Thinking About Christian Apologetics: What It Is and Why We Do It

224 Pages·2016·3.35 MB·English

by  James Beilby

T H I N K I N G A B O U T
C H R I S T I A N
A P O L O G E T I C S
W H AT IT I S A N D W H Y W E DO IT
J A M E S B E I L B Y

InterVarsity Press
P.O. Box 1400, Downers Grove, IL 60515-1426
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E-mail: [email protected]
©2011 by James K. Beilby
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission
from InterVarsity Press.
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by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.
Cover design: Cindy Kiple
Interior design: Beth Hagenberg
Images: Vincent McIndoe/Getty Images
ISBN 978-0-8308-6942-8
To my maternal grandfather
Albert Bender
who modeled for me a love of learning theology

CONTENTS
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
1. What Is Christian Apologetics? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2. Patristic and Medieval Apologetics . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
3. Modern and Contemporary Apologetics . . . . . . . . . 61
4. Varieties of Apologetics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
5. Philosophical Objections to Apologetics . . . . . . . . . 113
6. Biblical and Theological Objections to Apologetics . . . 133
7. Doing Apologetics Well . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
A Bibliography of Works on Christian Apologetics . . . . 185
Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Name and Subject Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209

PREFACE
This is not a typical apologetics book. Those who are looking for
responses to objections to Christianity or arguments for Christi-
anity should look elsewhere. In this, the bibliography provided at
the end of this book will be of some help. Rather, this is a book
about apologetics. In this book I discuss the nature and goals of
apologetics, different approaches to apologetics, objections to the
idea or practice of apologetics, and how apologetics should be
done. Too often, Christian apologists have either bypassed these
important issues or given them cursory treatment. The assump-
tion has been and continues to be that these issues do not need to
be considered in depth because the answers are obvious.
The answers to these questions are not obvious. And answering
them well is crucially important. When Christian apologists by-
pass these questions and immediately jump into the important
work of giving answers and making arguments, all too often the
result is negative. I don’t mean to suggest that their arguments are
automatically bad because they haven’t reflected on the nature of
apologetics. Rather, their approach often suffers when they fail to
carefully consider (among other things) what the goals of Chris-
tian apologetics should be. I believe that the apologetic arguments
for Christian belief can be powerful. But if they are not aimed with
care and handled with an appropriate attitude, they can be dan-
10 THINKING ABOUT CHRISTIAN APOLOGETICS
gerous. Done well, apologetics can draw people closer to the king-
dom of God. Done poorly, apologetics can reinforce negative stereo-
types and drive people away.
Every effort has been taken to make this book usable as a text-
book for an introductory apologetics course. Key terms are typi-
cally italicized, and a list of important concepts is provided at the
end of each chapter. The annotated bibliography at the end of the
book will steer students toward some of the best books (some
more popular, some more academic) that cover specific apologetic
issues. Finally, while my approach to apologetics is unique in cer-
tain respects, every effort has been taken to make this discussion
of apologetics useful to a wide variety of Christians.
No project such as this book comes about without substantial
assistance. I must acknowledge all of my students, particularly
those who, through their questions, have taught me much about
the practice and theory of apologetics; the Alumni Council of
Bethel University, who supported my research for this book; the
International Center for Philosophy of Religion (and especially
Mike Rea and Tom Flint), who gave me visiting scholar status and
a place to hole up and write; and Faith Covenant Church in St.
Petersburg, Florida, who graciously provided my family and me
with lodging for four weeks while I was on sabbatical. I am also
deeply indebted to former and current teaching assistants Jared
Bangs, Laine Gebhardt, Brendan Lorentz, Shelli Poe, Heather
Rollefson and Levi Tijerina, who assisted me with tracking down
books and articles. And special mention must be made of several
colleagues who read and commented on various drafts of the book:
David Clark, Paul Eddy, William Norton and Alan Padgett. Fi-
nally, I want to thank my family. My father and mother have al-
ways sacrificially supported my academic work. And my wife, Mi-
chelle, and my kids, Sierra, Madeline, Zachary and Malia, have
supported me in ways too numerous to mention. Their love pro-
vides me with a daily and tangible reminder of the love of God.