“It was my freshman year of Bible college, and I was experiencing a crisis of faith.”

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, 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.

It is only by listening that we learn how to respond in an appropriate and effective way. For an apologetic response to be effective, it has to have three characteristics: 1. It must correspond to reality. In other words, it must be true. 2. It must be coherent, which means that it must hold together under scrutiny. 3. It must be compelling.

This third element is often missed today. We construct finesounding arguments that are true and coherent, but they aren’t compelling. They fail to connect in a meaningful way to the very people they are supposed to reach. We miss our target because we have forgotten the purpose of our task. Apologetics isn’t about winning arguments or making smart arguments. Apologetics actually becomes counter-productive when practiced that way. Apologetics is about connecting people to the living God by removing as many obstacles to faith as possible.

This leads to the second error: We should be careful not to forget the limits of apologetics. Argumentation alone does not create faith, and reason alone cannot explain the wonders of an infinite God. Therefore, apologists must approach their task in the humility of faith. New Testament scholar Austin Farrer articulated the apologetic task well. “Though argument does not create conviction, the lack of it destroys belief. What seems to be proved may not be embraced; but what no one shows the ability to defend is quickly abandoned. Rational argument does not create belief, but it maintains a climate in which belief may flourish.”

I like comparing apologetics to putting pebbles in shoes. A small pebble in your shoe is captivating. Even though it is small, it dominates your attention and demands to be dealt with. A good apologetic argument can work in the same way. I want to make people uncomfortable with their disbelief. I want to cause them to question their questions, to be skeptical about their skepticism. I want to lovingly put a pebble of doubt into their shoes. This doesn’t mean that I can or should harass people into believing. I simply want to create an environment where God can do his work on a stubborn heart. For this reason, apologetics is a spiritual discipline when it is done well. Apologetics enlists us in spiritual warfare. It beckons us to prayer, and it cultivates spiritual fruit like patience, kindness, and self-control.

Our Faith and Our Call

I am confident that apologetics will continue to be relevant and essential to Christian witness in the world because of the nature of our faith and the nature of our call. Our faith is not a feeling. Our faith is not a philosophy. Our faith is a bold declaration of truth clothed in flesh and grounded in history. This kind of bold declaration requires a compelling defense.

James Beilby says, “Apologetics is what happens when the Christian humbly yet confidently proclaims the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ in a world where truth and reasons for belief matter.” Despite what you might have heard, for most people “truth and reasons for belief” still matter a great deal. People are unlikely to adopt a life-changing truth—a truth that both takes everything and gives everything—if no one seems able to make a case. Our calling is to go into the world and make disciples. How will we make disciples of all people if we are unwilling or unable to offer a compelling argument for the truth of our faith? Our faith and our call should energize the apologetic task.

Apologetics at OCC

I’m so thankful for the legacy of apologetics at Ozark. This fall, I will become the third out of the last four OCC academic deans who taught apologetics before becoming dean. (I have no doubt that Mark Scott would have loved to teach apologetics if he had to. He probably would have done a better job than all of us.) It is an incredibly humbling opportunity. Apologetics continues to be an essential element of our mission and our vision as an institution. Men and women who are trained for Christian service must have the ability to defend and commend their faith. In the same way, men and women who enter into the work of “glorifying God by evangelizing the lost and edifying Christians worldwide” will find it difficult to avoid the discipline of apologetics.

I confess, I’m also glad that apologetics is a part of our legacy because of those students who are just like I was. They come to us harboring questions and anxious about doubts. I’m forever grateful to be at a place where the light of truth still shines in the shadow of those doubts.

Men and women who are trained for Christian service must have the ability to defend and commend their faith.

Since 2005, Dr. Chad Ragsdale has taught Christian apologetics, biblical interpretation, the book of Hebrews, and biblical Greek at OCC. In 2012, Chad became Ozark’s assistant academic dean. In the fall of 2021, he will follow Doug Aldridge to become Ozark’s sixth academic dean.