Christian Apologetics

Apologetics is the practice of making a cohesive, reasoned argument for an idea. The term comes from the Greek root apologia, which means "to make a defense" or "to make a reasoned statement." Christian apologetics is when this practice is applied to the core history, doctrine, and promises claimed by the Bible. It can be applied to help strengthen one's own faith, as well as defend the faith when confronted by an unbeliever. There are multiple categories of Christian apologetics that make an effort to defend the legitimacy of scripture. Four main brands are:

1. Classical Apologetics: Makes an argument largely based upon reason and logic. A classical apologist might attempt to prove the existence of God, and then prove Christianity in a following argument.

2. Evidential Apologetics: Claims legitimacy for the Bible due to historical evidence, and results deduced empirically. An evidential apologist focuses on studying manuscripts and using them to display what is true.

3. Experiential Apologetics: Forms an argument based upon one's personal experience. This argument is based upon individuals and their testimonies.

4. Presuppositional Apologetics: Uses deductive reasoning to argue at the level of worldviews, natural biases, and the person's presuppositions. A presuppositional apologist would claim that a person's biases will hinder them from truth, and that careful oversight on one's biases is key to refining one's world view to become consistent.

Each of these methods are widely used by Christian apologists in the modern era. In PBF evangelism train and go sessions, we strongly emphasize presuppositional apologetics. It is true that we affirm having a foundational argument that is structured upon reason, as it strengthens one's faith. It is true that we believe having a firm historical knowledge of Biblical events is essential to understanding the context of the time. It is true that we believe that one's testimony is a wonderful and powerful component of convincing an unbeliever of the truth of the gospel. However, we choose to integrate presuppositional apologetics with our evangelism because it gets to the heart of the issue quickest. Briefly put, presuppositional apologetics states that...

1. The Worldview: Everyone has a worldview, which is the set of core beliefs about our reality.

2. The Presupposition: When considering observing our beliefs or considering new ones, we look through the lens of our preexisting worldview and biases. This causes us to make assumptions and presuppose things that may or may not be true.

3. The Heart: As Christians, we believe that the core of a person is the heart, and that the heart is deceitful and desperately wicked. The heart is the main influence of our worldview, until the Holy Spirit regenerates us to see truth.

4. The Argument: Presuppositional apologetics argue that one's failure is not solely in a lack of logic, or in a misunderstanding of history, but in a corrupt worldview. The Christian worldview is the only consistent worldview as it aligns with the truth of the Bible and reality.

Ultimately, according to the scriptures we as Christians believe that we cannot convince others that the gospel is real, good, and worth believing. Only God can transform an unbeliever's heart, give them saving faith, and cause them to be born again. The presuppositional approach is practical to revealing this truth to the unbeliever since it teaches that the problem is not based upon a detail, but based upon the overarching state of oneself and a person's framework of beliefs.