Apologetics is an answer to the question “Why,” having already given people an answer to the question “What. “The question of what the gospel is obviously? But when you call people to believe in the gospel and they ask you, “Why?Should I believe it?” then you need apologies.
I have heard many Christians try to answer the question of why go back to what. “You must believe because Jesus is the Son of God. ” But he is answering the why with more than what. Increasingly, we live in an age where you can not avoid asking why. Simply providing what worked (for example, a living presentation of the gospel) at a time when cultural institutions were creating an atmosphere in which Christianity was generally recognized as true or at least honorable. -Christian society, in the market of ideas, you have to explain why it is true, otherwise people will simply let it pass.
- Despite this.
- There are many Christians today who say.
- “Not apologetic.
- Just expose the Word of God?Preach.
- And will the power of the Word have an impact on people?Others argue that “membership comes before you believe.
- “They say apologetics is a rational and enlightened approach.
- Not a biblical one.
- People should be taken to a community where they can see our love and works.
- Experience worship.
- See their imagination captured.
- And faith that is reliable to them.
There is some merit in these arguments. In fact, it would be too rationalistic to say that we can prove Christianity in such a way that every rational person should believe it. In fact, such a statement dishonors the sovereignty of God by worshiping our autonomous human reason. Community and worship are important because people come to conviction through a combination of heart and mind, a sense of need, intellectual reflection, and observation of community. However, I have also seen many skeptics being drawn into a warm Christian community and yet wondering, “Why should I believe you and not an atheist or a Muslim?” We must be careful before saying, “Just believe”, because what we are really saying is “Believe because I say. ” It sounds like a Nietzschean power play. It is very different from Paul, who reasoned, argued, and tested in the book of Acts, and from Peter, who called us to give the reason for our hope in 1 Peter 3:15. If our answer is, “Our beliefs may seem totally irrational to you, but if you see how much we love each other, will you want to believe too ?, then we sound like a cult. So we really have to do apologetics and answer the question why.
However, the problem of an exclusively rationalistic apologetic (?Will I show you that God exists, that Jesus is the Son of God, that the Bible is true, etc. ?) Is this, in a sense, putting God on the bank of the accused must be judged by supposedly neutral, perfectly rational people, sitting objectively on the throne of Reason, which does not correspond to what the Bible says about the reality of sin and the ever altered and distorted thought that produces disbelief. , an exclusively subjective apologetic (? Invite Jesus into your life and He will solve all your problems, but I cannot give you good reasons, do you just believe with your heart?) Nor does it succeed in producing a true conviction of sin and necessity.
There will be no joy in Jesus’ grace, unless people see that they are lost. Therefore, a gospel-modeled apologetic must not only present Christianity, but also challenge the worldview of the disbelievers and show where she (and them) I have a real problem. This is what I usually try to do, and in the next post I’ll show you what I’d say if I had an hour to make a complete defense of Christianity.
By Tim Keller. © 2012, Redemptive City in the city. Website: www. redeemercitytocity. com Original: How the Gospel Changes Our Apologetics, Part 1
Translation: VoltemosAoEvangelho. com Original: Tim Keller? How the Gospel Changes Our Apologetics (Part 1)
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