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There are a lot of ways in which the Christian message has been communicated
over the years, and I have no intention of addressing all of them. My scope here is much narrower. I propose to
look at a specific kind of evangelical Protestant apologetics associated with authors like Lee Strobel and William Lane Craig. These men have well-established critics already, and I don't
suppose I have come up with anything fundamentally new to say. (For critics of Strobel, click here; for critics of Craig, click here.) But this page has grown out of conversations with friends of mine who have urged these authors on me as examples
of thoughtful, convincing Christian apologists. I think they are not, for reasons which I will make clear below.
Before I begin, I need to make one point clear. None of what I say
is intended as an attack on Christianity itself. My discussion could just as well be seen as an attempt to rescue Christianity
from the inept defenders or interpreters that make it look silly. I address bad arguments and bad interpretations; in
some places I try to indicate what better arguments or interpretations might look like. I certainly believe that better
arguments and interpretations are possible than the ones popularized by men like Strobel and Craig.
[Note: In order to make it clear how the pieces of my discussion
fit together, I use this page as a high-level index. To see what I have to say in support of a particular point, click
on the summary and follow the link to details.]
My friends, armed with the writings of popular evangelists, have made the
following claims:
- God has already implanted knowledge of the truth of Christianity inside
us, so disbelief is strictly voluntary. Unbelievers choose to ignore the pre-existing knowledge they have because they
just don't want Christianity to be true.
- Christianity can be shown to be true by a number of intellectual arguments.
- These intellectual proofs support our reliance on the promises God has made
to us in the Scriptures.
- The most important of these promises is the promise of salvation from sin,
which we can get by accepting Jesus's offer to pay the penalties of our sins in our place.
- In the end the most important ground for a living faith is the personal
experience of the Holy Spirit active in one's life, but the other supports itemized above help you get there.
But in reply I argue:
- Regarding whether belief is voluntary or not:
- Standard intellectual proofs of Christianity fail. (The arguments urged on me by my friends are considered here. The standard arguments presented by William Lane Craig in his debates are considered here.)
- Scripture itself shows us promises made by God that have failed.
- The suggestion that Jesus should be punished for our sins, and thereby pay our penalties for us so that we can be saved, is
at best strange and at worst immoral.
- Notwithstanding all this, Christianity as such is not disproven. But an improved Christian apologetics must place more emphasis on the personal testimony of the Holy Spirit and less on the
argumentation of the intellect.
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