Advice for Apologists — Stand to Reason Podcast
Robby, Tim, Jon, and Amy discuss the mistakes we can make as apologists and give advice for how we can stay balanced in our study, treat people with dignity, exhibit the kind of character that reflects Christ when interacting with others, improve our skills, and more.
#StandtoReason #Apologetics #Christianity
————— MENTIONED ON THE SHOW —————
“For the Student Who Wants to Be a Christian Apologist” by Amy Hall: https://www.str.org/w/for-the-student-who-wants-to-be-a-christian-apologist
“How Should We Interact with the Uncivil?” by Amy Hall: https://www.str.org/w/how-should-we-interact-with-the-uncivil-
“Eight Lessons on Being an A-Paul-ogist” by Tim Barnett: https://www.str.org/w/eight-lessons-on-being-an-a-paul-ogist
“Proverbs for Apologists” by Amy Hall: https://www.str.org/w/proverbs-for-apologists
“You Want to Be a Good Apologist?” by Amy Hall: https://www.str.org/w/you-want-to-be-a-good-apologist-
“Apologetics Aren’t Enough to Connect You with a Person” by Amy Hall: https://www.str.org/w/apologetics-aren-t-enough-to-connect-you-with-a-person
“Do You Convey a Sense of the Reality, Centrality, and Desirability of Jesus with Your Apologetics?” by Amy Hall: https://www.str.org/w/do-you-convey-a-sense-of-the-reality-centrality-and-desirability-of-jesus-with-your-apologetics-
“A Daily Prayer for This Cultural Moment” by Amy Hall: https://www.str.org/w/a-daily-prayer-for-this-cultural-moment
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I'm really not an evangelist, but I do look for opportunities for apologetics. With most people (i.e in person, interactive), if they express that they aren't interested, I honor that by not pressing. With social media trolls, I'll have my say on the topic at hand, whether as a comment or a reply/response. But if it's clear they are trolls or otherwise don't care to hear the truth, I tell them right away they can have the last word and just walk away. What I have to work on is not telling them why (i.e. Proverbs 23:9 and 26:4) as it would be an obvious dig. At least I'm not calling them names or (otherwise) ridiculing them. Hopefully, if we meet in the future, the way will still be open for further discussion. God chooses – not me. The Holy Spirit convicts – not me. I will answer to my faith as best I can, without wasting my time with trolls.
It's nice to see/hear Mr B in a longer video than usual.
Mr B: You've stopped buying books you are not going to read?!? Has it really come to that? Great show all of you!
In light of what the Bible says in Exodus 20:4, what would you say to a Christian brother or sister who believes there is nothing wrong with the Jesus portrayed in The Chosen TV series? IMO, progressive Christians would rather have the cultural Jesus than the Jesus of Scripture. Could Jehovah Shalom lead someone to the Jesus of Scripture through The Chosen series or by listening to a Skillet song? This may be up for debate since we don't want to put Yahweh in our finite box but we must push man's ideologies and opinions through the filter of Scripture. I don't know why progressive Christians like to call reformed Christians Pharisees or legalists. If the Gospel message is being preached with humility and meekness, why is there so much emphasis on being loving? If my loving (as defined by the culture) another in preaching the Gospel message causes me to compromise so I don't offend, then I am not being faithful. I really enjoy listening to Darrell Harrison and Virgil Walker who are the hosts of The Just Thinking podcast. Darrell works for Phil Johnson and John MacArthur at Grace Community Church in CA. Virgil works for Josh Buice at G3 Ministries in GA. Thanks for all that you do.
To God be the glory.
Great round table!
My biggest challenge in apologetics is not dealing with the obstinate people. I'm good at that; I can win just about any theological argument.
What I struggle with is knowing how to help someone understand who wants to learn; yet doesn't necessarily "comprehend" well. I've worked with a lot of developmentally disabled people. At least a few of which I'm pretty sure were genuine believers. They displayed an incredible amount of faith; even if they didn't have a lot of knowledge; or (more likely) struggled to articulate what they understood in their souls that, wasn't particularly based in organized theological expositions.
My son is like this. He has intractable epilepsy; which causes a lot of memory problems for him. And I've come to understand for people like him who want to learn; is the most useful thing for teaching them is to listen carefully and spend a lot of time observing how they as individuals learn. When I can help someone like my son see more clearly through the haze of (primarily their disability) that is the greatest moment of triumph for the Spirit of God and the greatest moment of blessing for me.
Those are the moments I treasure. Those are more golden than whether or not I've put some useful idiot in their place!
Love a good bit of meta-apologetics
PS In the OT they apparently used the phrase 'Give glory to God' to mean 'Speak the truth'. I agree. Our basic alliance should be to truth anyway. But Christ is the truth, which is great from a Christian perspective. 'So how do you know the truth?' would be my first question in the truth department, once the definition of truth has been set (as, for instance 'truth is correspondance of the description with the thing being described'.) The answer, BTW, is to compare the description to the thing being described, and see whether they match. Then you know whether you have the truth, or not.
One thing that I have learned in the last few months is that I don't have to have a gotcha moment. Trying to be so much "smarter" than the person I am talking to in order to trap them. And even as I type this I am reminded that that is what the Pharisees would do to Jesus.
Muy bueno!
Great show with really helpful points, looking forward to more Roundtables in the future.
God bless everyone at Stand To Reason.
The most common questions Officers would ask me were the ones I didn't have an answer for. My common response was, "I'm not sure Sir, but I will look it up and get back to you." Not every one became my follower, but many did.