Notes for the apologetics course at LTCi, Siliguri

1. Christian
apologetics
LTCi course 701
EBI course 222
Monday 14 November 2011

2. Christian
apologetics
apologetics
Greek ἀπολογία, "speaking in defense"
plural noun [treated as sing. or pl. ]
reasoned arguments or writings in
LTCi course 701
EBI course 222
justification of something, typically a
theory or religious doctrine.
Monday 14 November 2011

3. Chapter 1
Apologetics
Pocket handbook of Christian apologetics (2003)
Peter Kreeft & Ronald Tacelli
Monday 14 November 2011

4. 1 Peter 3:15
But in your hearts revere Christ
as Lord. Always be prepared to
give an answer to everyone who
asks you to give the reason for
the hope that you have. But do
this with gentleness and
respect,
“Apologetics is the
enterprise of obeying that
command”
Monday 14 November 2011

5. Reasons for apologetics
Some say apologetics is
intellectual, rational and abstract
- they say reason is less
important than love and sanctity.
The problem is such thinking
needs reasoning - we all reason
our arguments, we simply need
to make sure we do it well.
In chapter 2 we shall see that
reason is a “friend of faith”
Monday 14 November 2011

6. Some people decide with their
hearts more than with their heads
- which is right as the heart is the
centre of our being - but
apologetics gets to the heart
through the head - the head is the
gate to the heart. We love what
we know.
Arguments can keep you
from faith - we cannot believe
what we believe to be untrue, and
we cannot love what we believe is
unreal. So we have to join the
battle of arguments. In essence
reason has veto power
Monday 14 November 2011

7. “arguments can bring you
closer to faith in the same
way a car can bring you to
the sea. The car can’t
swim; you have to jump in
to do that. But you can’t
jump in the sea from 100
miles inland - you need a
car to bring you to the
place where you make the
leap of faith into the
water. Faith is a leap,
but not a leap in the
dark but in the light.”
Monday 14 November 2011

8. J. Allee on apologetics
J. Allee (http://www.jacoballee.com/?p=44)
suggests three reasons for
apologetics:
Apologetics, simply defined,
is the rational defense of
the Christian faith.
1. Apologetics Defends the
Faith:
The word apologetics comes from
the Greek word “apologia” which
means defense and is used in 1
Peter 3:15.
Monday 14 November 2011

9. Every Christian, to some degree,
is called to be an apologist and
should know God’s word well
enough to be able to answer the
questions and objections our
friends, families etc.
Apologetics defends the faith by
showing that it is reasonable to be
a Christian and that our faith is
grounded in reality. Apologetics
defuses the bombs thrown at
Christianity.
Monday 14 November 2011

10. 2. Apologetics Affirms
the Faith of Believers:
Apologetics reinforces the faith
of Christians - showing
Christians that they can
proclaim the faith boldly
because the evidence is on
their side. Christianity has
interacted with history in such
a way that it rises and falls
upon historical claims such as
the life, death and resurrection
of Jesus.
Monday 14 November 2011

11. Apologetics shows the validity to
the Christian truth claims and
uses history, philosophy, science
and logic to provide evidence in
its favor. No other religion in the
world can boast the impressive
weight of evidence that
Christianity has going for it.
The more Christians understand
just how reasonable our faith is
and how much support it has, the
more they are confident in their
faith and the more they, in turn,
share it.
Monday 14 November 2011

12. 3. Apologetics Removes
Barriers to Faith
(Evangelizes):
If while defending the faith we
can answer the sincere
questions of unbelievers then
essentially we are tearing
down walls of unbelief that are
keeping them from trusting in
Christ for salvation.
Apologetics removes the wall
of unbelief and allows thinking
people to embrace the
Christian faith.
Monday 14 November 2011

13. An example - Paul Acts 17:16-34
Paul reasoned with thinking men
about God and the person of
Jesus and although not all
believed some did.
Even with those who are hostile
to the Christian faith or who
throw out objections to avoid
dealing with the truth if we are
able to answer their objections,
whether reasonable or not, then
we strip away their screens and
leave them face to face with the
living God.
Monday 14 November 2011

14. An example - Paul Acts 17:16-34
Paul reasoned with thinking men
about God and the person of
Jesus and although not all
believed some did.
Even with those who are hostile
to the Christian faith or who
throw out objections to avoid
dealing with the truth if we are
able to answer their objections,
whether reasonable or not, then
we strip away their screens and
leave them face to face with the
living God.
Monday 14 November 2011

15. They will then be forced to
deal with the fact that they
are rejecting Christ not on
the basis of genuine
objections but because in
their sin they want nothing to
do with the true God.
Monday 14 November 2011

16. Concerning methodology
The authors state that they try to
use commonsense standards of
rationality and universally agreed
principles of logic in all their arguing.
They do make the point that human
arguments have some important
features in their context:
1. The psyches of the people involved
2. The relationship of the two people
involved
Monday 14 November 2011

17. 3. The immediate situation in which
they find themselves
4. The larger social, cultural, and
historical situation surrounding
them.
National, political, social factors all
affect our apologetics - you do not
argue in the same way with a
Muslim woman in Tehran as you
would an African American in NYC.
Our arguments should be like
swords not bombs - the sword is an
extension of the swordsman - tone,
sincerity, concern, listening and
respect matter a great deal in
ensuring you are heard.
Monday 14 November 2011

18. 3. The immediate situation in which
they find themselves
The world was won
4. The larger social, cultural, and
historical situation surrounding
for Christ not by
them.
arguments but by
National, political, social factors all
affect our apologetics - you do not
sanctity: “What
argue in the same way with a
Muslim woman inspeaks so
you African American in NYC.
are Tehran as you
would an
Our argumentscan hardly
loud, I should be like
hearthe swordsman - tone,
what you
swords not bombs - the sword is an
extension of
say.”
sincerity, concern, listening and
respect matter a great deal in
ensuring you are heard.
Monday 14 November 2011

19. The need for apologetics
today
1. Western civilisation is in danger
of dying - the reason is spiritual, it is
losing its life and soul, which was its
Christian faith - western countries
are engulfed by secularism - the
20th century has been dominated
by genocide, sexual chaos and
money worship - the authors
suggest we are doomed unless we
turn back the clock (spiritually)
secular |ˈsekyələr|
denoting attitudes, activities, or other
things that have no religious or
spiritual basis
Monday 14 November 2011

20. 2. As well as the civil, cultural crisis
we are in there is a philosophical,
intellectual one too - there is a
crisis of truth
Any idea of objective, definitive, truth
is rejected or attacked - this is
especially seen in the schools and
media.
3. The deepest level of crisis in
society is not cultural or intellectual
but spiritual. The eternal souls of
men and women, for whom Christ
came to die, are at stake. Saying such
a thing, in such a definite way, is not
necessarily popular or acceptable
today.
Monday 14 November 2011

21. The basis of the book
The authors declare in the book
they are dealing with the basic or
core beliefs which are common to
all Christians - those at the core of
the faith as outlined in the
Apostles Creed. This, they say,
unites many Christians whilst
Liberal or revisionist theologians
will not be happy about what is
written in the book - e.g. arguing
for miracles, the reliability of
Scripture, the reality of the
resurrection, the divinity of Christ
and the reality of heaven and hell.
Monday 14 November 2011