Lesson Goal
Introduce some basic elements of preaching apologetically.
Lesson Intro
In Philippians 1:7, 17 Paul defended the Christian faith. Defending the Christian faith has a long history. Those who have a particular gift in this area have served the church well throughout Christian history. Today, the church is being attacked on so many different fronts, that the need for dedicated apologists continues.
Lesson Plan
This chapter combines the two chapters on proof and rebuttal, and adds an overview of the history of Christian apologetics from early biblical history to some of our modern challenges. We also look at several of the more popular varieties of Christian apologetics and give an example apologetic sermon.
Lesson Body
The reality is that no apologist will ever convince every hearer. Skeptics can find as many excuses not to believe as believers can find reasons for faith. Not every argument that a preacher gives will be 100% bullet-proof, but that is not a major concern. The Christian apologist can only demonstrate that our faith is reasonable, not that it is infallibly proven beyond every skeptic's doubts.
On the other hand, apologetics can only demonstrate that Christianity is reasonable and why objections against it are unreasonable. It is also helpful for believers to know that reason and faith do not conflict, that faith is not irrational. Peter Kreeft, author of Handbook of Christian Apologetics (1994, IVP) wrote that apologetics can lead a person to the water's edge, but only faith will let him jump into the sea of God.
A. History of Christian Apologetics
1. Paul's Defense
In everyday language, an apology means an expression of regret. However, we will be using the academic meaning: an explanation, or a formal defense. A defender of the faith can also be an apologist. One of the first Christian apologists was the apostle Paul. One of his defenses of the gospel in the face of religious persecution is recorded in Acts 22. Part of his calling was as an apologist defending the gospel (Philippians 1:7, 17). The Greek word for Paul's verbal defense here is apologia and also means an answer, reply, a reasoned statement or argument.
2. Justin Martyr
Justin of Caesarea (ca. 100-165) was another early Christian apologist. Two of his works, the First Apology and the Second Apology, were written to the government of the day which was actively persecuting Christians. His purpose was to prove that the persecution of Christians was unjust. Justin did this with culturally appropriate arguments using the popular philosophy of the day, an explanation of true Christianity and proof that Jesus is the Son of God.
3. Eusebius
Eusebius of Caesarea (ca. 275-339) is often called the father of early church history, because of his extensive writings on that subject. He also wrote or co-wrote a number of apologies, including Apology for Origen, Preparation for the Gospel, Proof of the Gospel, and On the Theology of the Church.
4. Anselm of Canterbury
Anselm (ca. 1034-1109) became Archbishop of Canterbury and had conflicts with the government of his day. His apologetic works Monologion and Proslogion develop the ontological argument (proof by deduction and reasoning alone) for God's existence. This is also known as a priori reasoning, which is independent of experience, as opposed to a posteriori logic, which is dependent upon prior experience.
5. Thomas Aquinas
Thomas of Aquino (ca. 1225-1274) was so influential that a whole school of Christian philosophy is named after him. Thomism has had great influence on the Catholic Church and to some extent Protestantism. His Summa Theologica was a summary of Christian theology in his time. It contributes to apologetics with the quinquae viae (5 ways) or five arguments for the existence of God: 1) the unmoved mover, 2) the first cause, 3) the necessity of a being that does not depend on the existence other beings, 4) perfection presumes the existence of a perfect being, and 5) design demands a designer.
6. Blaise Pascal
French mathematician and champion of the scientific method, Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) was so influential in calling for religious reform in his brilliantly written Provincial Letters (Lettres Provinciales) that even Rome was impressed. The Pope forced the revision of the Church's casuistic texts which had tolerated moral laxity. Pascal is famous for his unique excuse, "I would have written a shorter letter, but I did not have the time."
Pascal's most influential work Thoughts (Pensées) was unfinished when he died. As a defense of Christianity, the collection of Thoughts seeks to humble a know-it-all humanity by showing paradoxes which science had not been able to answer. A famous section of the Thoughts is Pascal's Wager, a mock bet that it is better to believe in a non-existent God than offend one who does exist. The Wager is sometimes called Pascal's Flaw because it is not meant to be a complete argument, but rather a taunt at the incompleteness of arguments by those who claim that God does not exist.
7. Søren Kierkegaard
Søren Kierkegaard [pronounced SIR-ren KEER-kuh-gard] (1813-1855) is often thought of as a Christian existentialist, long before the rise of Pentecostal existentialism, and is best known for strongly criticizing the sterile ritualism of the church. Towards the end of his life, Kierkegaard had an unrelenting confrontation with the state church. In works such as Christian Discourses, Works of Love, Edifying Discourses, Practice in Christianity, For Self-Examination and Judge for Yourselves! he observed that Christians were only giving lip service to Bible teachings and that the church had lost its way.
Kierkegaard is also the man who gave us the phrase "a leap of faith," which is actually a philosophical argument for faith without visible evidence. He states that even after examination of all physical evidence, it still requires a leap of faith to accept Christianity (Hebrews 11:1). In his book The Concept of Anxiety, Kierkegaard states that Adam's "fall" was actually a leap, and that only a similar leap can restore us to grace with God.
8. G. K. Chesterton
Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874-1936) was an English Catholic writer and debater, who wrote prolifically and with wit and humor. He authored the popular apologetic The Everlasting Man, which contributed to the conversion of Anglican C. S. Lewis. His spiritual autobiography Orthodoxy and its companion Heretics are also great contributions to Christian apologetics, revealing Christianity as the logical answer to the riddle of human needs.
9. C. S. Lewis
Clive Staples Lewis (1898-1963) the Irish Oxford scholar and Anglican writer described his conversion to Christianity as against his will, "kicking and screaming" in Surprised by Joy. Although an Anglican, Lewis believed in many teachings of both the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. His famous work The Chronicles of Narnia, paints the gospel in allegorical form.
His classic work on apologetics Mere Christianity contains what later became known as his famous Trilemma or triple "dilemma" that Jesus is either Lord, liar or lunatic. The argument is fallacious reasoning, because it leaves out other possibilities. This is the fallacy of the excluded middle or a false dilemma. He should have mentioned that other equally unacceptable possibilities exist, such as Jesus being a lunatic with great moral teachings, or a liar only some times. Each of Lewis' dilemmas is thus an oversimplification, logically false dilemmas. However, even with some refinement, by not limiting it to only three possibilities, the argument can be a helpful start in making the leap of faith that Kierkegaard wrote about. In the end of the day, faith is the evidence of things not seen.
The book Mere Christianity is also helpful in that it points mainstream denominations of Christianity to things they have in common.
10. Josh McDowell
Josh McDowell (1939-) is an American apologist who proposes physical evidence for the existence of God, he is an evidentialist (Romans 1:20). Some of his more famous works include counter-cult books and defenses of the Christian faith, such as More than a Carpenter, Evidence that Demands a Verdict, More Evidence that Demands a Verdict, New Evidence that Demands a Verdict and He Walked Among us?Evidence for the Historical Jesus.
11. Ravi Zacharias
Frederick Antony Ravi Kumar Zacharias (1946-) is a modern Indian-born apologist who is most well-known for dialogue with non-Christian religions. His writings include Can Man Live without God?, The Lotus and the Cross: Jesus Talks with Buddha, and Light in the Shadow of Jihad.
12. Lee Strobel
Lee Patrick Strobel (1952-) is a modern American apologist who is famous for the best-selling books The Case for Christ, The Case for Faith and The Case for a Creator. Critics of his works claim that he does put enough effort into rebutting counter claims, but concentrates almost exclusively on his own arguments. Nevertheless, his works are excellent examples of modern legal or juridical apologetics.
B. Varieties of Christian Apologetics
1. Biblical Apologetics
This is usually concerned with defending the Bible or a particular belief about the Bible such as inerrancy or canonization.
2. Doctrinal Apologetics
Arguments in favor of broad Christian doctrines such as the Trinity, or narrow denominational doctrines such as the mode of water baptism, are in the category of doctrinal apologetics.
3. Evidentialist Apologetics
Historical or legal evidence is often used to support belief in the Gospel. An example might be to quote Josephus to prove the existence of Jesus. The weakness of this kind of apologetics is whether history is reliable or not. It only gives a probability of truth, not an absolute guarantee. Evidentialism also implies that faith cannot be justified on its own. However, it is not entirely useless, in that it adds to the preponderance of other evidence, not the least of which is faith.
4. Moral Apologetics
Arguments surrounding sin (Hamartiology) and morality would fall into this category. This can be either a broad argument for something that most Christian would agree with, such as marital fidelity, or a narrow argument for something that only certain denominations agree with such as calling dancing a sin. Examples of this are the Jonathan Edwards classic Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God or Augustine's Handbook on Faith, Hope and Love.
5. Ontological Apologetics
This is the belief that reason alone demands the existence of a God. However, for the Christian, faith is usually seen as reasonable, but not based upon reason alone.
6. Other Philosophical Apologetics
Arguments for the existence of God are often philosophical in nature, such as that creation requires a creator (cosmological), design requires a designer (teleological), the existence of morality demands a higher moral power (moral), and the existence of mind demands a greater mind (transcendental).
7. Presuppositional Apologetics
This is the argument that faith exists without the need for external proofs, the "leap of faith."
8. Prophetic Apologetics
Fulfilled prophecy is often used to support belief in the Bible. The argument is that only God can know the future.
9. Scientific Apologetics
Scientific apologetics attempts to harmonize the Bible and science. This is a field of apologetics fraught with dangers and examples of both bad science and bad theology. However, some few apologists in this area are excellently qualified in both theology and science.
Example Sermon
Title: "The Skeptic's Demand for Unassailable Proof"
Goal
Help Christians realize that argument alone will not convince a skeptic.
Intro
Today, we expect to be able to prove everything with incontrovertible evidence. Science claims to have proven evolution, even though it is still just a popular theory. Industrialists are demanding more proof of global warming before they will stop polluting our world. A number of famous or wealthy individuals seem to have escaped jail sentences because there was a lack of evidence. Sometimes Christians believe that if they just had the right arguments, they could lead more people to Christ. What will prove to a skeptic that God exists?
Plan
Today we will examine a few of the many arguments that Christians have used for two millennia to prove that God exists, and then see why we must still come to faith.
Body:
The Evidence
Forensic science shows are very popular. The crime scene investigator claims that the evidence is undeniable that so and so did the dirty deed, with such and such a weapon, in such and such a place, at a certain time of day. However, Hollywood is not reality. DNA evidence does not prove motive or timing. A watch which stopped at a certain time assumes that the watch had been set correctly. Fingerprints can be lifted off and transferred to incriminate an innocent person and other evidence can also be deceptively planted by clever criminals. Evidence is all about probability, not 100% certainty.
What about forensic evidence for the existence of God. I believe that a blade of grass proves God, but a skeptic will not. Why? I believe that design demands a designer, but the skeptic will simply claim that it is not design, but merely chemical combinations following certain laws. I would then argue that law demands a law-giver, but the skeptic would counter that I am equivocating, using a logical fallacy because the word law has two meanings. The laws of the land demand a law-giver, but the laws of nature do not. The skeptic would argue that the laws of nature are not analogous to the laws of the land. We would reach an impasse, because I would still believe that natural law cannot occur randomly, without a creator.
The same is true of quoting historic proof for biblical events. We were not there as eye witnesses. It is a known fact that much of history has been distorted by sycophants afraid to report events unfavorably or egotistical kings and generals exaggerating the facts to give themselves greater glory than they deserve. This is one thing that makes the Bible uniquely reliable, because it openly admits the faults as well as the virtues of its heroes. All that most other historical evidence can show us is the likelihood that such and such occurred.
The Prophecies
In Ezekiel 4, he prophesied of Israel's rebirth as a nation. It occurred in 1948. In Ezekiel 26, he prophesied in great detail of the destruction of the ancient city of Tyre. It occurred around 1291. In Isaiah 44-45, he prophesied that an emperor named Cyrus would do rebuild Jerusalem. It happened over 100 years later. There are over 300 Old Testament prophecies of the Messiah, and every one is fulfilled in Jesus.
I believe that these prophecies came from God, but the skeptic will tell me that he believes that either the prophecies were written after the events, or that some people have a psychic gift to tell the future, and that none of this proves to him that God exists.
The Science
The symbiotic relationship between certain plants and animals, where one could not survive without the other, proves to some scientists that God exists. But the skeptic will simply argue that the two evolved together into what could be likened to a box canyon, a dead end street, and hence can no longer back out of their relationship. The weakness of this kind of comeback is that it is usually an ad hoc grasping at straws without any fossil evidence or backing.
The Conclusion
Romans 1:24-32 No matter what argument we Christians present to skeptics, if they really want, they can reason their way out of faith. The Bible says that some people do not want to retain God in their knowledge. They have traded the true God for a fake god of human intelligence and material knowledge. This world has paid for it with sexual confusion and the resulting heartache and emotional despair. God has let them run loose with their wanton murder of the unborn, destruction of the environment, and annihilation of everything that leads to true happiness.
Outro
There are many good arguments that Christians have used for two millennia to prove that God exists. However, in the end of the day, all our arguments can do is show that faith is a reasonable proposition. We will never convince those who choose to remain skeptics. We can only demonstrate that our faith is reasonable, not that it is infallibly proven beyond every skeptic's doubts. Reason and faith do not conflict. Faith is rational. However, we can only point people to God. Only faith will let them accept him.
Suggested Assignment
Choose a type of apologetics that you feel comfortable with or qualified to deliver in one sermon. Carefully researches the logic in the arguments for and against your position, and then deliver a compelling reason to believe.
Lesson Outro
We took a look at the history of Christian apologetics and some of its more popular varieties. Apologetics can only point people to God. It is their decision whether or not they accept him on faith.
