FEATURED THEME
WHY APOLOGETICS? DEFENDING AND COMMENDING THE FAITH
Dr. Chad Ragsdale
It was my freshman year of Bible college, and I was experiencing a crisis of faith. I had gone to college with what I now characterize as a plate glass faith. It was functional in helping me see the world, but it was also fragile. I took classes that challenged me to pursue a deeper faith, but in the process, I found myself asking new and uncomfortable questions about that faith. At the same time, I was still in considerable pain from a family tragedy that had occurred barely a year before enrolling. Rocks were being thrown at my plate glass faith, and cracks were beginning to form. It was in that moment that a friend threw me a lifeline in the form of C.S. Lewis’ classic, Mere Christianity. Lewis captivated me. I found in him a person unafraid to ask challenging questions and deep enough to offer thoughtful, articulate answers. It’s not that I suddenly had all of my doubts resolved. That’s not how life and faith work. What that book did offer was hope in the midst of doubt. I realized that doubt didn’t have to be a one-way trip into a darkened alley. Doubts could be met with the light of truth, and people like Lewis were there to offer guidance.
The World of Christian Apologetics
Reading C.S. Lewis was my first real initiation into the world of Christian apologetics. I’ve been passionate about apologetics ever since. Apologetics is the discipline of offering reasonable answers to the questions people ask about our faith. Apologetics is an eclectic discipline. Studying apologetics means engaging diverse fields like biblical theology, science, philosophy, history, and art—all for the purpose of being sufficiently prepared to give answers to those who ask us about our hope (1 Pet. 3:15). Studying apologetics means examining culture, challenging the conventional wisdom of the world in light of the truth of Jesus,
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TO INSPIRE
and demolishing arguments and pretensions by taking every thought captive (2 Cor. 10:5). Studying apologetics also means studying and imitating Jesus. Apologetics sends us into the world full of both grace and truth ( John 1:14) with the purpose of making disciples (Matt. 28:19-20). As much as I have come to love apologetics, it has its detractors. Several years ago, a guest speaker on our campus began his talk with these words: “Apologetics is a wonderful thing. If you live in the 1950s. And in Kansas.” It was an awkward moment not only because the crowd was composed of a large number of students from the state of Kansas, but also because it was the first session in our annual apologetics lectureship. Did I mention that I had just begun teaching apologetics that same semester, and one of my first decisions was to invite this speaker to our campus? Like I said, awkward. As he continued speaking, it became clear that his complaint was not with providing answers to the questions skeptics ask. His problem was with the ways many contemporary Christians practice apologetics. I share some of his concerns.
Possible Errors in Practicing Apologetics
I believe we can make at least two errors in practicing apologetics. The first error is when we forget the purpose of apologetics. Apologetics is a servant of evangelism and discipleship. It is therefore sensitive to the particular context and needs of people, people who may be wandering or wondering or outright rebelling against God. Apologetics listens before it speaks.
Apologetics listens before it speaks.
