Apologetics Part 1

I am going to spend some time doing posts on apologetic points that support a scriptural worldview. The idea of apologetics is rooted in the scripture verse below. The word defense is the Greek apologia and means to ‘speak in defense of.’ Everyone who defends a position, even if they are not aware of it, is functioning as an apologist.   

¹⁵ But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to   everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; 1 Peter 3:15 (NKJV)

Our other term for this series is worldview. When I wrote my book on worldview, I defined it as The lens through which we view and interpret reality. Think of it as a pair of glasses. If you change your prescription what you see changes. Our worldview is the prescription.

Any worldview needs to address four key aspects, origin, meaning, morality, and destiny. We can assess any worldview by assessing how it addresses origin, meaning, morality and destiny. A failure to adequately address these issues highlights a worldview that lacks coherence.

Christianity answers these four questions in a coherent way, while materialism, more specifically scientific materialism, fails in this regard. Science itself aligns well with faith. Let’s take a look at materialism.   

Origin – Scientific materialism promotes the idea that we are merely a cosmic accident and holds to the idea of abiogenesis in place of creation. That is, the idea that life began by a lucky accident. Abiogenesis has never been proven, and in fact if one of the many lab experiments were able to produce life from what scientists believe were the conditions early in the life of our planet, they would merely prove that intelligence is required to produce life.

Meaning – In materialism our origin is inconsequential and accidental. There is no inherent meaning in scientific materialism. Given we are assumed to be a cosmic accident we may choose to attach meaning to life or certain activities but there is no inherent meaning.

Morality – Ideas of right and wrong can be derived, but there is no objective standard, merely social constructs.

Destiny – We came from nothing and go to nothing. 

When we apply these four points to Christianity, we have a coherent worldview.

Origin – In brief, God is the origin of what we see and of us.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1 NKJV

²⁶ Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have    dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” Genesis 1:26 (NKJV)

Meaning – Our purpose and meaning are rooted in His calling on our lives.

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. ²⁹ For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. ³⁰ Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. Romans 8:28-30 NKJV

Morality – Morality is found in what God defines as right and wrong in terms of behaviour.

⁸ Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. ⁹ For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not bear false witness,” “You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁰ Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. Romans 13:8-10 NKJV

Destiny – Our destiny is eternal, heaven with Jesus. 

¹⁶ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16 (NKJV)

Thus, we see that a Christian scriptural worldview is a coherent worldview. A key point is that our natural tendency is to think with our worldview rather than about our worldview. In this series my hope is that you will think about your worldview and how to align it with scripture.

NOTE – I do not have a set number of posts predetermined for this series as I have yet to write them. In the next two posts I will address the Cosmological Argument then the Teleological (Design) Argument. At the end of the series, I will provide a suggested list of books and authors to consider. This series will be a brief overview of each subject not an exhaustive study, as volumes have been written on each area that I will address. My goal is to provide you with some basic material to defend our common faith.