William Lane Craig provided the plenary talk at this year’s Apologetics Conference held in RI. I was fortunate enough to attend and be able to roll this into my seminar studies. He focused on three main points which he has touched on in his lectures hosted on reasonablefaith.org. Firstly, he commented on the importance of apologetics in shaping a culture. Most of Europe and Canada have gone post-Christian in the sense that the cultural milieu supporting a Christian worldview cannot be taken for granted. The echoes of the eighteenth-century Enlightenment promoting naturalism and eventually atheism still afflict modern society. This fact makes the work of the apologist harder as one must make up for lost time.
Next, Dr. Craig commented on the role apologetics takes in strengthening believers. While it is the role of the Holy Spirit to preserve the believer there is some responsibility on the part of the believer to persevere. Apologetics can be the tool the Holy Spirit uses to encourage and bolster the faith of the believer. Intellectual assault, especially on younger demographic groups, is prevalent in society today. This is even true within the United States which is considers itself a “Christian nation”. There is an element of spiritual warfare that is waged when the arguments are being vetted. This idea of warfare is not to be confused with a “culture war” or other sort of hostile posture towards the unbeliever. Such a position is counter to biblical Christianity.
The plenary talk finished the role of apologetics in evangelism. Some have contended “no one comes to faith by argument”. Biblical accounts of preaching, especially in the New Testament, show the early apostles confronting the arguments of both Jews and pagans at their level. The experiences of noted apologists such as Craig and Strobel suggest that well crafted arguments are a valuable apologetic tool. It the Holy Spirit working through the well-crafted arguments for the faith that leads individuals to Christ.
As a footnote, I had a chance to say hello to Dr. Craig at the end of today’s sessions. I thanked him for the work he does and expressed how his remarks on the importance of youth apologetics was so important. I’m blessed to be part of a fellowship that is starting a program to target our youth. It is so important to teach them not what they believe but why.
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