The Ten Commandments of Apologetics
Excerpt from the book, Engaging the Closed Minded: Presenting Your Faith to the Confirmed Unbeliever
by Dan Story
Christian apologetics is a field of Christian theology that aims to present a rational basis for the Christian faith, defend the faith against objections, and expose the perceived flaws of other world views. Christian apologetics has taken many forms over the centuries, starting with Paul of Tarsus, including writers such as Origen and Augustine of Hippo, 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 historical evidence, philosophical arguments, scientific investigation, and other disciplines.
The Ten Commandments of Apologetics
I. Gospel first, apologetics second: Always try to start a witnessing encounter with the Gospel. The job of apologetics is to pave the way for a presentation of the Gospel. It is pre-evangelism. It is wrong to assume that every unbeliever harbors intellectual objections to Christianity. Hence not every evangelistic situation will require an apologetics defense.
II. Stay with the essentials: Most non-Christians know little about the Bible or what Christians believe and what they think they know is often in error. When sharing the Gospel, avoid theological subjects that will be confusing to unbelievers, like eschatology or predestination. Confirm the message of the Gospel by sharing your personal testimony demonstrating the life-transforming power of the Holy Spirit in your own life.
III. Remember your goal: The goal of apologetics is to overcome intellectual obstacles to Christianity so that unbelievers are willing to consider the Gospel. Apologetics is not theology. You don't have to give the definitive theological answer to any issue, only an appropriate answer that can be defended scripturally.
IV. Never give people a problem: Never force apologetics on someone or create illegitimate reasons to use it. The impulse is to go out and confront everyone you know and challenge their misbeliefs. Apologetics is not an excuse to argue. Often Christian love and understanding may be all that is needed.
V. Find out the real problem: Sometimes unbelievers will raise issues against Christianity that do not mirror their real concerns. They may feel more comfortable discussing a popular argument rather than what's really bothering them. Whatever the issues, you must identify them and respond accordingly.
VI. Avoid distractions: Apologetics deals with intellectual obstacles, not moral issues. For example, that a man and woman are living together out of wedlock should not prevent you from sharing Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Nor should it interfere with a discussion of apologetics. God will deal with the moral issues once a person sees his or her need to become a Christian.
VII. Apply evangelistic and missionary techniques: The ultimate goal of apologetics is evangelistic. The purpose is to bring people as quickly and as efficiently as possible to the point where they renounce their non-Christian worldviews and accept Jesus as Lord. It also involves seeking unbelievers on their own turf.
VIII. Know what unbelievers believe: Be as a missionary who before going into a foreign culture learns as much as possible about their religious beliefs, language, social customs, ethical behavior, cultural taboos, and so on.
IV. Don't be intimidated: Most non-Christians have little knowledge of the Bible and few have read even a portion of it. They seldom ask sophisticated questions or need in-depth answers. If you do encounter questions you cant answer or arguments you cant refute, admit it.
X. Keep the right attitude: Don't be self-righteous or pushy. Try to create an environment that encourages the work of the Holy Spirit.
Through thick and thin, keep your hearts at attention, in adoration before Christ, your Master. Be ready to speak up and tell anyone who asks why you're living the way you are, and always with the utmost courtesy. Keep a clear conscience before God so that when people throw mud at you, none of it will stick. They'll end up realizing that they're the ones who need a bath. - 1 Peter 3:15-16 The Message
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"" A person does not become a Christian when they move from wrong thinking to right thinking; a person becomes a Christian when they turn away from sin and call on Christ."
I would think that the two go hand-in-hand. If someone had the 'right thinking' in place for what sin truly is, surely they would repent from it."
Joshua - precisely. And as non-believers we see the views Christians hold - for instance, a disturbingly perverted view on same sex couples - as grossly unethical, and we, being creatures of conscience, could never abide by such immoral points of view that the Christian holds on "faith."
FYI: ethics is never a matter of faith. It is a matter of reason and empathy in regard to fellow human beings.
To show this, you hold homosexuality to be a sin simply because, to be crude, god doesn't like himself some gay porn. You ignore that there are loving and committed couples, indeed, you say it's impossible, simply to stubbornly, ignorantly, and unethically hold on to your backwards views that give you comfort.
And that's the sin, and Christians are neck deep in such self serving and unthinking filth.
And when they here this language from us non-believers (which they, the church, and their magic book is full of) we find that they can't take it like they can dish it out.
Also your quote shows another manipulative trick - meaning, don't trust your mind, but your heart. In this case, it means, trust your animal disgust as a hetero sexual, because if you actually used your mind, you'd be convicted of your moral ills.
It's completely backwards and contradictory even in sentiment. Why even bother with "apologetics," if you are going to admit from the start "stick to your emotions, don't question them, baby jesus loves you."
Oh, my bad, I know why - because religion has been shamefully envious of rational thought and logic since the church father's discovered Aristotle and Plato. So they burned Alexandria and kept the writings to themselves, thus bastardizing your religion from the start, but Christians wouldn't know that, would they?
You guys are a shameful lot.
Posted by: Jeffrey Lee Robinson | 03/12/2013 at 12:07 AM
So long as you are following Number 1 with unwavering submission to a perceived (and invalidated authority - remember, that's what the apologetic part is for) you will always be prone to error, and always fall into logical folly.
And you call us "close minded?" We don't blindly follow text written by illiterate men full of bigotry and fear.
Rule Number 1 is basically like saying, Give your illogical and irrational emotional commitment first, than try to give a rational argument for your irrational commitment.
Talk about putting the cart before the horse.
Side Note: This is so 1980s. Any "confirmed non-believer (read: anyone that doesn't believe in a bold assertion that is untestable and unverifiable just because your emotion make you, personally, feel it's true) is going to bury any apologetic argument you have.
There haven't been any new ones since Aquinas. And each one presented is more embarrassingly debunked than the last (look at Ken Ham's implicit racism or just any painfully ignorant view of any creationist).
Once you realize that your "apologetics" are no more convincing than any Muslim's or Hindu's, you'll know you're on the right track.
Greg West - I challenge you to any topic to debate of your chosing - from the existence of god (and justifcation of belief thereof) to science to existentialism to whatever. Perhaps a youtube exchange?
You name it.
Sincerely,
Jeffrey Lee Robinson
Posted by: Jeffrey Lee Robinson | 03/11/2013 at 11:58 PM
In number 2 and in number 9, you state that non-believers have little knowledge of the bible. I would like to point out how wrong you are. In a recent study, more atheists passed a simple bible test with better accuracy than most Christians.http://open.salon.com/blog/oesheepdog/2010/09/28/athiests_know_more_about_god_then_evangelical_christians_do
Many atheists have read the bible , several times, and in more than 1 language. Most have even come from religious backgrounds. I know this to be true of myself, as well as many of my fellow atheists. (no I'm not talking about the ones who went to church on easter and christmas, I'm talking, the ones who's father is an elder, uncle is a minister, mom ran the choir, christians, Like myself...) You might want to re think your "commandments" because most arguments I've had with apologists, only confirm how backwards, outdated and irrelevant the bible actually is.
Posted by: Liz | 02/14/2012 at 12:35 PM
" A person does not become a Christian when they move from wrong thinking to right thinking; a person becomes a Christian when they turn away from sin and call on Christ."
I would think that the two go hand-in-hand. If someone had the 'right thinking' in place for what sin truly is, surely they would repent from it.
Posted by: Joshua Postema (@JoshPostema) | 01/31/2012 at 10:06 AM
With all respect, I think you're right and Dan is wrong. The greatest sin is refusing to give God first place in our lives--and that's the sin that needs to be renounced to accept Jesus as Lord. If we waited for sinners (us) to turn from every sin to accept Jesus, we'd be waiting an eternity. Just As I Am isn't just an old hymn--it's basic Christian theology.
Frankly, I checked out this list with trepidation because I've seen apologetics used to browbeat nonbelievers and believers alike, never as a soul-winning strategy chosen out of love. Your guidelines are so wise that I'm rethinking this.
Posted by: Sarah Caldwell | 12/20/2011 at 12:17 PM
Dan Story wrote: "The purpose is to bring people as quickly and as efficiently as possible to the point where they renounce their non-Christian worldviews and accept Jesus as Lord."
Actually, I would say that the purpose is to bring people as quickly and as efficiently as possible to the point where they renounce their SINS and accept Jesus as Lord.
I make the distinction, not because I want to encourage people to hammer on peoples' sins -- that's almost always a mistake -- but because it really is sins, and not wrong ideas, that separates people from God. A person does not become a Christian when they move from wrong thinking to right thinking; a person becomes a Christian when they turn away from sin and call on Christ. Righteousness is not intellectual correctness, but devotion and right relation to the real and living God.
Just sayin'. Carry on...
Posted by: philwynk | 09/24/2011 at 10:57 AM