Dr. Johnson C. Philip & Dr. Saneesh Cherian
Christian Apologetics is a powerful system of communication. This power is enhanced when a person becomes acquainted with the Tools of Apologetics. However, the mere possession of tools does not make him powerful. On the contrary a tool in the hands of an unskilled person would only make it destructive. Witness the proverbial Monkey With A Razor In His Hand.
Possession of a tool does not guarantee the ability to use, and ability to use does not guarantee proper use. Just as some Lawyers, doctors, and policemen misuse their profession, some Christian Apologists also misuse the tools in their possession. However, since they are under God’s supervision, misuse of a spiritual capacity brings divine discipline. If a person causes even the smallest one in the spiritual world to stumble, God is displeased. Thus the Apologist needs to be careful. Further, since a careless exercise of apologetics can hurt others (when the apologist becomes harsh , egotistical, or sarcastic) every apologist should seriously consider the areas where he can go wrong. He should tailor his approach to match with what God expects from him.
Have The Right Attitude And Perspective
In the classic passage on Christian Apologetics, the Holy Spirit says, “Set apart Christ as Lord in your hearts. And be ready to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason concerning the hope that is in you, but with meekness and fear”. Obviously, the attitude is an integral part of Christian Apologetics. First, every defense should come as a consequence of placing Christ on the throne of one’s mind. Second, humility and fear of God should also be an integral part of one’s ministry. This can be be expressed as follows:
a. Not For Competition: People compete against each other in games and in business. There is legitimate place there for healthy competition. But the same attitude would be wrong as a motivation for practicing Christian Apologetics.
b. Not To Establish Superiority: Once a person acquires the tools of Apologetics, he is in a superior position compared to a many who attack the Christian faith. He can answer their question easily and disarm them quickly. While he might need to do both, these are not the sole purpose of Apologetics. On the contrary, they are only the first few steps in the long process of sharing the gospel and removing the doubts.
c. Not Merely To Defeat or To Silence People: There are occasion when a noisy, troublesome, or irritating opponent needs to be silenced. But that should not be the only goal. On the contrary, the debater should be silenced so as to lead to a more conducive atmosphere in which the genuine process of inquiry can take place.
In other words, though all the elements of conventional debates might be present on an apologetic discussion or debate, Christian apologetics is not merely a debate. The purpose is not merely to defeat or silence the critic. On the contrary, the apologist tries to silence people so as to create an atmosphere where the gospel can be proclaimed openly, authoritatively, and without unnecessary intrusion.
d. Not An End In Itself: While the Christian apologist does try to defeat and silence the opponent that is not the final goal. If he leaves it at that, then the goal of apologetics is defeated. The goal and purpose is to help the unbeliever accept the gospel and the believer to be strengthened in his faith.
Thus once the apologist is able to silence the critic, and once he is able to get the attention of the inquirer, he should begin concentrating on the inquirer who will have many genuine questions which hinder him from accepting Christ. The new believer will have many questions that challenge his new-found faith. The more mature believer would have serious questions that puzzle him. All of them need answers, and the apologist should help them all. That is the ultimate goal of Christian Apologetics.
e. Not To Prove The Bible Rationally: Since Christian Apologists speak of the uniqueness of the Bible, and since they try to defend its historical and scientific accuracy, many people erroneously think that the apologist’s aim is to “prove” that the Bible is God’s word. Such a proof does not exist, as this is neither a mathematical subject, nor an empirical topic. On the contrary, the divinity of the Bible is an inter-disciplinary subject in which the Apologist uses a vast array of information.
One deduces the divinity of the Bible using a combination of empirical, mathematical, historical-legal, and relational proofs. When all of them are put together, and when the result is combined with objective faith, one arrives at the “deduction” that the Bible is God’s word. This is a logical process totally different from the conventional proofs. Thus the Christian Apologist does not “prove” the Bible, but rather leads sincere inquirers to objectively come to the deduction that the Bible is the Word of God. Thus the Apologist should never arrogantly think that he can, or that he is cable to, prove directly that the Bible is the Word of God. Nor should he ever brashly claim to anyone that he would be able to “prove” such a thesis. On the contrary, he should always tell the inquiries that he can prove the uniqueness of the Bible, which would lead them to the deduction that the Bible is God’s unique message for mankind.
f. Not To Prove God’s Existence Rationally: Rational proofs are possible for things that empirical or mathematical in nature. However, entities that are not mathematical or empirical are not easily proved rationally. On the contrary they can only be examined rationally to arrive at deductions that are highly accurate or highly probable. Information related to historical subjects, sociological subjects, and relational subjects fall into this category. The existence of God also falls into this category.
No empirical methodology can prove or disprove God’s existence. Similarly, mathematical or geometrical methods cannot be used to prove or disprove the existence of God. On the contrary, people make an informed deduction about God’s existence based upon a matrix of proofs that includes empirical, mathematical, historical-legal, and relational proofs, Thus no Apologist should brashly claim that he can rationally prove the existence of God. On the contrary, he should only claim that he would present a whole matrix of rational information, using which any thinking person would came to the conclusion that God exists. Proof is possible only in mathematics and empirical science. When it comes to the existence of God, what we offer is a rational deduction that He is real and that He exists.
What Is The Purpose of Christian Apologetics
Christian Apologetics is a spiritual ministry, born to meet the needs of the curiosity and inquisitiveness which God himself has kept in man. Man’s natural tendency to explore for truth results in him asking “is this so” about everything, including objections that people raise against the Bible. Such questions shall always be asked of Christian communicators because the common man shall always be flooded with statements against God and the Bible. For them the only source of hope is the knowledgeable Christian communicator. When the Christian tries to help a genuine inquirer, that is Christian Apologetics.
Apologetics has both the endorsement as well as the encouragement of the scripture. When the scripture says that the “Heavens declare the glory of God” it reminds that God Himself is the originator of Christian Apologetics, because He made His creation in such a way that it declares the glories of God. The Christian Apologist uses Apologetics in two ways to help inquirers.
First, every successful Apologist uses the Tools of Apologetics to silence the critic and also to gain the attention of the inquirer, In the second stage he handles the questions of the inquirers in a sympathetic manner, and tries to answer him as accurately and in as simple a manner as possible. By doing so, he helps the unbeliever to find reasonable answers to questions that have been hindering his quest for truth about the Christian Faith. Once his questions are answered to a reasonable level, he would become ready to take a leap of faith and accept Christ as his personal Saviour. On the other hand if the inquirer is a believer, the apologist answers his doubts and helps him to overcome his anguish about whether the Christian faith is objective truth or mere subjective fabrication. Once the Apologist helps him to see the objective truth of the Christian faith, the believer is strengthened in his faith. Barriers to growth are removed, and he begins to take a strong stand for the Christian faith. In these ways Christian Apologetics works as a ministry of counsel that helps people to trust the Bible and grow in their spiritual life.
