Can We Engage Our World Through Christian Apologetics?

Apologetics & The Present Culture

Our generation does not embrace the Christian worldview as wholeheartedly compared to recent generations. As early as the 1960’s, Craig suggests that a contributing factor was the rise of atheist philosophers (Craig, 94). As the context of the question suggests “the atheists are striking back vigorously since the 9/11 attacks”. Apologist and author Ravi Zacharias has painted a vivid picture of the decline of our culture over the last few generation: He states that it is commonplace in our society that Christianity is attacked. “It is rampant” he says. “Unbelievers once revered the church, and its teachings, but today they scorn them. Films such as the Da Vinci Code and organizations such as The Jesus Seminar attack the credibility of Jesus and the Bible”. It is to this decline in a God-influence that Apologetics plays a very important role.

I really believe that at the heart of all this is the strategy of the enemy of God to win the hearts and minds of men, women, boys and girls. It is an attempt to suppress the reality of God and give license to all that the mind of men can conceive. The Bible states that the will of God is that men (the just) shall live by Faith (Romans 1:17). The Bible also describes the strategy of the enemy as a great exchange – God has revealed Himself to mankind, but their hearts became dark, they became fools (saying there is no God), leading to the exchanging of “the truth of God for a lie” (Romans 1: 18-25). Apologetics is needed to combat this rampant wave of attacks from the atheists, agnostics and secularists in our society who wish to silence the voice of absolute truth.

There was a survey conducted in 2015 by the Barna group of folks not attending church within the last six months. The respondents were referred to as “skeptics” and they included both atheists and agnostics. The survey revealed some interesting facts about the skeptic culture of this generation compared to that of past generations:

1)      Skeptics are much younger than in previous generations (18% under 30 years old)

2)      Skeptics are more educated (at least 50% of the group had a college degree)

3)      Skeptics include more women (millions of women are now in the skeptic rank)

4)      Skeptics are more racially diverse (globalization has contributed to the change in demographics – a major increase in Hispanics and Asian people)

The survey also revealed three (3) areas of concern in our shifting culture, another reason why we should make every attempt to engage our culture through the use of Christian Apologetics:

1)      More and more, today’s skeptics reject the Bible – This Postmodern culture is more prone to reject the Bible as being a Holy Book and that it is supernatural. They would rather view it as a book of stories, an historical document, and a self-help book.

2)      There is a lack of trust in the local church – sadly, many do not see the church as adding any value to their life.

3)      There is a constant cultural reinforcement of the secular worldview – In this day of media saturation, access to information with the touch or voice command, our culture feeds on a steady diet of philosophies promoted by celebrities, tv talking heads, and those of the scientific and educational communities.

                                                                                            (2015 Barna Survey)

If we are to be successful in changing the tide of the secular influence, I believe it is important for the Christian to develop at minimum an offensive apologetic approach, enough to give an answer for the hope within them in everyday conversations (1 Peter 3:15). While a course on Apologetics is very helpful, most people will never take one. I also believe many churches will never touch the subject as engaging culture is not a priority. Separation from the world is the focus of many churches and Christians. Yet, what the world needs is an apologetic in the form of morphing Christians. The world needs to witness people being morphed into Christ-likeness (2 Corinthians 3:18), people who walk in Christ’ light (1 John 1:7)), who display hearts of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience (Colossians 3:12).  Christians believe that “God is at work making us into new creatures like Himself, reshaping and remolding” through the process of sanctification (Robbins, 449). It is this message that we share as we argue through Apologetics for the existence of God – “That He exists, and is the only hope for a solution to the human predicament” (Craig, 93).

Susan Hecht describes the role of Apologetics in the book Finding Truth (246-251) this way: If we are to impact the culture, then we must “create an environment for spiritual progress that connects unbelievers in a relational environment that allows them to move from a position of little understanding of God and the Bible to an attitude of openness and interest”.  To accomplish this goal we can be flexible in our use of arguments. To date, I prefer arguments associated with the Classical/Traditional approach, Presuppositionalism, Evidentialism or Reformed Epistemology. Hecht says, “As we enter into community with unbelievers, we gain a platform for interaction that can foster relationships in which we can help them move toward a consideration of the gospel”. If we can gain at least a minimum understanding of Apologetics, we can break free of the tendency to “cocoon” (Carson, 247), thereby withdrawing from the Christian community to engage with the secular world.

Finally, we cannot engage our world and reassert a Christian Worldview influence if we are unfamiliar with the changes over the past few decades and how we fit into the big picture. There has been a downward trend. Ravi Zacharias’ describes the moral and spiritual decay in our society as the result of three factors:

1)      Secularization – Religious ideas, institutions and interpretations have lost their influences. Society “has lost its shame”

2)      Pluralization – Everything is relative. “Moral choices are relative and there is no longer a reference point for right and wrong”

3)      Privatization – The accommodation of the religious minded. It is totally fine to be religious minded, but keep it out of the public arena.          

                                                                       (Zacharias, Defending Christianity).

It is very important that we keep up with the changes in our culture and engage secular society. The impact upon the society attributed to secularization, pluralization and privatization cannot be stemmed if we remain silent. Christians must employ both offensive and defensive apologetic strategies. We must encourage the faith of Christian believers and push back on the false claims of unbelievers. With the majority of the movers and shakers of society being intellectuals, “a Christian apologetic can reach that minority of persons who will respond to rational argument and evidence” (Craig, 22). It is safe to say that Apologetics is an effective way of sharing the Gospel with those who do not have or have lost hope.

References:

1. Barna. 2015 State of Atheism in America. Retrieved from: https://www.barna.com/research/2015-state-of-atheism-in-america/
2. Ravi Zacharias. Defending Christianity In A Secular Culture. Retrieved from: http://rzim.org/just-thinking/defending-christianity-in-a-secular-culture/
3. Craig, W. Reasonable Faith. Wheaton, IL: Crossway (2008)
4. Carson, D.A.  Telling The Truth. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan (2000)
5. Robbins D. This Way Youth Ministry. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan (2004)
6. The New American Standard Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan (2000)
7. GoogleImage

Written by Kevin A. Hall  December 15, 2017