Apologetics

Psalms 119:41-48
(41) Waw. Let your steadfast love come to me, O LORD, your salvation according to your promise;
(42) then shall I have an answer for him who taunts me, for I trust in your word.
(43) And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth, for my hope is in your rules.
(44) I will keep your law continually, forever and ever,
(45) and I shall walk in a wide place, for I have sought your precepts.
(46) I will also speak of your testimonies before kings and shall not be put to shame,
(47) for I find my delight in your commandments, which I love.
(48) I will lift up my hands toward your commandments, which I love, and I will meditate on your statutes.

When I took apologetics at seminary it was my first course. I was wide-eyed and just blown away by what I was learning. We got into philosophy. We studied concepts that I couldn't quite grasp (something about infinite hotel rooms). At the core, we discussed theories of apologetics.

I won't go into all of them, but I will say that I settled on what is known as cumulative case apologetics. The idea is that no one thing is compelling enough to convince someone to be a person of faith, but the evidence eventually becomes so overwhelming that they have to concede the point.

I think this does a great job of bolstering my own faith, but I'm not sure that is the biblical approach when talking to someone. More and more I realize that my soteriology demands a presuppositionalist apologetic more than anything. That presumes that the Bible holds the answers and it is up to the Holy Spirit to open the eyes of the lost to give the Bible any credibility. At least that's the jist of it as I understand it.

This stanza of Psalm 119 would seem to support that as well. If we know our Bibles then we have everything we need. Now it is good to be armed with the philosophical and historical arguments. After all, it should be compelling to someone that the Bible has more manuscript evidence than any other ancient document. However, I find that nobody really cares about that because they know that by trusting the Bible they open themselves up to the conviction that they are sure it includes. They are right about that.

Verses 46-48 say it all to me. Am I delighting in His commandments? If so, I have nothing to fear from anyone. I don't care how many letters someone has after his name. If I trust Scripture as my defense then it is a matter of that person arguing with God and not with me. I much prefer that situation.