Apologia: Is It Really Necessary?

[NiceneCreed]

Are Christian Apologetics really necessary? Most Christians firmly believe the Gospel Message is all that is needed in order to fulfill the 'Great Commission;" however, could not apologetics open the door to communicate the Gospel Message? There have been numerous occasions when non-believers have reevaluated their lack of faith and have come to receive Jesus Christ, and this is partly due to analytical discussion pertaining to the Bible. Additionally, unlike the classic apologist, a modern day apologist does not necessarily have to discard their presuppositions of the Christian faith prior to engaging in a debate or conversation with a non-believer, so what type of harm could such a debate or conversation pose? Something else to take into consideration is whether or not it is the will of the Holy Spirit that Christians should employ apologetics. Does apologetics detract from the fulfillment of the 'Great Commission,' when we should be putting more emphasis on the Gospel alone? What are your thoughts?

 

[Bryancampbell]

Paul used apologetics to teach the unbeliever:

"So Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in all respects.
“For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’ Therefore what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you.
“The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands;
nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things;
and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation,
that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;
for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His children.’
“Being then the children of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man.
“Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.” - Acts 17:22-31 NASB

 

[NiceneCreed]

P.S. Please be respectful of differing opinions. While I, not unlike many others using CC, enjoy a good conversation, it has come to my attention there are those who deliberately ridicule others that are in disagreement. There is no reason we cannot display a loving attitude toward others who may feel differently about something than we do.

 

[Bryancampbell]

I won't say it's required, but it can be necessary.

 

[Nick01]

Apologetics and preaching the gospel overlap, and are both necessary. Preaching the gospel is to apologise (present an apology) for the faith. The earliest preaching of the apostles in Acts constitutes an apology, in that they have to assert not only that Christ actually died and rose again, but how that makes sense of previous Scripture in terms of the person of the Messiah..

The only difference now is that the grounds for disbelief are built on different presuppositions, thanks to the passage of time and a different culture. So, the apology is not so much "How could the Messiah be someone who died?" but "How can I believe in God?". They are still both apologia, though, and both ultimately MUST attest to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, and his death and resurrection.

 

[Donkeyfish07]

The only thing we need to apologize for is the cold hearted, judgemental, and disobedient hypocrisy so many Churches have fallen into. It drives people away more than anything else.

 

[NiceneCreed]

The only thing we need to apologize for is the cold hearted, judgemental, and disobedient hypocrisy so many Churches have fallen into. It drives people away more than anything else.

I am not sure if I follow . . . This post pertains to the defense of the Christian faith.

 

[NiceneCreed]

The only thing we need to apologize for is the cold hearted, judgemental, and disobedient hypocrisy so many Churches have fallen into. It drives people away more than anything else.

With all due respect, am I to infer from your comment that apologetics is not necessary, because you feel the church is filled with "cold hearted, judgmental, and disobedient people," not to mention, "full of hypocrisy?" Do you feel apologetics somehow promotes perverse acts or behaviors which drive people away from the church?

 

[Donkeyfish07]

With all due respect, am I to infer from your comment that apologetics is not necessary, because you feel the church is filled with "cold hearted, judgmental, and disobedient people," not to mention, "full of hypocrisy?" Do you feel apologetics somehow promotes perverse acts or behaviors which drive people away from the church?

I'm not speaking about every Church obviously, but I think that's the number one thing that drives people away from the faith. I think that's the biggest issue in apologetics right now, is explaining why we have so many problems like these to non-believers. I'm not saying apologetics is not necessary/bad or the Church itself is bad, just that we have quite a few horrible examples out there that drive people away. The WestBoro Baptist Church being the most extreme example in the U.S. that I know of.

From an apologetics viewpoint....how do you go about explaining these types of behaviors to non-believers? It's a very big problem these days when it comes to defending the faith.

Sorry for not articulating that better the first time but I was about to leave for work....I had to cut my post short.

 

[kenisyes]

Discipling people means to teach. Teaching means to be willing to receive and answer questions. Apologetics is there to answer common questions.

 

[crossnote]

I believe the Gospel is to be proclaimed that is sufficient through the Word and Spirit. Of course man's rational mind will want answers, that is where apologetics can disarm the objections. Jesus and the apostles sometimes used apologetics.

 

[crossnote]

I would add apologetics has a benefit for the believer insofar as it gives him confirmation that the Faith has a solid historical legal archaeological medical etc. basis and not someone's dream world made up.

 

[zone]

I'm not speaking about every Church obviously, but I think that's the number one thing that drives people away from the faith. I think that's the biggest issue in apologetics right now, is explaining why we have so many problems like these to non-believers. I'm not saying apologetics is not necessary/bad or the Church itself is bad, just that we have quite a few horrible examples out there that drive people away. The WestBoro Baptist Church being the most extreme example in the U.S. that I know of.

From an apologetics viewpoint....how do you go about explaining these types of behaviors to non-believers? It's a very big problem these days when it comes to defending the faith.

Sorry for not articulating that better the first time but I was about to leave for work....I had to cut my post short.

the Bible is clear that it is the Offense of the Cross which drives people away.

Westboro Baptist and other shenanigans give additional excuses, i reckon.

and it doesn't take much, as unsaved people are at enmity with God, hating Him and many suppressing the Truth of His existence in their unrighteousness.

and we too were once among them.

 

[Nick01]

I'm not speaking about every Church obviously, but I think that's the number one thing that drives people away from the faith. I think that's the biggest issue in apologetics right now, is explaining why we have so many problems like these to non-believers. I'm not saying apologetics is not necessary/bad or the Church itself is bad, just that we have quite a few horrible examples out there that drive people away. The WestBoro Baptist Church being the most extreme example in the U.S. that I know of.

From an apologetics viewpoint....how do you go about explaining these types of behaviors to non-believers? It's a very big problem these days when it comes to defending the faith.

Sorry for not articulating that better the first time but I was about to leave for work....I had to cut my post short.

No, it was a good corrective. Thank you for reminding us that humility and gentleness is required, as well as truth.

Kinda counter intuitively, I think the response to the Westboro peeps involves teaching what Jesus actually said, and why we know that's what Jesus said. Sure, we should be gentle in how we engage people, but at one level, we need to drown out the Westboro crew by being even BOLDER with the full counsel of God, which is both MERCY and JUSTICE, colliding on the cross.

The friends I have the best apologetic discussions with who are not yet Christians at least understand from those chats that the Bible does not teach what Westboro teaches, and that there are actual REASONS for that, instead of me just positing a different but equally irrelevant hallucination. In that sense, apologetics is about substantiating the truth about Christ as real truth, again, in the same way that the apostles had to substantiate Jesus' Messianic claim as real truth, despite his counter intuitive death.

 

[eternally-gratefull]

I think God says it is.

[h=3]1 Peter 3:15[/h]
[SUP]15 [/SUP]But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense (apologia) to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;

he would not tell us to always be ready to give this "apologia" if he did not want us to do it.

 

[NiceneCreed]

I'm not speaking about every Church obviously, but I think that's the number one thing that drives people away from the faith. I think that's the biggest issue in apologetics right now, is explaining why we have so many problems like these to non-believers. I'm not saying apologetics is not necessary/bad or the Church itself is bad, just that we have quite a few horrible examples out there that drive people away. The WestBoro Baptist Church being the most extreme example in the U.S. that I know of.

From an apologetics viewpoint....how do you go about explaining these types of behaviors to non-believers? It's a very big problem these days when it comes to defending the faith.

Sorry for not articulating that better the first time but I was about to leave for work....I had to cut my post short.

Thank you for clearing that up for me.

 

[RachelBibleStudent]

the gospel message requires a foundation to make any rational sense...why would someone ever believe they need jesus unless they believe God exists and has moral standards?