“But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts. Always be ready to give an answer to every man who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you, with gentleness and respect.” (1 Peter 3:15.) This verse is the beacon to which Christians can look towards whenever the opportunity arises to give a defense of our faith. Although it is a command for believers, it is also foreshadowing that eventually you will be faced with the duty to present logically sound arguments in defense of Christ. Apologetics is not merely about winning arguments, it is an effective tool to be used to bring people to Christ. Defenses made without having to become ‘defensive’ and the ability to present claims and arguments without being ‘argumentative’ is what we have been tasked with.
       Why is it important to become familiar with Apologetics? During times of emotional turmoil and hardship, sometimes you’ll have to lean back on these fact-based arguments for Gods existence in order to stay grounded in faith. The more familiarized we make ourselves with apologetics, the better equipped we will make ourselves and future generations of believers to fend off the pending descent of society into secularism. If we cease to defend that objectively true things exist and that they can be proven with evidence and logic, then the slope to a secularist society becomes greased with Relativism. If all truth becomes relative within a culture, then said society will begin to rapidly deteriorate because it can no longer agree on what values are worthy of preserving. This leads us into a peek into the Moral Argument for Gods existence. For example… everyone can agree that murdering an innocent human is objectively bad. But if objective truth does not exist, then that just becomes ones opinion, and who’s to say that that opinion is any more valuable than the opinion of an evil murderer. If there is no transcendent moral rule giver then how is it possible to deem what is right and what is wrong in the world? Society decides? If the Germans had won World War 2 and their culture became the societal norm, would they then have moral justification for their actions?
       Throughout New Testament scripture we see examples of both Jesus and Apostles making reason and evidence-based arguments that Jesus is who he says. Jesus both was and is able to make arguments through his works. The apostles make defenses for the truth through their testimonies. For instance, in Acts 2 when a sober Peter defies Rome. Or in Romans 1 when Paul makes the claim how Gods power and beauty is evident in the creation of nature.
       How will Apologetics apply to ‘Everyday Christians?’ Throughout this series, we will go step by step dissecting the more prevalent and vehement arguments that are typically posed to Christians. Such as… How can a ‘Good God’ allow such evil and atrocities to happen daily? What about all the other gods from other religions, what makes yours so special? Why would such a loving God send someone to hell? Why does it matter if there is a God? If he created us and everything, then who created him? Why does he care so much about sexuality? Can’t I be a ‘good person’ without believing in your God? Thankfully, the Lord has granted us with the tools necessary to answer these questions. Those tools being; Science, logic, peer reviewed and fact based historical evidence, to name a few. This series will also cover popular defenses such as induction, the Moral Argument and the Cosmological argument for Gods existence.
       Apologetics should be approached as intertwined with evangelism. Christians do not start from a position of neutrality when reasoning with an atheist and then walk through the arguments and evidence to see if we can find God that way. We must approach apologetics knowing that Jesus is Lord. For God is the entire foundation to which all claims to knowledge become possible. “Fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” (Proverbs 1:7) The pending question then becomes; If Christianity were true, would you become a Christian? Most often the problem does not have to deal with a lack of evidence. The elephant in the room is that now there is a threat or morality and accountability. They do not want a transcendent being imposing his morality and judgement on their cushy lives. As a society we have become too comfortable in our sin, and the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
       Christians are not simply a fringe religious group of people. We are the very ones who are called upon to be the moon, using Gods light to help navigate the world through darkness. John 14:6 portrays who we must reconcile with in order to reflect said light.