Re: Fable telling

Moorad Alexanian (alexanian@uncwil.edu)
Wed, 27 Oct 1999 09:04:32 -0400

The word "apologetics" conjures in my mind a sort of gut feeling or
commonsensical understanding of very complex questions. It is the sort of
arguments that forms the foundation of what people find as self-evident.
People of faith need apologetics just as much as those whom we are trying to
convince of the level-headedness of our Christian faith.

Moorad

-----Original Message-----
From: George Murphy <gmurphy@raex.com>
To: mortongr@flash.net <mortongr@flash.net>
Cc: Bill Hamilton <hamilton@predator.cs.gmr.com>; asa@udomo3.calvin.edu
<asa@udomo3.calvin.edu>
Date: Wednesday, October 27, 1999 8:06 AM
Subject: Re: Fable telling

>mortongr@flash.net wrote:
>>
>> Thanks Bill, for the, as usual, thoughtful analysis. I would make one
>> correction to the view that many have of apologetics. I have never
thought
>> it was an evangelism tool. It is, as you note(but don't quite say), a
>> discipleship tool. It is something that is useful to maintain belief
rather
>> than initiate belief.
>
> Education as a discipleship tool is certainly important but this has
>not, through Christian history, been what "aplogetics" has meant. "In the
history of
>Christian theology, this [apologetics] means the defence, by argument, of
Christian
>belief against external criticism or against other world views." (_The
Westminster
>Dictionary of Christian Theology_, s.v. "Apologetics".) The writings of
the 2d century
>"apologists" like Justin Martyr, e.g., are directed against Greco-Roman
paganism &/or
>Jewish opposition to Christianity, with the intent of showing the
superiority of
>Christianity to those systems.
> Of course such arguments can also function to preserve the faith of recent
>converts who might be tempted to return to their old beliefs. But that
isn't the
>primary task of apologetics _qua_ apologetics. E.g., the 1st & 2d
apologies of Justin
>are addressed formally to the emperor Antoninus Pius & the Roman senate
respectively,
>indicating where the primary thrust of the arguments is directed.
> There will be considerable commonality between what is discussed in
apologetics
>and in education of Christians but the standpoints are quite different.
For Christians
>the task is precisely "faith in search of understanding" rather than the
other way
>around, & this will affect how issues like historicity are dealt with.
> Shalom,
> George
>
>George L. Murphy
>gmurphy@raex.com
>http://web.raex.com/~gmurphy/
>
>