‘Apologetics is useless’ and other lies

Christian apologetics seems to be more of a hot potato than ever. And I’m talking just within the church.

On one side, we have Christians who sneer at apologetics, saying that no one ever believes because of it, that it’s only good to shore up the faith of the already faithful, and its methods short-circuit faith, which is the key to everything.

If you’re one of these people, you need to stop saying that. Because you’re wrong.

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We use the word “countless” flippantly most of the time, but the word applies here in its exact form: there are “countless” people who are Christians today because they listened to apologetic arguments for the Christian faith. Visit the websites of contemporary apologists like William Lane Craig, Lee Strobel, and others, and you will find endless testimonies to that fact.

Heck, even I get letters from CP readers who have told me some of my apologetic-centric articles here have either brought them to the faith or kept them in it. Oh, and I’m also one of these people, having come to believe through books that focused on fulfilled biblical prophecy.  

And if you don’t know, apologetics is commanded in Scripture. We’re told to “sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense (apologia) to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence” (1 Pet. 3:15). Paul himself said he was “appointed for the defense of the Gospel.”

And that’s exactly what he did. With the Jews, he argued from Scripture; with non-Jews, he argued from nature, which is why Sir Francis Bacon wrote that God has written two books, not just one: Scripture and creation.

In the book of Acts, the author records six times (17:2, 17:17, 18:4, 18:19, 19:8, 19:9) that Paul “reasoned” or was “reasoning” with his audiences. Further, in Acts 9:29, Paul is “arguing” with his opponents; in 14:1, he “spoke in such a manner” that a large number of unbelievers were converted; in 17:3 the Apostle is “explaining and giving evidence”; in 18:5 he is “solemnly testifying” (also used in 20:21 and 28:23); in 19:8, Paul is “persuading”; in 19:26 his opponents admit that Paul has “persuaded” people; in 20:2, he gave “much exhortation”; and in 28:23, the Apostle is “explaining” and attempting to “persuade”.

But while apologetics has its place, there are Christians who elevate apologetics to an unwarranted, excessively lofty place and maintain that a purely intellectual approach to Christianity is the way to go. They believe in evidentialism and hold that anyone can and should believe in and only of themselves.

If you’re one of these people, you need to stop saying that. Because you’re wrong.

From a purely human perspective, you know as well as I do that we have an uncanny ability to believe things contrary to evidence. “Belief” and acceptance of a position go way beyond pure cognitive abilities and is many times very much a matter of the will.

Scripture says this is acutely true when it comes to accepting Christ and the doctrines of the Christian faith. When Peter confessed faith in Jesus, Christ told him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 16:17). Paul tells us that “no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit” (1 Cor. 12:3). And even though Paul utilized reason and argumentation in his conversion activities, he emphasized the required work of the Spirit, saying his “Gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction” (1 Thess. 1:5).  

And why is the Spirit so crucial for belief? Because “the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so” (Rom. 8:7).

So, there’s a supernatural component to belief that’s needed because of a built-in resistance we all have to it. Remember that Christianity doesn’t just make evidential claims – it says those facts have personal meaning for everyone and involve consequences if rejected, which rubs most everyone the wrong way. John Lennox, in his book Can Science Explain Everything?, says: “Christianity not only asserts the facts that Jesus died and rose again. It says that these events have implications for all of us, and it challenges us to do something about them.”

So, given all this, is there a middle ground we can find where apologetics is concerned?

The causes of salvation

When it comes to the cause of a Christian’s salvation and faith, let me ask you to consider two things.

The first is the distinction between the efficient and the instrumental cause of something. For example, when you look at a beautifully crafted table, the efficient cause of it is the craftsperson who brought the table about, but they did so using a variety of instruments.

Scripture is clear that God is the efficient cause of our faith and salvation (“By His doing you are in Christ Jesus” — 1 Cor. 1:30), but He does His work through a variety of mechanisms. The Bible tells us, “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ” (Rom. 10:17), which is translated in many versions as “hearing through the message about Christ.”

Scripture showcases that this “message about Christ” doesn’t have to be restricted to the Bible alone, but can include other means such as personal testimony and, yes, apologetic evidence. Re-read Acts and you’ll see Paul use Scripture, creation, current historical references to Jesus, and his own testimony to win people over.

Second, remember there’s a difference between faith that and faith in. The writer of Hebrews references both when he says, “Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is [faith that] and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him [faith in]” (Heb. 11:6).

William Lane Craig describes the distinction between the two like this: “I think there are two components of saving faith: what I call propositional faith and personal faith. Propositional faith involves belief in certain truth claims … But then, in addition to that, it’s not just a matter of believing certain truths. James says, “Do you believe that God is one? Well and good. The demons also believe, and shudder!” So, what the demons lack is not propositional faith; what they lack is that personal trust in God, personal trust in Christ. So it’s important to have both of these — both the personal commitment of love and trust to Christ, but then also certain propositional beliefs.”

Both sides of the faith coin rely on sets of reason (““Come now, and let us reason together,” says the LORD” — Is. 1:18) and rest on a trustworthy bedrock that apologetics can help build. But accepting those truths can’t be had without God first intervening in a person’s life.

Theologian William Niesel said that without such intervention, the Bible “becomes a dead body of letters without soul,” which is exactly what it is to unbelievers. John MacArthur rightly says that evidence alone “cannot take the scales off the blind eyes; they cannot give life to the dead soul.”

This is why you have the mixture of both God-given faith and reasons to believe that bring about salvation. Why, on the one hand, one of Christianity’s best defenders — Francis Schaeffer — said, “Every honest question must be given an honest answer. It is unbiblical for anyone to say, ‘just believe’”, and why Jesus told those who rejected Him: “He who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God” (John 8:47).

Both God’s Spirit and space-time history evidence keep us grounded in the Christian faith through all that life throws and they preserve us for eternity. It’s like C. S. Lewis wrote in Mere Christianity: “Faith … is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted, in spite of your changing moods.”