Apologetics

Basic Christian Doctrines 5

 

1.     Apologetics is the Defense of Christianity Against Non-Christian Attacks.

God not only wants every Christian to know WHAT he believes, but WHY he believes it.  All believers must be able to give a good answer for their faith and hope (I Pet. 3:15). We call this apologetics, not in the sense of a wimpy apology for something wrong but a virile defence of something right.  Every Christian, not just preachers and theologians, ought to be able to give basic answers to the objections and questions of unbelievers. It is especially useful in evangelism. If we don't know how to defend the Gospel, we'll lose every battle. We need to refute those who oppose us (Tit. 1:9). Apologetics specifically refers to answering the objections thrown at us by those persons and systems which do not claim to be Christian.

 

2.   Polemics is the Defense of Christianity Against Pseudo-Christian Attacks.

 

Polemics aims to refute and expose the various kinds of false Christianity. Our fight is not only with those outside the Faith, but with those who promote false gospels and heresy of the first order while still claiming to be Christian. One is outright war; the other is sabotage and treason. Both are dangerous. Too many Christians ignore this front of the battle for the sake of "peace" and "unity". But pseudo-Christianity is more dangerous and sly than outright non-Christianity. The Bible repeatedly warns against false prophets, false teachers, wolves in sheep's clothing, and such who creep into Bible-believing Christianity (2 Pet. 2:1, Matt. 7:15). Jude 3 commands us to "contend earnestly for the Faith once delivered to the saints". We are to be watchmen on the wall (Ezek. 33).

 

3.   Philosophy is Worldly Wisdom.

 

The word philosophy means "love of wisdom", but it is not God's wisdom. It is mere human wisdom, which is really foolishness. Col. 2:8 specifically condemns philosophy as the invention of Man; it does not come from God nor believe in Christ. I Cor. 1 also condemns it. Philosophy sprang from Greece. In Acts 17, Paul opposed the Stoic and Epicurean philosophers. The major Greek philosophers were Plato and Aristotle, and many others. In the modern era, others include Hegel, Marx, Kant, Hume, and many others. Philosophy emphasizes the use of human reason, the mind, rationality. If unchecked, it tends to become atheistic.

 

4.   All Non-Christian Religions are False.

 

Philosophy is not the only ancient enemy. There are dozens of non-Christian religions, mostly coming from the East. They emphasize the heart, not the mind. They tend to mysticism and pantheism. Some are closer to the truth than others, but they all lead to Hell. Even post-Biblical Judaism is a false religion, for it does not accept Jesus as the Messiah, denies the Trinity, asserts salvation by works, etc. The main false religions are Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Taoism, Sikhism, Jainism, and the general category of Animism, or spirit-worship.

 

5.   There are Three Main Kinds of Pseudo-Christianity.

 

The three main groups of false Christianity correspond to the three main groups of unbelieving Judaism at the time of Christ. Roman Catholicism is like the Pharisees - huge, works-salvation, tradition-bound, etc. Eastern Orthodoxy is the same. The second is Liberal Protestantism, similar to the Saducees in their rejection of revelation, weak ethics, etc. Then there are the many cults, like the Jewish cults of the Essenes, Herodians, Zealots, etc, exclusivist and esoteric. The earliest form of pseudo-Christianity was Gnosticism, opposed in Colossians, I John, and elsewhere. There are many pseudo-Christian cults around today.

 

6.   We Must Use Spiritual Weapons to Defend the Truth.

2 Cor. 10:4 says that the weapons of our warfare are spiritual, not carnal (worldly). We use God's armor, not Man's (cf. Eph.6). You don't fight fire with fire, but  with water.   We are not to use the world's devices against them else we have already lost. We may not use force, violence, brainwashing, fleshly temptations, entertainment, or other such means. Honest questions deserve honest answers, as Francis Schaeffer said. We may not use "ad hominem" arguments (insults against persons), but be gentle and humble, however unwavering (2 Tim. 2:24-26).

 

 

 

 

7.   Some Weapons Are Useful but Insufficient.

Other weapons are acceptable but insufficient. For example, some Christians argue from miracles, fulfilled prophecy, the endurance of the Bible and Christianity through centuries of persecution, the enormous popularity of Christianity, the many favorable words said about Jesus by important non-Christians, personal testimonies, logical proofs, empirical evidences and other such arguments. These all have their place, but are not our primary resources, for each can be challenged in one way or another by non-Christians. At best, such arguments can only get a stalemate, not a victory. Such is the approach of Christian Rationalism (e.g., John Gerstner, R.C. Sproul,  Ronald Nash, etc) and  Christian Evidentialism (e.g. Josh McDowell, John Warwick Montgomery, Norman Geisler, etc), and others.

 

8.   The Bible Alone is Sufficient to Defend Christianity.

The Word of God is our main weapon (Eph. 6). Jesus turned to it, not as a last resort, but as His primary weapon in opposing Satan (Matt. 4), and so must we in fighting Satan's assaults through non-Christian and pseudo-Christian religions and philosophies. Our opinions mean nothing. God's Word is sharp and powerful, for God Himself speaks through it (Heb. 4:12). We do not use it as a magical or superstitious talisman, but rather by knowing and believing it and quoting and explaining it properly and appropriately in fielding the objections of unbelievers. Two key statements in this context: "That's not what God says" (pointing out the error of an objection) and "This is what God says" (as in "Thus says the Lord" or "It is written").

 

9.   The Best Defence is a Good Offence.

Any team or army will tell you that defence is good, but you also need offence to win. We must know what our opponent is saying, and then we compare it with what the Bible says on that point. Don't bother with lesser details; stay with the essentials. Indeed, also challenge the underlying presuppositions of the argument. A presupposition is the underlying and often unconscious assumption of a system of thought. "Presuppositionalism" is the kind of Christian apologetics that uses the Bible to refute the basic and erroneous assertions and asumptions of non-Christian objections. It has been popularized by Cornelius Van Til, John Frame, Greg Bahnsen and others. We must know the enemy (2 Cor. 2:11), and the weaknesses and inconsistencies of non-Christian views. It can help to show where such views logically lead. But mainly we are to show where they contradict what God says. Quote Scripture whether the opponent believes in the Bible or not. It is also important to be as clear in your words as possible.

 

10. It is Better to Know More about Christianity than About Non-Christianity.

We need not know all the details of a pagan religion or worldly philosophy in order to refute it. Some Christians seem to know more about non-Christian theories than true Christian theology. Leave the detailed study to the experts and theologians. It is sufficient to know the basics of an opponent's views (ask him to sum it up for you or tell you where he disagrees with the Bible). Our job is primarily to know the Bible, for it is sufficient to enable us to believe and defend the truth (2 Tim.3:16-17).