Why Apologetics? (Part 4)

And now to close off our short run with this series…

Question: Why and how is the study of apologetics beneficial to the church?

3. Third, apologetics serves as a vital aid in the work of missions, evangelism, and cultural engagement.

In the course of familiarizing oneself with the case for the Christian worldview we must, as a matter of love for those we speak to, expose ourselves to common misunderstanding, misrepresentations, and objections to the faith. And, it is best to prepare answers in advance. How is this a loving thing to do? Because it means that we must listen to others, and out ourselves “out there.”

More often that you’d think, the type of stuff you’re hear in objecting to Christianity is more or less the same stuff again and again. So we all should take stock of “common objections.” And in witnessing to non-Christians, apologetics helps to “clear the ground.” Many unbelievers have never heard an informed, rational defense and presentation of the Christian faith.

Now to the content of our answer…

Apologetics helps evangelism. In witnessing to others we will always, at some time, run into objections. Unbelief have it’s own rationale, and people don’t convert for particular reasons (other than the obvious theological reason, rebellion and sin). We should know why we believe the Bible is the word of God, why Christianity is different from other religions and what practical difference does it make for the potential convert.

Apologetics helps missions. Similar, yet distinct, problems arise when on the mission field. Often the person we commend the faith it is under serious social pressure to remain as they are, whether in intensely religious countries or in secular nations. They need to know why they should risk persecution for committing their life to Christ. Are they committing social suicide? Are they committing intellectual suicide? Also a huge issue for a theology of missions (especially in our day and age) is the question of religious pluralism. Are all religions the same? Are they all legit pathways to God?

Well, of course not. It’s both philosophically wrong (because so many religions make contradictory claims), and Biblically dangerous (Jesus is the only way to God, cf. John 14:6, Acts 4:12). But the point is that as we study apologetics we learn both how to develop this claim (so the unbeliever sees the Biblical rationale for it), as well as how to persuasively communicate it.

Apologetics helps Christian cultural engagement. The Bible states that Christians are to be “in” the world, yet not “of” the world. We are to live among unbelievers, as spiritual ambassadors for Christ. We shouldn’t live in step with the unbelieving world, doing these they way they dictate that we should. Instead we should (ideally) be counter-cultural, developing a distinctively Christian critique of cultural trends as well as positively recommending Biblical alternatives. Of course, this takes a lot of study, effort, and prayer. Those who “do” apologetics (which should be all of us, cf. 1 Pet. 3:15) should learn what are the cultural objections to Christianity are, like “Christians are intolerant,” “Religious belief is dangerous,” etc.

Well, that’s what I came up with. I’d love to hear feedback!