Part Eighteen: Two Foundational Principles for All Evidential Apologetics—Number One.
The continental divide that separates Christians and non-Christians is whether or not the Bible is true. For Christians, the Bible is divine revelation from God and about God, which we can obtain from no other source. Without it, all supposed knowledge about God is merely human speculation. If the Bible does not contain divinely inspired factual (literal) information, we have no objective truth basis for any Christian belief. All Biblical doctrines and principles we hold dear become questionable if the Bible’s veracity is in doubt.
On the other hand, if the Bible is true, then it contains the very words of God. What it says about Jesus, salvation, the Holy Spirit, creation, heaven, hell, and every other subject it addresses has to be true. So the foundational issue of all apologetics is providing a compelling defense for the Bible’s truth and reliability. This can be stated in a governing apologetic principle:
If we can demonstrate that the Bible is truthful, always reliable, and can be validated by objective, non-Biblical evidences, we are justified in concluding that it will be equally truthful and reliable in its non-testable, spiritual truth claims. This conclusion is confirmed subjectively when the Bible’s spiritual truth claims are accepted and applied. Through the power of God, they transform people’s lives. We can legitimately conclude from objective and subjective evidences that the Bible is the authoritative Word of God.
In application, this principle states that documented eyewitness testimony, archaeological discoveries, textual reliability and accuracy of transmission, historical corroboration, precision of fulfilled prophecies, and the other confirming evidences demonstrate that the Bible is truthful in its historical, scientific, geographical, cultural, and other testable data. Since these verifiable facts are true, we can legitimately and logically conclude that the Bible is equally true in its non-testable, more subjective spiritual claims such as salvation through Jesus Christ, the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit, divine judgment, the existence of angels and demons, and so on.
This is not to imply, however, that we can only trust the Bible so far as we can prove it’s true. Christians are justified in accepting the Bible’s truth and authority on its own merits. Moreover, it is always the work of the Holy Spirit when an individual ultimately accepts the authority of Holy Scripture and Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. (See Acts 16:14, Romans 8:16, 1 Corinthians 2:10-14.). In short, apologetics demonstrates the truth of Scriptures; the Holy Spirit confirms it. ©
Next week’s blog article will look at the second fundamental principle of evidential apologetics, which has to do with why only Christianity is the logical choice for people seeking religious truth.
This series of blog articles is adapted from my book The Christian Combat Manual: Helps for Defending Your Faith; A Handbook for Practical Apologetics, which can be purchased at most outlets. The Combat Manual gives the Christian position on this issue and evidence to support it.