Is Traditional Apologetics Useful in Today’s Postmodern World? *
The concern that traditional apologetic tactics may not be useful today has prompted some Christian apologists to suggest that Christians must avoid making any propositional truth-claims. Instead, we should make our case from a wholly subjective point of view because the worldviews of many people ignore logic, seek to circumvent rational discourse, and deny the possibility of discovering absolute truth. These people often shrug us off with quips such as:
• “Well, that may be true for you, but it’s not for me.”
• “It’s okay if you want to be a Christian; I don’t mind, but it’s not for me.”
• “That’s your interpretation; I have my own.”
• “Judge not lest you be judged.”
Although successfully communicating apologetics in our postmodern world may necessitate adding a few subjective weapons to our apologetic arsenal, I disagree that traditional apologetics are ineffective today. In fact, Christian apologists who sidestep the issue of absolute truth, especially in terms of Christian truth-claims, are making a serious tactical error that will greatly diminish their effectiveness in countering postmodernism.
Christianity, after all, is a history-based religion grounded on specific historical events that actually occurred. (See 1 Corinthians 15:3-8). One cannot separate the first coming of Jesus Christ, the Day of Pentecost described in Acts 2, Jesus’ resurrection, and other historical events from the spiritual truths that flow out of them. This historical “rootedness” separates Christianity from all other religions. If we can’t demonstrate that the Bible reveals genuine knowledge, wisdom, and absolute truth, Christianity becomes just one more dish in the smorgasbord of available religions. Rather than hiding from the reality of absolute truth and the veracity of sound reasoning, our first apologetic task, when confronting postmodernism, is to establish that Christianity rests on verifiable historical facts and presents absolute, objective truth—not subjective opinions.
Fortunately, in spite of what critics may say, this approach works. As C. S. Lewis pointed out,
One of the things that distinguishes man from the other animals is that he wants to know things, wants to find out what reality is like, simply for the sake of knowing. . . . Christianity claims to give an account of facts—to tell you what the real universe is like. . . . If Christianity is untrue, then no honest man will want to believe it, however helpful it might be: if it is true, ever honest man will want to believe it, even if it gives him no help at all. [1]
Most ordinary people we meet still maintain beliefs that depend on absolute truth. Even people who verbally endorse postmodernism and preach relativism do not live consistently with this philosophy. It’s easy to tout moral relativism at a party or in online discussions—or in the ivory tower of academia—but in the real world most people still think and behave in terms of moral absolutes and still accept the trustworthiness of logic and reason in most areas of life. This isn’t hard to demonstrate; it’s a matter of asking questions that helps postmodernists to realize that in fact they do think and behave as if absolute truth does exist. ©
My Next Series
This brings us to my next series of blog articles, which I’ll begin January 4th (after my yearly Christmas and New Year’s hiatus). I will call it “The Flip Side of Apologetics: Putting the Burden of Proof on the Unbeliever.” The series will focus primarily on examples of the kinds of questions we can ask non-Christian in order to challenge them to justify and defend their views on the very issues they challenge us (such as the postmodern assumption that there are no absolute truths). This is a powerful apologetic strategy, which I’ve written about and taught on for nearly twenty years.
[1] C.S. Lewis, God in the Dock; Essays on Theology and Ethics (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1994), p. 108-109.
* This article is adapted from Part Four in my book, The Christian Combat Manual; Helps for Defending Your Faith: A Handbook for Practical Apologetics, which is available in most outlets.