What Is Apologetics?
By the Rev. Canon Dr. Justin S. Holcomb
The word “apologetics” comes from the Greek word apologia, which means “the act of making a defense.” In Philippians 1:7, 16, apologia refers to a defense of the gospel, and in 1 Peter 3:15 it refers to a defense of the hope Christians have.
Apologetics is the study, discipline, and practice of showing that the gospel message is true. It includes defending the Christian faith against criticisms, distortions, and challenges as well as offering reasons for its credibility and our hope. Theologian Alister McGrath explains: “Christian apologetics represents the serious and sustained engagement with ‘ultimate questions’ raised by a culture, people group, or individual aiming to show how the Christian faith is able to provide meaningful answers to such questions.”
Defending Christian Belief
One form of apologetics is to defend the gospel from challenges. Defensive apologetics is the defense of the Christian faith by showing when objections to Christianity do not stand. Defensive apologetics addresses objections about the concept of God’s triunity, the problem of evil, the Resurrection, the reliability of the Bible, and so forth.
For example, negative apologetics is used to rebut the claim by Anglican minister Stephen Nye that the doctrine of the Trinity “is an error in counting or numbering; which, when stood in, is of all others the most brutal and inexcusable.” Negative apologetics will show what the doctrine of the Trinity proclaims and that God being three persons and one essence is not a contradiction.
Another example is to defend against the charge that the Bible contains errors, contradictions, or inconsistencies. To give answers to the challenges that Jesus rose from the dead is also defensive apologetics.
Giving Reasons to Believe
Another form of apologetics is to offer reasons to believe the gospel., known as positive apologetics. Positive apologetics involves making a positive case for the validity and truth of the claims made in Scripture, such as the resurrection of Christ, the existence of God, and the historical reliability of the Bible. Apologetics intends to show, in a positive manner, that the claims of the Christian faith are indeed intellectually defensible and rationally justifiable.
Critiquing Unbelief
Another form of apologetics is critiquing unbelief, which combines both the positive and negative forms. Some streams of apologetics seek to show that unbelief is irrational and that holding to views such as relativism will lead to undesirable and irrational conclusions.
For example, holding to relativism entails that no universal ethical norm can be present since there is no truth to ground morality. This type of apologetics moves from the critique to a positive construction that shows how the Christian faith provides an alternative and logical belief that best makes sense of reality.
Explaining how karma is a cruel and devastating belief is another form of critiquing unbelief. In the karma system of belief, if someone is suffering or in pain, they deserve it; and to help them is to go against the cosmic law (dharma) at play.
Another example is the critique that atheism logically leads to moral chaos. On what basis can an atheist say anything (even genocide, sexual assault, or child abuse) is bad or wrong? If ethics is based on opinion or consensus, then morality is determined by whoever has the most power. If nature is “red in tooth and claw” and survival of the fittest is true and good, then domination of one animal over another in any form cannot be called bad or wrong in a naturalistic worldview. Notice that this argument is not saying that atheists are immoral, but that their belief system has no support for objective morality.
Apologetics on Mission
Apologetics is something you engage in every time you share your beliefs and convictions with your fellow Christians, with your children, and with non-believers. It is not an irrelevant or formal discipline reserved for intellectuals. Apologetics is an important tool for mission; becoming well-versed in how to constructively engage in apologetics in our conversations with others will bear fruit for God’s kingdom.
The Rev. Canon Dr. Justin Holcomb serves as Canon for Vocations in the Episcopal Diocese of Central Florida and teaches theology and apologetics for Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and Reformed Theological Seminary. He has written or edited numerous books on sexual assault, domestic violence, historical theology, biblical studies, and more. Justin earned his PhD from Emory University and taught for seven years at the University of Virginia in the religious studies and sociology departments. He serves on the boards of GRACE and Leaders Collective. Justin and his wife, Lindsey, live in Orlando, Florida, with their two daughters.
In this summer course, Dr. Holcomb will lead students through examination and engagement of the most frequently raised objections to the Christian faith by unchurched and de-churched people. Through this course students will develop skills necessary to evaluate different belief systems and defend the Christian faith. Each student will have an opportunity to develop and sharpen an apologetic methodology and apply it to the task of defending, proving, and proclaiming the gospel. Attention is given to the differences between Christian thought and select examples of non-Christian thought. It will explore some of the assorted challenges to Christian belief and provide a survey of resources for meeting those concerns. To learn more or to register, please visit https://nashotah.edu/summer-2022/