It’s much easier to simply say, “Hey, let the Bible, let the pastor, let seminary students, let the philosophers do this sort of thing.”īut when we do some language work in that passage in 1 Peter 3:15, we see that the call to give an answer is in the emphatic mood, which means that it’s actually a command for all believers to do this. It does appear that it’s really just for the Bible nerd or the person who says, “I want to spend my intellectual life in ministry, so I’m interested in apologetics,” but any new discipline that introduces rote foreign concepts and vocabulary kind of stretches us, and it can be intimidating. Related: Sunday Thoughts: ‘Christianity and Liberalism’ at 100ĬQ: How do you respond to people who say that apologetics is only for pastors, seminary students, or philosophers?ĮP: I completely understand that sentiment. But in short, Christian apologetics is providing a reasoned defense for why we believe what we believe. So the idea is that you’re being interrogated and being probed for why you’re doing what you’re doing, why you believe what you believe. Part of that verse is to always be ready to give an answer when asked. Within the context of 1 Peter, it’s actually when Christians undergo suffering. And so it is in meaning to provide a reasonable defense with connotations of a legal case for why the Christian believes what the Christian believes. Now, Peter picks up that language in his epistle, in 1 Peter 3:15, which is sort of the classical apologetics verse where he says, “Always be ready to give an answer.” And that word to give an answer is an apologia. And so I think the first place we see the word used is in Plato’s Apology, where he’s telling the story of Socrates to give essentially a legal defense, which he calls an apology. In part one of this conversation, we talked about the “why” behind apologetics.Ĭhris Queen: What’s a good quick definition of apologetics?Įvan Posey: I guess to be a little bit historical, the word “apologetics” has a biblical basis, but it also has sort of a Greek philosophical basis. I’ve known Evan and his family for years, and he has given apologetics seminars at my home church. Evan Posey, executive vice president, provost, and assistant professor of theology and apologetics at Luther Rice College and Seminary in Stonecrest, Ga. I recently had a conversation with my friend Dr.
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