: R. C. Sproul
: Defending Your Faith An Introduction to Apologetics
: Crossway
: 9781433599125
: 1
: CHF 11.10
:
: Christentum
: English
: 208
: kein Kopierschutz
: PC/MAC/eReader/Tablet
: ePUB
Apologetic Primer Explains How Reason Supports Christianity's Claims From the classroom to mainstream media, Christians regularly find their fundamental beliefs discounted by opponents who consider faith to be incompatible with reason. Faith is viewed as subjective, emotional, and a crutch for those who find the real world too hard. The late R. C. Sproul, however, claims faith reveals just how rational Christianity truly is.  This book surveys the history and fundamentals of apologetics to demonstrate how reason and scientific inquiry actually support Christianity's claims-thus equipping believers to defend the existence of God and the Bible's authority. The defense of the faith is not a luxury or an intellectual vanity. It is a task appointed by God to give reason to your eternal hope as you bear witness before the world. - A Logical and Biblical Defense: Sets forth the basic truth claims of Christianity to show the rationality of the Christian faith - Comprehensive: Deals with arguments from philosophy, science, reason, logic, and history - Ideal for New and Seasoned Believers Alike: Helps Christians know what they believe and why they believe it - Great Resource for Individual, Small Group, or Classroom Study

R. C. Sproul (1939-2017) was founder of Ligonier Ministries, an international Christian discipleship organization located near Orlando, Florida. He was also first minister of preaching and teaching at Saint Andrew's Chapel in Sanford, Florida; first president of Reformation Bible College; and executive editor of Tabletalk magazine. His radio program, Renewing Your Mind, is still broadcast daily on hundreds of radio stations around the world and can also be heard online. Sproul contributed dozens of articles to national evangelical publications, spoke at conferences, churches, colleges, and seminaries around the world, and wrote more than one hundred books, including The Holiness of God; Chosen by God; and Everyone's a Theologian. He also served as general editor of the Reformation Study Bible.

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The Task of Apologetics

One major facet of our work at Ligonier Ministries is helping Christians know what they believe and why they believe it. This is the work of apologetics. The task or science of Christian apologetics is primarily concerned with providing an intellectual defense of the truth claims of the faith. The termapologetics comes from the Greek wordapologia, which literally means “a reasoned statement or a verbal defense.” To give an apology, then, unlike the more current definition of “I’m sorry,” is to defend and argue for a particular point of view.

The work of apologetics rests upon a biblical command. We find a mandate in Scripture to defend the faith, a mandate that every Christian must take seriously. In 1 Peter 3:14b-16, the apostle writes,

Have no fear of them [those who would harm you], nor be troubled, but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy,always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame (emphasis added).

We are exhorted in this passage to stand ready in case anyone asks us to give a reason for our hope as Christians. This, Peter declares, is one way we regardJesus as the holy Lord. Secondly, notice the ethical emphasis in verse 16: we are to answer all inquiries—even the abusive ones—with gentleness and respect, so that those who revile Christians as evildoers might be ashamed. In this passage we see the reason for and importance of engaging in the task of apologetics.

Apologetics in the Early Church

The church fathers knew this task all too well, for the early Christian community was accused of participating in many devious acts. Leading up to the destruction of Jerusalem ina.d. 70, Christianity had been viewed by the Roman Empire as a subset or sect of Judaism. But upon the holy city’s destruction and the ensuing Diaspora (scattering of the Jews), the separation of Christianity from Judaism became evident. The problem for Christianity was this: Judaism was a legally sanctioned religion in the Roman Empire; Christianity had no such luxury. The practice of the Christian faith was illegal and subject to prosecution. The Christian intellectuals of the time rose up to answer the charges that were leveled against Christianity.

In many apologetic writings of the period (for example, Justin Martyr’sApology and Athenagoras’sPlea), we can see four common accusations against Christians. First, the Christian community was charged with sedition—Christians were regarded as traitors undermining the authority of the empire. As early as 29b.c., emperor worship had emerged, most notably in the Asian city of Pergamum, and it continued well into the second centurya.d. Reciting the phraseKaisar kurios (Caesar is lord), burning incense to the emperor’s image, or swearing by his name was required in order to prove loyalty to the state. The Christians refused to grant worship to the emperor and so were seen as disloyal and as being involved in political conspiracies. While believing that governments were to be respected (Rom. 13:1-7), apologists like Justin Martyr argued that Christians were exemplary models of civic virtue, paid their taxes, and submitted to the civil laws, but were unable to confess Caesar as lord because Jesus was the one and only Lord worthy of worship. Justin therefore challenged the authorities to not convict Christians on the basis of invalidated rumors.