Traditional Apologetics
There are countless websites, books, articles, etc. purporting to prove or disprove the existence of God. Their sheer numbers, multitude of arguments, and general ineffectiveness tell us that it should be plain by now, after centuries of philosophical debate and syllogisms, that Christianity can never be proved or disproved by philosophical musings and recourse to traditional arguments. When it comes to the question of God, argumentation and apologetics only seem to reinforce one’s system of beliefs. The debate has continued over thousands of years, and we are left only with confusion, and the confused mind always says ‘no.’
Here are some simple facts that are mostly ignored. Intelligent people who have examined the issue of Christianity:
- are not Christians.
- are Christians.
- oscillate in their beliefs; sometimes they are, and sometimes not.
What this tells us is that the concept of God is so magnificent and beyond our collective ability to comprehend or describe that we cannot put him in a box of syllogisms. Our attempts at logic and other forms of persuasion (except the power of verified evidence) will always be woefully inadequate. If we rely exclusively on logic to believe, we will always have an underlying doubt. There are just too many questions that can never be answered by pure reason or historical examination.
Traditional apologetics
For the most part, whoever is converted based exclusively upon arguments and logic has a shallow faith, easily unhinged. Whatever the argument there is always the counter-argument. A person’s conclusion as to which is correct quite often is a result of where and how he grew up and his underlying assumptions and prejudices, whether Christian or non-Christian. We are intellectually stumped because we are attempting to solve a problem that cannot be solved by logic or argument. We simply do not have the intellectual or language resources to grasp the mysteries of the universe. We might just as well try to spoon out the ocean into a hole in the sand (see Overview). The easiest path is to go about our business and (1) ignore the eternal question or (2) opt for the easiest solution, which is a purely naturalistic explanation for all we see or speculate.
Traditional apologetics may open the door to belief by showing that belief is intellectually reasonable, and even compelling. A solid unshakeable belief, however, is much more accessible if you examine the empirical evidence in the form of verifiable events extraneous to the Bible. But that is just the beginning. You also need to engage your emotions and Prayer (even if you are a nonbeliever) for your faith journey to be successful. You will see what I mean when you go to Help my Unbelief.
Footnotes and Attributions
The picture is that of Brawling or Fighting Men in Medieval Dress or Costume.JPG English: Illustration by Paul Mercuri from “Costumes Historiques” (Paris, ca.1850′s). Accessed from Wikimedia Commons.
Last modified September 8, 2019