the secretary of this movement continues to be a tireless crusader for Creation and Apologetics. 

A project known as Creation Research was founded by Dr. Johnson C. Philip in 1970. It functioned mainly through the publication of articles, and by the time of the writing of this present book more than 5000 articles have been published in more than 6 languages in almost a dozen countries around the world. This movement is now known as Trinity School of Apologetics and Theology

A Biblical Basis for Christian Apologetics

We have already seen that Christian Apologetics is that branch of Christian studies that deals with the defense of the Christian faith. This is fully a Biblical activity because it has been advised and demonstrated in the Bible at various places. For example, the Scripture commands:  “Always be prepared to make defense to any one who calls you to account for the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15, RSV). This means that making a defense of one’s faith to those who question the Christian faith is a part of our spiritual duty. The word “Apologetics” comes from the Greek word APOLOGIA used here, and translated as “defense”. So apologetics is a defending of the faith, not making of apologies as some might wrongly conclude from the English word ‘apologetics’. 

A good definition of the character and function of Christian apologetics can be found in Scripture when it  says: “We live in the flesh, of course, but the muscles that we fight with are not flesh. Our war is not fought with weapons of flesh, yet are strong enough, in God’s cause, to demolish sophistries, and the arrogance that tries to resist the knowledge of God ; every thought is our prisoner, captured to be brought into obedience to Christ” (II Corinthians 10:3-6, Phillips) 

Almost all of the book of Job is an apologetics to justify God’s dealings with man. In the face of opposition from his friends and family, Job tries to vindicate the reasons for his loyalty and confidence in the Lord. He makes it very clear that the Lord of Israel was not like the gods of pagans around them; rather, He is a faithful God who would never fail those who trust in Him. 

Psalms 14 and 19 are also apologetic in character. Romans 1:20 confirms this when it says that the marvels of the nature are enough to indicate the existence of an intelligent and all powerful God. The message which the Holy Spirit delivered through Paul in Acts 17 is another example where an apologetic approach is used to preach the gospel to skeptical unbelievers.

APOLOGETIC APPROACHES IN THE BIBLE: Though the Bible places great stress upon faith and belief, and though it condemns deliberate skepticism and unbelief, it does not speak against reason and investigation. The Bible encourages the use of reason and investigation when they are done sincerely and as an aid to honest inquiry. Both the Old as well as the New Testament furnish ample evidence of this. What’s more, God Himself gives evidence in numerous places to lead people into faith. 

When God commanded Moses to go to Pharaoh, He gave two signs to Moses so that he could establish that it is God who sent Him. Whether Pharaoh believed or not is a different subject, but we should not ignore that God provided demonstration when Pharaoh asked for it. We see the same thing in the case of Gideon who twice requested for signs, and was granted the request both the times. We see the same in the case of Hezekiah who was given a choice of signs to confirm that the Lord has spoken. 

When Daniel and his friends spoke to the man who was in-charge over them, he suggested that this steward should “prove” (investigate and conclude) them for ten days. Again this is the experimental approach, where a decision is taken on the basis of investigation. 

Jesus and his biographers repeatedly stressed that the primary purpose of the miracles performed by Jesus were to demonstrate who He was, and not merely to bring health to the world. In many other places the Scripture stress that the miracles in the New Testament church were meant to ATTEST that God was behind all these things.  Though Jesus chided “doubting Thomas” for his skepticism, He did not refuse to give proof. Rather, He invited Thomas and even other disciples to examine Him physically and conclude that He is risen. 

Thus the Bible furnishes ample examples to indicate the necessity and the important role played by apologetics for the Christians as well as non Christian hearers of God’s message. Though the Bible condemns unbelief, it encourages sincere inquiry. And that is where Apologetics plays an important role. 

APOLOGETICS AND POLEMICS: An important companion of Apologetics is Polemics. While Apologetics deals with objections and attacks originating from people outside the Christian faith, Polemics deals with attacks originating from within the Church. Many of the readers might be surprised when we mention attacks from “within” the church because none of us expects our own people to attack our blessed faith. However, people have always existed within the Jewish and the Christian faith who have attacked the Old and the New Testament. 

These attacks come in two forms. First, in the form of distorted Bible interpretation. Second, through those false cults who claim that they are a true Christian group. 

People who attack the Bible from inside the Church would include everyone who teach perverted doctrines. During the New Testament period this included the Ebionites, Pelegians, Montanists, Nestorians, Arians, and many others from within the Church. At the dawn of the twenty-first century this would include the radicals, the ecumenists, the Christian New Agers. This would also include those who teach salvation through baptism, those who attack the person of Christ (Smithism/Poonenism), and those who Hinduize Christian doctrines (Prajapati Proponents, Christian Vedantists), etc. 

False Cults which claim to be Christian but who still attack the fundamental of the Christian faith include, Jehovah Witnesses, Seventh Day Adventists, Mormons, TPM (Ceylon Pentecostal Mission), Roman Catholics, The Toronto Movement, etc. Their number is growing constantly, and the leaven of their erroneous teachings is also spreading. 

Though Apologetics and Polemics are two different activities, their ultimate purpose is one and the same: to refute error and to establish truth. Till a few decades ago they could easily be separated from each other so that those who practice Apologetics did not need to know about Polemics, and those who specialized in Polemics did not have to study apologetics. But no more ! All kinds of attacks against the Christian faith now borrow insights from each other, so that today every apologist must be an expert in polemics, and every polemicist must be an expert in apologetics. 

Introduction To Integrated Christian Apologetics

The word “apologetics” confuses many into thinking that it refers to some kind of apologizing. Actually this word is not derived from the English world “apology”, but from the Greek word “apologia”, which is a word referring to “making a defense”. Apologetics is a general term, signifying a formal defense of any kind. On the other hand, Christian Apologetics is that branch of Christian theology that answers the question “is Christianity believable”. Integrated Apologetics stands for the special approach developed by us in our course material where we integrate the best from all schools of thought in Christian Apologetics.

In the past four centuries, all kinds of religious and spiritual beliefs have come under intense attack at the hands of radical philosophers and critics. Of this assault, the Christian faith has received the major portion because of a number of historical reasons some of which will be mentioned later. 

These criticisms against the Christian faith have received so much media coverage that even a good number of well informed non Christians are aware of some of the major charges labeled against the Christian faith. Interestingly, books published against the Christian faith and sold from secular shops become bestsellers even in countries where the buyers are not Christians. This is the result of all this adverse publicity against the Christian faith.

Today all around us there is an atmosphere where criticism of the Bible and related subjects is widespread. Most of the Christian students have to face these attacks from other students in some form or other. It is quite common to meet Christian college-students who are perplexed by questions that are hurled against their faith. The volley of questions come with such high frequency that they find themselves at a loss in answering even a portion of them all. Moreover, since most of them never faced these questions before this assault, they usually do not know what to think and what to answer. Further, they often fall into the trap of thinking that if they do not know the answer, then correct or satisfactory answers do not exist. 

Once a person erroneously concludes that answers do not exist for the questions raised against the Bible, his own faith is the next victim. His faith in the inspiration, authority, and the infallibility of the Scriptures suffer very much. He then finds himself in a split mentality: he knows that it is these Scriptures which have brought the message of true salvation to him, but at the same time he does not know what all things written in this Book are believable ! 

Apologetics is the solution to this problem. A person who has some background in the Christian apologetics can help this person to see the answers to the problems and questions which he is facing. Further, a Christian Apologist can pass on information to the doubting person, using which he can better face the people who raise questions against the Bible. 

The last four to five centuries have been a time in history when anti Christian philosophies and thought patterns have flourished to the full extent in Christian societies. Humanism, a philosophy in which man has been elevated to the position of God, is the philosophy of the present times. It is the foundation of almost all the present-day ways of thinking and education. Therefore, students who have been brought up in any of the present day schools or colleges learns many things which are contrary to the Word of God. By the time a person passes out of his college, he accumulates hundreds of such ideas against the Christian faith. The cumulative weight of these ideas give so much doubt to young believers that all over the world they are struggling to overcome problems of distrust and doubt. 

No individual can possibly solve each and every doubt that these people have, but with the help of apologetics they can definitely help the people in doubt. An apologist can give answers to a good number of their problems, and can then teach them the basics of the humanistic philosophy. This will help the inquirers not only to overcome their doubts, but will also help them to see the root causes of the problems. This will also give them a capability to deal effectively with at least a good number of questions as they come to them in future. 

There is no person in this world who does not face problems. Everyone faces puzzles, questions, and fears of different kinds. Such difficult situations will not go away merely by ignoring them or by pretending that they do not exist. Facing a problem is a difficult affair, and people do resort to tactics which avoid them instead of facing them. This can be seen frequently in relation to the Bible. The attacks against the Scriptures come from such diverse fields and sometimes from people of such high learning that it becomes difficult to answer all of them. No one can ever hope to master all the disciplines of study from which these questions are raised. It is precisely this difficulty which induces many people to avoid facing the issues. But there is actually no need for doing this. Acquiring the basic tools of Christian apologetics will be sufficient to face most of the attacks. 

No person can ever hope to answer all the questions that are put to him, but every Christian should definitely know something about what godly men are doing in the field of Christian apologetics. Today the Christian society has numerous highly qualified and dedicated men belonging to all disciplines of study who are trying to answer each and every question that has been hurled against the Bible. No individual can face all of it, and it is natural for individuals to become fearful of these attacks, but once a person realizes that so many people are working on these problems, then he can rest assured that it will not be long before the answer is published. In fact, today there are several thousand scholars around the world who are publishing their conclusions in defense of the Christian faith through hundreds of professional journals and popular magazines. They are accessible to anyone who is willing to take interest. 

The Bible shall always be attacked, and there will always be people whose faith will be shaken by such attacks. Only the proper use of Christian Apologetics will help such people.