Whatever Happened to Apologetics?

Maybe it is because I like to be right. Maybe it is because I like to argue. But I think the principal behind James 1:2-4 is still pretty important. Can you defend your faith? 

John Piper wrote in his book God Is the Gospel: 

If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no human conflict or natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ was not there?

I imagine most believers would answer yes to that question and the problem is that translates into how they live out their faith day in and day out. What if someone started asking you difficult questions about why you believe what you believe? Would you run the other way? Would you even have specific detailed information other than “just because” to give the challenger? Would your answer rest solely on your emotional connection to your faith or could you also back it up with some sort of logical reasoning?

If we really say we are followers of Christ, shouldn’t we be able to say exactly why we are following and not give a candy coated sunday school answer we heard someone else give three years ago?  How would you answer some of these questions that real people leading real lives who need real love are asking right now?

• If God can abolish evil, and God really wants to do it, why is there evil in the world?”
• Why doesn’t God heal amputees?
• If God knows the future and the past with perfect certainty, why did He create some knowing that their fate is to burn forever in Hell?
• Why don’t verifiable miracles happen today?
• The Bible is full of contradictions like Genesis 1:31 and Genesis 6:6, so why do believe in book that is full of lies?

Posted by willgoodwin