Apologetics 101

Defending the Faith in the Marketplace of Ideas

 

Instructor Guide

By: Brian Hearn

Copyright 2002

Last update: 11.30.2002 (version 1.0)

 

Preliminaries

As instructor, take a few minutes with the following items before diving into the material:

·        Make sure to start the session on time and to not go over if possible (approx. 90 minutes per session – five sessions total)

·        Get acquainted with the participants and exchange names and career/education status.

·        Open with prayer. Pray that the Holy Spirit would come and be the great Counselor to ensure that the group is focused on the Truth and what is pleasing to God.

·        Spend a few minutes talking about your conversion or commitment to the Christian life, specifically how apologetics has impacted your life and the lives of those you have come in contact with (if applicable.)

 

1)  Introduction to Apologetics

a)      What is apologetics and why should I be interested?

i)        Christian apologetics defined: (first - you don’t have to apologize!)

Christian apologetics is the discipline of rationally justifying one’s belief in Christianity through systematic discourse. The word apologetics comes from the Greek apologia, which literally means; a verbal defense or speech, or a reasoned statement or argument.

ii)       Who is an apologist? – someone who engages in apologetics:

(1)   Some of the great apologists are: (e.g. Augustine, Aquinas, Calvin, Lewis, Moreland, Sproul, Craig, Geisler) – the point here is that apologetics is not an obscure practice but one entertained by many of history’s great Christian leaders and thinkers

(2)   Was Martin Luther an apologist? Busy reconstructing the church, Luther was not known as an apologist. However, he said nothing, properly understood, that would negate the consistent use of reason by the classical apologists in defending the faith. (Geisler)

iii)     What is in it for you?

(1)   A more confident Christian walk by knowing that it is rationally justifiable – we need not check our brains out at the door when we come to church

(2)   Increased confidence in our ability to share the Gospel in a secular world - secular society has marginalized the person of faith

(3)   A new way to witness – challenge the unsaved to rethink the Christian stereotype

(4)   Obedience to God’s Word: we are called to be disciplined…”Buy the truth and do not sell it; get wisdom, discipline and understanding.” (proverbs 23:23)

(5)   Have you encountered a situation where your faith was tried or challenged by an acquaintance, friend, or family member or by worldly wisdom?

b)      Is apologetics biblically supported?

i)        1 Peter 3:15 (Always be prepared to give an answer – do so with gentleness and respect)

ii)       2 Timothy 2:14-15 (do not quarrel and correctly handle the word of truth)

iii)     2 Timothy 3:16 (think biblically – apologetics must integrate with Scripture, not visa versa.)

iv)     2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (The weapons we fight with – apologetics is not required but it is another tool that may be employed under the Spirit’s guidance)

v)      Matthew 7:6 (Pearls to pigs; a warning from Scripture)

vi)     Precedence – Worship, Word, prayer, fellowship and service to God come first

c)      Under what condition is an apologetic best applied?

i)        Openness of heart – you can’t teach an old dog, new tricks – statistically we are far less likely to change our fundamental religious belief as we age.

 

The Barna Research study, announced on 1999-NOV-12, shows that the vast majority of those who are saved experience the conversion during childhood -- before the age of 14. A person who is unsaved at the age of 14 only has a 10% chance of being "saved" later in life. The survey also showed that about 40% of all American adults consider themselves as having been saved during their lifetime. This number agrees with previous surveys.
 

Age range	% who experience salvation within that age range
5 to 13 years	32%
14 to 18 years	4%
over 19 years	6%

 

Over the age of 30 – only a 4% chance of being saved according to FCA.

 

ii)       Instigation of the Holy Spirit versus a purely rational approach - apologetics is a tool to help remove roadblocks caused by false ideas, but does not do the work of the Holy Spirit

iii)     Persuasion and winning souls, versus winning arguments – the pitfalls of discourse; how easy it is to slip into a defensive posture; how easy it is to turn an apologetic into a force that drives people further from God (we don’t want to do that! – Read Romans 12:16-19)

iv)     The better the apologist, the better one is able to discern when not to engage someone at that level. Look for those who are sincere and honestly seeking the truth.

d)      Are there different forms of apologetics? (brief overview)

i)        Classical – first establish the validity of theism (that God exists) then proceed to specific Christian truths – stress on rational processes, historical evidence, confirming miracles

ii)       Evidential – theistic proofs and showing theism to be valid are optional; more focus on evidence for Biblical reliability and authenticity

iii)     Presuppositional – reject the validity of theistic proofs and start directly from a presupposed Trinitarian view. Without the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, everything is seen through a jaundiced eye. (Van Til)

e)      What are some areas of study that apply to Christian apologetics?

i)        Philosophy

(1)   Metaphysics – ontology; the study of being or reality

(2)   Epistemology – the study of how we know

(3)   Logic – the methods of valid thinking

(4)   Aesthetics – the nature of beauty (typically not employed)

(5)   Ethics – deals with right and wrong (moral values)

ii)       Science (discuss specific branches that have contemporary relevance to the apologist, e.g. astronomy, molecular biology, physics)

iii)     History and Archeology

iv)     Biblical Hermeneutics and Exegesis (how to and the interpretation of Biblical text)

f)       How can I find out more about apologetics on the web?

i)        www.leaderu.com/menus/apologetics.html - Leadership-U - resource-base and online journal

ii)       www.rzim.com - Ravi Zacharias International Ministries - here you'll find apologetics resources and a Real Audio archive of Ravi's radio program. Ravi Zacharias is a Christian philosopher, theologian, writer and speaker.

iii)     www.leaderu.com/offices/billcraig/ - William Lane Craig - an excellent Christian philosopher, theologian, writer and speaker

iv)     www.theism.net - an ad-hoc online journal whose purview is to communicate the rationality of a theistic worldview

v)      www.rationalchristianity.net - defending Christianity to atheists, skeptics and others who think Christianity is irrational

vi)     www.studylight.org - online Bible, commentaries, concordances, lexicons and dictionaries

vii)   www.origins.org - site features resources on intelligent design and philosophical theism

viii)  www.arn.org - another good intelligent design site

ix)     www.iscid.org - International Society for Complexity, Information, and Design is a cross-disciplinary professional society that investigates complex systems apart from external programmatic constraints like materialism, naturalism, or reductionism.

x)      www.biblegateway.com – a great online Bible

xi)     www.christianbooks.com – a good place to buy Christian books online

xii)   www.apologetics.net (HOMEWORK – take The Challenge)

2)  The Landscape of Ideas

a)      How do we come know things? – a Christian perspective:

i)        Why does it matter? Because it’s a “noisy” world out there and we need to know how to tune into the Truth and tune out the rest. It is helpful to know what sources and channels of belief are influencing our worldview.

ii)       What are the sources and channels of propositions[1] from which we form belief and how reliable are those sources?

 

Note: The Reality God created “re: General Revelation” is a “reliable source.” Reality is objective and as Christians, we are “realists.” God is not in the business of playing tricks on us – reality is not like a house of horrors. Now whether or not we can reliably tune in to His creation to form true belief is another matter.

 

Note: Sometimes Satan will mix a little truth in with falsehood to make it more palatable (see C. S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters.) But his ultimate aim is to deceive. On the other hand, sometimes we may misinterpret a divine noumenal experience – which is why we should test all noumenal experiences against the Word.

iii)    What are noumena and phenomena? - These terms mean literally 'things that are thought' and 'things that appear.’ What are divine noumenal and numinous experience?

iv)     How are the arts a source of belief? – “Give me the making of the songs of a nation, and I care not who writes its laws.” (Andrew Fletcher – 18^th Century Scottish political thinker)

v)      How does the Christian “filter” the channels – how do we tune in correctly? “…we take every thought captive to make obedient to Christ.” 2 Cor. 10:3-5

vi)     What is faith and how does it relate to cognitive function? – “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” ( Hebrews 11:1) If the Word made flesh is the cornerstone of our foundational beliefs, then our entire perspective on the world will be shaped very differently than if He is not.

vii)   Cognitive function[2] – An overview of a foundational belief system…

 

Note: by conceptualizing “on the fly,” I mean that we sometimes try to reason and solve problems that are not solvable (or entirely solvable) from knowledge found in our foundational belief structure, so we see how things fit with other undecided propositions that we are aware of.

b)      What is logic?

i)        Overview – Logic attempts to distinguish between correct and incorrect arguments. Some aspects of logic are widely accepted, sound and useful for discernment. Other aspects are not universally accepted and are of questionable value to Christian apologetics.

ii)       Why is logic useful? – In some circumstances logic can be used to reliably reach a true belief that you were uncertain of – or reject a false belief that you might have previously accepted.

iii)     God is rational! Logic is not something man invented as much as discovered. As God’s image bearers, we are rational beings as well, and we are called to be reasonable:

(1)   Isaiah 1:18 - "Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD…

(2)   Acts 17:17 - So he [Paul] reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there.

iv)     What principles or methods of logic are most relevant to apologetics?

(1)   First Principles: Law of Identity; Non-Contradiction; Excluded Middle

(2)   Deductive reasoning (syllogistic logic)

(3)   Fallacies – formal, informal and inductive – invalid argument forms

c)      What is “worldview” and what types are there?

i)        Worldview defined; a general view of the universe and man's place in it which affects one's conduct. It is one’s system of beliefs; their ideology; it is how one sees the world. Everyone has a worldview, whether they can describe it or not – and even if they do not know they have one. As Christians: we have a Christian worldview.

 

Worldview comparison by Jerry Solomon

 

3)  Naturalism versus Creationism

a)      What is the biblical account of creation?

i)        Genesis 1:1 - In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

ii)      Genesis 1:11 - Then God said, "Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds." And it was so.

iii)    Genesis 1:20 - And God said, "Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky."

iv)    Genesis 1:24 - And God said, "Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind.”

v)      Genesis 1:26 - Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."

vi)    Genesis 2:2 - By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.

vii)   Biogenesis - The principle that a living organism can only arise from other living organisms similar to itself. God created the first organisms and biogenesis proceeded (before the fall, OEC, after the fall YEC.)

b)      What is old-earth creationism (OEC) and young-earth creationism (YEC)?

i)        Old Earth Creationists hold that the universe: (heavens and earth) are billions of years old - in line with current scientific views and big bang cosmology. The Genesis account of “days” is not to be taken as “24 hour” days. Another approach is that there are vast time gaps between each of the six day events when God supernaturally created. This view requires a less literal view to be taken of the Genesis account.

ii)       Young Earth Creationists hold to a literal interpretation of the Genesis account where “days” are contiguous and refer to 24 hour periods and that the Earth is about 6000 years old. The “Flood” is responsible for the appearance of long geological histories (e.g. fossils, sedimentary layers, etc.) Dating methods and big bang cosmology are viewed as currently wrong or inaccurate.

iii)     Christians are divided on this issue: 46% OEC, 44% YEC (Gallup Organization poll conducted during 1997.) There are devout and sincere followers of Christ on both sides – but which side has the Truth? Perhaps this is one of those issues to leave open as we concern ourselves with more important Biblical truths.

iv)     YEC link - http://www.icr.org/pubs/btg-a/btg-100a.htm

v)      OEC Link - http://www.origins.org/real/ri9403/date.html

c)      What is (biological) Naturalism? – Put simply: it is a worldview combining materialism, neo-Darwinism and abiogenesis. It is therefore an atheistic worldview as well.

i)         Naturalism defined: In general the view that everything is natural, i.e. that everything there is belongs to the world of nature. In metaphysics it is akin to materialism (everything is matter.) What it insists on is that the world of nature should form a single sphere without incursions from outside by souls or spirits, divine or human, and without having to accommodate strange entities like non-natural values or substantive abstract universals. (The Oxford Companion to Philosophy)

ii)       Neo-Darwinism defined: The current theory of evolution, formulated between 1920 and 1950 that updates classical Darwinism by including modern information about genes and chromosomes that was unavailable to Darwin. This has enabled the source of genetic variation upon which natural selection works to be explained in great detail. (The Oxford Paperback Encyclopedia)

iii)    Implication of neo-Darwinism: It is serious: “To come straight to the point, the big cultural implication of such a doctrine is simply this: If the neo-Darwinian claim is true and all creatures great and small are here on earth as a result of a long chain of improbable accidents, then we have little reason to believe that God exists or that life has any meaning whatever.” (Tom Bethell, The American Spectator)

iv)     Abiogenesis defined: development of living organisms from non-living matter. When combined with a nontheistic worldview, the process implies that chance + time + natural processes are the sufficient cause of the first life on Earth from non-living matter.

(1)   Note the many problems of abiogenesis: Hoyle’s 747 analogy, the origin of DNA in the primordial soup; irreducible complexity

v)      Panspermia: Literally means “widespread seeding:” is a theory of the origin of life where the Earth was (or is being) seeded by cosmic spores, bacteria or other bio-components. These bio-components are delivered by cosmic debris, meteors, solar winds and even alien spacecraft. “Cosmic Ancestry (the new Panspermia theory) implies, we find, that life can only descend from ancestors that were at least as highly evolved as itself. And it means, we believe, that there can be no origin of life from nonliving matter in the finite past. Without supernatural intervention, therefore, we conclude that life must have always existed. Although these conclusions cut across the boundaries between science, philosophy, and religion, we believe they are grounded in good evidence.” (www.panspermia.org)

vi)     Directed Evolution - as described by Michael Denton, in his book, Nature's Destiny basically states that the initial conditions at the big bang were so finely tuned as to allow for the development of the universe complete with human life through solely naturalistic mechanisms (i.e. no supernatural interference.) This is very much in line with the concept of theistic evolution (but replacing God with some sort of unknown super-designer.)

d)      What is Intelligent Design?

i)        Design theory - also called the design argument—is the view that nature shows tangible signs of having been designed by a preexisting intelligence. It has been around, in one form or another, since the time of ancient Greece.

ii)       According to Thomas Aquinas: "Things act in a definite way, and were manifestly designed to act so," he wrote. "Through their nature (that is, their active or operating essence) they are governed in their activities. Thus there are design and government in the world. Hence there are ultimately a first designer and first governor. And since both design and government involve intelligence, there must be governor and designer who is the first and absolute intelligence. This is God."

 

(Watch excerpts from Unlocking the Mystery of Life…about 40 minutes)

Timelines: 6:25 to 25:50 and 30:20 to 40:30

4)  Is it Reasonable to be a Christian?

a)      Has Science rendered Christianity outmoded and outdated?

i)        What is Science? – It is knowledge differentiated from ignorance; the correction of errors from common sense. Scientific knowledge is obtained by “scientific methods.” Science is in the game of “what works” and discovering the “hows” of our world – it does not pursue absolutes or the deep truths of life. Science never “arrives” at the truth, it claims to progress towards it. There is no precise and widely accepted definition of science. Scientific methodologies have yet to effectively tackle the deep questions of life: ultimate origins; meaning and purpose; morality and destiny.

ii)       Science first flourished under a Christian worldview:  It may be considered to have started to flourish in western culture during the era of Sir Isaac Newton who was a devout Christian. Historian Joseph Needham has commented: “Under the influence of the Christian worldview people began to understand that the forces of nature are not the whims and caprices of spirits or demons. They are the orderly decrees of the creator and as such they can be understood by men made in His image.”

iii)     Where is Science today? According to Walker Percy, modern man "is like a child who sees everything in his new world; names everything; knows everything, except himself." We have grown tremendously technologically, but have made little to no progress in understanding the deep truths of life outside of what the Bible teaches.

iv)     Are Science and Christianity incompatible? Not at all. From a Christian perspective, Science reveals a true proposition when it correlates correctly to God’s creation. So as Christians we should welcome the advancement of scientific knowledge as it will point more and more to the Creator. Now some hold the view of scientism which demands a sort of scientific verification in order to hold a belief. This is clearly going too far. Where science can shed some light it often gels nicely with the Christian worldview (e.g. the origin and apparent design of the universe; the archeological and historical evidence supporting the Bible.)

v)      Should we base our faith on Science? We should not rely on the current body of scientific knowledge to ground our faith because science is a moving target. Today’s working theories may be overridden by new discoveries tomorrow. More importantly: our faith is grounded in the Word which oftentimes is out of the reach of scientific inquiry.

b)      Do extraordinary claims demand extraordinary evidence? You might hear that claims from faith demand extraordinary evidence (citing “Occam’s Razor” or the principle of parsimony) – and that scientific methods shun such intellectual sloppiness. How can we respond?

i)        Scientific methods cannot deal with non-science – ultimate origins, morality, purpose and meaning, and ultimate destiny are areas outside the boundaries of science.

ii)       Faith is rationally justifiable – it is warranted. As Alvin Plantiga explains in Warranted Christian Belief: Beliefs from faith are properly basic. We did not come to faith by way of an argument or mathematical proof but by the inward instigation of God’s Holy Spirit. We are rationally justified to hold properly basic beliefs - if after consideration, by properly operating cognitive faculties, and under an epistemically congenial environment, we continue to hold said beliefs (e.g. memory beliefs, and other beliefs that are not empirically verifiable.)

c)      Are there compelling arguments for the theistic position?

i)        Why is there something rather than nothing? – a profound question posed by the great mathematician and Christian philosopher G. W. Leibniz

(1)   Principle of Sufficient Reason – “there can be found no fact that is true or existent, or any true proposition, without there being a sufficient reason for its being so and not otherwise, although we cannot know these reasons in most cases.” (Leibniz). In short, the principle is that nothing is without a reason for its being.

(2)   Contingent Being – the reason for its existence lies outside of itself and it may to cease to exist (e.g. the Earth)

(3)   Necessary Being – there is no reason for its existence that lies outside of itself and it cannot cease to exist (e.g. God)

(4)   The universe either exists contingently or necessarily: People must choose a necessary being, the First Cause: it is either God or the Universe. There are no other reasonable choices.

(a)     “I should say the universe is just there, and that's all”  (atheist Bertrand Russell)

(b)   “The Cosmos is all there is, ever was or ever will be” (atheist Carl Sagan)

(c)    “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1)

ii)       What is the argument from causation? (Cosmological)

(1)   Things that begin to exist have a cause

(2)   The universe began to exist

(3)   Therefore the universe has a cause (syllogism)

(4)   The cause of the universe must transcend the universe (exist outside of time and space), and have immense creative power. This rules out Pantheism.

(5)   The cause must be a personal agent who chooses to create or there must exist a “hyper-universe” a universe outside of our universe spawning new universes eternally (but why believe in this hypothetical entity that cannot be scientifically verified over a belief in God who created the universe?)

iii)     What is the argument from design? (Teleological)

(1)   Things that are designed have a designer

(2)   The universe was designed

(3)   Therefore the universe has a designer (syllogism)

(4)   The universe is “fine-tuned” and this may be taken as evidence of design or not. If it is not then what explanations can be offered for the fine-tuning that is recognized by both theist and nontheist alike?

 

(Run the presentation – The Challenge (www.apologetics.net), to go into detail on the Cosmological and Teleological arguments)

5)  The Top Five Questions (what students ask about Christianity, taken from the Veritas forum in 1997 with Ravi Zacharias and William Lane Craig on the campus of the University of Iowa)

a)      What is the meaning of life?

i)        “Man is not the center. God does not exist for the sake of man. Man does not exist for his own sake. ‘Thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.’ [Rev. 4:11] We were made not primarily that we may love God (although we were made for that too) but that God may love us, that we may become objects in which the divine love may rest “well pleased.” (C. S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain)

ii)       We have a mission:

(1)   But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. (Matthew 6:33)

(2)   Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'” (Matthew 22:37-39)

(3)   The Great Commission - Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19)

(4)   Westminster Catechism's first question, "What is the chief purpose of man?" Answer: “To glorify God and to serve him forever.”

iii)     Wonder; truth; love and a sense of belonging; security – the four stages of life (Ravi Zacharias, Can Man live without God?) Only God can satisfy our hungers; our sense of wonder; our desire for truth; and our need for love and security. Our hearts are restless till they find rest in Thee. (St. Augustine)

iv)     Purpose, Immortality and Destiny – without objective purpose in life now and beyond the grave, life has no meaning. Even if life is eternal, without God it would lack objective purpose. (play audio excerpt by Craig)

b)      How do I know God exists?

i)        Origin of the universe – The Cosmological argument (see section four)

ii)       Complex order, design and fine-tuning of the universe – The Teleological argument (see section four)

iii)     Argument from objective moral values

(1)   Objective moral values require an object moral law giver (i.e. God.)

(2)   Objective moral values exist.

(3)   Therefore God exists.

(4)     What is objective moral value or moral law? - Objective values are “recognized and discovered, not invented by humans” (“True for you but not for me”, Paul Copan, Bethany House Publishers 1998.) "Objective moral law" in this context has the attribute of absoluteness or unconditional existence; not relative or dependant. It is independent of human consciousness, consequence or interpretation. It also includes the notion of obligation, or a duty to comply. Furthermore, it is universal in that it is not subject to a particular localization of space and time.

c)      How can I believe in God when there is the problem of evil?

i)        The skeptic’s argument:

(1)   If God is all-powerful then He should be able to prevent evil.

(2)   If God is all-good, then He should want to prevent evil.

(3)   Evil exists.

(4)   Therefore; God is either limited in power or goodness, or both.

(5)   This argument fails to recognize God’s greater purpose and the fact that God cannot do what is logically impossible or what is contrary to His character.

ii)       The Christian’s argument:

(1)   If good and evil exist, then there is an objective moral law in which to differentiate between them.

(2)   Good and evil exist.

(3)   Therefore, an objective moral law exists.

(4)   If there is an object moral law, then there is an object moral law giver (i.e. God)

iii)     The argument from volition:

(1)   Man can love God only if there is the freedom to choose or reject Him.

(2)   Man can love God.

(3)   Therefore the freedom to choose or reject God exists.

(4)   The freedom to reject God allows for the possibility for evil.

(5)   Therefore, the possibility for evil exists.