Evangelical Intelligentsia: June 2015

Friday, June 26, 2015

The Information Age & the Christian Worldview: Is God just a delusion? Or is God real?

What does it mean to believe? What does it mean to follow Christ? How is this applied? What is the process involved? How does faith stack up against the modern views on life? Is God just a delusion? Or is He real?

The late Charles Colson put it well:

“It is not what we do that matters, but what a sovereign God chooses to do through us. God doesn't want our success; He wants us. He doesn't demand our achievements; He demands our obedience. The Kingdom of God is a kingdom of paradox, where through the ugly defeat of a cross, a holy God is utterly glorified. Victory comes through defeat; healing through brokenness; finding self through losing self.”
― Charles W. Colson

Yet many do not believe in any God. They don't think God exists. Or they don't like the idea of God. Or they think all truth is relative.

I personally have come to believe that God really is. I really believe that God is actually real, and actually exists and that Jesus Christ was a real person that was born. I believe, in audacity I suppose, that Jesus Christ was who he claimed to be: the son of God. I also believe that Jesus Christ, this man, the carpenter, while on Earth did not make a single sin in his life. He lived perfection, 100%, the only person to ever do so. How could he? Because he was God, yet also a man.

And after living the perfect life, he died the perfect death. How does one die a perfect death? Well, for one he must be guilty of nothing. He was completely innocent. Secondly, the immortal words that Jesus uttered on the cross seal the deal. Do you remember what he said?

As they beat him, mocked him, spit on him, Jesus spoke his last prayer to his Lord: "Father forgive them, they don't know what they're doing."

That very simply is how one goes about dying perfectly. I believe these events were recorded by eye witnesses in written form. Much like how we get most of our history: through written reports. I believe those reports survived accurately in the gospel accounts. Why? It's very reasonable to believe the gospel accounts are accurate, given the manuscript evidence (over 25,000 fragments) which tend to be highly cohesive when compared to each other (about 99.5%).

Finally, I believe that after Jesus Christ died, that three days later he reclaimed his life. I believe that Jesus Christ bodily resurrected, through the power of God. Aren't miracles impossible? I don't believe so. Miracles are reasonable, given an omnipotent God. If God could create the universe, raising Jesus from the dead isn't really that difficult.

All of these things I believe tend to go hard against the grain. That's alright. I've always been one to go against the stream. Dead things tend to ride down stream, afterall. Modern people don't tend to believe the things I believe. They tend to believe many different things. Not all, but some.

They believe in ideas like evolution, relativism, and naturalism. These are what we might call idealogies, or presuppositions. They are sets of beliefs, surrounded by facts, not 100% proveable, yet adhered to.

Christianity is similar, it's adherence to a certain worldview. It's not 100% proveable, yet I adhere to it. Now I tend to think that the evidence supports Christianity to the point that it can be reasonably believed and adhered to. I tend to think that Christianity can be investigated to the point of being true beyond a reasonably doubt.

Many agree with my analysis, including some of the greatest minds in the history of man kind. Just to name a few:

Chuck Colson, lawyer, politician, famed for prison reform
Sir Isaac Newton, famous scientist
Jackie Robinson, famed baseball player
Martin Luther King Jr, civil rights activist, Christian preacher
Mother Theresa, altruistic servant of the poor
C.S. Lewis, author of the Narnia series
J.R.R. Tolkien, author of the Lord of the Rings series
Helen Keller, philanthropist, author
George Washington, first U.S. President
Francis Collins, scientist, founder of the Human Genome Project
William Wilberforce, famed for leading fight to abolish slavery in England
Eric Liddell, Olympic gold medal winning runner
Sir Francis Bacon, known for establishing the scientific method
Galileo Galilei, famous astronomer
Robert Boyle, famous for his work in chemistry
Max Planck, well known for his work on quantum theory

That's just off the top of my head in a few minutes. This is the part that just doesn't fit into the modern narrative. It doesn't fit the narrative of the new atheists. It doesn't fit the narrative told in public schools. It just doesn't fit at all. But I never knew this stuff. I had to research it myself.

Christianity has very effectively been stereotyped and mocked into oblivion in western civilization. Why is that? There must be something to that. Well, if I were coming at it from the Christian worldview, it would be very natural to say that there is a battle being waged for the hearts and minds of all people on Earth. And it's a spiritual battle, not necessarily a physical one.

Or as Jesus accurately phrased it: "The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil."

It's a battle of mind. And there are two primary competing worldviews duking it out in the west. The Christian worldview, within the realm of Protestant, Lutheran, Catholic, and other orthodox faiths all surrounding the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The apposing worldview over the past 50-100 has gone under many different names: modernity, materialism, naturalism, scientism, and most recently post-modernism. None of those views tends to be the prevailing mindset today. The modern mind tends to be highly varied among those views. For sake of time we'll just call this mindset the info-age man.

The infoman tends to believe these suppositions:

You only live once.
Life is what you make it.
Science is our best test for what is true.
Believing in God is ridiculous.
I need a good job, a family, and to save for retirement.
Truth can't necessarily be known.
Ethics are relative.
Tolerance is the most important value.
Who am I to say what's true?
Jesus didn't exist, or he was a good moral teacher.

We've all heard those one-liners haven't we? That is the modern mindset. It's very prevalent today. In stark contrast is the Christian worldview:

We are eternal beings.
Life is ordained by God.
The Bible is our best test for what is true.
Believing in God is reasonable.
I need to pray hard, work hard, and live in service to others.
Truth can be known.
Ethics are fixed and universal.
Love is the most important value.
Who am I to say I know better than God?
Jesus is the son of God, he existed, and he lives today.

Is the modern mind correct? Is God just a ridiculous delusion? I tend to think the modern man hasn't thought through his suppositions.

The modern thinks humanity has surpassed any need for God, and charges into the future as a basically good creature ready to claim his destiny as all powerful. Yet the modern man tends to forget that World War II was only a short 75 years ago. The modern man tends to think the west must be above that now. Yet the modern man forgets that racism and racial violence in our country was only 50 years ago. The modern thinks he has surpassed all of that though. I guess just recently? Very recently. For it was only 20 years ago that somewhere between 500,000 and 1 million were exterminated in the Rwandan Genocide. Well perhaps man has ascended very, very recently then? Yet today the sex trade industry flourishes worldwide, including within the vaunted borders of the United States.

Doesn't quite fit the enlightenment narrative does it? The facts are plain and simple: humanity struggles just as much today as it did during other dark periods of human history. The malady of the human soul has not been overcome by modernity, materialism, or scientific and technological advances. In fact it may be indicated that man has simply found more efficient ways of destroying one another.

Has science really removed the need for God? If that's so, then can science explain how the universe could pop into existence from nothing? Can science explain how time + chance equals humanity, in all it's complexity? If a bomb goes off in a junk yard will the result be a fully assembled car? Perhaps we haven't thought through the science under-girding that assumption.

Are ethics really relative? Well, 2+2 = 4. In math 2+2=4. 2+2=5 is an incorrect answer. 2+2=3 is also incorrect. Math is not relative. Neither is history. The United States declared independence in 1776. To say we declared independence in 1775 would be incorrect. The same with saying 1777. There is a simple correct answer, historically. If I go to my bank account and ask how much is in it, and the clerk says $5.25, do you think she will let me take out $250,000.00? Maybe $5.25 is true for her but not for me? In monetary systems, truth is not relative, but objective. In history, archaeology, math, scientific law, politics, and religion truth is not relative, but objective and absolute. Why should ethics be different? Hitler's concentration camps were evil, always, for everyone, at all times, in all places. Whether Hitler exterminated Jews in Poland or France or Russia, it was always evil all the time.

The apologetics are quite sound to me. The science for God. The history for God. We've gone over it a hundred times in this blog. Click here to view some of those discussions, if you'd like to learn more about the reasonable evidences for the Christian faith.

Let's jump forward. Given that the modern man's suppositions don't seem to hold up, there is only one direction to turn. We must turn toward the roots of western civilization: Christianity. The west was built by Christianity, by it's stabilizing moral function, in Europe as well as the United States.

How does God come to us? How do we come to him? The experiences are extremely diverse. Paul saw Jesus on the damascus road. Today much the same is reported in areas of the world like India and China. Christ appears to them directly. Yet for many over history, it's been quite different.

For William Wilberforce, it was a ride in a carriage with a believer who shared his faith along the journey. For Charles Colson it was on a drive home after being told about Jesus, and sobbing uncontrollably until he had to pull his car over because he couldn't see well enough to drive. For Ravi Zacharias it was coming to faith in Christ after a suicide attempt at age seventeen. For C.S. Lewis, it was reading G.K. Chesterton's The Everlasting Man. For G.K. Chesterton it was investigating the arguments for atheism and finding them severely lacking. For the NFL football player Deion Sanders it was winning a Superbowl, ordering a Lamborghini and feeling desperately empty at the moment of his greatest achievement. For Bill Wilson founder of the twelve steps, it was a bright flash of light in his hospital room after he called out: "If there's a God out there show yourself!" For author Eric Metaxas it was a dream of pulling a golden fish from a frozen lake of consciousness. For rock musician Brian Welch (leader singer of Korn) it was being addicted to Meth and reading the scripture which read: "Come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest." For Annie Lobert it was calling out to Jesus for help in depths of prostitution and drug addiction. For journalist Lee Strobel it was investigating the historical Jesus. For Mark Driscoll it was walking into a fraternity party and feeling himself stopped at the door by a voice telling him that such a life wasn't meant for him. For Nabeel Qureshi it was fighting to defend his Muslim beliefs and being convinced by the love presented by a friend who was a Christian.

And then there's me. God presents himself in a million different ways. Naturally an omniscient God would do just that. There isn't really a set pattern. It's very often quite different for everyone. There are many roads to the cross of Jesus Christ. Much of my work on this blog is to draw roads to the cross. And to let people know that they don't have to be a khaki button up shirt evangelical to know Jesus. You can be an intellectual, a scientist, nerd, goth, hipster, indie rocker, college professor, architectural engineer, occupier, libertarian, liberal, conservative, skidrow bum, rich banker, poor garbage truck driver, American, eastern mystic, western new ager, southern baptist, northern materialist, and anything else you could imagine. God doesn't require joining a stiff church congregation, taking up frisbee golf, or agreeing to be boring or listen to cheesy Christian rock, or convert to being a thin lipped judgmental bore who lifts their nose and says "I don't believe I'd wish to do that, that looks like it might be fun."

God simply says, come to me and give me your heart, believe in my son Jesus Christ, and follow him.

He bid me to do the same, in a special way. He saw me in trouble. He saw me believing a lot of lies. He saw me addicted and troubled. He saw me self sufficient maybe, but entirely empty. God put a Bible in my hands. He gave me dreams that made me want to search for the truth. He taught me how to be a seeker. He guided me along the path. And he stepped into my writings, and showed me a way out of the wilderness. God put the gospel of John in front of me, which I watched, read, listened to, and observed hundreds of times. Finally it broke through my skull: Call out to Jesus for help. And I did just that. I called out to Jesus, and abandoned myself to his care in a very real way.

Then everything in my life changed. I know it sounds cliche. But it's true.

There was of course a long progression to that point, over years. Up until age 20 I had absolutely no interest in any amount of higher learning what so ever. You might say I was a materialist, but I wasn't really anything. I just did whatever felt good. And screw the rest! Eventually I started attending college, and learned to love reading and writing. After daily journaling regarding philosophy and life and reality, and morals and principles and the human condition it wasn't until 2007 that I began to accept that perhaps there was something to spirituality. I started off as a sort of esoteric new ager, dabbling in whatever felt right. Tarot cards, zodiac signs, all of that stuff. It wasn't until 2011, on a quiet morning watching humming birds buzz about the front yard flowers that I came to the revelation that "God is everywhere." From there I began exploring the various faiths, and then in 2012 I called out to Jesus Christ for help. It wasn't a short road to get there. God meets us at many points in our lives. He is the grand weaver. And as it has been said: His brush is time.

The Christian worldview. It's reasonable. It's right. The evidence is everywhere. The witnesses are many. I've been touched. So can you. And you should. We should all know the meaning of life: Coming to know the creator of life. Coming to know the one who made the world and you and me. That is the meaning of life itself, coming to know the God who made humanity, through Jesus Christ the savior who sets us right, because let's just be real: We all need a savior. The world is a rough place. We all need a savior. That one should be easy to tell.

Redemption is the meaning of life. Jesus Christ is the way. Is it really such a stretch? Is it really so hard to believe? We're all hurtling through space on a rock, yet we can't believe in miracles? We've all heard of the genocides and world wars, yet we can't believe we need a savior? We've all felt the emptiness without him, yet we can't seem to see that we should know God?

Pray to God. Talk to him. He is available now. Not later, now. Talk to him! Say something! Begin that journey! It's worth it. The answer to the riddle of the meaning of life was not what I necessarily wanted to hear. But it was what I needed to hear. Trust me, it's real. Ask God to reveal himself. Be a seeker. Pursue the truth. He will reveal himself. Thank you for reading.

Heavenly Father, I pray you would reveal yourself to the one reading these words, who seeks to know what the truth is about you. In Christ, Amen.

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Sunday, June 7, 2015

Christianity in the Public Square: The Apologetics & Philosophy Renaissance

Christianity in the public square? For the public good? The people of the United State are divided in many ways, but in this area the consensus seems to be: Sure you can practice your religion, as long as you do it behind closed doors on Sunday. Of course a religion that only functions an hour a week on Sunday and is silent the rest of the week is useless, pointless, and might as well be discarded. Freedom of religion must, and indeed does, by definition, mean freedom to practice that faith at all times, in the public square, at work, at home, and everywhere in between. We the people of the United States do not have freedom of speech to talk about the weather, we have freedom of speech so we may freely proclaim controversial views.
We seem to be at a watershed moment in our history as a nation. All of the shared values of the past are being called into question. Many things that were once considered sacred are no longer considered such, like marriage and sexual intimacy. What might be considered "traditional moral views"are often disregarded by a growing movement that insists on "our way or the highway" with an added hashtag "#tolerance." Tolerance indeed. Perhaps better stated "tolerance if you agree, but intolerance if you disagree with our opinion." Or "endorse or we will punish you."
Issues unrelated to civil rights have been portrayed as civil rights movements. If I were to say, "I'm an alcoholic, stop oppressing me, and just let me drink. Oh and by the way, you need to endorse that position or my buddies are going to get you fired from your job" you would think I was crazy. Yet issues of mental health and unhealthy behavior are being portrayed just like that, despite the scientific, medical, and sociological evidence to the contrary.
The very crux of the situation is this: We have been sold on the lie that the United States, in the public square and in the realm of government must be divorced entirely from Judeo-Christian values for the sake of fairness. The idea of cutting off the United States from Judeo-Christian influence is painted as the only way to allow for a freedom of thought. But one might as well core an apple and see how long the peel stands without it. The United States was founded on freedom of religion, not freedom from religion. The founders of our great nation knew full well, that the Constitution governing the people of the country was only an effective document if implemented for the governance of a religious people.
The view was simple, the founders knew they did not want a theocracy (a government ruled by religious authorities). But they also knew that the USA could only function if the people were moral, and spiritual. So they used the term "God" often, on the print currency, on government buildings, in various legal documents, in the pledge of allegiance, and in the declaration of independence. The idea was that faith was reasonable, logical, and indeed many hold to religious convictions. That needed to be encouraged. They would leave the specific "God" open, so that people would have the freedom of religion (not from, but of) to fill that in with whatever God they worshiped. And if the individual did not worship any God, well, then they would not be compelled to. But they may have to be occasionally "offended" by the word "God" on money, government buildings, and other areas of society. And that was acceptable. Sometimes, well, people can just be offended.
Is it any surprise then, as the people of the USA have discarded moral behavior and spiritual thought, the United States has had to become increasingly authoritarian with endless pages of laws and statutes to prevent every manner of behavior destructive to society. Or as the philosopher G.K. Chesterton said, "If man will not be ruled by the ten commandments they will be ruled by the ten thousand commandments." It seems he was right. A deeply moral and religious nation doesn't need authoritarian governance, and for a depraved population, even an authoritarian government won't be enough to keep it standing.
It seems the voices that want to endorse any and all behavior the culture of the moment deems "good" fails to learn from history. The ancient Roman empire was in just the state we are in now when it fell to internal corruption and external powers noticing her weakness. For anyone who has studied in depth the fall of ancient Rome, the similarities are absolutely striking. Click here to read an article I wrote on just that topic.
Faith is at the very core of our being as a nation. In fact people all across the planet are deeply influenced by religious thought. It is at the core of the human nature, the desire to know a transcendent power. This is the case for not just the United States people, but of all thinking humans on Earth. In fact, 84% of the population of the planet hold to a religious view (32% of them being those confessing to follow Jesus Christ)(Statistics from a 2012 survey).
Unfortunately the process of secularization continues in the United States. Yet this was not ever what was intended for our nation. In fact over our nation's we've always had the Bible taught in public schools. The Ten Commandments and other spiritual statements were placed on buildings and in the official documents of the nation, such as the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. This was not just from the founding of the nation, but also throughout the history of the nation, up until the 1940s and 1950s.
It was then that the US Supreme court began handing down some very troubling decisions regarding the future of our nation. Those decisions have indeed been truly terrible in their scope. Since Roe v. Wade over 56 million children have been exterminated at abortion clinics. Not to mention today those abortion clinics are state funded. Since the shifts in scientific thought surrounding the scopes trial, the Bible was banned from public schools by the Supreme court in 1963. Prayer was banned from public schools in 1962 (Engel v. Vitale). Since then the teen suicide rate has tripled.
Unfortunately in our country something is taking place called secularization. Secularization is the process by which religious institutions have lost their social significance. Secularization could also be defined as the process by which Christian thought is evicted from the public square and government body.
Many have celebrated this as a good thing. They say "why should one religion be forced on anyone?" Christians back-peddle in the face of this argument. Yet is this a good argument? The United States, our form of government, the Constitution, Bill of Rights, and Declaration of Independence were all directly and indirectly informed by Christian principles. There is no way to entirely disconnect the government of the United States from Judeo-Christian values. One might as well try to rewrite the entire form of government. Though I imagine many would like to. President Obama himself has called the Constitution a deeply flawed document.
There is no need to disconnect Christian principles from the US government. If Christian ethics inform the United States government, her leaders, politicians, and laws, so be it. And if that "offends" people, then it's high past time that we let them be offended. Maybe they need to be offended for a while. Maybe it's time that we stop worrying about offending people. If a law were passed to outlaw everything that offends this person or that person, then everything would be illegal.
There are in fact a few things that offend me. Do you know what offends me? I'm offended by the depravity on the television screen. I'm offended by LGBT activists shutting down mom and pop pizzerias. I'm offended by the naturalist religion taught in public schools. I'm offended by the decline and death of morality in the public square. I'm offended by the war on religious freedom. But it doesn't matter what offends me. It doesn't matter at all. The most important thing to consider is this: What will allow for the best possible future for the United States?
There is an incredible drive in my home country, the USA, to cut out the Protestant ethos, the Christian ethic, and toss it aside. History is rewritten in many ways, in the hearts and minds of young people. No mention is made of the many, many good deeds of great Christian men and women across the ages. But the bad is emphasized, underlined, boldened, and even worse, exaggerated, and many times simply made up on the spot. Eventually the general mindset is that religion is always bad, and on inspection has led to nothing but suffering and darkness for the body of man. Yet upon my own inquiry, actually studying events... I found that it wasn't true.
I had never been told that the first hospitals and orphanages were devised by Christians. I had never been told universities in the United States were largely founded by Christians. I had never been told many of the founders held seminary degrees. I had never been told of Bonhoeffer, Wilberforce, Mother Teresa, Martin Luther, G.K. Chesterton, C.S. Lewis, the Salvation Army, or any of the other giants of history. I had been told of the crusades, yet no one had mentions they were in response to the Muslim invasion of Europe. I had even been led to believe that the dark ages were the fault of Christians. But I discovered that too was false. I had never been told, history had been preserved in the monasteries of Christians during those times. I had been told about the religious wars that ever rage, yet upon inquiry I had discovered that the most brutal genocides had been committed by dedicated Marxists and atheists (Stalin's Russia, Hitler's Germany, and the Cambodian Genocide). I believe they call that revisionist history?
So what is at stake? What is the problem with evicting the Judeo-Christian ethic? Myself, and many others believe it will lead to nothing less than the collapse of western civilization. Many will respond that such a thing could never happen. Really, is that so? Consider what has happened already. The family has really totally collapsed. 50% of marriages now end in divorce. Culture has declined and sexual depravity, and media depravity are on an incredible rise. The atheist, agnostic, liberal is generally unphased by that argument. But here is where their ears perk up: Look at the growing corruption in business, economics, and government. That is one thing both liberal and conservative can clearly see. It is a very serious problem. The recent great recession underlines the issue. What happens when our business leaders live out the new values of the culture: moral relativism, post modernism, and naturalism? Corruption grows by leaps and bounds. I think we all take note when the moral problems of the nation begin to adversely affect our bank accounts.
Thankfully, it's not all bad news. I'm seeing a turning of the tide in our country. I'm seeing a new great awakening. It's a sort of apologetics and philosophy renaissance in this country. A Christian awakening. Some have called it an emerging evangelical intelligentsia, with a power to influence culture. I'm deeply encouraged by this new movement. Many are standing up for religious liberty, including people like Frank Turek, Ravi Zacharias, Lee Strobel, William Lane Craig, and Eric Metaxas. It's a beautiful thing to witness, Godly Christian men standing for their principles. There is much hope left. We have reason for hope, faith, and to be pleased and encouraged. I walked in with the bedrock laid, and now I stand on much of what will help turn the tide in our great nation. And we will. I promise you, we will. But you, the reader, must stand with us. Please do, in the name of Jesus Christ, the savior of all people, of all nations.
The best moments in the history of the United States have been the enlightenments, the temperance movements, and the great awakenings. Our best moments as a people tend to be when it's all on the line. Consider the valiant charge of good men to the front lines of World War II. Consider how Americans noticed a rising evil, and didn't think, they didn't stutter step, they simply brandished their weapons like giants, walking to the front lines, voices silent, eyes shining like the glass of a church window, indwelt by the Spirit of God to change history, and change the world forever. And change the world they did. They swept across Europe driving the enemy back on all fronts, and ended the war. They won the day.
So how can it done? We must ask ourselves, how can we prevent the destruction of our way of life? Don't be mistaken, it is on the line.
It would take a uniting of the various strands of the Christian movements in the United States. Protestant groups, Catholics, Lutherans, Christian apologetics ministries, Christian charities, Young Earth, Old Earth, small churches, mega-churches, influential leaders, bloggers, writers, Christian newspapers, Christian websites, and most important, ordinary everyday Christians all aiming to stand for religious liberty, Christian ethics, the end of abortion, and dedication to change culture. Evangelism is vital. Getting loud about our faith is so important. Standing our ground is a must. Most important we must petition the Lord daily in prayer, and just as importantly, live for him in public, with love, humility, and dignity.
We face some very powerful, entrenched strongholds. Those strongholds must be taken. They are the strongholds of the public schools, the mainstream television media outlets, the major universities of this country, Congress, and the Supreme court. If we keep avoiding those strongholds and calling it "impossible" then we'll have to keep fighting a losing battle. These are the institutions that keep us on the defensive, continuously falling back. Why? The reason should be obvious. Those institutions shape the minds of young people. The naturalists and atheists were smart, they knew which institutions to move in on. And now they're entrenched. They've evicted the Bible, and their ideologies are taught in public schools, universities, and largely in all the media outlets. That is an untenable situation for the future of Christianity in the USA. If those institutions are not retaken, there isn't much hope.
I called it an apologetics and philosophy renaissance. But those are actually the words of William Lane Craig. Why apologetics and philosophy? The answer is: Because people are hungry for answers. Young people are hungry for answers. Young people are tired of all the scams and schemes, they're tired of people trying to take their money and use them. They want to know the truth. They want to know what it all means. Within the realm of apologetics and philosophy we translate the words of the Bible for people of today to connect to in a real way.
In a lot of ways, in our society, we have to watch out for scams. We have to watch our for people trying to con us. Many assume Christianity, at least stateside, is about taking your money. Just dressed up differently. In fact a lot of things in our country are dressed up ways for somebody take your money. Some might even argue college has become something like that even. I remember my sister telling me she had graduated with honors from the University of Wisconsin, but upon graduation they wanted to charge her an extra $100.00 for the honors cord, so she elected to skip honors. Ridiculous, don't you think? So when I tell someone that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life the first thought is inevitably going to be: "Why? Why should I believe that? What evidence can you show me that this is true?"
That's where Christian apologetics come in. Christian apologetics is the practice of Christians going about apologizing for being so religious. Just kidding. Apologetic comes from the ancient Greek word "apologia" which means to give an answer, to give a defense of the reason for faith in God. Christian apologetics is analogous to what the apostle Paul did when he spoke to the Greeks at Mars Hill.
Acts 17:22-31 (NIV)

22 Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.
24 “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands.25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. 26 From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. 27 God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. 28 ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’
29 “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill. 30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. 31 For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”

Did the apostle Paul quote the Bible to the people of Athens? No he didn't. Paul most certainly did quote the Old Testament when he taught Jews about Jesus, because Jews believed in the authority of the scriptures. But the ancient Greeks did not. If a Christian tells you that we're going to win over atheists and agnostics by quoting them scriptures, they've missed the incident at Mars Hill. Did you notice what Paul did in his apologia?

He did several very important things:

1. Notice how he was polite. He went out of his way to compliment the Greeks. He calls them a deeply religious people (v. 22). Paul is polite and nowhere does he rebuke the Greeks. He doesn't throw it in their face that they're decadent pagans, or insult their false gods. In fact he works hard to find common ground.

2. Notice how Paul built a bridge by describing the altar to the unknown god (v. 23). He continues to build the bridge by correcting the Greeks in several areas, and indicating what God is truly like. He completes the bridge by relating the truth about God to what the Athenian poets are already saying about men being the offspring of god (v. 28). Paul then invites the Greeks over the bridge through a request to have a change of mind and move to God through Christ (v. 30, 31).

3. The third thing Paul did was he encouraged the Greeks to pursue a relationship with God. Paul suggests the idea of seeking God, and finding him (v. 27).

The Christian of today seeks to do the same with the current western culture through apologetics. We look into the natural world and see God's footprints. In astronomy we see design. In history we see evidence. In archaeology we see confirmation. In biology we see information. In mathematics we see probability. In logic we see reason. In philosophy we see truth. In Christ we see love. In the manuscripts we see inerrancy. In the scriptures we see God.
Western man has often been sold the lie that Christian thought is basically a fool believing something that is contrary to reality. That is what men like Richard Dawkins indicate. However that is most certainly false. Christian faith is reasonable faith, in a reasonable God who does in fact existence. There are many evidences for that God, many of which we have discussed on this website. Perhaps the most powerful evidence for the existence of God is the argument from design (the fine tuning argument). Of course there are many other ways to approach the topic, from historical verification, archaeology, textual criticism, and other areas. But I would say the best arguments come from science ironically, the discipline often used by naturalists to explain away creationism. Yet the universe had a beginning, and everything that has a beginning has a cause. Given the scope of the universe, it's cause must be timeless, omnipotent, and outside the system much like... God. Can you see how this can be put to powerful use toward the minds of skeptics, liberals, agnostics, and uninterested parties? Yet how many times have I been told "love is the answer" and then been rebuked? Quite a few.
Of course once the apologetics are presented, Christian philosophy helps to put the faith into practice. Christian philosophy helps us to coordinate the facts of the Bible into a strategic framework, into a coherent worldview that answers the pertinent questions of the day like: Why am I here? What is the meaning of life? What morals should govern a society? And what is my ultimate destiny?
Do you see what I'm getting at? The only way to win the culture is 1) Retake corrupted social, government, and media institutions and 2) Bring the lost to a loving relationship with Jesus Christ.
Can it be done? I believe it can. And it must. The time it late. The board is set. The pieces are moving. It has begun. God is with us. Godspeed. 1 O LORD, how many are my foes! How many rise up against me!

2 Many are saying of me, "God will not deliver him." "Selah"

3 But you are a shield around me, O LORD; you bestow glory on me and lift up my head.

4 To the LORD I cry aloud, and he answers me from his holy hill. "Selah"

5 I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the LORD sustains me.

6 I will not fear the tens of thousands drawn up against me on every side.

7 Arise, O LORD! Deliver me, O my God! Strike all my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked.

8 From the LORD comes deliverance. May your blessing be on your people. "Selah"