Apologetics 101
In the modern debate over God, the existence of God, and the mode or form of the “proper” worship of God we have clouds of such density as to obscure one’s hand from their own eyes. They primary key to all apologetics is not in the strength of the argument, or the skill of the arguer, but rather in the ability of the audience to listen.
Many people intentionally hear what is being said. Fewer people actually listen to what is being said. Fewer still actually internalize the information that has been distributed and from that internalization, begin to examine on their own the details of that information. In other words, the era of the sound byte has captured people so effectively that most people live their lives in the moment, based on things they’ve heard, or what they feel, rather than on thoroughly researched facts and figures.
Paul tells us the definition of the word faith in a very succinct and precise manner; “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1)
Faith is substance and evidence. Everyone has some substance for their beliefs. Everyone has some form of evidence to substantiate those beliefs. This is the very meaning of faith; that there is, and always will be, a gap between life and belief. This is also the reason for apologetics.
There is an old saying; “history is written by the conqueror.” This is a modern saying. The histories of Josephus were written by the conquered and are considered as authoritative as any of his Roman contemporaries. The ideas of a corrupted history are a means of separating us from our past. This is an easy task. The human mind has a problem accepting any information not directly experienced. It has a much greater problem dealing with the totality of circumstances surrounding any historical event.
We humans like putting things into packages that are neatly wrapped. Our minds can only hold so much information at one time, and as such we have a tendency to trash those things which are not pertinent. Keeping pieces of data in your mind requires effort. Most apply this effort to things that feed the body rather than the soul. You have a skill set for your career and a set of knowledge that career requires. Keeping a vast set of data that does not relate to this endeavor is a challenge that few desire.
The simple truth is that if the apologist cannot put their beliefs into small, bite-sized chunks, the people will not listen. Yet, if the truth is consigned to small pieces, it strips the core out of the truth and leaves people with empty facts. If the individual is interested only in satisfying some self-interest towards the absolution of guilt, or support for their own ideas about God and religion, there is no amount of apologetic that will effect that individual. If, however, the individual is willing to go a little deeper down the rabbit hole, they can find enough information to substantiate their beliefs; whatever their beliefs may be. It is here that apologetics becomes dangerous.
Information does not necessarily constitute the truth. One can become confused by facts into believing falsehoods. Yet, truth is found in faith and faith is substance and evidence of things not seen, but hoped for.
For the Christian, wondering how to overcome the difficulty caused by man’s own inability to grasp this cycle, there is only one solution; the Holy Spirit. You cannot convince the self-deluded. They must convince themselves. You can only point out the holes in another person’s belief and hope that they search for the pieces that fit in those gaps.When a doctrinal stance is false, it is incomplete; it has holes in it that form logical problems. When a religion is false it has holes in it that must be either avoided, or circumvented. All you can do is point out the holes.
Here lies the responsibility, the 101 of all apologetics. If you’re a Christian, then the Christ is your Lord. Your career, your family, your own life, comes second to the service of the King. It is not only your duty, it is your solemn responsibility, to know the particulars of your faith, to research the data, to understand the opposition’s arguments, concerning your faith. If you do not have a sound foundation for the truth of your faith, you cannot possibly have the full armor of God that keeps you safe. No matter your earthly endeavor, your primary endeavor is to further the kingdom of God.
“But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ.” – I Peter 3:15-16
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