Apologeticswhy believe?why not?

“Apologetics”???? “…but in your hearts sanctify Christ as

Lord. Always be ready to make your defence to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and reverence…” 1 Peter 3:15-16a NRSV

defence/answer/case = apologia

Apologetics as a subject

Here are some reasons there are many more!

What keeps people from believing?

Ignorance People increasingly have never heard the

gospel which means there are many opportunities!

Perceptions of religion are vague, gleaned from the media and other people Media portrayals of Christians are rarely

positive

What keeps people from believing?

Religion is seen as ignorant Faith starts where reason ends Science has disproved religion There’s no evidence

What keeps people from believing?

Religion is seen as harmful Religion is to blame for all the wars Terrorists are always religious Child abuse is rife in the church the God of the Old Testament is

bloodthirsty and vengeful

What keeps people from believing?

Many religions – why this one? There are so many religions

what’s special about yours? I like the certainty of Islam, meditation in

Buddhism, family values of Judaism…

An apologetic answer: 2+2=? 3? 5? 17? 932? -200,000? 4? the existence of incorrect answers doesn’t

mean there isn’t a correct one.

What keeps people from believing?

Suffering Philosophical or Personal ‘why is this happening (to me)’?

Is there ever an acceptable reason? Is a good reason enough?

What keeps people from believing?

video John Lennox

Professor of Mathematics, University of Oxford

Speaking at Unbelievable? 2011, London

1. What is your inclination when people ask you about your faith? Do you talk about why you go to church and your personal experience of God? Do you give logical reasons and sound arguments for believing? Do you keep quiet and move away?

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2. What reasons do people give for not believing? (how many can you list?)

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3. How much do most people know about Christianity?What kind of person do you expect to know most or least?

What factors affect this?(age, education, race, gender, city dweller…)

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4. Do you find people are mostly apathetic to religion, or actively opposed to it?

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5. Reading about Paul in Athens (Acts 17:16-32), do you think today’s situation is similar to what the early church faced?

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6. People often give intellectualized reasons for not believing in God. Are these genuine, or is there something deeper going on?How can you tell?

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7. John Lennox suggested that you should ask people questions until they ask you one. Will that work? With everyone?

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8. What answer do you think you might get if you ask people about what hope they have?Do people without Christ have any hope? In what?

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9. Paul in Acts 26 gives his apologia, his defence of his faith, by using personal testimony. Do you think being able to tell people about your own personal experience of God is always the best approach?

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10. Do you think that if you knew every answer to the difficult questions that people ask about God, you could then convince everyone to believe?

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