Apologetics and doubt are closely tied together. Christian apologetics in particular seeks to provide rational arguments for faith in Jesus Christ. These arguments build bridges over doubts that may help people more clearly see the beauty of Christ.
So the first aim of this class is to help you settle some things in your own mind – to deal with your doubts. Then you can help people with theirs. Or to paraphrase Christ: to deal with your planks that you may deal with other’s specks.
"Apologetics is the seasoning, the Gospel is the main course. You do not want too much of the seasoning or it will make the main course insipid. Apologetics does not dominate our message; it undergirds our message. Argument doesn't save people, but it certainly clears the obstacles so they can take a direct look at the Cross. Support the argument justifiably, but recognize it is Jesus Christ who you need to lift up, and it is the Holy Spirit who brings about change within the human heart. An argument may remove doubt, but only the Holy Spirit can convict of truth."
Craig, William Lane, and Lee Strobel. On Guard: Defending Your Faith with Reason and Precision. David C. Cook; New Edition, 2010. Print.
Geisler, Norman L., and Frank Turek. I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist. Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway, 2004. Print.
Guinness, Os. God in the Dark: The Assurance of Faith beyond a Shadow of Doubt. Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway, 1996. Print.
Lewis, C. S. Mere Christianity: A Revised and Enlarged Edition, with a New Introduction, of the Three Books, the Case for Christianity, Christian Behaviour, and Beyond Personality. Macmillan Paperbacks ed. New York: Macmillan Pub., 1960. Print.
Little, Paul E. Know What You Believe. Wheaton, Ill.: Scripture Publications, 1970. Print.
Wallace, J. Warner. Cold-case Christianity: A Homicide Detective Investigates the Claims of the Gospels. Print.
But no matter how persuasive our arguments may be, none of them can stand in for the work of the Holy Spirit. As the great Ravi Zacharias puts it:
"Apologetics is the seasoning, the Gospel is the main course. You do not want too much of the seasoning or it will make the main course insipid. Apologetics does not dominate our message; it undergirds our message. Argument doesn't save people, but it certainly clears the obstacles so they can take a direct look at the Cross. Support the argument justifiably, but recognize it is Jesus Christ who you need to lift up, and it is the Holy Spirit who brings about change within the human heart. An argument may remove doubt, but only the Holy Spirit can convict of truth."
Resources
These resources are supplemental to tonight's topic. They are completely optional and are provided here to give you some additional depth.
Online
A great (and lengthy!) article that defines apologetics,
discusses various approaches, and refutes some common objections to its use in
evangelism. Lots of information to glean and plenty of secondary sources to
whet your appetite.
A good primer on what apologetics is and how one should go
about it. Note: This article comes from the Institute on Creation Research and
represents a Presuppositional approach. If you don’t know what that is, then read
the article above.
A brief interview with Ravi Zacharias where he traces the
origins of the current spiritual climate and how apologetics can speak to it.
Great read.
Books
Geisler, Norman L., and Frank Turek. I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist. Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway, 2004. Print.
Guinness, Os. God in the Dark: The Assurance of Faith beyond a Shadow of Doubt. Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway, 1996. Print.
Lewis, C. S. Mere Christianity: A Revised and Enlarged Edition, with a New Introduction, of the Three Books, the Case for Christianity, Christian Behaviour, and Beyond Personality. Macmillan Paperbacks ed. New York: Macmillan Pub., 1960. Print.
Little, Paul E. Know What You Believe. Wheaton, Ill.: Scripture Publications, 1970. Print.
Wallace, J. Warner. Cold-case Christianity: A Homicide Detective Investigates the Claims of the Gospels. Print.
That first on-line article is wonderful! Definitely worth the price of admission.
ReplyDeleteDiane
Zach, thank you for all of the work and resources you are supplying to us. I did feel like I drank from the water hose last week. I am going back over your notes and will be listening to the recording today while at work. The class is a highlight of my week. I look forward to joining next week. Thanks again for all of your work. - Eric Workman
ReplyDeleteI think our tendency as finite human beings is to cloak our words and thoughts with so much unnecessary embellishment that we can no longer understand our own original premise. This subject is not really so complicated. It is, at its core, either unshakeable personal truth or a house built on sand. I cannot hand you my foundation but I can describe the comfort and joy of standing on this rock. You, on the other hand, may look at my perch with intellectual disdain, decrying my inability to move. Semantics, all of it, and embellished foolishness. The truth is, man is afraid of death and insignificance. Our souls miss those evening walks with God in the garden. It is how we respond to that loss that determines our filter and our conviction. A man who is lost must first acknowledge his condition, else he is doomed to wander in the wilderness of words. And so, we have the Holy Spirit, who draws all men to the map....but honestly, how many men will ask for directions?
ReplyDeleteI do not say that apologetics is useless, but without the Holy Spirit it becomes the clanging gong only. As this week's articles so eloquently prove, the truth is out there for seekers to see...Rita