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Christian apologetics

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Christian apologetics is the field of study concerned with the systematic defense of Christianity. The term "apologetic" comes from the Greek word apologia (απολογία), which means in defense of. Therefore, a skilled person involved in Christian or Bible Apologetics is a defender of Christianity. Those who engage in Christian apologetics are called "Christian apologists". Christian apologetics have taken many forms over the centuries, starting with Paul of Tarsus, including writers such as Augustine of Hippo and Thomas Aquinas, and continuing currently with the modern Christian community, through the efforts of many authors in various Christian traditions such as C.S. Lewis. Apologists have based their defense of Christianity on favoring interpretations of historical evidence, philosophical arguments, scientific investigation, and other disciplines.

This Classical Greek term appears in the Koine (that is, common) Greek of the New Testament. The apostle Paul employed the term "apologia" in his trial speech to Festus and Agrippa when he said, "I make my defense" (Acts 26:2). In the English language, the word apology, derived from the Greek word "apologia", usually refers to asking for forgiveness for an action that is open to blame. Christian apologetics are meant, however, to argue that Christianity is reasonable and in accordance with the evidence that can be examined, analogous to the use of the term in the Apology of Socrates, written by Plato.

Contents

Purpose

The First Epistle of Peter (3:15) declares that Christians must be ready to give a reason for their faith. Christian apologetics are designed to present non-Christians with reasons to adopt the Christian faith or to strengthen the belief of current Christians. Also, apologetics within the Christian community provide arguments that describe, support and strengthen the doctrinal and moral tenets of the Christian faith.

History

Evidentialist apologetics are the most widely used form of apologetics today and have been so from the earliest times in Christianity, even in the New Testament. Early church fathers who were Christian apologists include Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Tertullian, and Jerome.

The apostle Paul, who was well-educated, said to beware worldly, human philosophy (Colossians 2:8) that did not accord with Christ. There is evidence that Paul himself was acquainted with Greek philosophy (Acts 9:29). Yet some apologists such as Gordon Clark call themselves Christian philosophers. An explanation of this conflict is that Christians view some philosophy as being compatible with Christianity, such as the laws of logic, while other philosophy is not, such as nontheistic philosophy.

Thomas Aquinas, an influential Catholic apologist, presented five arguments for God's existence in the Summa Theologica.[1] Aquinas's approach, which adapted the ideas of Aristotle, is known as Thomism, and has dominated both Roman Catholic and Protestant approaches to philosophical apologetics. Gordon Clark and Cornelius Van Til in the 20th century presented a different philosophical approach called presuppositional apologetics that rejects Aquinas's arguments as inconclusive or even fallacious and contends that there is no neutral ground on which to convince a non-Christian of the truth of Christianity. This form of apologetics mainly exists in Calvinist circles.

Evangelical Christian apologist Norman Geisler composed an essay entitled "Beware of Philosophy: A Warning to Biblical Scholars,"[2] which exhorts Christians to beware philosophical systems that ultimately result in unorthodox theological views but also suggests that Christian scholars unite philosophical and theological studies so that unorthodox philosophies can be detected and eschewed. Also, Francis Schaeffer, a conservative Protestant Christian apologist, argued that Christians needed to be more knowledgeable about philosophical questions, as he taught that only a Judeo-Christian view of man and the world provided satisfactory and consistent answers to the questions of being, knowledge and morals which philosophy addresses.

In the period between 1800 and the mid-1900s, there were a number of Christian apologist/scholars such as William Mitchell Ramsay (1851–1939), William Henry Green (1825–1900), Robert Dick Wilson (1856–1930), and Oswald T. Allis (1856–1930) who argued for the historicity and trustworthiness of the Bible, a field called Biblical apologetics.

A common concern in the history of Christianity is that apologetics deny the role of faith and, some argue, that they seem to offer a way to "reason oneself" into the kingdom of heaven, as Blaise Pascal argued. However, many Christians understand the Bible to command the defense of the Christian faith when it says that one should "always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have" (1 Peter 3:15). Some believers assert that a proper view of faith involves not simply accepting that what the Bible says is true, nor only trusting that God exists, but actually trusting in God, citing as an example that Satan's mere knowledge of God is insufficient for his own salvation (James 2:19).

Christian apologetics today

Christian apologetics continues to the current day in various forms. The Roman Catholic G. K. Chesterton, the Anglican C. S. Lewis (who popularised the argument which he called aut Deus aut homo malus ("either God or a bad man"), or 'Christian trilemma'), the evangelical Norman Geisler, the Lutheran John Warwick Montgomery, and the Presbyterian Francis Schaeffer were among the most prolific Christian apologists in the 20th century, while Gordon Clark and Cornelius Van Til started a new school of philosophical apologetics called presuppositionalism, which is popular in Calvinist circles. Others include Josh McDowell, Ravi Zacharias, Lee Strobel, and William Lane Craig.

Types of Christian Apologetics

There are a variety of Christian apologetic styles and schools of thought. The major types of Christian apologetics include: historical and legal evidentialist apologetics, presuppositional apologetics, philosophical apologetics, prophetic apologetics, doctrinal apologetics, biblical apologetics, moral apologetics, and scientific apologetics.

Historical and legal evidentialism

In the evidentialist tradition, empirical arguments about the reported life, miracles, death and resurrection of Jesus are presented as (informal) probabilistic proofs.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church, following the Thomist tradition of St. Thomas Aquinas and the dogmatic definition of the First Vatican Council, affirms that it is a doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church that God's existence can in fact be rationally demonstrated. Some other Christians in different denominations hold similar views. On this view, a distinction is to be drawn between (1) doctrines that belong essentially to faith and cannot be proved, such as the doctrine of the Trinity or the Incarnation, and (2) doctrines that can be accepted by faith but can also be known by reason; that is, truths revealed by special revelation and by general revelation. The existence of God is said to be one of the latter. As a theological defense of this view, one might cite Paul's claim that pagans were without excuse because "since the creation of the world [God's] invisible nature, namely, his eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made" (Rom. 1:20).

The first Protestant textbook of apologetics was written by the Dutch legal scholar Hugo Grotius, On The Truth of the Christian Religion. This work, which remained in print until the late 19th century, defended the historicity of the Gospels and also addressed arguments to Jews and Muslims.

Christian scholar Gary Habermas is recognized as being one of the foremost defenders of the historicity of Jesus Christ's resurrection.

Various arguments have been put forth by legal scholars such as Simon Greenleaf and John Warwick Montgomery and others claiming that Western legal standards argue for the historicity of the resurrection of Christ.[3] [4] [5] In addition, legal authorities' opinions regarding the resurrection of Christ are appealed to. [6]

Christian scholar Edwin M. Yamauchi and others argue against the pagan myth hypothesis for the origin of Christianity.[7] [8] In addition, Roman historian A. N. Sherwin-White, is often quoted by Christian apologists in regard to Christianity not being formed through myth.

Sherwin-White stated:

For Acts, the confirmation of historicity is overwhelming. Yet Acts is, in simple terms and judged externally, no less of a propaganda narrative than the Gospels, liable to similar distortions. But any attempt to reject its basic historicity, even in matters of detail, must now appear absurd. Roman historians have long taken it for granted.... The agnostic type of form-criticism would be much more credible if the compilation of the Gospels were much later in time.... Herodotus enables us to test the tempo of myth-making, [showing that] even two generations are too short a span to allow the mythical tendency to prevail over the hard historic core.

Roman Society and Roman Law in the New Testament. Oxford: Clarendon Press (1963), pp. 189-190.

Defense of miracles

C.S. Lewis, Norman Geisler, William Lane Craig, and Christians who engage in jurisprudence Christian apologetics have argued that miracles are reasonable and plausible. [9][10][11]

Prophetic fulfillment

Bible prophecy is used as an argument for Christianity. It is argued that only God knows the future and the Bible prophecy of a compelling nature has been fulfilled. Peter Stoner is often cited by Protestant apologetic works in regard to Bible prophecy,[12] as well as Grant Jeffrey.

Biblical apologetics

Biblical apologetics include issues concerned with the authorship and date of biblical books, biblical canon, and biblical inerrancy. In addition, Christian apologists defend and comment on various books of the Bible. Some scholars who have engaged in the defense of biblical inerrancy include Robert Dick Wilson, Gleason Archer, Norman Geisler, and R. C. Sproul. Also, there are several resources that Christians offer defending inerrancy in regard to specific verses.[13][14][15] Some scholars who have defended the authorship and date of biblical books include: John Wenham, Norman Geisler, Kenneth Kitchen, and Bryant G. Wood. Wenham's work is well-regarded by those who supported the Augustinian hypothesis, which is the traditional view of Gospel authorship. Scholars who have defended biblical canon include F. F. Bruce and Bruce Metzger. In addition, there are a host of Bible scholars who have defended and commented on various books of the Bible.[16]

Philosophical apologetics

Philosophical apologetics concerns itself primarily with arguments for the existence of God, although they do not exclusively dwell on this area.

These arguments can be grouped into several categories:

  1. Cosmological argument - Argues that the existence of the universe demonstrates that God exists. Various ancillary arguments from science are often offered to support the cosmological argument.[17][18][19]
    1. Teleological argument (argument from design) - Argues that there is an intricate design in the world around us, and a design requires a designer. Cicero, William Paley, and Michael Behe employed this argument as well as others.[20]
      1. Ontological argument - Argues that the very concept of God demands that there is an actual existent God.
      2. Moral Argument - Argues that if there are any real morals, then there must be an absolute from which they are derived.[21]
        1. Transcendental Argument - Argues that all our abilities to think and reason require the existence of God.
        2. Presuppositional Arguments - Arguments that show basic beliefs of theists and nontheists require God as a necessary precondition.

        Other philosophical arguments include:

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