ADDIS ABABA BIBLE

COLLEGE

APOLOGETICS
GELETA TESFAYE
 WHY DO WE NEED APOLOGETICS ?

• The modern age challenges (secularism)

• Different religious and philosophical views
• The need of bringing people to faith
• Spiritual crisis
• Agnosticism and Skepticism
 UNIT ONE: God and Faith: Knowing That
God Lives
What is Apologetics?
Definition: In the context of Christian setting, it is the branch of Theology that
deals with the defense and establishment of the Christian faith.
- Rational defense (Vindication) of a religious faith
 The word derives its meaning from the Greek apologia, meaning a
‘reasoned defense’.

 To apologize means to defend oneself in the court of law

“But in your hearts, set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an
answer [apologia] to everyone who asks you for the reason for the hope that
you have, but do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience”
1 Peter 3:15-16
 …CONT’D

• Apologetics (from Greek ἀπολογία, "speaking

in defense") is the religious discipline of
defending religious doctrines through
systematic argumentation and discourse. Early
Christian writers (c. 120–220) who defended
their beliefs against critics and recommended
their faith to outsiders were called Christian
apologists
…Cont’d

• Apologetics- defense of the Christian faith

from attacks by those outside the Christian
community
• Polemics- defense of the Christian faith from in
side attacks.
 Most of the NT epistles have polemical
character
THE FIELD OF APOLOGETICS IS OFTEN
DIVIDED INTO TWO CLASSIFICATIONS:

• Philosophical apologetics- deals with

reasonableness of Christian view point
• It addresses such issues as the theistic proofs for
the existence of God.
…Cont’d

• Factual apologetics. This field of study is

sometimes called Christian evidences. It
attempts to vindicate or confirm Christianity
through appeals to arguments for the
trustworthiness of the Bible. Two examples are
the study of archaeology and of historical data
that support the fulfillment of biblical prophecies.
…Cont’d
Philosophy

 Philosophy- to love and wisdom

- Explanation of the reasons of things; or the
investigation of the causes of all phenomenon both of
mind and matter.
- To ascertain facts and truths
- Theology: is considered as a branch of philosophy
which studies about God.
- Different arguments that are used to explain the
existence of God are parts of philosophy (cosmological,
Ontological, Teleological …etc.)
 …Cont’d

• The word Philosophy has a bad connotation in the

evangelical circle.
Faith and Doubt

• Faith is a relationship. It is a strong confidence in a

God on whom you can depend (Psalm 89, Romans
8:31-39).
• Subjective or personal faith, meaning a quality of
relationship between the believer and his or her Lord.
• Objective faith, on the other hand, refers to the
body of truth revealed by God in the Scriptures that
is to be believed.
…cont’d

• Doubt is the opposite of faith. The word doubt

describes the weakening or absence of the
strong bond of confidence that ties the
Christian believer to the Lord.
 Biblical Basis of Apologetics

• Job- The writer of this book certainly tried to portray to the pagan nations
of his day that the God of Israel was not like their gods: The God of Israel
is faithful!

• Psalm 119- the writer expresses in nearly every verse his strong
confidence and appreciation for the Word of God. It is a powerful
apologetic, a vindication of the value of God’s revelation in the Holy
Scriptures.

• Psalm 19. This is one of the greatest apologetic passages in the entire
Bible.

• He sees not just stars and clouds but much more; he sees the handiwork
of his Creator! “The heavens declare the glory of God” is a truth that
reaches from the nineteenth Psalm into Paul’s Epistle to the Romans 1:20.
…Cont’d

• Romans 1 is external information pointing to God’s existence,

conscience in Romans 2 is internal information pointing to a
Lawgiver.
• The apostle Paul repeatedly defends his gospel before the rulers
of his day: Felix, Festus, and Herod Agrippa (Acts 22–25).
• Perhaps the most dramatic moment of Paul’s apologetic activity
is described in Acts 17:16–31. (In Athens)
• The word apologetics is derived from a New Testament term. For
example,Paul used the word apologia in Philippians 1:7: “For
whether I am in chains or defending [apologia] and
confirming the gospel . . .”
 …Cont’d
• “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the
world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish
strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension
that sets itself up against the knowledge of God”
(2 Corinthians 10:4–5).
• 1 Peter 3:15: “Always be prepared to give an answer to
everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that
you have.” The word apologia is formed from two Greek
words: apo meaning “from” and logia meaning “reason.”
For Peter an important step in the evangelistic
responsibility of the believer was to persuade the
nonbeliever by means of reasonable argumentation.
 Functions of Apologetics

Ramm discusses three functions

Apologetics:
1. Interact with truth claims
2. Verify truth claims by daily experience
3. Defend the claims of Christianity against
spurious (false although seeming to be
genuine) attacks.
 …Cont’d

• Since an important function of apologetics is the

“deliberate defense and vindication of Christian
theology as truth” , there is a relationship
between philosophy and apologetics.
Philosophers discuss, investigate, analyze, and
evaluate truth claims; a Christian apologist must
interact with truth claims or test the
truthfulness of the claims of Christianity.
 Five Theories of truth by Ramm

1. Logic (Reason) - It is the science of reasoning or the

science of proof that involves using reason in an
orderly, convincing fashion.
2. Correspondence (agreement with facts): A
proposition is accepted as true if it agrees with facts
that cannot be disputed.
3. Meaningfulness: This is the pragmatic or practical
criterion of truth that says if an idea works, it must be
accepted as true.
Five Theories of truth by Ramm

4. Consistency: This refers to connections between

propositions so that one proposition follows necessarily
from another.
5 . Subjectivity: This criterion involves one’s personal
experience. It suggests that truth can be tested on the
basis of one’s feelings, intuition, instincts, or revelation.
Verify Truth Claims by Daily Experience.

• If Christianity is true, it ought to work out in daily

experiences! Every time Christians tell what God has
done for them and how God has changed their lives,
they are verifying the truth of Christianity.
Defend the Claims of Christianity against Spurious (False)
Attacks.

• Christianity suffered attacks from Jewish leaders,

Greaco-Roman Philosophers and Muslims. In addition,
during our period Christianity is being challenged from
secularism and post-modern philosophies.
VALUES OF APOLOGETICS

1. Wholeness
 Faith + Reason = Wholeness
2. Recognition of valid Truth Claims
 Experience based arguments are susceptible to
criticism
3. Strength when under assault
 A thorough understanding of Christian truth claims
enables one to give a strong defense against the
attacks of the enemy.
PHILOSOPY AND CHRISTIAN FAITH

• Colossians 2:8-any system that competes with divine

revelation.
• World and life view- Philosophy
• Just as philosophy attempts to search for answers to
great questions, Christian revelation deals with many of
the same issues.
• Enable the Christian apologist to discover weaknesses
in the various human philosophical systems that
compete with Christianity (Humanism or Naturalism).
…Cont’d
• In summary we note that Christian apologists have
revealed several attitudes concerning philosophy:

1. Some apologists view philosophy as the work of unregenerate

people or the product of demons or Satan himself. “Thus,” they
say, “avoid it!”

2. Other apologists believe philosophy anticipates or parallels

Christian theology and therefore validates or confirms it.

3. Others look at philosophy as a tool or instrument for the

writing of Christian theology and apologetics. (B/se it
investigates, analyzes and evaluates truth claims)
APOLOGETICS
LESSON 2
Epistemology: How to Know Truth

• What is Truth?
• How do we know truth?
• How do we verify truth?
• What is the work of the Apologist?
Philosophical Questions
• Philosophy –is a world and life view
- Love of wisdom
“What is real?”
“What is good?”
“What is most important?”
“What is truth?” (John 18:38).
…Cont’d
• Metaphysics a division of philosophy that is
concerned with the fundamental nature of
reality and being and includes ontology,
cosmology, and often epistemology; a study of
what is outside objective observance
…Cont’d
• Epistemology- the study of how we
know what we know
• the study or a theory of the nature and
grounds of knowledge especially with
reference to its limits and validity; the
study of how one can know truth and
distinguish truth from error
 …Cont’d
• Axiology- the study of ethics and
aesthetics
• “Examination of values”
• the study of the nature, types, and criteria
of values and of value judgments,
especially in ethics
 Faith and Reason
• In a sense the marriage of faith and reason is
the most important question in apologetics
because it is the overall question.
• If faith and reason are incompatible, then
apologetics is impossible. For apologetics is the
attempt to defend faith with reason’s weapons.
…Cont’d
• The ultimate object of faith is not words but
God’s Word (singular)—indeed, God himself.
Without a living relationship to the living God,
propositions are pointless, for their point is to
point beyond themselves to God.
• The act of faith is more than merely an act of
belief
 …Cont’d
• Reason is relative to truth; it is a way of knowing
truth: understanding it, discovering it or proving it.
Faith is also relative to truth; it too is a way of
discovering truth. No human being ever existed
without some faith.
• We all know most of what we know by faith; that is,
by belief in what others—parents, teachers, friends,
writers, society—tell us. Outside religion as well as
inside it, faith and reason are roads to truth.
There are three different kinds of truths:

1. Truths of faith and not of reason (Trinity)

2. Truths of both faith and reason
3. Truths of reason and not of faith
Faith and Reason: Four Views
…Cont’d
Christian rationalism.
• This is the view that reason alone can demonstrate
the validity of the Christian position. One of the
best-known proponents of this view was Raymond
Lully, also known as Ramón Lull (circa 1232–
1315).
…Cont’d
• Christian agnosticism.
Faith and reason are in separate compartments:
Reason is for the natural world, and faith is for
the spiritual world. A famous French philosopher,
Blaise Pascal (1623–1662), represents this
opinion. Also, many modern existentialist
thinkers such as Karl Barth (1886–1968) and
Rudolf Bultmann (1884–1976) fall into a similar
pattern.
 …Cont’d
• Logical Christianity.
The outstanding example of this perspective
is the great medieval Roman Catholic
philosopher-theologian Thomas Aquinas
(1225–1274). The view is somewhere
between views 1 and 2. Reason is not seen
as deceptive, but it is limited.
…Cont’d
Autonomous Christianity.
This view holds that faith is self establishing
and, once established, may be shown to be
consistent with reason. This appears to be the
most acceptable evangelical position.
(Augustine, A.W. Tozer)
Truth: How It Is Tested (E.J. Carnell, An Introduction to
Christian Apologetics

1. Instinct (natural reaction or response that does not

involve reason)
2. Custom ( any habit or practice that has become
traditional in a group of people)
3. Consensus gentium (universal agreement about sth.)
4. Feeling (inward impression or intuition)
5. Sense perception (also called empiricism).
6. Pragmatism. (If an idea works it is true)
7. Consistency (Every true idea must be self-consistent)
8. Coherence (systematic Consistency)
The Christian Postulate
What is Postulate?
• a hypothesis advanced as an essential
presupposition, condition, or premise of a train
of reasoning; something assumed as an axiom;
something assumed or claimed to be true,
existent, or necessary.
According to Ramm, there are two criteria
for making a responsible choice

1. The choice must be made on the basis of a

survey of the major options.
o Christian apologists must be familiar with the history
of philosophy and with the beliefs of other religions in
order to make a responsible choice concerning the
truth of Christianity
2. The choice involves entailment.
o Entailment means what is imposed or implied as a
necessary accompaniment or result.
…Cont’d
…Cont’d
Augustine- declared there is no learning without
love; therefore, the basis of any theory of learning is
love.
faith brings redemption and love, and with love there
is understanding. In other words, “Faith leads; the
intellect follows.”
When a person have faith to believe, the Spirit
illuminates his/her understanding. Without faith,
ones reasoning is depraved. We need the revelation
of God to exercise faith and accept redemption.
Holy Spirit’s Role
• Revelation
• Inspiration
• Witness
• Persuade
• Conviction
• Illumination
• Assurance
Is There a Procedure
for Dealing with Doubt?

LESSON 3
Ways in Which God acts in the World and
History

 Ramm states, “Christianity is more than gospel, it is

more than faith as subjectivity, and it is more than the
witness of the Spirit”

 Ramm emphasizes that Christian apologetics must

“advance beyond the witness of the Spirit” and consider
objective elements in Holy Scripture and other criteria
of truth “if it seeks to be a comprehensive Christian
apologetics”
He discusses three criteria in the Bible
that witness to its divine origin and
therefore to its truthfulness

• 1. The living God acts in our world and in

our history.
• - God is living and active in humankind’s story.
 Albert Camus (1913-1960)
- A French Existentialist

“Why I should not commit suicide”

- Miracles –Ramm (p. 49, 54)
 ….Cont’d

• 2. The divine action of God as the living God is based on

Scripture.
• - God action in creation and history is expressly taught in
scripture
• - The truthfulness of the word of God is confirmed by:-
 Prophecy (Deut 18:15-22; Isaiah 41:21-24;42:8-9; 44:6-
7;48:12-16)
 Miracles (Hebrews 2:1-4)
 Resurrection of Christ( The supreme supernatural act) Acts
17:24-31
…Cont’d

• 3. The revelations and actions of the living God

are the foundations of Christian experience.
“salvation history” – Heilsgeschichte, means
(heil: “salvation”; geschichte: “history”)
“revelation history- Offenbarungsgeschichte,

It is a way of saying God not only has acted but

also has revealed himself. Or, as Ramm says, “He
not only does something, he says something.”
Views of the Function of Christian
Evidences

• - It is part of Factual Apologetics

 Biblical record
 Archeology
 Historical Data
Ramm’s Four Views Concerning the function
of Apologetics

• 1. The Evidentialists
• - It is consistent with Christian rationalism
 Evidentialists believe that stacking up item after item of
scientific, archaeological, and historical data is in itself
sufficient to convince skeptics of the divine origin of
Christianity.
 However, there are limitations to this view.

First, human sin may prevent a person’s reason from

seeing the supernatural for what it is.
Second, sin may cause a person to rebel against this
evidence.
…Cont’d

2. View of Probabilists

Pobabilists hold that Christian evidences can

create a favorable climate for faith. This is
sometimes called historical faith.
Ramm, although not very positive about this
viewpoint, admits that for some the presentation
of argumentation on behalf of Christianity does
dislodge intellectual roadblocks that hinder belief.
…Cont’d

3. View of Negativists

 deal only in speculative philosophy.

 Their hope is to convince people of the truth of
Christianity on purely theoretical grounds.
 Much of theology of the neoorthodox style,
particularly that of followers of Barth and Bultmann,
falls into this category.
 …Cont’d
• 4. View of John Calvin

• Calvin maintained the following:

•
1. Only the Holy Spirit can break through humanity’s
sinfulness with the gospel and assurance of its truth.
•
2. Christian evidences will not impress humans in their
sin because they cannot reason correctly in their
depravity.
•
3. Once the Holy Spirit has broken through a person’s
sinfulness, he or she can see that the Holy Scripture in
which the gospel is imbedded is true, that is, that the
Balanced View

The Holy Spirit can do His work in the

heart of an unregenerate person
as we present to him or her the
Christian evidences.
The Need for Synoptic Vision

• Wholeness
…Cont’d

 Circle One: The Christian is convinced of the truth of

his or her faith by the witness of the Spirit.
 Circle Two: The Christian is convinced of the truth of
his or her faith by the actions of the living God who
makes a difference in the cosmos.
 Circle Three: The person is a Christian because he or
she believes that the Christian faith gives him or her
the most adequate synoptic vision there is with
reference to humankind, the world, and God.
Four kinds of elements discussed by Ramm that
comprise the Christian’s synoptic vision (62)
…Cont’d

synoptic vision can differ from one Christian to

another because of all the possible elements
involved.

the one thing Christians have in common is that

their faith gives them the most satisfactory
understanding of themselves, of God, of their
relationship to God, of human history, and of the
place of the whole cosmos in their human
experience.
 Coherence

• Ramm gives several reasons to explain why complete control

of theology by the test of coherence has limitations. We will
summarize them here:
• 1. Because revelation comes from God, we cannot grasp it all
by ordinary logic or determine how God’s various revelations
cohere.
• 2. Because there is so much divergence between God’s
thoughts and ways and our thoughts and ways, it is foolish to
apply the human test of coherence to divine revelation and
action.
• 3. Because God is the mysterious God, He is beyond our logic.
Mysteries are to be received, believed, and adored, but they
cannot be explained. By mysteries we mean any religious truth
 …Cont’d

• 4. Because the language of revelation is different from

ordinary language, the usual tests of rational discourse
cannot be applied.
• 5. Because God is transcendental, incomprehensible, and
infinite, literal statements about Him are not possible. The
test of coherence cannot be applied to paradoxical or
dialectical statements (statements accepted as true that
appear to be contradictory or opposed to common sense),
which are our only way of speaking about God.
Living Without All the Proof

• A Christian may have full spiritual certitude

about the Christian faith because of
• (1) the divine revelation in Scripture and
(Facts)
• (2) the internal witness of the Holy
Spirit(Faith) But the Christian cannot know
all the historical facts related to the divine
record with full certainty; he or she can
know only the probability of these facts.
The Diagnosis and Treatment of Doubt

• “For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but

when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.
Now we see but a poor reflection; then we shall
see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall
know fully, even as I am fully known” (1
Corinthians 13:9–10, 12)

 the Holy Spirit can give personal certitude about the

Christian faith even if absolute scientific verification for
all details of Bible history and doctrine are not available.
Kinds of Doubters

• 1. The Atheist. The atheist is a believer—that is, he or she believes there is

no God. (Infidelity)
• 2. The Agnostic or Skeptic. The agnostic or skeptic is one who believes
nothing can be known for sure. He or she is a professional doubter. This view is
often identified with scientism, the belief that all of reality can be subjected to
the scientific method. It holds that nothing exists apart from scientific
investigation.
• 3. The Cynic. The cynic believes human conduct is motivated wholly by self-
interest. The word implies one who has a sneering disbelief in sincerity or
integrity.

- Diogenes, went about with a lantern during the daylight hours, symbolizing
his search for an honest man.
 …Cont’d

• 4. The Humanist. The philosophical humanist believes that the

highest authority is the human intelligence. The humanist is extremely
optimistic about humans’ ability to solve their problems if given
enough time.
 The solution to humankind’s ills, for the humanist, is education.
5. The Naturalist. Many of today’s agnostics are also naturalists. The
naturalist conceives the sum total of reality to be material and therefore
subject to the scientific method.
6. The Existentialist. Existentialism is derived largely from the
teachings of the nineteenth-century Danish philosopher Sören
Kierkegaard.
 …Cont’d

Some Christian existentialists such as Dietrich Bonhoeffer

have done a service for the Christian church by emphasizing
the need for a vital, present, personal experience with God.
(The Cost of Discipleship)

 Albert Camus and Jean-Paul Sartre were famous

atheistic existentialists of the twentieth century who
conceived that the only truly worthwhile thing a person
could do was to act with courage.

In his writings the Christian philosopher Francis Schaeffer has

painstakingly focused on the irrationality of atheistic
existentialism and the profound influence such ideas had in the
twentieth century. As he illustrates, the existentialist, whether
labeled Christian or atheist, doubts that faith can be supported
…Cont’d

• 7. The Mystic. Our age has witnessed a dramatic

increase of interest in the occult, the mysterious, and
even the demonic. For our limited purpose here, we are
defining mysticism as the belief that people have direct
access to truth by immediate experience with the
supernatural.
Causes of Doubt

• 1. Spiritual blindness. The basic cause of doubt is explained by the apostle

Paul in 1 Corinthians 2:14: “The man without the Spirit does not accept the
things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and
he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.”

• 2. Moral rebellion. Some people are nonbelievers because their lives are
evil. Romans 1 is a grim reminder that persistent resistance to the
conviction of the Holy Spirit is a major cause of spiritual blindness.
• “If any one chooses to do God’s will, he will fnd out whether my teaching
comes from God or whether I speak on my own” (John 7:17).
…Cont’d
• 3. Lack of information. A legitimate task of the
Christian apologist is to furnish information to the
nonbeliever. Romans 10:14 reminds us that belief is
founded on information; that is, fact and faith are
linked together.
• 4. Inconsistency among Christians. Inconsistency
among Christians may not seem like an adequate
excuse, but it is a common complaint of nonbelievers.
• Luther expressed years ago that, in a carefully limited
sense, all believers should be “little
Christs,” since their lives would be the only testimony
most of the world
would ever have.

Francis Schaeffer (1970) describes Christlikeness or

unity among Christians as “the final apologetic.”
Hopeful Doubt

 It is important to understand that there is an honest kind of doubt

among nonbelievers.

 Ramm indicates that doubt, temptation, and assailment are signs of

faith. He quotes Martin Luther as saying there is a special importance to
the concept of Anfechtung, “to assail, to attack”

 Paul Little (2000) emphasizes in chapter 1 of his book that honest

doubts are “healthy and necessary to make our faith virile and genuine”
(25) and that doubt and questioning are normal for any thinking person.