As one examines 1 Peter 3:15 outside contemporary culture,
the question of defending the faith takes on far less complexity than modern Christian
philosophers and apologists lead us to believe. That being said, I do not wish
to lead you to imagine that such an endeavor is undemanding or exceptionally uncomplicated.
What I am going to argue is that the actual task of apologetics is much more
bound up in the word “reply” than most apologists realize. The key to being a
good apologist is not philosophical shrewdness. Rather, the key to being a good
apologist is twofold: you should be a levelheaded exegete of the text, and a capable
communicator. Notice that both of these skills are associated with language.
Language is the medium of the gospel. Language is the medium of truth. Language
is the medium of apologetics. If you will persistently devote time to
understanding human language, you can develop the skills that are necessary to
become a very effective apologist.
If it is true that a Christian does not need philosophy in
order to be an effective apologist, does that mean we should ignore it
completely. I do not think ignoring philosophy entirely is the best approach. I
think it is useful to understand the basic concepts of philosophy so that you can
speak the language and understand where people with a bent toward philosophy
are coming from as you teach them about the Christ. That being said, most
people are not philosophers and have little interest in devoting themselves to the
goal of acquiring even a modest knowledge of the subject. It follows then that
our purpose for acquainting ourselves with philosophical language and concepts
only proves helpful for more personal reasons than it does for apologetical
reasons. For example, it is useful to understand the basics of epistemology if
you intend to read a publication that deals with philosophical concepts. It
makes for a slow and tedious read when you have to break at every other
sentence to search for a definition. Philosophers are characteristically infatuated
with capacious vocabularies, or I should say lots of really big words. I
suppose it makes them feel especially cerebral. In other words, it makes ‘em
feel really smart.
Now, you may ask why I believe that philosophy is
unnecessary for biblical apologetics, even if I think it can be useful. Just
because something is useful, that does not make it necessary or essential. I
want to make certain you catch a glimpse of that distinction. The reason I suppose
this is true is because Scripture teaches me that Scripture alone is sufficient
for the task of biblical apologetics. I do not need anything outside of
Scripture to be able to honor God in being prepared to provide a reply to
everyone that asks me to account for the hope that is in me.
Paul, in writing to Timothy said the following: “…and that
from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you
the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All
Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for
correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be
adequate, equipped for every good work.” (2 Tim. 3:16) Note first that the “sacred
writings” are able to give one wisdom that leads to salvation! Literally the language
reads, to make you wise for salvation. The Scripture changes a person from
being a fool to being wise. There is no two-step process here. Scripture does
not merely make one wise so that they are now better informed to make a good
decision to follow Christ. Such a view has no exegetical grounding in this
text. The goal of Christian apologetics is to persuade men to fear God and obey
His commandments. It is not to convince men that theism is true.
Paul went on to inform Timothy that all Scripture is
profitable for teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness.
Scripture, if put on diligently, if weaved into the very fabric of our living
and thinking, equips us to always be ready to reply to those who would ask us
to give an account for the hope that is in us. This hope of course is the
blessed Christian hope, the hope that we so long for which is the coming of our
long awaited King.
To the Corinthians Paul writes, “For the word of the cross
is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is
the power of God.” (1 Cor. 1:18) As long as the sacred writings have not made
one wise for salvation, they remain a fool. And as long as they remain a fool,
they will hold the view that the most blessed and sacred message ever given to
humanity is nothing but utter foolishness. The Greek language here is where we
get our word moron. The unbeliever thinks that only a moron would believe what
genuine Christians actually believe. No amount of philosophy will change this
fact. The nature of the unbeliever (metaphysical reality) is that they have no
way to account for autonomous knowledge (man-centered epistemology). What
changes the unbeliever is the very thing that they will not accept, regardless
of how one presents it. The power of the Christian message to persuade men that
Christ is Lord is not located in the form of the argument or the sophistication
of words. The power that is contained within the gospel message transcends
human reason. God does not change hearts via Aristotle. God’s work is
supernatural.
Peter gives us all a command to reply to those who would ask
us to give an account for the hope that is in us. He does not command us to go
out, find every form of unbelieving thought that exists, and figure out the
best way to refute it and if you do this, you will be a more effective
apologist and stem the tide of unbelief. Stemming the tide of unbelief is the
work of our sovereign Lord, not extravagant apologetic arguments immersed in
pagan philosophy and Aristotelian logic. The command is that we be ready at all
times. And that requires weaving Scripture into the very fabric of our lives
and especially into our thought process. Scripture, not philosophy, is how the
Christian replies and refutes every speculation of man that objects to
Christian truth.
It is not the power of philosophical argumentation that
places men in the Christian community. The Apostle Paul tells us very clearly
what places us within the Christian community: For
consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the
flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things
of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world
to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the
despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the
things that are, so that no man may boast before God. But by His doing
you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness
and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, “Let him
who boasts, boast in the Lord.” (1 Cor. 1:26-31)
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