The September morning air felt cold as I walked from my car toward the flagpole. Across the school property in front of me, I was encouraged by the large gathering of students that I could see in front of the building. “Wow… a pretty impressive group at this hour,” I thought as I glanced at my watch. It was “See You At The Pole,” day, and a group of students from this particular high school had asked me to attend and speak.
Groups of students were all around the flagpole- talking, laughing – and some occasionally shivering. From one conversation, I overheard a question that made my heart heavy: “Why do Christians think that everybody who doesn’t agree with them is going to hell?” I had been invited to “SYATP” by members of an after-school Christian club, but something I saw told me that they were not the only campus group present. A banner held by several teens read, “Intolerance At The Pole.” I could see one teen offering a Christian booklet to a person helping hold up the sign. It turns out that members of the school’s “Diversity Club” had also gotten up early, coming to the flagpole to make a statement about their views. I was glad to see that many of the Christian teens seemed to be extending a friendly welcome. I caught the sound of another question that went something like this: “Why are Christians always trying to force their opinions on other people?”
We had met at the flagpole to pray, and I was already talking to the Lord while the youth leader was introducing me. Looking back, I see that experience as a prime example of why Christians today should become familiar with apologetics.
In verses such as Matthew 28:18-20, and Mark 16:15, God instructed believers of all ages to present the message of Jesus Christ to the people around them. It takes personal effort, dedication, and commitment in order to do this effectively. Evangelism today (and especially youth ministry) can be enhanced by the knowledge of apologetics as we share and explain Christianity.
Apologetics: A basic definition
Within the North American church, the term “Christian apologetics” is still new to many people. In short, apologetics is the practice of presenting reasons for what you believe. Apologetics deals with “what we believe, and why.” Most Christians who have ever witnessed to unbelievers have probably heard various objections to the Gospel message. Some people may have heard that the Bible contains errors. Others wonder how God (if He exists), could have allowed the recent tsunami to happen. But whether a listener has a legitimate question about God, or responds with a thinly-veiled excuse - a basic knowledge of apologetics is vitally important for Christians today. We should equip ourselves and our students to give a knowleadgeable answer, and to support our faith convincingly.
a-pol’o-get‘ics, n.; The discipline which deals with a rational defense of Christianity; giving a reason or justification of one’s beliefs; use of evidences and sound reasoning to reach individuals for Christ.2
“Apologetics” means “a defense,” and this word occurs several times in the Bible.3 When we do apologetics, we are defending what we believe by showing that the content of the Gospel is “backed up” by both evidence and sound reasoning.
I Peter 3:15 (NIV) encourages believers to, “…be ready always to give an answer to any one who asks you about the hope you have.” In short, we are told to “back up” why we have faith. The words translated “answer” and “reason,” are ancient terms, implying “analysis,” “consideration of one’s position,” and the “defense of a conclusion.”4 A similar wording is found in Philippians 1:7 and 1:17, where Paul said that he was prepared to defend the Gospel. The principle is echoed in Jude 3, as believers are encouraged to “earnestly contend” (or “stand up for”) the faith.
Overview of changes in American and the West
As Americans today, we live in a nation plagued by a chronic decline in morals, and erosion of the basic values and principles on which our nation was founded. We have unmistakably moved away from our Judeo-Christian roots and into a world characterized by relativism and corruption. To understand fully where much of Western culture is today, we must examine changes that brought us to where we are.
Historically, the Enlightenment period was the beginning of the end of the Judeo-Christian worldview in the West. From the early 1600’s through the 1700’s, society experienced a revolution of sorts. People began relying on rational thought rather than religious faith to discern truth. This led to widespread acceptance of empiricism as the ultimate test for truth (the belief that unless something could be tested, it wasn’t real). As a result, religious truth claims were seen as invalid, merely a matter of personal opinion, because they could not be empirically proven or verified. Modernism emerged out of this Enlightenment perspective, a viewpoint which holds that rational thought and scientific verification is the only true pathway to knowledge. The influence of the Enlightenment is still clearly demonstrated in society today.
Some eventually began to find the cold and impersonal nature of modernism undesirable. As people became disillusioned with rationalism, romanticism emerged in response to this disillusionment. Romanticism carried with it a shift in the view of humanity. Not only did Romanticists view nature as the highest good, but they also saw mankind as essentially good, rather than as sinful. Romanticists attempted to ignore the inconsistency in a society where wide-spread corruption co-existed with “naturally good” humans. However, eventually people began to understand the discrepancy between romanticism and reality, and people began to feel that a new worldview was needed to explain this discrepancy.
Disillusionment with both romanticism and modernism would ultimately contribute to the emergence of postmodernism. Because neither romanticism nor modernism was able to answer with certainty the answers to the big questions of life, Postmodernists concluded that no answers existed. Postmodernism asserts that no one answer can be better or more right than another. According to Postmodernists, claiming that your answer is the right answer is both arrogant and intolerant. Our postmodern world is one based on constantly shifting standards of right and wrong, in which there is no such thing as absolute truth. Those setting forth fixed, absolute judgments about reality or morality (such as Christians) are dismissed as being intolerant.
The pervasive postmodern assumes that truth is either non-existent or may, personally defined, pose a serious threat to young people- particularly if they do not know why they believe what they believe. For this reason, apologetics continues to grow in it’s scope and relevancy to today’s world. Apologetics is, in fact, the first step in bringing our society back up out of moral decay.
“No one who knows the world as it is today can deny that it is skeptical
and cold, either indifferent to, or furiously antagonistic against the
doctrines of the Christian faith… The children in many cases grow up to
be ignorant of the creed of the church, and when they go off to college
are ready to be swept along by Darwinism, Buddhism, Christian
Science, or any other insanity or delusion of the hour.”
Charles E. Jefferson, 19085
THE RISE OF APOLOGETICS
Christians (who today would be identified as conservatives or evangelicals) in American and Europe were well aware of developments of the 19th (and late 18th) centuries which were seen as intellectual threats to Christianity. Published in 1799, Frederick Schleiermacher’s (1768-1834) book On Religion defined religion in terms of personal subjective experience over objective, propositional truth. A later work entitled The Christian Faith further defined authentic Christianity in terms of “consciousness of dependence on God.” Sometimes referred to as “The father of German liberalism,” Schleiermacher conflicted with Biblical orthodoxy at a
number of points, not the least of which was his rejection of Christ’s Deity. His influence played a significant role in the drift away from Biblical orthodoxy that occurred in the Western world throughout the 1800’s. (6)
Both inside and outside of the church, the view of God as, “communicator” eroded during the 19th century, as doubts about the Bible grew. Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of the Species (published, 1859) undermined the view of God as Creator. In the minds of many, there grew an increasing conviction that religious faith and empirical fact were separate, unrelated phenomenon which did not necessarily need to reconcile. Beginning in the 1800’s, several influential individuals began to popularize the concept that a distinction should be maintained between the Jesus people believe in, and the person who Jesus literally was. Though using similar terminologies in subtly different ways, the influence of individuals like David Strauss (1808-1874), Gotthold Lessing (1729-1781), and Martin Kahler (1835-1912) led many to accept the concept that belief and history are (of necessity) based on different foundations; distinctions between personal faith and historical realities must consistently be maintained. In the early 20th century, books like Albert Schweitzer’s The Quest Of The Historical Jesus (1906) continued to popularize the idea that the “Christ of faith” and the “Jesus of history” are two different persons.(7) As the 20th century dawned, Christianity in the Western world was simultaneously being critiqued/assaulted/revised, and such challenges would only intensify in the decades ahead.
The apologetics movement of today may be traced to leaders who, over one hundred years ago, emerged in defense of Christianity. Though liberalism and revisionism were (and are) academically fashionable, those defending key points of Christian orthodoxy certainly made their voices heard. Charles Hodges defended Genesis and the Biblical account of creation in His 1878 work, What Is Darwinism? Benjamin Warfield (a professor at Princeton Seminary from 1887 until his death in 1921) was a scholarly defender of the Bible, and a vocal critic of liberalism.
In 1909, a project began that would ultimately become a major development for conservative theology and apologetics in America. Two Christian businessmen funded the research and writing of a series of essays designed to defend the “essentials” of Christian doctrine, and effectively respond to liberalism (then often called, “modernism”). The articles were written by conservative scholars of the day, including well known names like Benjamin Warfield, C.I. Scofield, G. Campbell Morgan, Scotland’s James Orr, and others. (8)
The resulting 90 articles and essays addressed many topics related to apologetics and Christian orthodoxy. Topics included the inspiration and preservation of the Bible, the virgin birth and deity of Christ, the reality of Jesus’ miracles and resurrection, and more. Christian leader Rueben A. Torrey (educated at Yale Divinity School, and later president of Moody Bible Institute) edited the articles into a four volume set, which was title The Fundamentals. Three million free copies of The Fundamentals were printed and sent to ministers and Christian throughout America.
In recent years, a very negative connotation has been attached to the term “fundamentalist.” Screaming street preachers and Islamic terrorists are each labeled as being “fundamentalists.” The term has more than lost the meaning it had carried initially (which was actually a complimentary description of one who affirmed the tenets of Biblical orthodoxy). “Fundamentalist” is now seen as a very negative, pejorative term, and is no longer part of the evangelical world’s “preferred vocabulary.” But the books which once carried that name initially did much to help people understand that Christianity was reasonable and credible.
Latter 20th century developments in Christian Apologetics
During the twentieth century, liberal theology, cultural trends, and conservative Christianity clashed on numerous (and often well-publicized) occasions. In the struggle for (or against) Biblical orthodoxy, lines began to be drawn within colleges, denominations, and within local churches. The quest for theological purity saw the birth of new colleges and seminaries (such as Westminster Seminary and Dallas Theological Seminary in the 1920’s). The 1925 “Monkey Trial” (concerning teacher John T. Scopes and his presentation of evolution the Dayton, TN public schools) vividly presented the conflict between Biblical content and emerging culture.
Despite the positive intellectual momentum gathered by Christians during the early 1900s, the Scopes Trial marked the beginning of a period in which conservative Christianity in American was perceived as being “anti-intellectual.” A marked lack of modern scholarship used in defending creationism (and Christianity as a whole) during the trials led directly to a great deal of negative press, and eventually to a shift of focus from key issues to more peripheral ones. Liberalism won back lost ground, gained momentum, and evangelical influence in mainline churches fluctuated. Some evangelicals defeated themselves by reducing their intellectual pursuits and accomplishments to quibbles over nitpicky, secondary issues.
Observations from an apologetics pioneer
“When I entered Bible college in 1950, there were only two books available written by contemporary apologists,” says Dr. Norman Geisler. “Fortunately, there are now hundreds of good apologetics resources in print.” Geisler speaks authoritatively when recounting the growth of apologetics in the latter 20th century. As a speaker, educator, and prolific apologetics writer – Geisler’s influence has been tremendous, from the 1960’s to the present day. Geisler witnessed the emergence of modern apologetics firsthand, and remains a contributing participant: “When I started in ministry, John Carnell’s book Christian Apologetics (1951), and The Christian View of God and Man by James Orr were the main books available. Later, Francis Schaeffer’s writings began to cause Christians to think about world-view issues, many for the first time. We also began to get books written by this guy from England who had spoken on the BBC, and who we had all heard about. Though they had been written years before, it wasn’t until the early 1960’s that most of us in American apologetics got our first copies of Miracles, The Problem of Pain, and Mere Christianity – and became familiar with C.S. Lewis.” (9)
Of the more than 60 books that Geisler has written, many are standard texts in Christian colleges and graduate programs, and many are considered modern-day apologetics classics. In 2002, Baker Book House published Geisler’s Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics. An unprecedented work of over 800 pages, production of this book alone would have demonstrated Geisler’s impact on modern apologetics. By the end of 2004, Geisler had also completed and released a 3 volume, apologetically-based systematic theology- devoting over 2000 pages to the subjects of God, the Bible, and creation.
A time of rising visibility for apologetics
By the 1970’s, young Christian leaders like Ravi Zacharias, W. David Beck, Winfried Courduan, David Clark, J. P. Moreland, Gary Habermas, William Lane Craig and others began taking on the mantle of apologetics.
“Josh McDowell deserves credit for taking the message to campuses all over the nation, and popularizing apologetics,” says Geisler. (10) Christian organizations that specifically focused on apologetics (such as PROBE, Search Ministries, and Dr. David Noebel’s Summit Ministries) began to train many Christians to think in terms of apologetics and a Biblical world view. By the 1980’s, notable Christian Colleges (such as Wheaton College and Liberty University) were offering courses and degree programs in apologetics.
Since the 1970’s, hundreds of apologetics books have been released in America, ranging from scholarly treatments of specialized subjects to more practical and popular overview-type “handbooks.” Countless Americans have been introduced to the world of apologetics through books like Josh McDowell’s More Than A Carpenter (with over 10 million copies in print) and Evidence That Demands A Verdict (parts I and II). More recently, lawyer Lee Strobel’s award-winning books, like The Case For Christ and The Case For A Creator have introduced apologetics to a brand new generation.
THE RELEVANCY OF APOLOGETICS
Why apologetics teaching is important for teens
It seems as if many American teenagers demonstrate a clear lack of knowledge regarding their faith and the issues surrounding it. Especially in a society where biblical truths and Christian precepts are consistently challenged and even attacked, it is crucial that we address this lack of knowledge, and bring our nation’s youth into a place of understanding, where they are rationally and truthfully able to give a reason for what they believe.
“Teens are largely unprepared for the assault on faith that college will bring. Prepared or not, college students will face questions like, “Is there a God?”, and, “If God exists, what’s Her name? “We know of many students whose faith crumbled during their college years, through doubt, bad decisions, and unwise choices in friendships. I think that all of these situations could have been avoided, if the students were just better equipped to handle life outside of their parents, and life apart from the their church. More and more, when a student graduates from high school, they’ve also graduated from church.”
Mark Smith, youth pastor, North Carolina (11)
Sixty two percent of those under age 30 question the ability of religion to influence life in America anymore (12), and almost eighty percent of teens will no longer participate in organized religion / church by the time they reach adulthood. (13) The sheer numbers of students who are turning from their faith demonstrates their ill-preparedness for living out their Christianity in a hostile society. Apologetics for teens is the cure, or rather the vaccination, for this growing concern; because it will provide students with the tools and knowledge that they need to defend, explain, and understand their faith.
Because a significant majority of teens aren’t sure that moral absolutes exist (14), or even that you can be sure that any one religion is right 15, apologetics continues to grow in its scope and relevancy to teenagers today. Apologetics for teens is designed to help them understand what it really means to have a Christian worldview, and to equip them to answer the challenges and questions they will undoubtedly face at school, with their friends, and possibly even in the home.
Teaching our teens apologetics alone will not transform their lives – only a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ can accomplish that. But presentation and explanation of Christian content is vitally important in a culture so full of non-Biblical messages. Knowledge of apologetics will provide Christian students with the ability to “always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks [them] to give the reason for the hope that [they] have” (1 Peter 3:15).
Rob Dennis, a youth minister now serving in Connecticut, began incorporating apologetics teaching into his youth ministry approach shortly after the events of 9-11. Not long after the attacks, students began to ask Dennis questions about Islam. He explains, “It’s not enough to just tell youth ‘The Bible says so, and the church says so.’ Teens want to understand their Christian faith and the reasons behind it.” (16)
Dennis is now serving New Life Church in Meriden, Connecticut, along with founding pastor Will Marrotti. About 350 of New Life’s 400 members are new believers, reached since the church began in 1999.
Dennis says, “We teach basic apologetics, because Christian kids (and many of their non-Christian friends) have questions…so many questions.”17
Rob Dennis, Mark Smith (quoted above), and many other youth ministers emphasize the importance of maintaining an environment where students feel free to ask questions. Dennis asserts, “The things that come up in discussions show that they are thinking, and really seeking truth that makes sense. How do we know that Jesus is the only way to God? How can we be sure that the Bible is really accurate? Why is God so against homosexuality if people really love each other? What if Jesus really didn’t rise from the grave? How do we know there is a heaven, and what will it be like? These types of issues are only the tip of the iceberg.” (18)
THE ROLE OF APOLOGETICS
Each believer has been given the assignment of not only presenting the Gospel, but also of explaining and defending the truths of our message. Fortunately, there is plenty of evidence to support what we believe. Christianity tells us that Jesus loved us, and His authenticity is proven by the fact that He came back to life after dying. The Bible reminds us that the Good News about Jesus is not just based on human opinion, or on some one’s personal preference. Christianity is truth. II Peter 1:16 reminds us that the message of Jesus was not based on fables, or myths. Romans 1:4 says that Jesus’ resurrection shows that He was the unique Son of God. (Think about it. How many other people in history have – under their own power – gone to “the other side” and come back?) Acts 1:3 says that after His resurrection, Christ showed that He was alive by many undeniable proofs.
Christianity is unique in that it is the only faith system based on facts of history which can be investigated. Many people today risk eternity by trusting their own opinion about what it means to be in right relation to God. In contrast to this, Christianity alone is based upon historically verifiable words and events. When a non-Christian says, “You have no right to judge me,” they are absolutely correct. But Jesus has evaluated the entire human race, and His Word sums it up for each of us: “You must be born again.” (See John 3:7.)
Categories of Christian Apologetics include: (1) Textual apologetics – defending the trustworthiness of the Bible, and then sharing the content of what it says; (2) Evidence-based apologetics – Presenting the many evidences in defense of the Christian faith (such as facts from history or science); and (3) Philosophical apologetics – exposing the flawed reasoning behind many of the popular arguments against Christianity. Respected Christian thinkers throughout history (such as Thomas Aquinas) have recognized that every argument against Christianity is rooted in faulty logic and incorrect conclusions.
A fourth area of apologetics relates not to external facts or evidences, but to our own personal character and behavior as a believer, and might be termed (4)Practical apologetics. Christians may know apologetics, and Christians may do apologetics. But we must also remember that as a new creature in Christ, each believer is an apologetic.
The Limits of Apologetics
We should keep in mind that apologetics must never be simply facts and data stored in our brains; apologetics should also be “truth lived out in consistency and love.” We must turn our apologetics knowledge into what authors Josh McDowell and Dave Bellis term, “relational apologetics.” Biblical truth, sound reasoning, or compelling data carry little weight unless they are presented by an authentic messenger whose life has been genuinely changed. Josh McDowell states: “Human relational connections and deepened convictions about God are intertwined. Thus, if we are going to deepen our young people’s convictions about a God who is passionate about relationships, we need to form strong, positive relational connections with them.”19 McDowell explains the caring, consistent Christian example that leaders are challenged to model before teens:
“When I talk about entering their world, I’m not talking about trying to live like preteens or teenagers- dressing like them, talking like them, listening to their music, and so on. I mean taking an interest and being aware of what’s happening in their lives and then relationally connecting with them as Christ the Incarnate One models for us- accepting them without condition, loving them sacrificially, affirming them in their struggles and victories, and being available to them always. When you make that kind of connection with the young people in your life, you ready their hearts for the relational connection God wants to have with them through His Son Jesus Christ.”20
Facts and data are important; and among the world’s belief systems, Christianity is unique in its empirical corroboration. Apologetic evidences can be very potent ministry tools, in terms of both “reaching and teaching.” But apologetics is no substitute for prayer (we must intercede on behalf of the lost, and not just assume that proofs and evidence will draw the unsaved to Christ). In terms of evangelism, apologetics do not override God’s Sovereign timetable or human will. The persuasiveness of a presentation is not the deciding factor in whether or not someone accepts Christ. The focal points of our evangelistic approach should be the finished work of Christ, the content of the Gospel, and the power of the Holy Spirit to draw and to convert.
Finally, it must be pointed out that apologetics is no substitute for a godly, yielded life. Ability to “defend the faith” comes with the responsibility to “live the faith.” Apologist and author David Clark states: “A commitment to defending the faith is not a promise to argue whatever, however, whenever, and with whomever. It is a commitment to be, to the highest degree possible, what God wants His servants to be- intellectually, relationally, and spiritually.”20 Clark sums it up well by reminding all aspiring apologists, “Who you are counts most.”21
The way that we act, react, and daily live should complement the words that we speak. Christians must truly live out their faith, yielded to the leading of God’s Spirit and the parameters of God’s Word. Otherwise, we lose the power of our witness, no matter how deeply bolstered by reasoning or facts.
Apologetics in Youth Ministry
Christian apologetics is both a useful and crucial tool for use in student ministry. Youth will appreciate the growth in their own faith stemming from learning the reasons and truths behind their beliefs. They would also be grateful for the opportunity to share with their friends what they believe in a rational and reasonable way, particularly because they most likely face peers and teachers who challenge their faith on a consistent basis. Youth leaders should be equipped to teach their teens to become effective apologists; however, because of the vast scope and depth of Christian beliefs, introducing apologetics to youth can be a daunting undertaking. It will help to understand the key issues, objectives and functions as related to Christian apologetics.
As a youth pastor or leader, there are several predominant issues and topics which should be addressed, including: the existence, nature, character, and attributes of God; God’s revelation, and the fact that He has shown Himself to the world; truth (and epistemology, which deals with the question of how we know anything); the Bible, and how we can be sure of it’s veracity; Jesus Christ, his divinity and humanity, and the evidence which verifies that he rose from the dead; answering the problem of evil; the credibility of the Biblical miracles; the Judeo-Christian heritage of both West culture and of the United States; the absolute (fixed) nature of morality; and responding to non-Christian religions, cults, and the occult.
Rather than simply describing these key issues, youth leaders should address them with an eye toward the fulfillment of several basic objectives. These objectives include presenting, explaining and defending the Christian message, in order to prove that Christianity is credible, understandable, and urgent (that is, “requires a response”). Incorporation of apologetics into evangelism and youth ministry is done in light of Christ’s Great Commission, seeking to see the lost masses converted, Biblically literate, and committed to the Lordship of Christ.
Applied apologetics: The integration of walk and witness.
We desire that each teen (a representative for Christ), be:
converted Biblically literate committed to the
Lordship of Christ
Our goal is that each Christian teen (a “messenger” for the Lord)
(will) (can) (is prepared to)
TheMethods include: presenting explaining defending
Visually, vocally, consistently (The life of the messenger
conveys a “message” about the “Message”):
The Message, which relevant understandable credible
is demonstrated to be:
Christian teens should be equipped to live out the Biblical injunction of II Peter 1:16 and of Jude 3, being able to defend one’s faith. Adult leaders must alert teens of their personal responsibilities to present, explain, and defend the faith, and equip them for this. Finally, apologetics teaching is intended to encourage believers to not only know Christian truth, but also to convey that truth to those around them.
THE RESULT OF APOLOGETICS
Teens in our nation and world hold beliefs that range from the secular to the spiritual. Beliefs and religions include everything from atheism (belief that there is no God), to polytheism (belief that everything is part of God). But regardless of the label that describes an individual’s view of the world, an effective presentation of the Gospel often requires that we talk to the individual about certain assumptions they may hold. Before students may be willing to consider what Jesus taught, we may have to help them over some mental barriers that stand in their way. In a culture known for its rejection of authority and a “prove it to me” attitude, knowledge of apologetics is a vital help in reaching and teaching teens and adults.
Excellent books on apologetics are available by authors like Josh McDowell, Lee Strobel, Ravi Zacharias, Gary Habermas, Norman Geisler, and many others. Good resources are essential to the process of becoming equipped for effective Christian witness. When someone is ready to trust Christ, and appears to have no objections standing in the way, there may be no need to talk about peripheral issues. But for an increasingly skeptical culture such as ours, Christians should rise to the challenge of I Peter 3:15, and “always be ready.”
I began this chapter talking about my experience at a local high school during a “See You At The Pole” gathering. As I addressed the students the tense mood faded as both groups listened with interest to some facts
I began to share concerning apologetics. “The words of the Bible and the record of history both tell us about Jesus and what He taught,” I told the crowd. The fall breeze brought gentle noises from the leaves on a nearby tree, and from the flag suspended above our heads. “Please remember this,” I said, “Christianity is not just somebody’s opinion. It is based on facts.” Once again, I was reminded that students do want to be taught truth and they have the capacity to understand far more than we give them credit.
