Evidential Apologetics

It seems things haven't changed since St. Paul's day: Jews still seek signs, and Greeks still seek wisdom. Of course, "Jew" and "Greek" no longer refer to nationalities, but to worldviews. "Jews" are those who demand visible proof of the Gospel, and "Greeks" are those who refuse to believe unless they can be reasoned to faith.

Both of these positions put the burden of proof on the one presenting Christianity. "If you're going to tell me to believe," objectors imply, "you're going to have to prove what you're telling me is true." But this is exactly what we must not do: such an apologetic method makes man the standard of truth, rather than the God who made man.

If the claims of Christianity are true, the burden of proof is on the unbeliever to prove that God doesn't exist, that He hasn't revealed Himself to mankind, and that we don't have souls destined for either torment or joy. Yet the unbeliever rejects these out of hand simply because he is an unbeliever, and demands proof. It's an impossible, unsustainable circular argument.

Evidential apologists (defenders of the Christian faith who rely on physical evidence to prove the truth of Christianity) attempt to supply such proof. They produce original autographs of the Bible, references to biblical characters in contemporary secular writing, artifacts and other archeological evidence, etc. to justify belief in the Christian Gospel.

Cumulative case apologists take a somewhat different approach. They have a similar interest in physical evidence, but also use logic and Classical arguments for the existence of God. Whereas evidential apologetics focus on hard evidence, cumulative case apologists are preoccupied with proving that belief in Christianity is reasonable and even incontrovertible.

As far as proving the validity of Christianity, both these methods are incomplete because neither are rooted primarily in the fact of God's self-revelation to mankind, both in the person of Jesus of Nazareth and in the written Bible. The only real reason to believe the Gospel is that it is God's truth; and how can God's truth be proved by purely human means?

That, however, doesn't mean that producing evidence is worthless. For one thing, Christians themselves need reassurance from time to time, and showing them that their faith does have an historical basis can be extremely helpful. For another, it is possible to demonstrate to unbelievers that Christianity isn't a complete invention, and thus to establish grounds for dialogue and mutual respect.

It is the Holy Spirit that saves. As children of Adam dead in our trespasses and sins, we're unable to bring ourselves back to life with a choice, a prayer, or an intellectual assent. Only God can bring us to Himself. But in His infinite wisdom He's put in place primary and secondary means, so that what we do and say plays some part in His plan.

Because of this, we have to bear in mind the limits of any apologetic method, and to employ any argument to the glory of God and for the spread of His Gospel. For this task, presuppositional apologetics is the best tool, since its foundation is God's Word, not man's reason or physical evidence. But evidence and argument have their place, and we shouldn't abandon them altogether.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he is a husband and father, teaches adult Sunday school in his Presbyterian congregation, and likes weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.

 

Did you find this review helpful?
Parent Categories
24 Items found Print
Case for Christ
by Lee Strobel
N edition stated from HarperCollins
in Evidential Apologetics (Location: XAP-EVI)
Case for Christ
by Lee Strobel
N edition stated from Zondervan
in Evidential Apologetics (Location: XAP-EVI)
$8.49
Case for Christ
by Lee Strobel
from Zondervan
in Evidential Apologetics (Location: XAP-EVI)
Case For Faith
by Lee Strobel
from HarperCollins
for 11th-Adult
in Clearance: Christian Books (Location: XCLE)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Creation Basics & Beyond
by Henry Morris III et. al.
2nd edition from Institute for Creation Research
for 10th-Adult
in Faith & Science (Location: XAP-SCI)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Don't Check Your Brains At The Door
by Josh McDowel & Bob Hostetler
from Thomas Nelson Publishers
for 7th-10th grade
in Evidential Apologetics (Location: XAP-EVI)
$12.74
Evidence for Jesus
by Ralph O. Muncaster
from Harvest House
for 10th-Adult
in Evidential Apologetics (Location: XAP-EVI)
$10.19
Evidence That Demands a Verdict
by Josh McDowell
3rd edition from Thomas Nelson Publishers
for 9th-Adult
in Evidential Apologetics (Location: XAP-EVI)
$44.99
Forensic Faith
for Adult
in Evidential Apologetics (Location: XAP-EVI)
$16.14
Forensic Faith Curriculum Kit
by J. Warner Wallace
from David C. Cook
for 9th-Adult
in Evidential Apologetics (Location: XAP-EVI)
God's Will: God's Best for Your Life
by Josh McDowell, Kevin Johnson
from Bethany House
for 7th-12th grade
in Growing Up Christian (Location: XCL-GROW)
$3.30 (1 in stock)
I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist
by Norman L. Geisler, Frank Turek
from Crossway Books
for 9th-Adult
in Evidential Apologetics (Location: XAP-EVI)
$18.69
I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist - Curriculum Workbook
from Apologia Educational Ministries
for 9th-Adult
in Worldview Curriculum (Location: BIBWV)
$33.00
Jesus Among Other Gods
by Ravi Zacharias
from W Publishing Group
for 10th-Adult
in Evidential Apologetics (Location: XAP-EVI)
$5.40 (1 in stock)
Jesus Unmasked
by Todd Friel
from New Leaf Press
for Adult
in Evidential Apologetics (Location: XAP-EVI)
$8.50
Know What You Believe
by Marie Little, Paul E. Little
Revised from David C. Cook
for 9th-Adult
in Clearance: Christian Books (Location: XCLE)
$3.00 (2 in stock)
Manifested in the Flesh
by Joel McDurmon
from American Vision Press
for Adult
in Evidential Apologetics (Location: XAP-EVI)
$21.21 $7.20 (1 in stock)
Many Infallible Proofs
by Henry M. Morris
from Master Books
for Adult
in Evidential Apologetics (Location: XAP-EVI)
$9.00
More Than a Carpenter
by Josh McDowell
from Tyndale House
in Evidential Apologetics (Location: XAP-EVI)
$1.50 (2 in stock)
More Than a Carpenter
by Josh McDowell, Sean McDowell
Revised from Tyndale House
in Evidential Apologetics (Location: XAP-EVI)
$5.94
Screwtape Letters
by C. S. Lewis
Annotated from HarperOne
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$28.99
Unshakable Truth
by Josh McDowell and Sean McDowell
from Harvest House
in Evidential Apologetics (Location: XAP-EVI)
$3.60 (1 in stock)
War on Christmas
by Bodie Hodge
from Master Books
for Adult
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
$14.39
Why Should Anyone Believe Anything At All?
by James Sire
from InterVarsity Press
for 11th-Adult
in Worldview Resources (Location: XWV-RES)
$13.60 $4.80 (1 in stock)