Never Apologize

in your hearts honor 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 1 Pet. 3:15

For years, the United States of America has drifted slowly away from its Judeo-Christian roots. These roots gave life to the tree of liberty and drew nourishment from the waters and nutrient-rich soils, as outlined in the principles of the Bible. This article is not intended to show how much the founding documents of this great nation were formed from biblical principles. However, anybody can, through basic research and analysis, come to understand that this is a statement of fact.

Instead, my goal is to show how that drift away from biblical principles means we, as a nation, have a large segment of our population with no background in the Bible, which means they cannot understand much of what is happening in the world, and why they, as people, have such inherent value. Yes, all of creation is loved by God, and everybody needs to hear the truth about the foundational truths of creation and human existence. My goal is to help relay some of those truths.

This article is the first in a series of writings in which I will put into words the classes I’ve taught around the world over the past 30 years. For those who have studied biblical apologetics, this series may serve as a refresher course. For those who have never studied this topic, I hope these short articles provide enough information to encourage you to delve deeper into each topic and ask challenging questions. God does not fear our questions, skepticism, or counterarguments – he desires them. Only God can answer them all. I pray I can be a small part of the process of awakening people to the world around them.

Success for me is to provide sufficient evidence to demonstrate why it is reasonable to conclude that the Bible and observed scientific evidence are in perfect harmony. I will address more than scientific disciplines, but if a person realizes that they are not the accidental product of millions of years of genetic mutations destined only to die, but rather the loving creation of the perfect God of the universe, everything else in the world gains a clarity of purpose incomprehensible outside of this foundational fact.

Apologetics is the discipline of making a defense of the faith, as shown in the opening verse for this article: 1 Peter 3:15. Even 75 years ago, our nation had a baseline of Christian faith and education. The result was a culture that thrived because the principles of the Christian faith were ingrained across all institutions. Today, Christians cannot assume that a person with whom they are communicating has any background of faith, making it impossible for them to understand the basics of what used to define us as individuals and as a nation.

Because of this fact, we need to return to the beginning and ask the questions necessary to understand who we are, where we come from, and the meaning of life. This is why I will start this series of articles in the field of science. Knowing and accepting who we are helps us understand where we are going.

Imagine, for a moment, two opposing scenarios.

1. SCENARIO 1: You are an evolved biological organism with no purpose other than to be born, survive for a period, suffer the ravages of age, die, and cease to exist. Your future is only oblivion.

2. SCENARIO 2: You are a created being with a soul that continues after your physical body dies. God exists, loves you, and only desires that you choose to believe in and spend eternity with him. However, God gives you free will so you can choose to believe in and love him, because love cannot be forced, nor can belief.

These two scenarios drive how people view their purpose, whether they acknowledge it or not.

In scenario one, the logical conclusion is that life serves no purpose other than to exist, procreate, and ensure that humanity continues, even though oblivion awaits all of us. This leads to innumerable psychological and spiritual scars because the person who spends too much time thinking about the meaning of life must conclude that there is no meaning to life. If this conclusion were accurate, then there is no such thing as right or wrong, and no real purpose to our existence. When a person thinks this way, there is no action they can take that is wrong or right. When taking this logic to its most extreme conclusion, if this were true of the world, we should be shocked that it isn’t 100% anarchy all the time.

Scenario two yields different results. You can gain a deeper understanding of your existence by recognizing that this physical life on earth is temporary, and an eternal life awaits every human being who has ever been created. God, who is perfect, is also the judge who determines your soul’s future destination based on whether or not you choose to believe in him. You have a purpose in this life; you will not disappear into a meaningless oblivion, but choose whether to go live with your creator. The chaos of the world around us is the result of those who choose rebellion against their creator’s desire for their life. The choice is ours. Sadly, most will choose rebellion.

This is the point of biblical apologetics. To defend the faith and show each person the starkness of their choice, to show why there is no reason not to believe in the created world and all that entails. If you don’t know God, I pray that I can provide a tiny glimpse into the glory and beauty of the created world, and why you are the pinnacle of that creation. The evidence is overwhelming and demands a verdict. The choice is yours, the verdict will come, but you should know you are loved. There is real hope.

Here are some example topics about which I’ll write.

1. What is Apologetics?

2. The myth of biblical error.

3. The Cross.

4. Evolution vs. Creation

5. Astronomy

6. Archaeology