Episode Details

In last week’s edition we began looking at seven types of ‘apologetics’ that are scattered across the spectrum of our interactions with the non-Christian world. Brief recap:

* Persuasion: the reason and argument that takes place when we are actually presenting the gospel.

* Answering objections: responding to the questions, objections and accusations that arise in response to the gospel. 

* Pre-emptive objections: clearing away obstacles or objections before we get to actually explaining the gospel. 

* Building confidence in Christians by fortifying them against the attacks and objections of the world. 

Let’s get onto the final three, and some feisty concluding thoughts. 

5. God talk

Way down the left end of the process, there’s a kind of engagement and interaction with our non-Christian friends that deserves to be named and recognized. 

We might call it ‘pre-evangelistic engagement’ or ‘relationship building’. Ever since I first learned the term in the Two ways to live training course (back in the day), I’ve tended to think of it as ‘God talk’.

‘God talk’ is not really ‘apologetics’ in any meaningful sense, although it may be responsive to a particular question or idea that our friend raises in conversation. It’s simply the personal engagement and conversation that happens as we get to know non-Christian people, and begin to reveal our gospel beliefs in the course of everyday conversation:

* when we express a gospel-based opinion about a particular current topic;

* when our Monday morning office chat includes what we learned at church the previous day;

* when we talk about our own Christian experience in some way;

* when we explain our behaviour or choices or opinions in a Christian way;

* when we offer to pray for someone.

I think this is the kind of everyday opportunity that Colossians 4:5-6 assumes is taking place as Christians interact with the world, and of which we’re to make good use (by taking the conversation further ‘to the right’, towards the gracious, salty word of the gospel.) 

6. Positive reasons

This is another category of interaction which is difficult to label as ‘apologetics’, although it is often described in this way (as ‘positive apologetics’). 

It’s the process of offering positive reasons or arguments for Christianity and the gospel, based on the reasonableness or goodness of Christian belief. This kind of interaction commends the gospel as worthy of consideration on the basis of things like these: 

* the way that Christianity so satisfyingly explains the way the world is, and our experience of it (e.g. both the goodness and evil of man; the existence and nature of love, justice, hope, meaning, personhood, morality, and so on); 

* the famous ‘proofs’ of God’s existence, which seek to show that good logic demands we believe in the existence of an all-knowing, all-powerful personal God; 

* studies or examples showing that Christians live deeply satisfying lives; 

* how the Christian gospel actually answers the deepest questions and aspirations we have as humans;

* historical studies that highlight the essential and positive contribution Christianity has made to our civilization. 

This is a best-foot-forward kind of approach. Let’s show the world how good and useful and reasonable and attractive Christian belief really can be (and therefore why they should give it a second look). 

I’m sure we’ve all employed this kind of argument in conversations or sermons, at least in passing (I certainly have). Some more thorough-going examples of this kind of engagement would be the work of The Centre for Public Christianity, or the argument of John