Lets start with a few definitions of what “apologetics” is:
- Per Wikipedia – the discipline of defending religious doctrines through systematic argumentation and discourse
- Per Dictionary.com – the branch of theology concerned with the defense or proof of Christianity
- Per Merriam-Webster – systematic argumentative discourse in defense (as of a doctrine) or a branch of theology devoted to the defense of the divine origin and authority of Christianity
There are more, but this covers it well enough. As you can see from the definitions, when apologetics is normally talked about, it is being discussed from the viewpoint of Christianity. There are other religions that have apologetic defenses, but it is most widely known in the Christian context. My own definition when asked about it is “Defending the Faith” which has a presupposed context in Christianity.
If we are going to talk about apologetics in the Christian context (and we should), I would suggest we see what the Bible has to say about it because it would be the foundation behind the “why” and “how” we should apply apologetics in our lives. There are a lot of verses that cover the subject but here are a few of my favorite.
- 1 Peter 3:15 – But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.
- 2 Timothy 2:24-25 – And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, 25 correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth.
- Colossians 2:8 – See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.
- Colossians 4:5-6 – Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. 6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.
These verses tells us a few important things about apologetics. First, we should understand for ourselves what we believe so we can’t be taken “captive” as Colossians 2 tells us. I think this part gets overlooked sometimes. It is easy to get caught up in defending and convincing others of the Christian viewpoint, but sometimes we overlook what we really need to be grounded in why we believe what we believe. I don’t mean to say that a person should get caught up in “analysis paralysis” or not say anything until you “know it all”. It is always a good practice to start with ourselves and understand it well. Second, we should always be willing and prepared to teach and/or give a defense. Thirdly, how we do apologetics matters. There is nothing in these verses about yelling, verbally assaulting, demeaning, or shaming the person on the other side of the conversation. The verses say quite the opposite. They tell us to be gentle, respectful, and gracious, not quarrelsome, . After hearing a speaker talk on this topic, it made a lot of sense. My goal was not to win the “argument” but to open a person’s heart and mind to the possibility of God or a new idea about God. Most people don’t want to listen or change their minds for a person who only sees them as an opponent. How we do apologetics matters as people will want to listen more when we apply the “how” laid out in the above Bible verses.
We have covered what apologetics is and what the Bible has to say about it, but it is time to shift gears and talk about what is happening in our world today with the Christian faith and why apologetics matters as much as it ever has. Here are a handful of data points pulled from several different surveys and books:
- 65% of American adults describe themselves as Christians when asked about their religion, down 12 percentage points over the past decade ^Survey by Pew Research Center in 2019^
- Since the turn of the century, the percentage of U.S. adults with no religious affiliation has more than doubled, from 8% to 19% ^Survey by Gallup in 2019^
- Roughly one in five (22 percent) young adults report that they were not raised in any particular religion, compared to only 3 percent of seniors ^Survey by American Perspectives Survey in 2019^
- Only 27 percent of young adults say they attended Sunday school at least weekly. Among seniors, more than half (55 percent) say they attended Sunday school or a similar type of religious program during their childhood. ^Survey by American Perspectives in 2019^
- 88% of the children in evangelical homes leave church at the age of 18 ^Report at Annual Meeting by Southern Baptist Council^
- 63% of teenaged Christians don’t believe that Jesus is the Son of the one true God. 51% don’t believe that Jesus rose from the dead. 68% don’t believe that the Holy Spirit is a real entity. Only 33% of churched youth have said that the church will play a part in their lives when they leave home. ^Findings in the book “The Last Christian Generation” by Josh McDowell (2006)^
- Two-thirds (66 percent) of American young adults who attended a Protestant church regularly for at least a year as a teenager say they also dropped out for at least a year between the ages of 18 and 22. ^Study of 23 – 30 year olds by LifeWay Research in 2019^
- While 69 percent say they were attending at age 17, that fell to 58 percent at age 18 and 40 percent at age 19. Once they reach their 20s, around 1 in 3 say they were attending church regularly. ^Study of 23 – 30 year olds by LifeWay Research in 2019^
- About one-third (32 percent) of young adults say they never attended religious services during their formative years ^Survey by American Perspectives Survey in 2019^
WOW! Just WOW. Clearly church attendance and the Christian faith are in decline with the biggest drops among Millennials and younger generations. There is no denying it and saying things like “Don’t worry, they will be back.” is just not practical. The data^Survey by Barna Group in 2019^ just doesn’t support that. All of this data is grim and disheartening. It should be alarming (at least it was to me), but that doesn’t mean there is no hope. As I was reading through all these surveys and studies, some trends started to pop out as to why there is a decline, which means there is opportunity and hope to make a difference. Here are the trends I noticed (and a study or two to back it up):
- Young adults are leaving the church because of unanswered questions, intellectual doubt, and/or skepticism ^Study by Tom Bisset in the book ‘Why Christian Kids Leave the Faith‘^,^Finding in the book ‘Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers‘^,^Study by Pew Research in 2015^
- The Bible was treated like a story or fable instead of history ^Findings in the book ‘Already Gone‘^
- Young Adults are skeptical of and leaving the church because they don’t align on political/social issues ^Study by LifeWay Research in 2019^
- A large percentage of professors today are more aligned with atheism and politically liberal views than the standard population ^Study by Neil Gross^
- Academics in general are rejecting Christian ideals and studies ^Findings in the book ‘Already Gone‘^,^Most of the above surveys (and many many more) can be found on J Warner Wallace’s website – Cold Case Christianity. He does a great job presenting the data for people to see and use. Highly recommend checking it out. ^
Given the last two points, I don’t find it surprising that youth and the millennial generation are walking away from the church. What they are being taught in school is, at best, lacking a Biblical worldview and, at the worst, pushing a polar opposite of the Biblical worldview. To make matters worse, when youth are trying to get answers from the church they are either not getting them or the answers are not coherent. I don’t blame them for turning away when all they are being told are a bunch of “fables” and to “just trust in Jesus”. The “science” at least gives them some sense of intellectual reasoning even if a lot of the science being taught is misleading or inaccurate at best. The Church and Christians in general have not done a good job of teaching or promoting the intellectual and scientific areas of the Biblical worldview.
At this point you should be saying, “You told me there was hope, but none of that sounds like hope.” You would be correct. None of that is good news, but it does lead us to the problem and there is a solution to that problem, which is great news!! It means we have something we can do to help correct the decline; it is in our control(with God’s help of course)! This is where apologetics comes in and why it really does matter a lot.
The battle of today’s age is being raged in ideas such as the moral argument, meaning of life, origin theory, and Biblical accuracy. This is a good thing, as the Bible and the Christian worldview always come out as the most coherent way to explain all those things. Those things are just the beginning of what apologetics teaches. It is no longer enough to teach/preach “just trust in Jesus”. We are in a battle to win back the minds of people the same way they got hijacked, through intellectual reasoning. When we as Christians and our Churches start doing that well, we will see the decline stop and start trending in the correct direction.
Something to think about – What do you think happens when the skeptic or non-believer can be satisfied with the intellectual reasoning behind the Bible and the Christian Worldview? – It opens the door for their heart to be ready to trust in Jesus. Mind sometimes comes before heart.
Leave No Doubt – Think. Love. Share
