Those of us who are working within the branch of Christian theology known as “apologetics,” often have a rugged hill to climb in clarifying the purpose and goal of apologetics in evangelism to those within the Church, and thereby, convincing the ‘skeptics’ within the Church of its value and place within the evangelistic framework. I have often found it somewhat perplexing that the skepticism within the Church is at times stronger than that of the skeptics whom we engage outside the Church, as many skeptics, agnostics, and even atheists see the arguments and evidence for the Christian faith as a strong and viable challenge to their worldview, one in which they expend great effort to try and refute.

The resistance to apologetics can be summed up in the statement, “you can’t argue someone into the Kingdom.” I agree wholeheartedly, but with strong qualifications. These qualifications have been expressed by Greg Koukl who states:

 
In an interview with John D. Martin, William Lane Craig addresses the criticisms of apologetics and presents the biblical position and support of apologetics and its relevance to Christian evangelism today:

To hold to the position that apologetics—arguments/evidence—have no place in Christian evangelism, and that of helping to bring a soul to the saving knowledge of Christ, is to deny Jesus’ evangelistic methodology and to discount the entire apologetic methodology used throughout the Acts of the Apostles. I will offer several examples to illustrate my point.

The following example, of which there are many, of the use of logic in argument by Jesus is taken from the excellent article by Douglas Groothuis, Jesus: Philosopher and Apologist:

Moving on to the Apostle Paul; who routinely reasoned and/or argued with people wherever he went, I would like to focus upon his time in Athens and his presentation to the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. We pick up the story with Paul conducting his street, or should I say, marketplace ministry:

The Greek word for reasoned is dialegomai, whose definition is:

Luke accurately described Paul’s evangelistic methodology by using the word dialegomai: that of reasoning, entering into dialogue, to converse, argue or discuss. Paul additionally attempted to “persuade” (Greek: peitho) his hearers to accept the truth and many did respond this way. This word describes the attempt to change a person’s mind by the application of reason and also involves endeavoring to prevail in the discussion by winning them to one’s viewpoint. [4] Paul combines both a classical and an evidential apologetic, one that employs reason and fact, and is both rational and empirical. Throughout his evangelistic outreach, Paul employed what has been referred to as a resurrection apologetic. Every one of his witnessing presentations was an apologia for the resurrection.

It is obvious when studying Paul’s address at the Areopagus, that Luke captured a text book example of “being always ready to make a defense to anyone who asks you for the reason of the hope that is in you, doing so with gentleness and respect.” (1 Peter 3:15) Peter May offers the following ‘bullet points’ that can be found within Paul’s presentation found in Acts 17:

It is my prayer that the Lord will add to the church daily, such as will answer the call of adding apologetics to their evangelistic approach. It is biblical, and it was how the Christian faith was born, from Peter’s first sermon at Pentecost, (Acts 2:14-40) to Stephen’s farewell sermon, (Acts 7) to Paul’s defense before Felix and King Agrippa, (Acts 24:10-21; 26:2-23). Let us carry on in the tradition of those who have gone before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.

“The object of apologetics is not to antagonize or humiliate those outside the church, but to help open their eyes to the reality, reliability, and relevance of the Christian faith…Apologetics is about persuading people that there is a door to another world–a door that perhaps they never realized existed. Evangelism is about helping people to open that door and enter into the new world that lies beyond.”–Alister E. McGrath, Mere Apologetics

Are Evangelism and Apologetics Complimentary?–One Minute Apologist
Bobby answers whether or not evangelism and apologetics can help one another.
 

What is the Role of Apologetics in Evangelism–William Lane Craig
A special HBU Convocation featuring a discussion between William Lane Craig and Lee Strobel on the campus of Houston Baptist University.
 

Resources:

[1] Greg Koukl, Tactics, Zondervan, 2009, pg. 36
[2] William Lane Craig, Interview with John D. Martin, Boundless, http://www.reasonablefaith.org/a-few-minutes-with-dr-william-lane-craig-interview-by-john-d-martin#ixzz42h2zseyC
[3] Douglas Groothuis, Jesus: Philosopher and Apologist, http://www.equip.org/article/jesus-philosopher-and-apologist/
[4] Gary R. Habermas, The Resurrection of Jesus, pg. 172, 1984
[5] Peter May, Paul at Athens, http://www.bethinking.org/apologetics/paul-at-athens

During his imprisonment and torture in an Iranian jail, Pastor Saeed Abedini continued to evangelize, helping to convert 10 inmates from Islam to Christianity during his first year in captivity, he said.

“Ten of the prisoners turned to Christ the first year, so the prison found out, the intelligent police found out, and they moved me to another prison where the situation was worse,” Abedini told CBN Thursday.

By relocating Abedini, his captors were unknowingly helping to spread the seeds of the Gospel. “Every time they changed my prison, it was a good time to evangelize,” said the pastor. Complete article here

When it comes to helping refugees, Protestant churches and their pastors are often separated by faith and fear.
Most pastors say Christians should lend a hand to refugees and foreigners, and most believe caring for refugees is a privilege.
But pastors also say their churches are twice as likely to fear refugees as they are to help them, according to a new survey from LifeWay Research.
“Pastors believe Scripture tells Christians to care for refugees and foreigners,” said Ed Stetzer, executive director of the Nashville-based organization. “Yet many admit their church is not involved in such ministry.” Complete article, here

Hundreds of thousands of Christians are worshiping secretly in a rapidly accelerating house church movement in Iran, as a London-based theological center is aiding the movement by training the next generation of its spiritual leaders.

The Iranian government labels Christianity as a threat to the nation’s Islamic identity and imprisons over 100 Christians for worshiping Christ. Such crackdowns on faith, however, have not prevented Iranian house churches from blossoming into a movement too big for the Iranian religious police to contain.

Some estimates, such as one provided by Open Doors USA, record as many as 450,000 practicing Christians in Iran, while other, more optimistic estimates, record over 1 million Christians in the Islamic republic. Complete article, here

I am working my way through David Berlinski’s, The Devils’ Delusion—Atheism and It’s Scientific Pretensions, which is a refutation to Richard Dawkins’ book, The God Delusion. This is a brilliant, incisive, and funny book which explores the limits of science and the pretensions of those who insist it can be—indeed must be—the ultimate touchstone for understanding our world and ourselves. Although Dr. Berlinski refers to himself as a “secular Jew,” he offers a biting defense of religious thought within the pages of The Devil’s Delusion.

Berlinski takes point blank aim at Dawkins and his atheist worldview, and gives them both a well-deserved shot:

 
Berlinski does not shy away from calling out some of the leading scientists of our day as to the incoherent ideology of atheism and Darwinian evolution that they espouse. In reference to Richard Dawkins, Berlinski states:

 
This is confirmed in Dawkins book, River Out of Eden, where he reaffirms his position:

 
When I first read the above quotes by Dawkins, my first thought was, “how original.” (Sarcasm intended.) We need not look to far back to find the same ideology being espoused (almost verbatim) by none other than Bertrand Russell in his essay, “A Free Man’s Worship” (1903):

In a March, 2006 interview, Berlinski compares Dawkins brand of atheism with that of Bertrand Russell:

Then Berlinski moves on to Peter Atkins, professor of physical chemistry at Oxford University:

 
As an example of the “comical declarations” highlighted by Berlinski, I’ve included the following clip from the debate between William Lane Craig and Peter Atkins:

The Devil’s Delusion is a tour de force by Berlinski, in which he turns the scientific community’s cherished skepticism back on itself, daring to ask and answer some rather embarrassing questions:

Berlinski does not dismiss the achievements of western science. The great physical theories, he observes, are among the treasures of the human race. But they do nothing to answer the questions that religion asks, and they fail to offer a coherent description of the cosmos or the methods by which it might be investigated.

This book may not bring someone to belief in Christ and cause them to embrace the Christian worldview, but it will cause the unbeliever, whether atheist, sceptic or agnostic, to pause and think critically about their worldview, which hopefully will bring them to consider a careful and critical examination of the evidence for the Christian worldview–an examination that will hopefully lead them to a saving knowledge of the eternal Word of God—Jesus Christ.

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth…In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. (John 1:1-3 ESV)

I recently attended a Christian-Muslim dialogue event in which a Muslim man presented the Islamic position regarding “Prophethood According to the Qur’an.” One of the points he made was that “prophets must be sinless—as in free from intentional sins, especially major sins like idolatry, murder of innocents, rape, drunkenness, etc.” (this is a direct quote from his handout.) As the Qur’an is quite clear as to Isa (Jesus) being the only sinless prophet, I was a bit surprised at the position he was taking. However, after researching the topic further, it became quite clear that the ‘sinless prophets’ tradition, referred too as Isma in the Islamic literature, is just that, a tradition that was developed outside the teachings of the Qur’an and the hadith. So, you may be asking, why was it developed and what are its origins? Please read on for the answers to these questions. (Much of the following material is excerpts from articles found at: http://answering-islam.org I highly recommend this site for those engaged in Christian-Muslim dialogue.)

This later development of the “sinless prophets” tradition, or what is known as isma, is one that relates to the 25 prophets named in the Qur’an. Throughout the Muslim world today it is generally believed that all of the prophets enjoyed an isma, a protection against sin, and that they were accordingly sinless. This is yet another one of the many inconsistencies and/or contradictions within Islamic theology. As we’ll see from the following Islamic resources, isma has been developed, established and maintained against the plain teaching of the Qur’an and Hadith.

There are basically two reasons for the rise of this doctrine in Islam. Firstly, the early Muslims soon discovered that the Bible taught plainly that Jesus was the only sinless man that ever lived and, confronted with this evidence, deemed it necessary to invent the fiction that all the prophets, with special emphasis on Muhammad, were sinless as well. A superiority of Jesus over Muhammad could not be tolerated and, just as miracles were attributed to the figurehead of Islam to give him a status at least equal to that of Jesus, so he was also held to be sinless for the same purpose.

Secondly, the doctrine of revelation in Islam holds that the scriptures were dictated directly to the prophets by the intermediary angel (Gabriel) and it was therefore believed that the prophets must have possessed an impeccable character for, if they could not keep themselves from error in their personal lives, how could they be trusted to communicate God’s revelations without error? This latter presupposition led perforce to the conclusion that the prophets must have been sinless.

Let’s first look at the what the Islamic sources say about Jesus’ sinlessness, a position that was held by Muslims until the time that isma was introduced:

 
The ahadith record Muhammad as interpreting the preceding passage to mean that Mary and her Son were the only ones whom Satan was unable to touch:

Narrated Said bin Al-Musaiyab:

 
It is evident from the foregoing that Muhammad not only is said to have believed in Jesus’ sinlessness, but in Mary’s as well. The next hadith supports this view:

Narrated Abu Musa:

 
Ibn Kathir writes:

 
Here is the other passage that points to Jesus’ sinlessness:

 
One thing is for certain–the conclusion that Jesus was sinless stems from a careful examination of both the Quran and the Islamic traditions.

Furthermore, Jesus is the only person specifically said to be blessed:

 
Christian author and evangelist Samuel Green rightly noted:

 
Thirdly, both the Quran and the ahadith deny that Muhammad was sinless:

 
In Mecca, Mohammad receives this command about his sin:

 
The Arabic word dhanaba (verb form) come from the root dh-n-b. How is dh-n-b defined? Is it only a small weakness? Merely a minor fault?

A Muslim scholar defines it thus: “Crime; Fault; Offence; Sin; Any act having an evil result” (Omar). A western scholar defines it as “a crime, fault, sin” (Penrice). Hence, the above ayahs are unambiguous-Muhammad was not sinless.

The final example of Muhammad’s sin comes from Sura 48, a Medinan chapter.

 
This verse was probably revealed in 628, barely four years before he died of a fever in AD 632. Does this mean that the messenger of Allah had sin before AD 628? This seems to be the case. To be forgiven of dh-n-b, one must have it first. 

And in Sahih Bukhari, Muhammad confirms his sinfulness and need for repenting:

 
Fourthly, the following traditions clearly contrast the essential purity of the Lord Jesus from the sinfulness of Muhammad, as well as the other true prophets:

Narrated Abu Huraira:

 
Note that Muhammad allegedly acknowledged that the major prophets (himself included) were sinners in need of forgiveness, with the Lord Jesus being the sole exception! This is perhaps why a Muslim like Qatadah (as reported by Al Tabari) could say:

 
What is ironic about the preceding hadiths is that instead of having the sinless Jesus intercede for others, the sinful Muhammad is granted the right of intercession, even though the other prophets are unable to intercede PRECISELY because they had sinned! To summarize the data we have gathered thus far, we find that both the Quran and the Islamic traditions mention specifically only three people who were sinless and pure: Jesus, his mother Mary, and John the Baptist.

As we can see, this later development of the doctrine of isma, was adopted without support of the Qur’anic or hadith sources. In his excellent book, The Gentle Answer-to the Muslim Accusation of Biblical Falsification, Gordon Nickel offers the following explanation as to the source of the late Islamic tradition of ‘isma’:

In regards to the Fikh Akbar ll mentioned in the proceeding paragraphs, under section, THE PROPHETS (UPON THEM BE PEACE), MUHAMMAD AND THE COMPANIONS, it states:

 
It is obvious that this statement is contradictory. It first states that “the prophets are all free from minor sins,” then concludes with, “nor did he [Muhammad] ever commit a minor sin or enormity,” by which the superiority of Muhammad is affirmed and as such, relegating all other prophets, including Isa/Jesus, as being inferior to Muhammad. Once again, this is a later tradition which has no backing in the Qur’an itself.

To reiterate, the doctrine was adopted for two reasons:

Only one sinless man has ever lived on this earth, that is the God-man, Jesus Christ. Both the Bible and the Qur’an attest to this fact. My dear Muslim brothers and sisters, I ask that you carefully study your own sources regarding Isa ibn Maryam, and after having done so, then study the Bible/New Testament (the Injil) with an open mind so that God may reveal His truth to you so that you may come to know Jesus and who He truly is–the Way, the Truth and the Life. (John 14:6)

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:14-16)

Resource:
[1] Gordon Nickel, The Gentle Answer-to the Muslim Accusation of Biblical Falsification, Bruton Gate Publishers, 2015, Pgs. 143, 144

Jesus and Muhammad as Prophets of Islam–Nabeel Qureshi

More on the Islamic traditions/positions held regarding the prophets coming soon.

Apologetics Canada is offering three conference in March and April 2016. Northview Community Church, Abbotsford-March 4-5; Emmanuel Baptist Church, Barrie-April 22-23; Light Presbyterian Church, Toronto-April 22-23

For further information, click here

Special journal looks at whether Muslims and Christians worship the same God, why it matters, and better questions to ask.

Do Muslims and Christians worship the same God?

Nearly two dozen evangelical experts on missions and Muslims have compiled their thoughts on how the answer affects Muslim missions, why it’s a bad question to begin with, and propose better questions to ask instead.

A 32-page, special edition of the Occasional Bulletin from the Evangelical Missiological Society (EMS) seeks to constructively contribute to the highly publicized dispute over whether Wheaton College should discipline professor Larycia Hawkins for stating in a Facebook post that Christians and Muslims “worship the same God.” [Arab evangelical scholars weighed in last week.]

Robert Priest, a mission and anthropology professor at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (TEDS) and current EMS president, has “watched with interest” the unfolding Wheaton-Hawkins debate because, for evangelicals worldwide, “what Wheaton does affects us all.” For complete article, here

In the introduction of his milestone book/study, David Garrison reveals a movement of God’s Spirit within the House of Islam, a movement of a magnitude that has not been seen over the last 1400 years.

“A wind is blowing through the House of Islam. The House of Islam, Dar al-Islam in Arabic, is the name Muslims give to an invisible religious empire that stretches from West Africa to the Indonesian archipelago, encompassing 49 nations and 1.6 billion Muslims. Dwarfing the size of any previous earthly kingdom, Islam directs the spiritual affairs of nearly a quarter of the world’s population. But something is happening today that is challenging the hold that Islam exercises over its adherents. Muslim movements to Jesus Christ are taking place in numbers we’ve never before seen.”

What does this mean to us as Christians who have been called to be ambassador’s for Christ? Those who Christ commissioned  before His ascension and gave the promise of empowerment that we would “receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8 ESV) When one considers the language/ethnic groups in which Jesus’ disciples spoke after they were endowed from the “power from on high,” Jesus’ commission is clear-we are to be ambassador’s of the Gospel to ALL people everywhere. “And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” (Acts 2:7-11 ESV)

At the end of his book, David Garrison puts forth the following challenge and methodology for effective Muslim outreach:

“In the course of this book we have learned a lot about Muslims and about how God is at work in the House of Islam. This has been an insightful journey, but if we finish this journey with nothing more than education and observations, we have fallen short of the discipleship implications of this information. Christ’s invitation, indeed Christ’s mandate, is for us to be a part of his great work. Christ calls us to raise our spiritual sails and ride the wind of his Spirit that is blowing throughout the world.

How do we do this? Here are five practical steps we can take right now that will align us with God’s redemptive activity among Muslims.

1) Pray for Muslims-Prayer changes things, and every Christian can pray for Muslims…When we pray for Muslims, we begin to see them as God sees them. If you lack a love for Muslims, pray for them and see how your heart changes.

2) Support outreach and ministries to Muslims-You’ve seen the importance of missionary and local Christian witness, Bible translation efforts, gospel videos, satellite television, radio broadcasts, compassion ministries, religious freedom advocacy, ministry to refugees, and other efforts. These ministries are costly. Muslims will not and should not be expected to pay for their own evangelization. That job is up to Christians, Christians from both a Muslim background and from a Christian background. God has placed more wealth into the hands of Christians today then at any time in history.

3) Go to Muslims-Movements to Christ do not take place spontaneously. They occur when someone sacrificially responds to God’s call and brings to them the good news…The Bible makes it clear, “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless thy are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the fee to those who bring good news!'” (Rom. 10:14-15)

4) Minister to Muslims in your own community-A rich definition of ministry has grown out of the many Muslim movements to Christ around the world; Christians participating in these movements define ministry as “answering the prayers of lost people.” this concept of ministry requires us to get to know Muslims, to listen to them, to become their friends.

5) Share the Gospel with Muslims-Prayer and ministry are the perfect preludes to gospel witness. When you’ve spent time praying for someone and then demonstrated Christ’s love to them through ministry, it is natural to “give the reason for the hope that you have.” “But” as the Apostle Peter continues, we must always “do this with gentleness and respect.” (1 Peter 3:15)
(end of excerpts from “A Wind in the House of Islam.”)

For further resources regarding ministry to Muslims, see the section on this site, Evangelism to Muslims, here

The Book that Changed the World
THE RELIABILITY AND RELEVANCE OF THE BIBLE

Dr. Daniel B. Wallace will present powerful evidence for those watching live or live stream concerning the reliability of the Bible in the main lecture, “How Badly has the Bible Been Corrupted?” February 5, 7:00-9:30pm EST at Elliott Hall of Music, Purdue University.

Most people are simply unaware of the fact that the historical reliability of the Bible is incomparably greater than any other ancient texts. To deny this is to require skepticism about the reliability of all ancient literature. Indeed, the level of reliability of the Bible is so high that the Bible we hold in our hands today is essentially the same as what was available in the first century. Come hear and see the astounding evidence and learn about the relevance and historical reliability of the Bible. There will also be a manuscript exhibit such that one can actually see and literally touch the books that changed the world. The Bible has had more impact on western civilization than virtually anything else. Hospitals were named after religious sects, not after secularism. The university likewise owes its existence to Christian thought derived from the Bible.

For more information on specific topics and events see http://www.symposiachristi.com/