Simply
stated, apologetics is an area in theology that is concerned with providing a
defense of the Christian faith.
One of the key texts related to this is 1 Peter 3:15,
where the Apostle Peter states: "...in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. 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." In that verse, the Greek word for "answer" is
"apologia," which is where we derive our English word
"apologetics."
There
is much to say about this foundational text for apologetics, but for now let me
just point out that according to the text, apologetics, or giving an answer for
the reason for our hope, is not an option...it is an imperative,
and it is an imperative that does not fall to only a select few, such as those
who might have specialized training. Rather, it is an imperative that
applies to every Christian.
Secondly,
we are to give our answers and/or our defense in a way that is honoring to the
Lord, and this involves us setting Christ apart in our hearts as Lord, and also
that as we give our answers, we do so with gentleness and respect. Far too
often we neglect one or both of those things, and our interaction with those
that might us ask questions is, shall we say, less than edifying and/or
productive.
Finally,
the goal in apologetics is not to win an argument. Rather, we want to
glorify God by answering objections to the faith with the ultimate goal of
putting Jesus Christ and the hope of the Gospel before the person that we are
speaking with, and trusting the Holy Spirit to sovereignly create faith where
there was once unbelief.
If
you are non-Christian who is reading this page, I appreciate the fact that you
do have very important and serious questions about any number of things
concerning the Christian faith. My hope is that you find the information here
useful in terms of answering your questions, or, if nothing else, at that it at least
gives you something to think about. Please feel free to ask me questions
directly, and I will do my best to either provide an answer, or point you to a
resource that will better address your questions. For now though, before
you begin your inquiry, may I encourage you to read this brief
article:
If
you are a believer, hopefully something will be found here that is edifying to
you and strengthens your faith in our awesome Lord.
As
always, to God alone be all of the glory,
John
Orlando
Apologetic Methods
Presuppositionalism
Classical
Apologetics
Evidentialism
General
Questions/Answers
Heaven?
By John Orlando - Do all roads lead to heaven?
What
About the Innocent Person That Never Heard About Jesus? By John
Orlando.
The
Skeptic's Questionnaire - By John
Orlando. Questions I
received from a skeptic. Lord willing, my responses are coherent :-)
Questions
For A Skeptic - By John Orlando. Since skeptics
ask many questions, so, I thought I
would ask a skeptic some questions myself. Note: The skeptic I posed
these questions to never did provide a response. That's not to say that he
may not have had one, but I got the sense that he didn't want to spend the time
necessary to respond.
Answering
Objections - By Dr. Greg Bahnsen.
The
Heart Of The Matter
By
Dr. Greg Bahnsen
Disputatio
- This is a brief exchange between the skepptic Farrell Till and
Pastor/Theologian Douglas Wilson. A great example of presuppositional
apologetics in action.
Brief
dialogue with an Agnostic
- by Dr. Jonathan Sarfati. An Agnostiic asks whether biblical Christians
commit circular reasoning: role of axioms, internal consistency and real world
application.
The
Abolition of Man - by Robert Lotzer.
This is an outline of C.S. Lewis' book "The
Abolition of Man."
The
Inklings - Papers
on the works of C.S. Lewis written by my former Pastor and great friend in Abilene, TX, Robert
Lotzer.
Cultural
Apologetics
Movies
and Books:
The
Passion of The Christ - By
John Orlando. Was Mel Gibson's movie Anti-Semitic and too violent? Should Christians see it? Be
advised, this is quite long, but I think informative.
Purpose
Driven Church Critique (pdf) Click
here for html version - By John Orlando. Rick Warren's book has taken the church by
storm, but is it Biblical?
The Da Vinci Code: When Facts
Become Conspiracy (from CMI: http://www.christian-apologetics.org/wcas.html)
This best-selling
fictional book postulates that orthodox Christianity has suppressed the
genuine original teachings of the church that are found in the 'Gnostic
Gospels'. Many readers unquestioningly take this on board - this is even more
so now the movie version is out.
The following are some
links to critiques of the work that clearly demonstrate that the claimed facts
in the book are themselves fictitious. It is actually this author who is
the one with a conspiracy and agenda to undermine historic Christianity - even
if it requires ignoring both Biblical and textual scholarship
Miscellaneous
(Politics, Marriage, and other stuff)
Calvinism
and the Success of Liberal Democracy: Part 1 -
John Snyder
"Have you ever wondered why political liberty seems to be primarily the
creation of Christian civilization? Even more precisely, have you even wondered
why the development of liberal democracy was the "creation" of 16th
and 17th century Christian Protestantism?
Calvinism
and the Success of Liberal Democracy: Part 2 - John Snyder
"The beginning point of any meaningful question about what civil government
ought to be is the first question of anthropology: what is man's nature? And
what 'ought' man to be?"
Don't
Fool With Fools - Robert M. Bowman Jr.
"The ministry of apologetics is difficult for many reasons. One such reason
is that, by its very nature, apologetics requires us to present answers to
people who don’t believe the gospel..."
...Marriage: Challenges and Responses - Greg Koukl
"American is entangled in the most heated battle of the culture wars to
date. Many consider it a Waterloo...What
follows is a point-by-point reply to those who are demanding this revision of
civilization."
The
Greatest Danger Facing the Church - Douglas Groothuis
"For my final 'Culture Watch' column, I was asked to reflect on the
greatest danger facing the church today. I believe that, more than anything
else, the church is imperiled by its own failure to teach, to believe, and to
live out the great truths of the Christian faith in a way that pleases
God."
Thinking
Straight About Tolerance - Douglas Groothuis
"The Kingdom of God commands our full allegiance (Matthew 6:33), but the
world, the flesh, and the devil nip at our souls and entice us to defect (1 John
2:15-17). Today, many insist that good people never assert that 'their religion'
is the only way."
The
Death of John Paul II - by Mike Gendron. This
is a must read.
The
Greatest Danger Facing the Church - Douglas
Groothuis
Evolution vs. Creation
Creation
Ministries International - Young earth
perspective. Apply a presuppositional apologetic. Very
informative
Access
Research Network - Dr. Philip Johnson
& Associates. Intelligent Design and much
information on irreducible complexity
Answers
In Genesis - A young earth
perspective.
Reasons
to Believe - Website of Hugh Ross.
An old earth perspective
False Religions and Teachings
False
Teachings - Questionable teachings and
controversial teachers in Christianity today.
False
Religions - Information on Jehovah
Witnesses, Mormonism, Islam
Word
of Faith Error - Examines the false teaching of Kenneth Copeland,
etc. For more in-depth info click here
Defense
of Essential Doctrines:
The
Sovereignty of God
The
Trinity
Sola
Scriptura
Justification
By Faith Alone
Answers
about God
Twenty
Arguments For The Existence Of God
10
Reasons To Believe in the Existence of God
God And Science
The
Geneology of the Messiah
4
Startling Facts About the Identity of the Messiah
Is the Story of
Jesus Just a Repackaging of Pagan Myths?
What Evidence is
There That Jesus Existed?
Answers About The Bible
10 Reasons to Believe the Bible
Are the
Biblical Documents Reliable?
Eight Basic Rules of Interpreting
Scripture
Dating Of
Bible Manuscripts
Formation
of the New Testament Canon see also: www.bible.org/docs/theology/biblio/canon.htm
Evidence
For Early Existence Of The New Testament
Manuscript
Support For the Reliability Of The Bible.
The Gospels as Historical
Sources
The
Dead Sea Scrolls
Apocryphal Books And Early Church
Fathers
Chicago Statement On
Biblical Inerrancy
Inspiration of
Scripture
10 Questions About The
OT - By John Orlando.
A letter circulated on the net attacking the Bible,
addressed to Pres. Bush. I provide a response
here.
Christian Apologists and Philosophers of The Past
St. Augustine
St. Anselm
St. Thomas Aquinas
Jonathan Edwards
B.B.
Warfield
J.
Gresham Machen
C.S.
Lewis
Francis Schaeffer
Cornelius Van Til
Dr. Greg Bahnsen
Notable Christian Apologists and Philosophers of Today
Dr.
R.C. Sproul
Dr. James White
Dr.
K. Scott Oliphint - one of my professors at Westminster Seminary in
Philadelphia.
Dr,
William Edgar - one of my professors at Westminster Seminary in Philadelphia
Dr.
Vern Poythress - one of my professors at Westminster Seminary in
Philadelphia
Dr.
John Frame
Dr. Ravi Zacharius
Dr.
John Ankerberg
Josh McDowell
Cool
Links:
Alpha
and Omega Ministries
Answering
Islam
Christian
Apologetics and Research Ministry
Center
for Reformed Theology and Apologetics
Monergism.com's
Apologetics Page - tons of links, articles, and audio files
The
Wellington Christian Apologetics Society
Stand
To Reason - Apologetics ministry of Greg Koukl
www.vantil.info
- Tons of articles, etc., regarding Corneliius Van Til and his apologetic.
Radio
Apologia
C.
S. Lewis
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