Allow Me To Apologize
“Truth is relative.” “Life is an illusion.” “What’s right for you may not be right for me.” “God is dead.”
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Every time you turn on the TV, surf the internet, listen to music, or interact in any way with society, messages promoting all sorts of agendas are going to be thrown right in front of you. The question is, what are you going to do with them? Keep in mind that following these agendas is going to produce consequences. Are you going to ignore the agendas or absorb them? Or would you be willing to accept the challenge of thinking through them? If you’re going to try and effectively defend your faith, thinking through the world’s countless messages is a battle you will have to fight. But don’t go into the battle unarmed.
A wise soldier who understands his enemy’s tactics will naturally choose the best weapon to fight that enemy with. It turns out that the most effective weapon you can use in this battle of the mind is not offensive, but rather defensive. The Greek word πολογία (apologia) translates as “answer” or “defense”. In this context, an “apology” would be considered as an answer or a defense in support of a particular position. For Christians, developing a sound apology for the faith is not an optional endeavor. It is a mandate. In 1 Peter 3:15, Christians are instructed to “…Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have…”
Alright then. It looks like Christians are supposed to “be prepared to give an answer” for questions about and attacks against their faith. So how does someone go about building a defense for their faith? Well, the best place to start is God’s Word. Read the Bible with passion and devour what it says. Really think about what you read and let it sink in. The wisdom and knowledge contained in the Bible explains reality better than any book ever written, past or future.
Another way to construct a sound apology is to search out quality information and teaching from a Christian perspective on crucial topics. Such topics could include the origin of life, man’s purpose, the role of morality, the search for truth, etc. In addition, there are numerous resources and websites that present practical, applicable, and apologetically-minded information. In fact, one of the primary purposes of this site is to provide links to these resources.
That’s a little bit to get started with. If you’re looking for some resources, check out some of the links in the blogroll and at the bottom of this post. A great site that provides apologetic answers to a host of different topics is www.carm.org, and I would definitely recommend making it one of your first stops. As the Themelios Project blog grows, additional links will be included, corresponding to topics covered in future posts.
