I try to
live by a few simple rules: never smoke more than one cigar at a time; never
argue theology with an unbeliever; there are others.
I got the
first from Mark Twain; I got the second from the Bible.
"Answer
not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him. Answer a
fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit." Proverbs
26:4 & 5.
If you
engage in apologetic, as I do, you may have come across websites with titles such
as "Top 50 Questions Christians Can't Answer"
The
poster invariably declares that he was a Christian until he really started
"thinking" about God, the Bible, etc, after which he just couldn't
believe anymore. He wants to help others see that their faith is rationally
unsustainable, so he poses a series of questions which, he believes, demonstrate
the irrationality of Christianity and will, therefore, lead any "thinking"
Christian to abandon the faith.
Many well
meaning Christians have tried to respond to such "questionnaires.".
In doing so, they violate scripture in a number of regards and dishonor the
Lord they intend to defend. Unfortunately, this is the approach of most apologetic "ministries."
When the
unbeliever proposes such questions, he is not sincere; there are no
"honest seekers." The Bible declares that all men are, by nature, in
a state of rebellion against their creator. They do not want to know God. They
suppress the truth of God that is in them and around them; cf Romans 1:18.
Further,
by trying to give thoughtful answers to such questionnaires, the Christian legitimizes the questions and the questioner, in violation of the scripture cited above. By answering such questions as if they are legitimate, the
Christian becomes "like unto" the unbeliever in that he accepts the
unbelievers right to challenge God's word.
The would-be apologist also makes the unbeliever
"wise in his own conceit," by the fact that he does not challenge the
believer's basic premise, i.e. God's word is not ultimate; there is something
"higher" than God by which his word and actions can be tested. Ultimately that is man's autonomous intellect.
The
motivation for such questions is really a desire by the unbeliever to justify
himself ito himself. He is not sincerely seeking answers. What he
is really saying is "If I were God, I wouldn't do this, therefore the Christian God does not exist (I once caught
myself singing the son "If I Ruled the World" and realized that the
lyrics were blasphemous).
The only
Biblical response to such questioning is to challenge the unbeliever at the
very beginning of his thinking. By what standard does he presume to question God's word, i.e. what is his epistemological position, and how has he
validated, 'tested" this position. In spite of his pretended objectivity,
the unbeliever will be shown to be without a foundation and inexcusable in his
unbelief.
Thus, and
only thus, can the Christian be a faithful and consistent witness to the
Lordship of Christ.
