Stop Saying God’s Word Needs No Defense | Essay 5
If God’s Word can defend itself, then is apologetics a waste of time?
Welcome to the fifth installment of the Apologetics Book Club. Today we’re discussing Chapters 25–26 of Greg Bahnsen’s book, Always Ready. This is my fifth companion essay for the book. For this week’s study/discussion questions, scroll to the bottom. The Apologetics Book Club is for paid subscribers, so if you’d like to get full access to all the essays and to join the conversation—and to help support The Think Institute—please become a paid subscriber of Worldview Legacy!
Why We Defend the Faith
Bahnsen begins Chapter 25 with a quote I have seen attributed to Charles Spurgeon (though Bahnsen doesn’t attribute it to anyone): “The word of God no more needs defense than does a lion in a cage. Just let the lion loose, and it will take care of itself!” This statement seems pious, but it isn’t practical, and it misunderstands what apologists like Bahnsen actually teach about the Bible and apologetics. We do not engage in the defense of the faith because we think God needs us (!) but because God requires it of us.
For example, in Jude 1:3 we are commanded to “contend for the faith,” and 1 Peter 3:15 tells believers to be “always ready to give a defense.” So apologetics is not something God needs, but it is something He requires of us. We have to think about it in the right way.
Speaking of thinking about apologetics the right way, on pp. 111–112 Bahnsen lays out the following principles, derived from 1 Peter 3:15–16, that help us do this:
Being “always ready” does not mean arrogantly picking fights with unbelievers.
“Ready to defend” does not mean “able to persuade.” Only God can change a heart!
Whether you’re teaching the faith or defending it, keep the same standard (Scripture).
This is important. Our foundation is God’s word, not reason. The ability to reason is a gift from God, but it is not ultimate. We are to love God with our reasoning and all our minds, as Jesus reminds us in Matthew 22:32.
Circling back to the beginning, we don’t defend Christianity because God needs us. We do it because we love Him. Further, we love our neighbors and want them to know the truth (2 Timothy 2:24–25). Getting to share and defend that truth to unbelieving non-Christians is a blessing from God.
Faith, Knowledge, and Worldview
Speaking of non-Christians, on p. 117 Bahnsen states that, “What separates non-Christians from non-Christians is the matter of faith” (p. 117). Bahnsen opens Chapter 26 with this distinction, followed by his clarification that Christians (“believers”) things that non-Christians (“unbelievers”) simply do not. We believe the claims of Christ, the teachings of the Bible, and promises of Christ (p. 117).
More than merely believe, we say we actually know these claims are true (p. 118). We say that our beliefs are justified. This means that we have “adequate evidence proof, reason, or good reason for it” (p. 118). Meanwhile, the non-Christian says our belief is unjustified or that disbelief is justified. When we debate who is correct about this, we are engaging in apologetics.
Is it enough to resolve this debate by using a “look and see” method? This is the way we might check to see if there are crackers in the pantry (an illustration Bahnsen used in a famous debate vs. an atheist)? No. Looking and seeing sounds simple enough, but even looking and seeing relies on prior presuppositions about looking and seeing. For example, why do we believe in the trustworthiness of our ability to look? How should we interpret what we see? Is it possible to believe that you have seen a miracle, if you don’t believe that miracles are possible? For a naturalist, who does not believe in any supernatural explanations, even the most outlandish occurrences are going to be “explained” using only naturalist causes.
