Be Prepared to Give an Answer

I heard a great example this past Sunday of what I was talking about in my post of January 19, 2009 about the relationship between reason and faith. As my wife and I were traveling back to our home in north Mississippi from Arkansas, I was listening to a talk radio program being hosted by Andrew Clark Sr. My comments here are not meant to be a criticism of Mr. Clark who I normally enjoy listening to immensely. He said something this time, however, with which I profoundly disagree.

Mr. Clark talks usually only about political issues, but this day someone had called in and made a comment to the effect that he believed that Jesus Christ did not have to die on the cross and that this is not what He envisioned or intended. I didn't tune in to the program soon enough to actually hear that comment, only the vigorous discussion the ensued.

During this discussion, one person called in and attempted to make the argument that, "since the earliest NT gospel was written 80 years after the events they record, then it is likely that the core historical facts accumulated mythical beliefs of the developing Christian community." Instead of addressing this man's argument--or even allowing him to complete his statement of that argument--Andrew cut him off by saying: "you cannot come to the Bible with your intellectualism. You have to have a personal relationship with God and, if you don't, the Bible will make no sense whatsoever to you."

This is the response that I have heard from many Christians when confronted by people with intellectual doubts. I wanted to scream out to Mr. Clark, "How dare you portray the faith that I hold as an anti-intellectual and anti-reason mysticism! Just because you have not done your homework to be able to answer this man's legitimate questions, don't color the entire Christian faith as though it had no answers to these questions."

I believe that this man's doubts have intellectually and historically sound answers. Those answers would have something to do with the question of the dating of the earliest documents and the fact that they were written in the lifetime of the eyewitnesses themselves and also with the accuracy with which the people of that day could and did pass on their histories through oral transmission. Regardless of how I would have answered this man, I would never have said: "You first have to believe and then you'll see it will all make sense." I can think of a dozen or so cults that use the same argument!

Quoting Deuteronomy 6:5, Jesus said: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your MIND." Peter wrote: "Be ready to give an answer to everyone who asks you for a reason of the hope in you, with meekness and fear" (I Peter 3:15, MKJV). Christianity is defensible! If you have not prepared yourself sufficiently to defend it, then admit that; but don't turn Christianity into an occult religion only accessible to those who have received the mystical anointing.

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brother in Christ

Greg, this is right on. I am preparing a class on apologetics (although for this group we wont use that word) using Thomas as an example of doing what is right. I believe God wants us to poke and prode and feel him, so that we know he is real. Peter's quote is great. Can you steer me to other resources?

Bret , March 02, 2009

A Short Bibliography on Christian Apologetics

Bret,
I put together the following list of resources. They range in audience and depth. For starting out, you still can't beat Lewis' Mere Christianity. Boa, et. al., is a great survey of the entire field of Christian apologetics. Bruce is still a great resource on the reliability of the NT documents.

Bauckham, Richard, Jesus & the Eyewitnesses: The Gospels As Eyewitness Testimony. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 2006. ISBN: 0802831621

Boa, Kenneth D., and Robert M. Jr. Bowman, Faith Has Its Reasons: An Integrative Approach to Defending Christianity. Waynesboro, GA: Paternoster, 2006. ISBN: 1932805346. A panoramic view of the history of Christian apologetics. A great handbook resource.

Bruce, F. F., The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable? Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 2003 ISBN: 0802822193. This is a classic presentation of the evidence for the reliability of the NT documents.

Collins, Francis S., The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief. New York: Free Press, 2007. ISBN: 1416542744

Craig, William Lane, Reasonable Faith: Christian Truth & Apologetics. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1994 ISBN: 0891077642

Flew, Antony, and Gary R. Habermas. 2004. "Atheist Becomes Theist: Exclusive Interview With Former Antony Flew." Philosophia Christi. http://www.biola.edu/antonyfle...rview.pdf, accessed January 11, 2008.

Geisler, Norman L., Frank Turek, and David Limbaugh, I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Athiest. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2004. ISBN: 1581345615

Habermas, Gary R., The Historical Jesus: Ancient Evidence for the Life of Christ. Joplin, MO: College Press, 1996. ISBN: 0899007325

Hearn, Brian. 2002. "Apologetics 101: Defending the Faith in the Markeplace of Ideas." Author. http://www.apologetics.net/Apologetics_101.htm (accessed September 27, 2007).

Lewis, C. S., Mere Christianity. 1952. Reprint, San Francisco: HarperOne, 2001 ISBN: 0060652926. Clearly the most effective Christian apologist of the 20th century, primarily because of his ability to explain things in ways that a non-technical audience can understand.

McDowell, Josh, The New Evidence That Demands a Verdict Fully Updated to Answer the Questions Challenging Christians Today. Thomas Nelson, 1999. ISBN: 0785242198

Moreland, J. P., Philosophical Foundations for a Christian Worldview. Downers Grover, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2003. ISBN: 0830826947

Moreland, J. P., Scaling the Secular City: A Defense of Christianity. Baker Academic, 1987. ISBN: 0801062225

Plantinga, Alvin, Warranted Christian Belief. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000. ISBN: 0195131932.

Sproul, Robert Charles, Defending Your Faith: An Introduction to Apologetics. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2003. ISBN: 1581345194

Strobel, Lee, The Case for a Creator: A Journalist Investigagtes Scientific Evidence That Points Toward God. Grand Rapics, MI: Zondervan, 2005. ISBN: 0310240506

Strobel, Lee, The Case for Christ: A Journalist's Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1998. ISBN: 0310209307

Strobel, Lee, The Case for Faith: A Journalist Investigates the Toughest Objections to Christianity. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2000. ISBN: 0310234697

Taylor, James E., Introducing Apologetics: Cultivating Christian Commitment. Baker Academic, 2006. ISBN: 0801027861

Wright, N. T., Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense. HarperSanFrancisco, 2006. ISBN: 0060507152

Greg Waddell , March 02, 2009 | url

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