The
following is from a response I wrote to a young Christian and new college
student preparing to attend a Christian university:
Joe (not his
real name), I think you raise some great questions that many are asking today.
Unfortunately, what you describe as the typical church responses are all too common. I have been in the church
almost all of my life and from my personal experiences, most in the church are
not open to questions, especially hard ones (even pastors). I believe most of
these are lazy and apathetic. Some are simply ignorant, don’t know where to
find the answers, or they remain silent as they know they will be beat down for
speaking about such things. I have had my share of run-ins with this mindset. I
believe it is very foolish and destroys our ability to effectively reach
others.
Peter said, “always be ready
to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for
the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear…” (1 Pet. 3:15, NKJV). The
word apologia was used here and it is
where we get the word apologetics.
Apologetics is simply giving an answer for what we believe and why. Questions,
as you have, are very common today and this is why there are so many apologists
today. Many devote themselves to colleges because so many students are asking
questions that their families and churches could not or would not answer or
even try.
Is God’s
Word not good enough? Certainly not! God’s Word has reached millions but, in
the world today, some people have to be shown outside evidence that will lead
them to look at the Bible and consider it. Our willingness and ability to
explain it to them will help them see it as credible. To support this claim,
consider why so many young people who grow up in the church leave the church by
the time they are in their early twenties, if not before? Many of them say the
Bible is a book of fables and fairytales. Many believe much of the Bible was
taken from other religions that pre-existed Christianity. Even many pastors
today do not believe in the inerrancy of Scripture. If we cannot defend why we
believe the Bible, why should we expect skeptics to believe what we say we
believe? Do we not seem silly?
We have
sufficient evidence to defend our faith historically, scientifically, and
philosophically. We can give enough evidence to win a court case but all the
evidence in the world will not win everyone. Even Jesus did not win everyone,
and we are certainly not equal to or better than Christ.
Dr. Gary
Habermas (Liberty University) wrote a book with one of his former students,
Mike Lacona, called The Case for the
Resurrection of Jesus. He has delivered an excellent presentation, based on
his book, around the country (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aiPCeDku_k&t=5s).
He makes a compelling argument for Jesus’ life, death, burial, and resurrection.
J. Warner
Wallace, a forensic expert, also makes a compelling argument for Jesus, using
the same techniques he has used in law enforcement (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14JkC5at_Fw).
Lee
Strobel, a former atheist, sought to disprove God and the Bible, much like C. S. Lewis, but after going over the evidence,
he became a Christian. He has an excellent book/video series: The Case for a Creator, The Case for Christ,
and The Case for Faith.
Other
great apologists I recommend:
Ravi Zacharias
(Philosophy) and his team at RZIM, Frank Turek (Philosophy and science),
Michael Behe (science), Stephen Myers (science), William Lane Craig (science/philosophy),
Hugh Ross (science), J.P. Moreland (philosophy), Norm Geisler, Paul Copan, Greg
Koukl, Francis Chaffer, and C.S. Lewis. Of course, there are many others.
God bless~
Quote from 1 Pet. 3:15 retrieved from BibleGateway.com
