Christian apologetics

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Christian apologetics is the defense of the Christian faith through rational or logical arguments. The term comes from the Greek word apologia, which means "defense". There are a number of subfields within apologetics. Some apologists specialize in internal biblical consistency (such as JP Holding, owner of tektonics.org), others in scientific defenses of the Bible, and still others in historical or philosophical defenses of Christianity (such as Gary Habermas or Lee Strobel). Christian apologist JP Holding has recommended that prospective apologists choose one area of focus rather than trying to be a "jack of all trades". ^[1] Some feel that faith alone should need no justification, however, many feel that Christians should be prepared to defend and spread their faith by intellectual means.

History of Christian Apologetics

Christian apologetics has existed as long as Christianity itself. Jesus himself spent time in the temples and synagogues, debating and explaining the meaning of the scriptures. The Apostle Peter exhortd early Christians to apologetics, writing,

"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, 16keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander." 1 Peter 3:15-16.

The Apostle Paul also spent time in Athens, debating Stoic and Epicurian philosophers.

Great theologians such as Origin, Athanasius, Irenaeus, Martyr, Augustine, and Acquinas continued the tradition of apologetics on a dramatic scale. At the same time, apologetics was practiced by countless individual Christians, explaining and defending their beliefs.

Types of Christian Apologetics

Evidentialist

Evidential Apologetics is that style of Christian defense that stresses the miracles found in the Bible, particularly Christ's resurrection, as an evidence for the existence of God and the validity of Christ and His words. It also uses historical evidences to support the veracity of the biblical account(s).

Christian Apologetics and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is critical to the Christian faith. The Apostle Paul wrote, "if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain" (I Cor:15:14). Traditionally, Christianity has believed in a physical resurrection of Jesus Christ. ^[2]

In recent history Dr. Gary Habermas is considered the foremost Christian apologist for defending the resurrection of Jesus. ^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7]^[8] Dr. Habermas had a debate against the philosopher Antony Flew regarding the resurrection which was chronicled in the work Did Jesus Rise from the Dead? The Resurrection Debate and the debate had a panel of debate judges. J. Hampton Keathley, III , Th.M. in his essay Evidences for the Resurrection wrote: "The decision of the judges were as follows. The panel of philosophers judging content cast four votes for Habermas who argued for the fact of the resurrection, none for Flew, and one draw. The panel of professional debate judges voted three to two, also in favor of Habermas, this time regarding the method of argumentation technique." ^[9]

In recent history some notable defenders of the resurrection include: William Lane Craig, Ben Witherington, Lee Strobel, Josh McDowell, Edwin M. Yamauchi, N.T. Wright and Michael Horner. ^[10]^[11]^[12]^[13]^[14]

Legal scholars such as Simon Greenleaf, Lionel Luckhoo, John Warwick Montgomery and many others have asserted that western legal standards argue for the resurrection of Christ. ^[15]^[16]^[17]^[18] Defenders of the resurrection of Christ also cite many distinguished legal authorities regarding the historicity of the resurrection of Christ. ^[19]

References

External Links

[1] ttp://www.tektonics.org/qt/sowant.html

[2] ttp://www.iclnet.org/pub/resources/text/cri/cri-jrnl/crj0056a.txt

[3] ttp://www.garyhabermas.com/articles/dialog_rexperience/dialog_rexperiences.htm

[4] ttp://www.tektonics.org/books/lichabrvw.html

[5] ttp://faculty.gordon.edu/hu/bi/Ted_Hildebrandt/NTeSources/NTArticles/CTR-NT/Habermas-Resurrection1-CTR.pdf

[6] ttp://faculty.gordon.edu/hu/bi/Ted_Hildebrandt/NTeSources/NTArticles/CTR-NT/Habermas-Resurrection2-CTR.pdf

[7] ttp://www.garyhabermas.com/articles/crj_explainingaway/crj_explainingaway.htm

[8] ttp://www.apologetics.com/default.jsp?bodycontent=/articles/historical_apologetics/habermas-nt.html

[9] ttp://www.bible.org/page.asp?page_id=639

[10] ttp://www.leaderu.com/offices/billcraig/menus/historical.html

[11] ttp://www.leaderu.com/everystudent/easter/articles/josh2.html

[12] ttp://www.leaderu.com/everystudent/easter/articles/yama.html

[13] ttp://www.ntwrightpage.com/Wright_Early_Traditions.htm

[14] ttp://www.michaelhorner.com/articles/resurrection/index.html

[15] ttp://www.bibleteacher.org/sgtestimony.htm

[16] ttp://www.mtio.com/articles/bissart1.htm

[17] ttp://lawreligionculturereview.blogspot.com/2005_01_01_lawreligionculturereview_archive.html

[18] ttp://www.trinitysem.edu/journal/philjohnsonpap.html

[19] ttp://www.ankerberg.com/Articles/apologetics/AP0302W3.htm

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