Whither Apologetics?

By Douglas Groothuis, PhD

The explosion of YouTube and podcast apologetics has me worried. We once had a dearth of apologetics. People didn't read the right books, hold the right seminars, go the right seminars, preach the right apologetics sermons, use apologetics with unbelievers! That is still a problem; but now, as an old, unreconstructed philosopher and book-reading and book-writing apologist, I worry about apologetics on the cheap. Ideas are offered in flashy ways (get those likes, followers, and subscribers) without rootage in study, facts, logic, evidence, debate, and dialogue--without agonizing in prayer for lost souls and nations. Any public apologist should be skilled in answering at least these questions.

1. Do you have a developed biblical worldview?

2. Can you articulate the gospel against false gospels? See Galatians 1:6-11; 1 John 4:1-6.

3. Do you know your Bible? Can you find key sections of Scripture to make points and refute errors? How much of the Bible have you memorized? See Psalm 119.

4. Do you know the basic outline of the history of philosophy? A classic by a Christian is Gordon H. Clark, From Thales to Dewey.

5. Do you know the basic teachings of the world religions? See Winfried Corduan, Neighboring Faiths and Douglas Groothuis, World Religions in Seven Sentences.

6. Do you know what kind of arguments to use for particular issues, both for Christianity and against non-Christian views? See Douglas Groothuis, Christian Apologetics, 2^nd ed.

7. Do you know the basic forms of arguments—induction, deduction, abduction, and syllogisms? See Juan Valdez, How to Think: A Crash Course on Critical Thinking.

8. Do you know the basic logical fallacies, how to spot them, and how to avoid them?

9. Can you employ the basic principles of rhetoric in your commendation of Christianity?

10. Have you studied apologetic method, so that you can use one effectively? 1 Peter 3:15, Jude 3; Acts 17:16-34. See Douglas Groothuis and Andrew Shepardson, The Knowledge of God in the World and in the Word.

11. Do you know the basic errors of cults and New Age religions and how to address them? Colossians 2:8; 2 Corinthians 11:13-15. See Walter Martin, Kingdom of the Cults and Douglas Groothuis, Unmasking the New Age.

12. Do you have the relational chops to actually converse wisely with non-Christians? See Os Guinness, Fool’s Talk, Greg Koukl, Tactics, Lindsey Medenwaldt, Bridge-Building Apologetics.

You need not know the answers to all twelve question to have reason for the hope within you, but if you present yourself as a public apologist, you are held to higher standard, that of a teacher (see James 3:1-3; Titus 2:7-8; Malachi 2:7-8).

You cannot gain sturdy and savvy apologetics chops on the fly and on the cheap. You learn them in the academy, in the trenches of argument, and over long hours of reading, re-reading, writing, re-writing, praying, failing, succeeding, and never knowing it all. Then you give it your best shot.

You cannot do godly apologetics with a smirk on your face or with exhibitionism in your soul. Rather, you need Holy Spirit fire in your bones (Jer. 20:9: Acts 20:24), love in your heart (Matthew 22:37-39; 1 Corinthians 13), knowledge in your mind (Romans 12:1-2; Colossians 2:1-3), and a strong backbone (1 John 4:4). You need to engage the spiritual battles that come with apologetic battles (2 Corinthians 10:3-5). See Mark Bubeck, Warfare Praying.