Apologetics: What is It and Why We Need It Part One

Apologetics, whether you like it or not, is something we all do. Every time you try to defend your view or belief you are engaging in an apologetical enterprise. You may not be a very argumentative person but you’ve probably been required to give a reason or a defence for something. It could have been something small or large. Maybe it was decision you made that someone disagreed with and you tried to justify it. Of course, some are more defensive than others and some have careers which require the regular practices of defending against intellectual attack or putting forward the reasons why they think you should believe what they do. Whether its politicians, professors, or media pundits, they are always defending what they believe (or profess to believe), and what they think you should believe. They do this because they think it’s important. The more important something is, the more worth defending it is.

Apologetics, like warfare, is multifaceted. Negative apologetics, as it’s called, is about showing why what someone says about your belief is wrong. Think of your opponents argument as a missile and negative apologetics as an anti-missile defence system. Positive apologetics, on the other hand, is when you put forward an argument for why someone should believe you. In some ways it’s like firing a torpedo into enemy territory. But a good military has more than rockets. In the same way apologetics is like an army with an array of weapons at its disposal, each has its pros and cons depending on the situation.

Maybe you want to begin with a bold statement, so you bring out the heavy artillery. It serves a purpose and gets everyone’s attention but can sometimes do more harm than good. Maybe you want to be more discreet than that. Think about the saboteur, the spy, or the soldier who sneaks behind enemy lines and disrupts enemy communication and transport. Oftentimes different devices of warfare will work together, one prepares the way for the other or softens enemy resistance in order for the final assault to be successful. Think D-Day when all those paratroopers landed behind enemy lines in France to better the chances of the main inland invasion.

*I understand that some folks might not appreciate the military analogies but military analogies resonate and make sense to people (perhaps an unfortunate fact but a fact nonetheless), regardless of a person’s disposition to literal warfare. Afterall, even the most ardent pacifist can find value in Sun Tzu’s Art of War.

Apologetics means knowing your opponent. It pays to know your opponent. What is he/she thinking? How does he/she think? What are the tactics they will most likely employ? How can I best counter these? To answer these questions you need to study your opponent (like any good basketball/football/hockey coach does) and learn their patterns. Muhammad Ali only did the rope-a-dope on Foreman because he knew that Foreman would fall for it. But it’s not something you’ll hear any boxing coach recommend! So sometimes you need to think in terms of specifics. Remember, thinking is a good thing, it’s why we have brains.

Apologetics is like chess. The apologist, like the chess player, has to get as good a view as he or she can on the bigger picture. We need to know the pieces involved and what they’re capable of before we respond. This translates to understanding the people we’re dealing with and anticipating what they are going to say next! What we say in response to people is like a move on the chessboard. It may not be a big deal now, but several moves down the road it could pay off big. If you are debating someone you don’t want to say everything at once. Let your opponent move, let your opponent trap himself!

Of course, some chess matches are timed. Some of our encounters with others are brief and we have to be opportunistic. We have to take advantage of the smallest openings and put forward the best arguments we can in the shortest period of time before the buzzer sounds. All this requires strategy. It means doing calculations in your mind as you interact in real-world situations. Apologetics is like chess, but it’s also much different. It’s like chess in that there are a million different moves your opponent can make and you never truly know what they’re going to do. It’s not like chess because chess is ultimately about pieces on a board, whereas apologetics is about human beings on the stage of life.

Apologetics is goal-oriented. If people aren’t persuaded by our apologetics we should naturally question 1) the belief we are trying to defend 2) the method of our defence and 3) the people we are communicating with. Sometimes we are defending something that isn’t true, and as Aristotle said, the man with the truth is at an advantage from the start. However, just because we’ve got the right idea doesn’t mean we are presenting it in an appropriate or persuasive fashion. Maybe we need to work on our ability to communicate effectively (a lifelong process). Lastly, it may be that our opponents are largely unable to see through the facade. You tell the truth but they are more comfortable living a lie. Whatever the case may be, no apologist will say that his goal is to dissuade or that he would be happier if less people believed him. For better or worse, we all want people to share our beliefs.

Apologetics is a passionate affair. Why defend a belief that you don’t have feelings for? We shouldn’t be dispassionate about the truth, especially the truth of Jesus Christ. All the best trial lawyers deliver their final statements to the jury in a way that evokes emotion because they themselves appear emotionally invested. Nobody wants to talk with a robot. They want to be engaged by a human being.

When defending the faith once for all delivered to the saints it is important to remember that we aren’t defending meaningless propositions but propositions that carry eternal value if true. The business of the apologist (that is, any Christian defending their Christian worldview) is to deal with the topic as a human being but also as a well-balanced and level-headed individual. I’ve had far too many discussions which could have been far more productive had I been able to keep a level-head but these are the experiences from which we learn.

Apologetics is a Holy Spirit Matter. There are two extremes to be avoided here. One is that we don’t need to be apologetically-minded because we have the Holy Spirit. The other is the attitude that we are responsible for saving people via our performance in the apologetical arena. Neither of these is true.

First, Scripture tells us to contend for the faith and always be ready to give a defence (Jude 1:3; 1 Peter 3:15). Yes, the Holy Spirit is the one who softens the heart but he has many tools at his disposal. One of them is apologetics in the hands of a Holy Spirit-filled believer. Therefore, we can’t shy away from engaging with people about these things. On the other hand, we must avoid thinking of ourselves as the people who ultimately convince others to believe in Christ. For someone to believe they must be born again from above (John 3). This is because of the effects on sin on the human mind. Like Paul said, although he and Apollos planted and watered, the outcome was ultimately from God.

Apologetics is about failure. We can’t win all the arguments. People are in rebellion against God and to acknowledge Christ means sacrificing the thing they love most, their sin. So don’t be surprised when someone doesn’t immediately come over to your way of thinking, no matter how finely-tuned and well-articulated your arguments might be. I’ve come out of so many conversations wishing I had said or done this or that differently. But that’s the way it goes. So don’t beat up on yourself! Thank God for the opportunities He affords to defend the faith and learn from each encounter.