Why I Have Not Given Up on Christian Apologetics
In my previous post, I shared why I often consider giving up on Christian apologetics. In this post, I will share why I have not given up on apologetics.
Many of the things that we value are based on personal experience. For example, disability theology is very important to me because I am a father of to children with disabilities. It is more than just a hobby for me.
The same is true for Christian apologetics. My involvement in apologetics is not because it is “cool” or because it makes me look smart. I’m involved in apologetics because I was an atheist, I was seeker looking for answers and I was a new Christian struggling with doubt.
I did not encounter much in terms of apologetics when I really needed it. I want to be able to share what I can with those who need it.
And there are people who need it. I get frustrated with pastor who reject apologetics as irrelevant. They suggest that all that is needed is community and experience. Apologetics will only lead to a dry intellectual faith.
But that is not the case. There are people who are truly seeking answers to their questions and they deserve to have their questions taken seriously. To dismiss people’s intellectual questions by saying “just have faith” is not loving.
My interest in apologetics actually emerges from my pastoral vocation. It is because I love people that I want to walk with them on their journey and to point toward those who have wrestled with the same questions.
So will I ever give up on apologetics? Not as long as I am a Christian.
Thanks for not giving up.
I think we need to reject a certain aspect of modern apologetics, specifically this notion of it being a department of intelligentsia within the church. How much more fruitful could the church become if professional apologists stopped building their mega parachurch organizations and entered fully into the life of their local churches. We’ve accepted this false narrative of dumb religious folk in local churches standing in awe of the professional apologists, the smart ones, who alone can reach the thinkers of this age. We are denigrating, alienating, and starving whole segments of the church with this attitude. Fault lies with both the professional apologists who have separated themselves and also local churches who have largely ignored the intellectual and philosophical aspects of the Christian life. Exotic apologetics islands look like a great vacationing spot for serious thinkers. They may just be a mirage.