by Elgin Hushbeck, Jr., Engineer, Christian apologist, and author of Christianity and Secularism, Evidence for the Bible, Preserving Democracy, and What is Wrong with Social Justice?.
One of the earliest verses I learned as a basis for Christian Apologetics was 1 Peter 3:15, “Always be prepared to give a defense to everyone who asks you to explain the hope you have.”(ISV) As with most verses presented in a standalone fashion, the interpretation is open to a much wider range of understanding than was intended by the author.
In the case of apologetics, this is seen as a justification for a wide range of actions and beliefs. For some this means metaphorically becoming a shining Knight for the Gospel, armed with a wide arrange of arguments and debating tactics, ready at a moment’s notice to counter and defend against any challenge to the faith.
I would submit that this is not only a misunderstanding of the verse, it is one that has several dangers lurking within it. Perhaps the most dangerous is that it can lead one to see those who are raising objections more as opponents that need to be defeated, than souls that need to be saved.
This view is akin to the Dark Side of apologetics, a road that tempts us with the promises of an easier victory, but one whose end is not good. This is not to say that those we are reaching out to are not at times making the choice easier for us. While I have had many good and earnest discussions with those having different beliefs, I have also had many where those I was discussing with made it very easy to see them as “opponents to be defeated.” After all, when someone threatens to kill you, I know from personal experience that it takes some effort to keep them in the “souls that need to be saved” category.
In the end, the dark side leads to a focus on winning debates more than winning souls. In addition, the more we demonize our counterparts, the easier it becomes to justify bad behavior on our part. Even lying or worse can be justified “for the greater good.” After all, as long as we are not as bad as they are, it’s still OK, isn’t it?
The another problem with this can be seen throughout history, and sadly at times on the nightly news. From the early killing of those considered heretical, to the Inquisition, up to the Westboro Baptist church, to name just a few of the far too many examples, as an apologist at times is seems that most of what I do is try and account for the actions of Christians who thought they are defending the faith.
The struggle we are in is very real, and darkness will seize on any advantage it can. As a result, it is just a fact that the more Christians act badly, the more they will be presented as the “true face” of Christianity. Thus, not only is it wrong, it is, at the end of the road, counter-productive and harmful.
But if this is true, then why did Peter say this? The simple answer is that he didn’t, for when put into context, a different picture emerges. Even a little more context helps, for the next verse begins, “But do this gently and respectfully.” It is very difficult, if not impossible to go to the dark side of apologetics “gently and respectfully.” Thus, when I hear 1 Peter 3:15 quoted, I always listen to see if these words are included and thankfully I am hearing them a bit more often, though I would like to hear them even more. When we look at even more context, this removes completely the possibility of the dark side.
Who will harm you if you are devoted to doing what is good? But even if you should suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed. “Never be afraid of their threats, and never get upset. Instead, exalt the Messiah” as Lord in your lives. Always be prepared to give a defense to everyone who asks you to explain the hope you have. But do this gently and respectfully, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak evil of your good conduct in the Messiah will be ashamed of slandering you. After all, if it is the will of God, it is better to suffer for doing right than for doing wrong. (1 Peter 3:13-17 ISV)
In context (and I highly recommend that you read 1 Peter from the beginning to get the full context) this passage is saying that whatever our circumstances, we should live our lives in such a way as Christ shines through us. In that way people will be drawn to us, not because of us, but because Christ is shining through us. When they ask how we are able to live and act as we do, then we should “always be prepared to give a defense to everyone who asks you to explain the hope you have. But do this gently and respectfully.” This is the apologetics that Peter calls us to. Not a life of debates and arguments, but a life of service and example, where people can see Christ working through us.
[slideshow_deploy id=’2411′]
Category: Apopogetics
-
Elgin L. Hushbeck, Jr: The Dark Side of Apologetics
-
MY CONTINUING JOURNEY AS A MIZPAH
by Nancy Petrey
It was on August 18, 1995, that God called me to a specific work in His kingdom, that of a “Mizpah” for Israel. It came in the form of a personal prophecy from my husband, who said, “The Lord has told me you are a Mizpah for Israel.” A friend pointed me to the story of the covenant made between Jacob and his father-in-law, Laban. “And Laban said, ‘This heap [of stones] is a witness between you and me this day.’ Therefore its name was called Galeed, also Mizpah, because he said, ‘May the Lord watch between you and me when we are absent one from another.” Later I found out that Israel and the Church were indeed “absent one from another,” because the Church had cut off her Jewish roots!
A personal prophecy is not meant to direct your life but to confirm a direction that God is already leading you in. I had already been acting as a witness and a watchman for Israel after being inspired by my first tour there in 1994. Being in Israel gave me the feeling I had gone home, and upon my return I wrote a report entitled, “Back to My Roots.” This was before I even knew there was a Jewish roots movement. Now God was calling me to help the Church to be reconnected to her Jewish roots.
The real beginning point of my Jewish roots journey began back in 1975, when I read Corrie Ten Boom’s book, The Hiding Place. The courage she and her family had in hiding Jews from the Nazis in Holland really impacted my life. On a trip to Israel in 1998, with a seven-and-a-half-hour layover in Amsterdam, I was able to visit the Ten Boom watchmaker’s shop where the famous hiding place was located. How dramatic that I could step into the cut-out wall to stand in that hiding place! While in the house I also had the blessing of playing the piano and having others gather around and sing “You are My Hiding Place.”
On my most recent trip to Israel in September-October, 2012, I had another priceless musical experience. My friend and I visited the Jerusalem Prayer Center, which is the former home of Horatio Spafford’s daughter, Bertha Vester. Her piano was in the chapel, and my host in Jerusalem, Roy Kendall, played Spafford’s beautiful hymn, “It is Well with My Soul,” on that piano, as our group sang along. My spirit soared.
Other exciting things have happened to me on my seven trips to Israel, but nothing is more satisfying than seeing my Jewish Messiah in Scripture, as I continue my journey as a Mizpah! I see Yeshua the Messiah closely identified with Israel in the servant passages in Isaiah – “Israel, My Servant” (Isa. 41:8-9; 43:10; 44:1, 21; 45:4; 48:20; and 49:3) and “Yeshua My Servant” (Isa. 42:1; 49:5-6; 50:4-10; 52:13; and 53:11.) The servant roles of both Yeshua and Israel are juxtaposed, however, within these three verses: “… You are My servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified … And now the Lord says, Who formed Me [Yeshua] from the womb to be His Servant [Yeshua], to bring Jacob back to Him, so that Israel is gathered to Him … It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles …” (Isa. 49:3, 5-6).
Never forget that Jesus was born King of the Jews, died King of the Jews, and is coming back to Jerusalem, the Jewish capital, as not only King of the Jews, but King of the whole world!
Although national Israel today does not recognize Yeshua of Nazareth as their long-awaited Messiah, they will soon. Zechariah prophesies, “… they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn” (Zech. 12:10), indicating repentance and recognition! It is interesting that the word “whom” in this verse was inserted by the translators, because the Hebrew word, “et,” is not translatable. This little word, “et” looks like this in Hebrew – את, and it is always used between a verb and its object. The two Hebrew letters making up “et” are Aleph (א) and Tav (ת), which are the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet. In Greek they would be Alpha and Omega! Who does that remind you of? The little word “et” gives the identity of the “WHOM,” connecting “Me” (Jesus) and “they” (Israel) in this verse! He is the Aleph and the Tav, the First and the Last! The Hebrew letters form a picture of His sacrifice – Aleph (א), the ox, a sacrificial animal, and Tav (ת), a CROSS in its earliest form! Chew on that a while!
It is satisfying to see a portrait of the Jewish Messiah hidden in the Hebrew alphabet. And knowing that we are grafted in to the Jewish olive tree (Rom. 11:16-24) causes Scripture to really open up to us. Current events in Israel become more personally relevant also. We will not only see Bible prophecy being fulfilled, but we can choose to be involved in it!
Maybe I have whetted your appetite to take a Jewish roots journey. I pray so. What kind of journey are you on now in your walk with the Lord?
Order Jewish Roots Journey here: https://energiondirect.info/theology/jewish-roots-journey -
Why Apologetics?
by Elgin Hushbeck
Christian apologetics has its ups and downs. At times it is seen as a positive force defending the Christian faith against the attacks of critics. At other times it is seen in a far more negative light as trying to argue people into the kingdom, or even worse, arguing for argument’s sake. Most of the time it is just ignored. As the author of two books that hopefully fall in the positive-force category, (Evidence for the Bible and Christianity and Secularism), with a master’s degree in Christian Apologetics, and who has been doing this for several decades, I do consider myself to be a Christian apologist. As such, I would address the proper role for apologetics and how I believe it should be done.
First,I would agree that there is merit in these criticisms. I would certainly agree that apologetics can be misused, i.e., done incorrectly or for the wrong reasons, though I would quickly point out that the same could be said about most things. Just think what damage a pastor can do if not working as a true servant of God. But that would hardly be a reason to give up on the role of pastor; rather it would be a call to do it correctly.
I would also agree that we should not try to argue people into the kingdom of God and, in fact, I have consistently taught in my ministry that the role of apologetics is not to do this. The reason is simple: it cannot be done, and if this is why someone does apologetics, they are wasting their time.
Of course this raises the question of why do apologetics? A simple one is that we are commanded to do so in passages like 1 Peter 3:15-16,Instead, exalt the Messiah as Lord in your lives. Always be prepared to give a defense to everyone who asks you to explain the hope you have. But do this gently and respectfully, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak evil of your good conduct in the Messiah will be ashamed of slandering you.
The first part of this verse may be familiar to you. I would hope the second half would be equally familiar. Unfortunately often the “gently and respectfully” part gets left off. It should not as it is a key part.
There are practical reasons for doing apologetics as well. True, no one is or can be argued into the kingdom, but they can be helped to the foot of the cross. One of the ways I teach this is with the metaphor of a wall. We all like to build walls to keep God at a safe distance. Christians build these wall was well, but our focus here is on the non-believer who builds walls of excuses so they can ignore God. It is the role of apologetics to remove those walls block by block till there is nothing standing between the believer and the cross. At that point the role of apologetics in evangelism ends. What happens next it is between the person and the Holy Spirit.
So while no one is argued into the kingdom, some have been brought to the foot of the cross, and thus apologetics did play an important role in their conversion. I know this to be the case, for I was one of them. I was an atheist who had a long list of reasons why I could safely ignore God. But one by one over several years, Christians answered these objections.
True, not everyone has such questions or objections, and thus for them discussions on the reliability of the Bible, etc., would be irrelevant at best, possibly even counter-productive. This is why I stress that the first and most important step in apologetics is to listen. Find out what it is that is keeping someone from the cross.
Now to be clear, I do not expect, or even believe, that everyone would be a trained apologist, ready with all the answers at their fingertips. For me the best answer is often, “that is a good question, and I don’t know. Let me find out and get back to you.” I like this answer for many reasons. First you don’t need to have all the answers, only a resource where you can get them. If you do not know of one, then I recommend that you start with your pastor.
Secondly, it opens up a dialogue and builds a relationship. I encourage people to be a safe place where those with questions can get answers; to be a person someone can ask a question to without getting a full come-to-Jesus sermon. Perhaps it is because of my conversion experience, but I see conversion as more of a process than an event. A process that can take a long time, and one in which, while there are many stages, there is no set order. Everyone is different and this is why listening and building a relationship is so key to apologetics.
I do want to say something in favor of intense debates. I have been in many. But intense does not mean disrespectful. In fact I came to the attention of my editor many years ago because he noticed me in an online forum engaging in some pretty intensive debates, but remaining respectful, even when my opponents were not. At times I would wonder to myself, what is the point? These people never seem to change, and at times the argument would just seem to be going in circles.
Two things would keep me going. 1) When I was on the other side, I never told the Christians I was debating that they were right. But afterward I would reflect on what they said and I now believe the Holy Spirit used those arguments to work on my heart. 2) As a Christian working with non-Christians, when I was really discouraged, inevitably I would get an email from someone I had never heard of expressing thanks for what I was doing and letting me know how my responses had blessed and helped them. This is a second dimension of apologetics, strengthening believers. It is important to note that a lie unanswered will be taken as the truth. Currently the lies about God, the Bible and Christianity are rampant and are overwhelming what little apologetics is out there.
The Bottom line is that I do not judge what I do by how many debates I win or souls I save, because the first doesn’t matter and I can’t do the latter in any event. My goal is to be a faithful servant, and I will leave the results to God.
Order Evidence for the Bible here: https://energiondirect.info/small-group-resources/evidence-for-the-bible
