On Apologetics – Why Defend the Faith

Greetings Dear Reader,

With the foundations of truth and love as your platform what is to be gained by becoming one who can defend the reasons for faith?  How am I to take up apologetics and assure that I do so with love and integrity?

We have covered the first tenet.  I must move forward with the understanding that faith is required by God; therefore, there will be no conclusive proof that eliminates the need for faith.  This does not mean that there cannot be reasonable apology for what one believes.  It does mean that no matter how close we come in knowing there will still need to be some believing.

It is easy to say that our faith is absurd and foolish.  It is.  Absurdity and foolishness do not make something wrong or untrue.  The concept of an all-powerful, all knowing, and eternal being who created us, loves us, and died for us is quintessential foolishness.  I believe that understanding this aspect of who God is gets lost in the discussion.

The idea of giving back good for evil is not one that is “normal” to our nature.  We defend our faith because we are fools for Christ.  We defend our faith because we believe the unbelievable.  The first truth from which I must proceed is that the entire framework of following Christ is foolishness to the common observer.

The abundant array of opposites leads one to believe that the life of following Christ is one foolish. 

I am to:

·         Love my enemy

·         Return good for evil

·         Be humble to advance

·         Give up everything to get what I need

·         Die to live

The primary reason to defend my faith is to show with love and kindness that there will not be answers to everything.  When I lovingly live out my faith I must be willing to be honest is saying that everything will not have a scientific, logical, or reasonable answer.  From this we may proceed.

God’s Own Fool – Michael Card

Seems I've imagined Him all of my life

As the wisest of all of mankind

But if God's Holy wisdom is foolish to men

He must have seemed out of His mind

For even His family said He was mad

And the priests said a demon's to blame

But God in the form of this angry young man

Could not have seemed perfectly sane

Chorus

When we in our foolishness thought we were wise

He played the fool and He opened our eyes

When we in our weakness believed we were strong

He became helpless to show we were wrong

And so we follow God's own fool

For only the foolish can tell-

Believe the unbelievable

And come be a fool as well

So come lose your life for a carpenter's son

For a madman who died for a dream

And you'll have the faith His first followers had

And you'll feel the weight of the beam

So surrender the hunger to say you must know

Have the courage to say I believe

For the power of paradox opens your eyes

And blinds those who say they can see

So we follow God's own Fool

For only the foolish can tell

Believe the unbelievable,

And come be a fool as well

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store."