DOUBTERS AND SKEPTICS WILL always exist. Perhaps the most preposterous denial of the last century, Holocaust deniers allege Hitler’s systematic genocide of the Jews is a hoax and that no factual evidence of the Holocaust exists. However, taking such a position ignores survivor accounts, photographs, written records, artifacts, the existence and intended design of concentration camps, and other evidence. In this 8-part series, we will examine the importance of cultural engagement and apologetics in defending the Christian faith.
There are many skeptics who believe solid research proves Jesus did not exist, or, in the alternative, He did exist but claims about His divinity are untrue. Detractors of the gospel often use the same extra-biblical sources to “disprove” the existence of the historical Jesus that can be used to support an argument for Jesus.(1) Sadly, believers sometimes begin to question their faith as they consider whether the historical Jesus is simply a retelling of older pagan myths. In his introduction to In Defense of Jesus, Lee Stroble quotes Andrew Greeley, who said, “Much of the history of Christianity has been devoted to domesticating Jesus… [in]to dimensions we can comprehend, understand, and covert to our own purposes. So far it hasn’t worked.” (2)
Christians are required to defend the faith. At a minimum, we must always be at the ready to give a reason for our faith in Christ, and do so with gentleness and respect (see 1 Pet. 3:15). In addition, it has been necessary at times for church leaders to respond to false teachings leveled against Christianity—such as Gnosticism, Arianism, Docetism, paganism—and false allegations such as “incestuous love fests” and cannibalism. Church fathers like Justin Martyr, Tertullian, Augustine of Hippo, Clement, and others, became ardent defenders of the faith as early as the second century.
The first four verses of the Gospel of Luke are one long sentence in the original Greek. Luke writes in part, “… I am passing on to you this accurate compilation of my own meticulous investigation based on numerous eyewitness interviews. It is appropriate for me to write this, [because Jesus] also appeared to me so that I would reassure you beyond any shadow of a doubt the reliability of all you have been taught of him” (Luke 1:1-4, Passion translation).
There is a comprehensive and universal evangelistic message to Matthew’s Gospel. We see this carried through to the end with Jesus’ commission to go forth, preach the gospel, making disciples. Luke’s Gospel builds an apologetic for the Christian faith through the telling (in chronological detail) of the life and teachings of Jesus. Richard Bargas writes, “Luke ferreted out the details and did all of the leg work for the benefit of the Christian community so that they could have confidence, seeing the historical moorings of the message of Christianity.” (3) There is an apologetic purpose behind the pairing of Luke’s Gospel with the Acts of the Apostles.
In the next installment, we will examine in detail the goals of Christian apologetics in the twenty-first century.
Steven Barto, BS Psy, ThM
Unless otherwise specified, all Scripture references are from the English Standard Version (ESV).
References
(1) Pieter F. Craffort, “Caretakers, Critics, and Comparativists: A Meta-analysis of Historical Jesus Research, Journal for the Study of Religion, Vol. 25, No. 2, 2012.
(2) Lee Strobel, In Defense of Jesus (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2007), 9.
(3) Richard Bargas, “Christianity Requires Defending the Faith,” Voice, Mar/Apr 2024, 7.
The Accidental Apologist 