In your walk as a Christian, have you ever heard any criticisms like these? "Oh, I don't believe all those dumb old bible stories! They're just a bunch of myths and legends anyway." Or, "Your scriptures were changed many times over the centuries, in order to fool and control gullible people—like all you Christians!" Some may even ask you, "If God is all powerful and can do anything, can He make a rock so heavy that He can't lift it?"
If you haven't been confronted with such accusations yet, you probably will one day. What do you do when faced with such remarks? How do you refute such allegations? Do we even have answers for these questions?
Well, do not fear, there is a systematic defence of the Christian faith called Christian apologetics. Which has nothing to do with saying 'sorry' for our faith but everything to do with defending our faith as apologetics, according to Wikipedia, comes from the Greek word 'apologia', which means 'defence'.
We liken apologetics to the defence of Christian doctrine and beliefs with the prosecution trying to prove that God isn't real and Christianity is a scam. The Christian apologist presents the facts by patient explanation, logical argument or verifiable proof, and defends the good name of Christ and His teachings as presented in the Bible.
This is in accordance with the apologist's theme verse 1 Peter 3:15, “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...”
The key is to give an answer as to why we Christians still hold such hope in our hearts in this supposedly rational, scientific-minded 21st-century. And in response to the three allegations at the start of this article, a well-informed Christian apologist would respond:
"Myths and legends? Haven't you read about the archaeological discovery that Jericho's walls fell so flat, men could just run straight into the city like it says in Joshua 6? Or that they've actually dug up the five covered colonnades mentioned in John 5?"
“Have our scriptures really been changed? How would you explain that the New Testament today has the same contents as the more than 24,000 ancient manuscripts discovered? Or how the Book of Isaiah found among the Dead Sea Scrolls is more than 99 percent identical, word for word, to my 2005 Edition Study Bible?"
And to the classic challenge of God’s omnipotence:
"Actually, there are some things God cannot do. He cannot sin, since He is holy. He cannot lie, since He is the truth. And He cannot do something nonsensical, because He is a lawful and reasonable God. So in answer to your question: Nope, God can't do something as foolish as that!"
Christian apologetics is a way to strengthen our own faith by demonstrating that it is based on logical, reasonable and even scientific evidence currently in existence. Christianity makes perfect sense, after all, our God invented logic, reason and the laws of science.
Every Christian should educate themselves on the foundation and reasons for our faith. I shall leave you with a few pointers to start you off on Christian apologetics:
- According to 1 Peter 3:15, we should present our arguments with 'gentleness and respect'. Nobody likes to listen to a rude and arrogant person.
- Be objective and logical; stick to the facts. Saying things like “the bible is true because billions of Christians believe it!” only hurts your case.
- If you can't give an explanation, admit that you can't right now. However, make it clear that you're going to find out the facts and get back to them with a clear answer.
- Refrain from attacking or insulting the beliefs of others. That's called polemics, not apologetics, and can get you into serious confrontations.
- Know that the hearts of men are often hardened. While arguments may open the door to their minds, it is the Holy Spirit that opens the door to their hearts. Do remember to share the Gospel with them as well!
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