Why Apologetics Matters: The Importance of Knowing the Evidence

Professor of New Testament at Biola University, Kenneth Berding, wrote an article for the school regarding his concerns that biblical illiteracy in Western culture had reached “crisis” levels. His concerns were not just for secular society but also for self-professed Christians. Berding quotes New Testament scholar David Nienhuis in characterizing the scope of the concern:

“For well over twenty years now, Christian leaders have been lamenting the loss of general biblical literacy in America. … Some among us may be tempted to seek odd solace in the recognition that our culture is increasingly post-Christian. … Much to our embarrassment, however, it has become increasingly clear that the situation is really no better among confessing Christians, even those who claim to hold the Bible in high regard.”[1]

 Berding proceeds to list some reasons he believes is contributing to this phenomenon, including daily distractions, misplaced priorities, the pretext of simply being too busy. While those elements may certainly contribute, I suggest that his list disregards the most egregious of reasons: people no longer crave the transcendent because people no longer believe in the transcendent.

Pew Research surveys reflect less than half of all self-professed Christians read the Bible daily. Less than half believe that Jesus Christ is the only way to salvation. Most believe in some sort of religious universalism. Less than half believe that the Bible is the authoritative Word of God. Only a slim majority of all people in the US even believe in the God of the Bible.[2]

Further, people do not believe in the accuracy, relevance, or transcendent truth of the Bible because they are unaware of the facts in defense of the Bible, its historicity, its credibility, its veracity, and its transcendent authority. This is where Christian apologetics comes into play.

Christian apologetics (Greek, “apologia”) simply means to give a reasoned defense of the Faith. Paul exhorts readers to always be prepared to give a reasoned defense of the gospel (1 Peter 3:15). Apologetics has been described as a “pre-evangelism,” in other words, God using your faculties of rationality and reason to proper evaluate the evidence in support of God’s truth.

The apostle Paul used apologetics during his speech in Greece at the Areopagus.

The Christian needs to be grounded in the truth and know why it is the truth. Faith doesn’t make Christian claims true. Those of us who are followers of Jesus Christ have faith in the claims of our Savior exactly because the mountain of evidence exists for us to be convinced of its truth. There is no blind faith in Christendom, regardless of the pejorative claims of the enemies of Christianity.

The contemporary Christian church must view apologetics and apologetics training as a fundamental component of their church’s adult education programs. Failure to do so will eventually uncover this very uncomfortable reality; the next wave of apostates may be sitting in your church pews today.

[1] Kenneth Berding, “The Crisis of Biblical Illiteracy,” biola.edu, https://www.biola.edu/blogs/biola-magazine/2014/the-crisis-of-biblical-illiteracy, accessed February 18, 2024.

[2] Gregory A. Smith and Jessica Pumprey, “When Americans Says they Believe in God, What Do They Mean?” pewforum.org, https://www.pewforum.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2018/04/Beliefs-about-God-FOR-WEB-FULL-REPORT.pdf#:~:text=A%20new%20Pew%20Research%20Center%20survey%20of%20more,believe%20in%20God%20%E2%80%9Cas%20described%20in%20the%20Bible.%E2%80%9D, accessed February 18, 2024.