Fundamental

Christian Apologetics
Foundational Christian Apologetics

ISBN 978-9987-727- 55-1

© By Dr. Godwin M. Gunewe
Email: [email protected]

Gunewe Publishers
P.O. Box 322, Mwanza-Tanzania.
Phone: +255784442128/+255752239825

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be

reproduced or stored in retrieval system or transmitted
in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopy, recording, or any other-except for brief
quotations in printed reviews, without the prior
written permission from the author.

ii
 CONTENTS
Preface
1. Introduction to Apologetics………………………7
 Origin of Apologetics ……………………………7
 Christian Apologetics …………………………...8
 Scriptural Foundation for Christian
Apologetics …………………………………….11
 Forms of Apologetics ………………………….14
 Apologetics and Polemics …………………….16
 Branches of Christian Apologetics …………..16
 Methods (Approaches) Used in
Christian Apologetics …………………………21
 The Significance of Christian Apologetics …..27
 The Purpose of Christian Apologetics ……….27
 The Refutation of Early Church Heresies …...31
 Present Day Heretical Movements …………..41
 The Refutation of External Attack ……………41
1. Application of Christian Apologetics ………..44
 Qualifications for an Apologist ………………..44
 Preparatory Measures to Embark
on Apologetics …………………………………45
 Groups of Apologists ………………………….51
 Apologetics Tool Kit …………………………...52
 Guidelines for Practicing Apologetics ……….60
 Appropriate Usage of Christian Apologetics ..63

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2. Presuppositions of Christian Apologetics ….64
 Presuppositions of Current Prominent
Groups ………………………………………….64

3. Christian Apologetics and Logic …………….77

 The Relationship between
Christian Apologetics and Logic………………78
 Types of Logic ………………………………….80
 Introduction to Logical Fallacies ……………..81
 Logical Fallacies to Avoid In
Christian Apologetics ………………………….82
References ……………………………………………85

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 PREFACE

The Christian world today is inevitably facing the

growing number of the people who are opposed to
the Christian faith and the Bible. Their number is
greater than ever. Most skeptics, atheists and other
non-Christian scholars rise pompously to stand
against Christianity in a more ceremonious way.
These people have been sharpening their arsenal
day by day, by continuously employing advanced
techniques in favor of their worldviews. Furthermore,
they do it in a subtle and convincing manner that the
average Christian is not able to spot the catch. Albeit
the fact, none of them has reportedly come out with
notable triumph due to the truth that no force ever,
can overpower the Word and work of God.

It is this reality, as I am thoroughly

convinced, that God has illuminated me to pen this
work which is both a sparkplug and catalyst to suit
the growing need of defense amid severe attack
which is attempting hard to throw the Christian faith

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into the long waiting arms of fallacious ideas. As a
devoted Christian apologist, I have taken trouble for
years to help both sincere truth-seekers and truth-
loving Christians who find it difficult to break free from
the subtle influence of the erroneous ideas posed by
the opponents of the Bible and the Christian faith.

In this easy-to-understand-and-apply
material, I have unveiled the secret of a successful
defense to those who are under attack. It is
undoubtedly the readiest weapon in the hand of
every Christian apologist whether professional or not,
for the material engulfed therein is crystal clear to
everyone who is sincerely determined to defend the
truth regarding the Christian faith and the Bible. I am
totally confident in saying that this material will yield a
thunderous breakthrough for all those who prepare
themselves for a mental fight in Christian
Apologetics, as it exposes the attention and
seriousness such fight out to receive.

Godwin M. Gunewe (B.Th., MTh. M.D., Th.D.)

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 INTRODUCTION TO APOLOGETICS
Origin of Apologetics
One of the most frequently confused words in
Christian theology is ‘apologetics.’ The reason for
this is because many people refer it to the English
term ‘apology’ which gives birth to the erroneous
notion that apologetics is apologizing for Christian
faith. Etymologically, apologetics is derived from the
Greek term ‘apologia’ referring to ‘making a
defense.’ For that case, Apologetics is defined as
an official defense of any kind.

The original Greek word apologia (ἀπολογία)

was a formal verbal defense; it was applied in
response to both accusation and prosecution in a
court of law. For example, in the 5th-century B.C. in
Athens, Socrates was formally accused by the three
men (Anitus, Meletus, and Lycon) of lack of respect
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to the pantheon of Athens and corruption against the
people and the city. The defense for the accusations
was regarded as apologetics.

Christian Apologetics
A countless number of people in the Old
Testament times seemed to question the God of
Israel, whether He is the true God or not. Those who
doubted were both from in and outside the nation of
Israel. However, in all places, God dealt with them
apologetically either directly or indirectly by giving
them appropriate answers and demonstrations. For
that case, the starting point of the Word of God
marked the beginning of Christian Apologetics and
Polemics.
In the New Testament the momentousness of
Christian Apologetics and Polemics can vividly be
seen through the work of the Apostles; for example
by the power of the Holy Spirit, Paul did a
tremendous job in defending the faith.

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 The remarkable work which was done by
Church Fathers like Justin Martyr (Cir. 100-165),
Irenaeus of Lyons (Cir. 135-202), Tertullian (Cir. 155–
230), Clement of Alexandria (Cir. 150-215) and many
others yielded great fruit in the life of the Church.
Modern Apologists are also not left behind
because their great work of refuting errors and
establishing truth is so superb. Some of the modern
Apologists include Dr. Johnson C. Philip, Norman
Geisler, William Lane Craig, Ravi Zacharias, John
Lennox, Greg Koukl, J. Warner Wallace, Paul Copan,
Ed Feser, Lee Strobel, Josh McDowell, C.S. Lewis,
Gary Habermas, Timothy McGrew, Dr. Michael
Brown, Richard Howe, Tim Keller, J. Budziszewski,
Hank Hanegraaff, Hugh Ross, R.C Sproul, J.P.
Moreland, Wayne Grudem, Mike Licona, Matt Slick,
David Limbaugh, Scott Klusendorf, Mike
Adams,Ryan T. Anderson, Alvin Plantinga etc.
There is a 21st-century recent approach
developed by A Calvin Research Group called
Integrated Apologetics which is a result of merging
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all the finest schools of thought in Christian
Apologetics.
Christian Apologists have defined Christian
Apologetics in different ways; the following are some
of them:

‘Christian apologetics is the

science of defending the Christian
faith against intellectual accusations
and objections whether they come
from hostile skeptics or sincere
seekers.’ Grover Gunn

‘Christian Apologetics is the task of

developing and sharing arguments
for the truth and rationality of
Christianity and the falsehood and
irrationality of alternatives with the
aim of strengthening the faith of
believers and provoking non-
believers to consider Christ.’ Dr. Paul
Coulter.
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 ‘Christian apologetics is the branch
of Christianity dealing with answering
any and all critics who oppose or
question the revelation of God in
Christ and the Bible.’ Matt Slick

‘Christian Apologetics is the

defense and explanation of the
Christian faith.’ Tawa Anderson

From the above definitions, I can deduce that

Christian Apologetics is a formal or non-formal
rational defense of the Bible and Christianity,
acknowledging the supremacy of the Bible as God’s
truth against those who reject or attack its reliability
and authenticity.

Scriptural Foundation for Christian Apologetics

and Polemics
Apologetics is not an anthropomorphic idea; instead,
it is a divine idea grounded biblically in both Old and
New Testaments.
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 Isaiah 1:18 is one of the Biblical bases for
Christian apologetics. It is God's entreaty "Come
now, let us reason together."
 Psalm 19:1 is a scriptural passage which is taken
as a ground for Christian Apologetics, which starts
"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies
proclaim the work of his hands." Generally, all
God's dealings with Old Testament people confirm
His power through miracles, signs, and wonders
(which are all apologetic in nature).
 Romans 1:20 confirms the existence of a mighty
God. It reads "For since the creation of the world
God's invisible qualities, his eternal power, and
divinity nature have been clearly seen, being
understood from what has been made, so that
men are without excuse."
 In 1 Peter 3:15 the Bibles says “But sanctify Christ
as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to
make a defense to everyone who asks you to
give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with
gentleness and reverence." In this passage, Peter
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 tries to make Christians aware of their
responsibility of giving a clear explanation about
their faith to people who question it, with
gentleness and reverence. The English word
defense in Greek is called apologia which gave
birth to Apologetics. So, apologetics is the duty
and responsibility of every Christian.
 In Acts 17:2-4, we can see Paul reason with the
Thessalonians, giving them explanation and
evidence about the suffering, death, and
resurrection of the Messiah. This work has led to
the saving of many people.
 Apollos apologetically refuted the Jews in public,
demonstrating by the Scriptures that Jesus was
the Christ (Acts 18:28).
 Priscilla and Aquila in Acts 18:26 practiced
polemics by giving a more accurate explanation to
Apollos about the ways of God.
 Paul realized that he was appointed for the
defense of the gospel (Philippians 1:16).

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 While he was in Athens, Paul reasoned in the
synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing
Gentiles. Every day he spent time in the
marketplace reasoning with those who were
present.
 Other apologetics scriptures are Acts 22:1, 25:16,
I Cor.9:3, 2 Cor.7:11, Phil.1:7, 2 Tim. 4:16, Luke
1:1-4, John 20:19, John 21:24-25, Acts 9:1-19, 1
Corinthians 15:3-8.

Forms of Apologetics

Apologetics may take place either positively or

negatively:
Positive (offensive) apologetics is when
someone is engaged in trying persuading other
people about the truth of the Christian faith by giving
them historical, evidential and logical arguments; it is
playing offense. 2 Cor. 10:5-6 provides us with a clue
about this form of apologetics: “We are destroying
speculations, and every lofty thing raised up against

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the knowledge of God, and we are taking every
thought captive to the obedience of Christ."
Negative (defensive) apologetics is the one
in which someone else is raising the challenge, and
another is trying to meet the challenge by answering
the objections; it is playing defense. Philippians 1:7
gives us a clue about this form of apologetics: “For it
is only right for me to feel this way about you all,
because I have you in my heart, since both in my
imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of
the gospel, you all are partakers of grace with me.”
According to many apologists, positive
(offensive) form of Apologetics is harder than
negative. Paul is the prominent apologist who used
both during his missionary trips. In Acts 17:18-34
Paul uses the positive form of apologetics by
persuading Stoic and Epicurean philosophers about
the truth of the Christian faith. The result can be seen
in verse 34 where some men joined him and
believed, among them were an Areopagite called

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Dionysius and the woman called Damaris, and others
with them.
Apologetics and Polemics
Having the same eventual purpose of
refuting errors and establishing the truth of the Bible
and Christianity, over the past few decades,
Apologetics and Polemics could effortlessly be
differentiated as different entities and worked out
separately. However, modern apologists now see the
significance of being experts in Polemics, and
Polemicists the same for Apologetics, because of the
vital companionship they have. While Apologetics
deals with attacks or heresies prompted outside the
Christian faith, Polemics deals with the attacks or
heresies prompted inside the Christian faith.

Branches of Christian Apologetics

Christian Apologetics is a massive subject
dealing with numerous anti-Christian views originated
from different disciplines. For that case, it has the
following branches;

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1. Philosophical/Theological Apologetics
2. Historical/Legal Apologetics
3. Rational/Scientific Apologetics
4. Interdisciplinary Apologetics

1) Philosophical/Theological Apologetics
This branch of Apologetics deals with the
defending the Christian faith attacked by the people
with an unbiblical worldview which causes them to
produce erroneous philosophy. It is undeniable that
always wrong philosophy is addressed by right
philosophy, thus why we need philosophical
Apologetics.
There are four categories of philosophies
which are against the Bible;
Theistic philosophies: The groups in
this category comprises; Hinduism, Islam, Jainism,
Buddhism, Taoism, Shintoism, Sikhism, Bahai,
Zoroastrianism, Christian cults, Non-Christian
Religious Cults, and many Occult Cults.

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 Atheistic philosophies: The groups in
this category include; Hinduism (the materialistic
philosophy), Jainism, Buddhism, Rationalism,
Atheism, Secular Humanism, Nihilism, Marxism, and
Existentialism.
Occultic philosophies: The groups in
this category comprises Animism, Tantric
Philosophies, Ancestor Worship, New Age
Movement, Rosicrucianism, many of the Holistic
Healing Systems, Satanism, Spiritism, Devil's
Church, etc.
Non-theistic philosophies: the groups in
this category comprises Theosophy, Agnosticism,
Nihilism including those who neither affirm nor deny
the existence of God.

2) Historical/Legal Apologetics
This branch of Apologetics is the one
which is used to confront the radical theologians who
spread propaganda using historical sciences to
discredit the Bible.

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 Historical/ legal apologetics combines
Bible and history, Bible and archeology, Bible and
prophecies, Bible and linguistics. A countless number
of volumes addressing historical/legal apologetics
have been written by various Christian apologists.

3. Rational/Scientific Apologetics
This branch of Apologetics deals with
defending the Christian faith assaulted by attackers
using scientific disciplines. It addresses various
subjects like Bible-difficulties, Bible, and science,
Bible and evolution, Bible and astronomy,
cosmogony.
As a part of rational Apologetics,
Creationism has developed so much due to the
emergence of Evolution theory. Currently,
Creationism is one of the most advanced areas of
Rational Apologetics.

4. Interdisciplinary Apologetics
This is the branch of Apologetics which
deals with the defending the defending the Christian
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faith by combining together other subjects. There are
some opposing views which cannot be countered by
one subject as explained in the other branches rather
many subjects.
In this part, the Christian Apologist has to
collect together and present evidence by using two or
more different subjects. It is from this concept the
branch 'interdisciplinary apologetics' came into
presence. Examples of Interdisciplinary Apologetics
are;
Christian Ethics: this subject involves
the subjects like history, jurisprudence, legal science,
theology etc.
The Problem of Evil and Suffering: this
subject involves the subjects like philosophy,
theology, biography, and sometimes other subjects to
refute opposing views.
Legal Apologetics: this subject involves
the subjects like sociology, philosophy, history,
economics, politics etc.

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 Bible Text/Language/Canon: this
subject involves the subjects like history, geography,
linguistics, philology etc.

Methods (Approaches) Used in Christian

Apologetics

Throughout its existence, Christian Apologetics has

been practiced through the following approaches
(though other Bible scholars refer to them as types or
systems):
Classical Apologetics (also known as
Traditional), is the oldest of all methods. It was
developed by Augustine and Thomas Aquinas but
currently applied by many apologists like William
Lane Craig, James Porter Moreland, Robert Charles
Sproul, Norman Geisler, Stephen T. Davis, Richard
Swinburne, etc. Classical apologetics emphasizes
reason and argumentation as the root for defending
the Christian faith. Also, it starts by using numerous
theistic arguments to prove the existence of God.
These include cosmological, teleological (Design),
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ontological, and moral arguments. Next, those who
use this method of classical apologetics provide a
proof for the miracle of Christ’s Resurrection.
This method has done tremendous work in
defending the Christian faith because of the following
reasons: First, it recognizes a basis of mutual
interest or agreement with the unbeliever as the
ability to reason. Second, it states emphatically and
publicly the universal application of reason. Third, it
increases consciousness of the necessary role of
showing the fallacies of the unbeliever’s worldview.
However, this method has the following weaknesses:
First, it is not useful for the untrained person because
it is too complicated and philosophical. Second, it
estimates the excessively high adequacy of reason
as a standard for truth. Third, it is also weak to solve
the irrational facet of faith in God.
Evidential Apologetics (sometimes known as
historical Apologetics), attempts to find available
secular and non-secular historical evidence that
clearly shows the truth of Christian claims. This
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method is much more based on diligent systematic
inquiry or investigation into and study of materials
and sources, in order to establish facts and reach
new conclusions. Examples of apologists who have
used this method include Justin Martyr, Dr. Gary
Habermas, John W. Montgomery, Clark Pinnock,
Wolfhart Pannenberg, and Josh McDowell (in his
work titled ‘Evidence that Demands a Verdict’).
The above method has the following
advantages: First, it attracts attention to the
unbeliever. It does so by discussing shared opinions
or interests in support of historical evidence. Second,
it keeps away from religious elements that could hurt
unbeliever’s feelings that may cause the particular
person to have a strongly negative view of
Christianity. Third, this method is biblical because,
after His resurrection, Jesus showed Himself alive by
copious cogent evidence. For example, He proved it
to Thomas by allowing Him to touch His nail-pierced
hands. On the other side, the disadvantages of this
method are as follows: First, its area of proving facts
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is too small because it is impossible to verify other
biblical facts. For example, it is impossible to show if
Jesus is the Son of God. Second, with all its
compelling evidence provided, still one may not come
to Jesus Christ if he/she doesn’t submit
himself/herself to Him in faith. Third, it tends to ignore
fundamental religious elements.
Presuppositional Apologetics is the
approach which presupposes the truth of Biblical
revelation. Presuppositionalists do not start on the
basis of mutual interest or agreement with an
unbeliever as it is done in classical apologetics. The
reason for this is that such basis is ungodly and
because of noetic effects of sin, there is no purity in
their reasoning. This method asserts that the Biblical
base should approve any knowledge, evidence or
wisdom; if not, it is regarded as something ungodly.
Some of the famous apologists who used this method
were Cornelius Van Til, Gordon Clark, Greg
Bahnsen and Francis Schaeffer.

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 Presuppositional Apologetics is an
advantageous one in the following senses: First, it
agrees to take the Bible as a self-attesting authority
and final benchmark in our thinking. Second, it
recognizes the noetic effects of sin on our minds.
Third, this method is also a biblical one because the
Bible says a natural man cannot comprehend God’s
truth (1 Corinthians 2:14). Therefore, they will not
accept God until God opens their minds. On the
other hand, the following are the weaknesses of
Presuppositional Apologetics: First, because it only
proclaims rather than defending the faith, it doesn’t fit
as an Apologetic method. Second, it begins with the
doctrine of God rather than proving it.
Cumulative Case Apologetics is the
apologetic method that merges and harmonizes with
other methods of Apologetics. It involves various
arguments to prove its facts. It is believed that Basil
Mitchell is the one who was an early advocate of this
view, and the one who gave this method that name.
The famous apologists who have used this method
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include Paul B. Feinberg, Mitchell, C.S. Lewis, C.
Stephen Evans, Lee Strobel, Josh McDowell, etc.
Fideistic apologetics is the approach to
Christian apologetics that claims the truth of
Christianity cannot and should not be defensible
rationally. The word originated from the Latin term
‘fide’ which means faith. This method put the
emphasis on just believing in Christ apart from
reasoning or evidence. One of the great fideists in the
20th century was Soren Kierkegaard.
Reformed Apologetics argues that the basis
of reasoning and fact should be on the truth of the
Christian faith, and not otherwise. According to
reformed Apologists, empirical and rational
approaches are both insufficient and unsuitable to
defend the faith. Among of the prominent reformed
Apologists include Kelly James Clark, Alvin
Plantinga, Nicholas Wolterstorff, George Mavrodes,
William Alson, etc.

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 The Significance of Apologetics
Defending the faith is a significant part of a Christian
life that has been emphasized in both the Old and
New Testament. There are numerous reasons why
apologetics is so important that we need to learn and
practice it:
1. The Word of God orders us to be ready to defend
the faith (1 Peter 3:15).
2. It helps Christians to avoid heresies, hence
preventing them from ending up to hell.
3. It helps us to refute all the charges brought against
the Bible and Christianity.
4. It helps to clear doubts of sincere Christians who
always seek the truth.
5. Through Apologetics, Christians get deep
knowledge about their faith.

The Purpose of Christian Apologetics

As a fast-growing discipline, there is a possibility for
people to operate Apologetics in a wrong way, hence
causing it to miss its target. Therefore, by unveiling
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the right purposes of Apologetics will give direction to
new apologists on how to do it perfectly. The
following are the purposes of Christian Apologetics:
1) The first purpose of Apologetics is to aid those
who are confounded or troubled due to doubts, so
as to make them overcome them. Apologetics is
not helping the Bible by defending it as if it is a
helpless book. The Bible is the Word of God, so it
is reliable and axiomatic. On the other hand, I
would say the Scriptures are reasonably capable
of self-defense. But what we do is to help the
sincere inquirers to get right answers from the
Word of God concerning what they are doubting.
2) The second purpose of Apologetics is to explain
the reliability of the Bible as a supportive role, but
accepting the Bible as God's truth comes only
from an act of faith. It is impossible to create or
establish faith in a doubting person; instead, it is
the work of God Himself. So, our work as Christian
Apologists or Polemicists is to make those who

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 doubt see that the assaults against the Bible are
not valid.
3) The third purpose of Apologetics is to take away
the obstacles that obstruct someone from coming
to faith in Jesus Christ. If hindrances are taken
away it is easy for the sincere truth seekers to be
drawn to Christ and those who are already in
Christ to be drawn to a deeper heart for Jesus
Christ.
4) The fourth purpose of Apologetics is to make
sincere inquirers know the reliability of the rational
content of the Bible. Apologetics has nothing to do
with rationalists' demand. In 1 Corinthians 2:14 the
Bible clearly states how it is impossible for a
natural man to accept and understand the things
of the Spirit of God.
5) The fifth purpose of Apologetics is only to remedy
sincere skeptical minds and not to deliberate an
unbelieving mind. There is no treatment for
unbelief except divine intervention. However, it is a
good thing for Christians to continue preaching
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 incessantly to the skeptical mind because the
Word of God is too powerful to change.
6) The sixth purpose of Christian Apologetics is to
establish the truth and not to win debates.
Apologetics is not a battle of ideas that one should
seek to be the best in debating. As explained
above, Apologetics is to establish the truth to the
honest inquirers.
7) The seventh purpose of Christian Apologetics is
not negotiating with the heretical ideas, rather
refuting them. An Apologist will experience failure
when one compromises with lies. Dr. Johnson C.
Philip and Dr. Saneesh Cherian said: ‘Whenever
two contradictory systems of thought are
reconciled with each other, the truth always
suffers. Opposites can be synthesized only at the
cost of truth, and that is an alarming possibility for
any apologist.’

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 The Refutation of Early Church Heresies

The attack on the Church began right from the

early time of the New Testament period with the
following causes:

1) Distorted biblical hermeneutics which leads to

perverted doctrines.
2) False cults’ wilful claiming to be true Christians.

One of the famous apologists and Church Fathers,

Irenaeus, said:
"Error, indeed, is never set
forth in its naked deformity,
lest, being thus exposed, it
should at once be detected.
But it is craftily decked out in
an attractive dress, so as, by
its outward form, to make it
appear to the inexperienced
(ridiculous as the expression
may seem) more true than
truth itself." Irenaeus, Early
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 Church Father (ca. A. D.
130-200)

Some of the heresies within the Church in the

New Testament period are:

Docetism was the 1st-century heresy identified

by Basilides, Valentinus, Patripassians, and
Sabellians. The word came from the Greek term
‘dokeo’ which means to ‘appear’ or ‘seem.’ According
to them, Jesus is equal to God, and therefore can’t
be human; so the visible Jesus was only a hologram.
It was refuted by Irenaeus and Hippolytus by replying
to them, that if Christ were not fully human, human
redemption couldn't be possible (Heb. 2:14; 1 John
4:1-3). It is also refuted by John 1:1, 14; 1 John 4:2-3.

Neo-Platonism was advocated by Jewish

philosopher, Philo of Alexandria, who believed in the
following: 1. God is indefinable and has no contact
with carnal (material) substance. 2. One Supreme
Being (logos) created the material world ("Word" of

32
God or "Reason" of God). 3. Humans strive for
freedom from the prison of the body. 4. Reincarnation
is possible for those not released at death. In refuting
this doctrine, Tertullian wrote: “I am sorry from my
heart that Plato has been the caterer to all these
heretics.” (Tertullian, a Treatise on the Soul)

Ebionitism was the 2nd-century heresy

identified by Judaizers. This group rejected the Virgin
Birth of Jesus, as a substitute holding that Joseph
and Mary were the natural parents of Jesus. To
Ebionites, the obedience of Jesus to Jewish law was
the requirement that made Jesus be Messiah. This
erroneous doctrine was refuted by Irenaeus,
Hippolytus, Origen, and Eusebius, by taking a stand
on the Scriptures by stating that Jesus is fully divine
and worthy of worship (John 1:1; 20:28; Heb. 13:8)

Gnosticism; was identified by Marcion in the

2nd century. Gnosticism comes from the Greek term
‘gnosis’ meaning knowledge. Its primary feature is
that redemption is found through mystical knowledge,
33
rather than faith. The heresy was refuted by
Irenaeus, Tertullian, Hippolytus, Justin Martyr, by
maintaining the orthodox doctrine found in 1 John
4:2.

Pelagianism was the doctrine that saw

humanity as basically good and morally unaffected
by the fall. They denied the imputation of Adam’s
sin, original sin, total depravity, and substitutionary
atonement. Pelagianism was hugely unharmonious
with the Bible and was historically opposed by the
Bishop of Hippo, called Augustine (354-430). It was
condemned at the Council of Carthage in 418 A.D.,
and this condemnation was approved 13 years later
by the Council of Ephesus.

Montanism was identified by Montanus in the

2nd century, soon after Montanus was converted to
Christianity. Montanists believed that the Trinity
consisted of only a single person, similar
to Sabellianism.

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 Socinianism was the heresy named after
Fausto Sozzini (or Socinus, 1539-1604). Socinianism
rejects the full deity of Christ, predestination, original
sin, total inability of man to convert himself,
atonement as a penal satisfaction, and justification by
faith alone.

Modalistic Monarchicism was the 3rd-century

heresy recognized by Sabelius and Noetus of
Smyrna, which states that God the Father incarnated
in Jesus. This doctrine was refuted by Origen and
Tertullian, remarking that Jesus is separate from God
the Father but still God.

Dynamic Monarchicism was identified by

Theodotus in the 3rd century, claiming that by varying
degrees of deity indwelled the human Jesus. This
heresy was refuted together with adoptionism at
Antioch in 268.

Adoptionism was a 3rd-century heresy

identified by Theodotus which states that Jesus was
a human being who became divine by adoption.
35
However, there have been differing views regarding
the timing of when He became divine by adoption.
Some have taught that it occurred after His baptism,
while others believed it happened at His resurrection.
It was refuted at Antioch in 268 A.D. besides; it is
also refuted by Colossians 2:9, which states “For in
Him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily (ESV).”

Arianism was a 4th-century heresy identified by

an Alexandrian presbyter called Arius (256-336 A.D.)
This doctrine denies the deity of Jesus Christ. It was
refuted by Athanasius, Ossius, and Marcellus at the
Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D.

Appolinarianism was a 4th-century heresy

branded by Apollinarius, bishop of Laodicea (310-390
A.D.) and Justin Martyr. It denies the completeness
of Christ’s humanity and was refuted by Vitalis,
Damascus, Basil, Theodosius, Gregory of Nazianzus,
and Gregory of Nyssa at the Council of
Constantinople in 381. 357079

36
 Nestorianism was identified by Nestorius, the
Patriarch of Constantinople (c.386-451) in the 5th
century. This doctrine principally states
that Jesus existed as two persons, the man Jesus
and the divine Son of God (rather than as a unified
person). This doctrine was condemned at the Council
of Ephesus in 431 A.D. under Cyril of Alexandria.
Later, due to a misunderstanding of this view, it led to
the Nestorian schism, which caused the separation of
the Assyrian Church of the East from the Byzantine
Church.

Generally, this doctrine jeopardizes the

atonement, because if Jesus has two persons (divine
and human person) then the confusion arises on who
paid the price on the cross? If it was paid by the
"human person" then it loses the divine quality of
atonement, in this manner, it is unsatisfactory for
cleansing human sins.

Eutychianism; the 5th-century heresy identified

by Eutychians which denies the distinction of the
37
human and divine nature of Christ. It was refuted by
Flavian of Constantinople; Pope Leo; Theodoret;
Eusebius of Dorylaeum; in the council of Chalcedon
in 451 A.D.

Semi-Pelagianism; the heresy derived from

Pelagius but advocated in the 5th century by Cassian
at Marseilles. They believe that; the sinner can
initiate belief in God, God's grace is a response to
man's initial effort, and they deny predestination.
Semi-Pelagianism was condemned at the Council of
Orange in 529.

Monophysitism; was the 7th-century heresy

which states that the human nature was swallowed
by the divine nature to create a new third nature
called a tertium quid. Generally, the doctrine denies
the two-nature Christology as explained in the Creed
of Chalcedon in 451 A.D. The Council of
Constantinople condemned it in 680 A.D.

Monothelitism; states that Christ, while he had

two natures, had only one will. The proponent was
38
the emperor Heraclius (610-641 A.D.) and buoyed by
Sergius of Constantinople and Cyrus of Phasis; their
aim was to make reconciliation of the divided church
for political union. The 6th Ecumenical Council
opposed it in 680 A.D.

Kenosis; identified in the 19th century by

Gottfried Thomasius in Germany. It was derived from
the Greek word ‘kenoo’ meaning "to empty.” It was
misinterpreted from Philippians 2:7. The basic belief
of kenosis is that Jesus gave up some divine
attributes while on earth. These attributes were
omniscience, omnipresence, and omnipotence. It is
refuted by Colossians 2:9 “For in Him all the fullness
of deity in bodily form.”

Tritheism; the doctrine states that the

Godhead is really three separate beings forming
three different gods. The present-day proponent of
this doctrine is Mormonism. However, it is refuted by
Isaiah 43:10; 44:6, 8.

39
 Patripassionism; is the theological heresy
which states that the Father became incarnate, was
born, suffered, and died on the cross, hence, the
Father's (patri) passion (suffer) on the cross. This
doctrine is heretical one since the Father and the Son
are two distinct persons.

Modalism; is the most common theological

error which denies the Trinity. According to modalists,
God exists in three modes. He was the Father in the
creation, then changed to Son for salvation then to
the Holy Spirit.

Albigenses; was a heretical doctrine during the

Middle Ages that established in Southern France in
the town called Albi. This doctrine states that there
were two gods: the good god of light usually referred
to as Jesus in the New Testament and the god of
darkness and evil usually associated with Satan and
the "God of the Old Testament." Albigenses denied
the resurrection of the body since it was considered

40
evil. The movement was wiped out by order of Pope
Innocent III.

Present Day Heretical Movements

The present-day heretical Christian groups have

nothing new, rather they all have fallen into the same
heretical pitfall as the early Church heretical groups
had. The groups like Christian Science, Unity
School of Christianity, Mind and Healing
Sciences, Transcendental Meditation (TM), New
Age Movement, etc. are gnostic archetype while
Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormonism, Unification
Church, the Way International, etc. are the Arian
archetype.

The Refutation of External Attack

For centuries, various wrong philosophies and
erroneous scientific theories aired by the enemy
through humankind have been a poison to the Bible
and Christianity.
Porphyry one of the most pagan enemies
of Christianity of his day wrote the book titled ‘Against
41
the Christians’ (Adversus Christianos) which
contained of fifteen volumes. According to
Porphyry Jesus was only an outstanding philosopher.
He was refuted by some 30 Christian apologists,
such as Jerome, Augustine, Eusebius, Apollinaris,
and Methodius etc.
Through Evolutionism and rationalism,
the minds of average Christians have been drawn to
skepticism that no one who dared to take a public
stand to defend their faith.
Since the middle of 19th century to the middle of
20th century, millions of young Christians have been
grabbed away from their faith and commitment by
rationalists. Many molded skeptical questions
designed to assault the Bible have shaken the minds
of many Christians. These issues include;
 The Bible is erroneous.
 There is a self-contradiction in the Bible.
 The Bible is not divinely inspired.
 Bible is unreliable for there are originals.
 The deity of Jesus is questioned etc.
42
 With the few mentioned heresies framed within
the church and attack from outside, Christianity would
find itself with a facade and death respectively.
Thanks to God for raising strong Spirit filled Christian
apologists and polemicists who have been used by
the Holy Spirit to restore a countless number of
sincere doubtful Christians to a firm faith.

43
 APPLICATION OF CHRISTIAN
APOLOGETICS
Qualifications for an Apologist
To be an apologist, the following qualifications should
be considered;

➠ The aspiring apologist must first be a born-again

Christian.

➠ He/she must be led by the Holy Spirit.

➠ He/she should be hungry for the Word of God.

➠ He/she must nourish his spirit by reading God’s

Word and through fellowship within the body of
Christ.

➠ He/she must prepare his mind to meet the already

well-prepared minds of his opponents, and this
requires an enormous amount of study, practice,
and organization of thought.

44
➠ He/she must have effective communication, being
skilled in oral and written communication.

Preparatory Measures to Embark on Apologetics

As stipulated in the first chapter, Apologetics is the
work of every Christian, and this is because of its
significance. A believer must all the time be ready to
defend his faith as instructed in 1 Peter 3:15 saying:
“…… always being ready to make a defense to
everyone who asks you to give an account for the
hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and
reverence.”
We are in the end times, so as prophesied by
Daniel, there will be an increase of knowledge
(Daniel 12:4). Obviously, with the increase of
knowledge, the attackers will not remain with the
same antediluvian methods of attacking the Bible.
Nowadays there is a ubiquitous advanced
spread of Anti-Christian ideas. Both printed and
online books, magazines, tracts, articles, technical
journals are all dedicated to disapprove the Bible.
45
Television programs, movies, open-air meetings, and
conferences meant to destroy the Christian faith
either directly or indirectly.
Generally, the sentiments against Christianity
have permeated the whole society to the extent that
none of the Christian left untouched. This is the
reason why Apologetics is so paramount to every
believer.
Therefore, it is high time for every Christian to
do a groundwork to dive into Apologetics.
Additionally, the following are the preparatory
measures to be considered before becoming a
successful apologist:
Spiritual preparedness; one of the
qualifications of an apologist is to be born of the Spirit
(be born again). According to 1 Corinthians 2:14
there are twofold reasons for this: First, a natural man
(the one who is not born again) does not accept the
things of the Spirit of God for they are foolishness to
him. Second, he cannot understand them because
they are spiritually appraised. A believing Christian
46
apologist should have a persistent spiritual
commitment to daily Bible study, devotions, prayers
and doing other things that make his/her relationship
with God livelier.
Being apologist is working under the Holy Spirit
interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual,
for that case spiritual preparedness is so crucial:
“And we impart this in words not taught by human
wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual
truths to those who are spiritual.” (1 Cor. 2:13).
Mental preparedness, in 1 Peter 1:13 the
Bible says: “Therefore, prepare your minds for
action……….” The mind of an apologist should be
prepared and equipped prior to Apologetics practice.
It should be noted that Christian Apologetics is
fundamentally a combat of sentiments taking place in
the minds of people. If a believer is not mentally
prepared it is easy for that mind to be led astray by
the devil as the Bible states in 2 Corinthians 11:3:
“But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by

47
his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the
simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.”
Being rooted in the Word of God and right
hermeneutics always makes a mind stable. In
addition to that positive frame of mind is produced by
an act of walking by the Spirit of God.
Psychological Preparedness; psychological
preparedness has to do with boldness and
confidence. Without boldness and confidence,
Apologetics becomes a mind-numbing task. The
boldness of any apologist always should be caused
by the following:
1) Holy Spirit: “And when they had prayed, the place
where they had gathered together was shaken,
and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and
began to speak the word of God with boldness.”
(Acts 4:31).
2) Hope for what Jesus did on the cross:
“Therefore having such a hope, we use great
boldness in our speech.” Ephesians 3:12: “In

48
 whom we have boldness and confident access
through faith in Him.”
3) Prayer: Ephesians 6:19 (Acts 4:29).
4) Utterance: An apologist must have the right word
to say in all issues related to Bible attack.
Adequate right information is one of the important
tools of an apologist because it creates
confidence. Ephesians 6:19 says: “and pray on my
behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the
opening of my mouth, to make known with
boldness the mystery of the gospel,”
5) The grace of God: "For our proud confidence is
this: the testimony of our conscience, that in
holiness and godly sincerity, not in fleshly wisdom
but in the grace of God, we have conducted
ourselves in the world, and especially toward you.”
(2 Corinthians 1:12). When we are in need of
boldness to practice Apologetics we need to draw
ourselves near to the throne of grace so that we
may find it (Hebrews 4:16).

49
 Educational preparedness; with the age of
enlightenment and revolution in science, Christian
faith experienced a tense attack from great thinkers
and philosophers such Voltaire, David Hume,
Thomas Paine and the Baron d’Holbach. Such
people cannot be confronted with untrained or
uneducated Christians. The Christian apologists who
can face such people are the ones with very high
formal education in philosophy, science, and other
fields. Dr. Don DEYoung, the physics professor, and
theologian has used his scientific knowledge to
challenge an icon of evolution questing the age of the
earth (Read his book ‘Thousands….Not Billions’). Dr.
Johnson C. Philip a Christian Apologist with the
degree of Th.D. in Apologetics and Ph.D. in Physics
(Quantum Chromodynamics), has used his scientific
knowledge to refute many ant-Christian scientific
theories.
Christians who want to engage fully in
Apologetics need formal education and training.
Nowadays training may be attained through distance
50
courses, through short-term classroom training, and
through full-fledged courses.
Hermeneutical knowledge; hermeneutics is
the science and art of Biblical interpretation. As we
have seen in the first chapter that one of the factors
which led to the perverted doctrines is the distortion
of biblical hermeneutics. An apologist should be
acquainted with consistent hermeneutical
approaches so as to take a stand on right
interpretation of the Bible.

Groups of Apologists
According to the application of Apologetics, we can
categorize apologists into two groups:
Specialized/Professional apologists and
unspecialized/non-professional apologists.
A specialized/professional/clerical apologist
is a committed Christian with a special training and
skills in apologetics, he/she is well recognized by
his/her work of defending the faith. A professional
apologist is also known as a higher level apologist.
51
For example; Josh McDowell is recognized as one of
America’s leading defender of the faith. Also,
Johnson C. Phillip is one of the leading apologists in
India, he is recognized by his countless number of
Apologetics articles and books.
An unspecialized/non-professional/non-
clerical apologist is any committed Christian who
resist an attack made on the Bible and Christianity in
a lower level. Such an apologist is ready to answer
gently and respectfully to everyone who asks him/her
to give the reason for the hope that he/she has.
Every committed Christian falls into this category.

Apologetics Tool Kit

Apologetics tool kit is the term coined by Dr.
Godwin M. Gunewe to mean a set of tools used in
Apologetics. However, the refinement of specific
Apologetics tools was done by Dr. Johnson C. Philip
of Calvin Research Group. The application of tools in
Apologetics doesn't only make the refutation of errors
to be easy but also efficient. According to Calvin

52
Research Groups the following are the tools of
Apologetics; Analysis of Errors of Interpretation,
Analysis of Scripture Twisting, Analyzing Bible
Difficulties, Analysis of Scientific Information,
Analyzing fallacies of Logic, Analysis of Propaganda
Techniques, Analysis of Mind Manipulation
Techniques, Analysis of Debating Techniques,
Analysis, and Formulation of Leading Questions.
Analysis of Errors of Interpretation; this kind
of tool deals with the science and art of Biblical
interpretation. Hermeneutical errors are always
detected and analyzed by consistent hermeneutical
approaches including Literal Grammatical-Historical
method. It is beyond all contradiction that numerous
oppositions elevated against the Bible and
Christianity are profoundly deep-seated in contrary
thoughts to the Bible, which is the normal thing for a
natural mind. All non-Christians who assault the Bible
always interpret selected passages of the Bible to
mean what they wish it to mean. Therefore, such
hermeneutical errors are fixed with the aid of this tool.
53
 Analysis of Scripture Twisting; this kind of
tool may seem to be similar to the first one but in a
real sense, they are quite different. Hermeneutical
errors in most cases is not intentional, but Scripture
twisting is always intentionally planned. Therefore,
apologists should be aware of Scripture twisting so
as to challenge it.
Analyzing Bible Difficulties; a Bible difficulty
is an apparent problem caused by the biblical record.
We may call them as problem passages. Many
inerrantists use Bible difficulties to demonstrate that
the Bible is unreliable in what it claims. However, It
should be noted that Bible difficulties don’t make the
Bible erroneous because they can be handled,
though they should be dealt with methodically so as
not to cause exhaustion to the particular Christian.
For that case, by using this tool an apologist will be in
a position of handling Bible difficulties effectively. The
following are some of the Bible difficulties;
 The contradiction between Genesis 1:11-12, which
gives a record of vegetation appearing on the third
54
 day and Genesis 2:5, which states there was no
vegetation until after Adam was created.
 The issue of Cain’s wife; Bible critics question that
if Adam and Eve were the first to be created where
Cain got his wife.
 After worshipping Baal and Peor, Israelites were
killed by the plague. According to Moses in
Numbers 25:9 the Israelites killed were 24,000,
but In 1 Corinthians 10:8 Paul gives a record of
23,000 Israelites.
 The issue of who killed Goliath: In 2 Samuel 21:
19 the Bible says it is Elhanan who killed Goliath.
In 1 Samuel 17:50 the Bible claims that it is David
who killed Goliath.
 In Mark 6:8 the Bible says that Jesus allowed the
disciples to take a staff while in Matthew 10:9 and
Luke 9:3 the Bible states that Jesus forbade them
to take a staff etc.

With the presence of many Bible difficulties,

still, all of them have been methodically handled and

55
dealt with. In Addition to that, Gleason Archer in his
book titled ‘Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties’ has
given the following tips for handling Bible difficulties;
1) Be fully persuaded in your own mind that an
adequate explanation exists, even though you
have not found it yet.
2) Carefully study the context and framework of
the verse in which the problem arises until you
gain some idea of what the verse is intended to
mean within its own setting.
3) In the case of parallel passages, the only
method that can be justified is harmonization.
4) Consult the best commentaries available,
especially those written by Evangelical scholars
who believe in the integrity of Scripture.
5) Many Bible difficulties result from a minor error
on the part of a copyist in the transmission of
the text.
6) Whenever historical accounts of the Bible are
called in question on the basis of alleged
disagreement with the findings of archaeology
56
 or the testimony of ancient non-Hebrew
documents, always remember that the Bible is
itself an archaeological document of the highest
caliber.

Analysis of Scientific Information; with an

era saturated with scientific and technological
knowledge, critics of the Bible use these disciplines
to attack the Bible. On the other hand, it should be
understood that it is impossible to handle sufficiently
all the science-based oppositions without prior
preparation. By using this tool, a Christian apologist
without a formal science background will be in a
stance of being ready to confront those who attack.
Analyzing fallacies of Logic; logic errors and
fallacies have been a dominant and influential
instrument to attack the truth of the Word of God.
Radicals have established themselves in refining
incorrect logic to fight the Bible. Therefore, this tool
will be of great help to Christian apologists in

57
confronting those who use deceitful logic to assault
the Bible.
Analysis of Propaganda Techniques;
propaganda is the information, ideas, opinions or
images, which are broadcast, published or in some
other way spread with the intention of influencing
people's opinions. Propaganda gained a momentum
in the rise of mass political movements and
consumer economy whereby billions of money was
invested by businessmen, Activist organizations and
governments which practiced dictatorship to sharpen
up propaganda techniques. Later on, propaganda
became a rampant weapon for rationalists and
radicals to fight against the Bible and Christianity. In
order to confront Bible critics who use this method,
an apologist needs to get acquainted with this tool.
Analysis of Mind Manipulation Techniques;
mind manipulation is an act of controlling someone’s
mind to one’s own advantage, often unfairly or
dishonestly. The author of this method is Satan
himself who induced his fellow angels to rebel
58
against the Holy God. Mind manipulation operates
when ideas are formed and induced to people, and
later those ideas affect the particular people
permanently. For that case, this tool gives us
techniques and strategies required to challenge those
who use Propaganda and Mind Manipulation in
attacking the Christianity.
Analysis of Debating Techniques; it is an
obvious truth that nowadays debaters have diverted
the target of debate from being the fight over facts to
fight for winning a wrestle of ideas. With this tool, an
apologist will be equipped with the strategies to be
applied to confront the techniques used by the radical
thinkers against the Bible and Christianity. It should
be known to all Christian apologists that a public
debate is not a thing to be taken as something not
serious. Therefore, before embarking on any public
debate there is a great need for apologists to have
adequate knowledge on debating techniques.
Analysis and Formulation of Leading
Questions; in practicing apologetics, learning an art
59
of asking questions is so crucial because it makes a
Christian apologist to be tactical in confronting non-
Christian interrogator.

Guidelines for Practicing Apologetics

It is beyond all contradictions that the Christian
apologists should be ready for a confrontation but in
the spirit of gentleness and humbleness. I know the
term ‘confrontation' is loathsome to many Christians,
nevertheless, it is God's order for us to confront and
oppose evil.
It is obviously true that confronting skeptical
questions, and making a strong defense for the faith,
solely relies on the following; first, the set of things
that are happening and the conditions that exist at a
particular time and place. Second, your own
personality, and the last, the people you are dealing
with. However, the following are definite guidelines
that are worth considering.
1. Consult the Holy Spirit: It is the work of the Holy
Spirit to guide us into all the truth and disclose to

60
 us what is to come. (John 16:13). Christian
Apologetics is not a game of chance but a game of
divine purpose, playing in the will of the Lord (who
knows and orchestrates everything good) so that
people may know the truth and by which they will
be set free (John 8:32). By praying to the Holy
Spirit, an apologist will be in a position of making a
thorough assessment to the opposition in relation
to the general situation including the spirit of
inquiry. It is not good to waste time for an insincere
inquirer.
2. Have an in-depth knowledge about the topic
and how it is addressed by the Bible: having a
prior in-depth knowledge about the topic makes an
apologist aware in spotting the areas of
weaknesses in relation to the particular topic; in
turn, it will give the apologist chance to address it in
biblical perspective.
3. Learn to be tolerant: tolerance is one of the best
weapons in Christian Apologetics. Having an
answer doesn't mean it should be given instantly.
61
 Be patient by waiting for your chance to defend,
because learning becomes vague if tolerance is not
observed. Remember, Christian Apologetics is
winning a person and not an argument.
4. Avoid arguing: Don’t allow anything that seems to
be as if you are speaking angrily to someone,
telling them that you disagree with them. Arguing
always steers up anger and anger always causes
good ideas to evaporate, and when good ideas
evaporate, it always gives rise to fight. Arguing
causes a Christian apologist to operate in flesh.
5. Trust the Lord on every step: Let you be alerted
that Jesus never fails. Regardless of any result,
keep on trusting the Lord not a method. Don’t focus
on the result but focus on the work the Lord is
doing through you, because sometimes results
may disappoint us. Let every Christian apologist
know that the only causality of the results is the
Lord Himself and not our effort.

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 Appropriate Usage of Christian Apologetics
It should be noted that Jesus Christ is the
reason for the Christian Apologetics and not
otherwise. Christian Apologetics becomes biblical
and divine if first, every defense comes as a result of
placing Christ on the throne of one's mind. Second,
humbleness and fear of the Lord become a central
part of an apologist. Any Christian apologist should
have in mind that;
1) Christian Apologetics is not designed for
disputes and arguments over words (1 Timothy
6:4, 2 Timothy 2:14).
2) It is not designed for competition.
3) It is not designed for establishing superiority.
4) It is not designed merely to defeat or to silence
people:
5) It is not designed to elevate someone but only
God.
6) It is not designed to prove the Bible rationally.
7) It is not designed to prove the existence of God
rationally.
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 PRESUPPOSITIONS OF CHRISTIAN
APOLOGETICS

The foundation upon which different fields of studies,

edifices, and investigations are built is called
Presupposition. All fields rely on presupposition as
their basic and starting presumption upon which the
rest of the subject is built.
The term ‘presupposition’ is
from Medieval Latin word ‘praesuppositionem’ to
mean ‘prior assumptions.’ Therefore, Presupposition
is a thing presumed beforehand at the beginning of a
line of argument or course of action.
There are some presuppositions which
are axiomatic (self-proven) in nature. This means that
no proof is needed for establishing axiomatic
presuppositions.

64
 However, many presuppositions will have
to be verified in an indirect way through a test called
"Consistency Test"; though this test becomes
effective to the subject which is developed one.
‘Consistency Test’ is a powerful technique
for discrediting deceitful philosophies that lie beneath
numerous branches of science. For example;
‘Consistency Test’ is the one which has proved
‘Evolution Theory’ to be false. The developments in
the Theory of Probability, Information Sciences,
Computer Technology, Thermodynamics, and the
study of biological mutations have depicted irrefutably
that the clear result of randomness and blind chance
is decrease and destruction of order and not as
remarked by Charles Darwin. This is a serious crash
to the incorrect theory of evolution.
Therefore, it is so important for Christian
apologists to be acquainted with the opponents’
presuppositions so as to confute their wrong beliefs.
Prior knowledge of opponents’ presuppositions will
enable the apologist to structure appropriate pilot
65
questions to uncover the assumptions of the
opponents.

Presuppositions of Current Prominent Groups

The following are presumptions of various current
groups;
Christian Fundamentalists /
conservatives: This comprises all Christians who
have a strong devotion to the basics of the Bible,
including fundamental Baptists, Presbyterians,
fundamental Lutherans, fundamental Evangelicals,
Brethren etc. This group holds the following
presuppositions;
 The Bible alone is the Holy Spirit-inspired word
of God and is the source of all revelation,
doctrine, and authority. Human experience or
traditions have no authority in the above
matters.
 Grace alone is the foundation of salvation.
Grace is an undeserved favor from God. No

66
 man however saintly can obtain salvation
through his own meritorious works.
 Faith is the only gateway through which one
can receive the free gift of justification.
 Christ is the only Saviour and the only mediator
between God and man. There is no other
Saviour or mediator.
Neo Evangelicals: According to Calvin
Research Group, Neo-evangelicals are the ones who
have taken a "lower view" of Scripture, have
developed a spirit of liberalism, and have become
supportive and cooperative to unity between the
various types of the Christian groups in evangelism
efforts. The following are their presuppositions;

 A slight fallibility of Bible.

 Probable Theistic Evolution
 The probability of salvation without a clear and
exact knowledge of Christ.
 Doubt about the reality of miracles recorded in
the Bible.

67
 Radicals: Such Christians some tend to
incline towards liberalism portrayed in recent
churches and their side with the homosexuality and
less restrictive modern written Bibles. Some; consider
themselves to be extreme religiously righteous that
attempt to switch government and the lifestyles of
others to their extremely self-righteous morality. The
following are their presuppositions;
 A refusal of all beliefs of fundamental
Christianity.
 All religions ultimately point to salvation.
 Everyone will finally reach heaven
 The Bible is not the only Word of God.
 The Bible erroneous and antediluvian ideas
 The creation record and realities of salvation
are only ancient stories, accepting evolution as
a factual thing.
Neo-Orthodox: The movement started
after the world war one. This group uses the term
orthodox theology in a totally opposite and radical
sense, rendering them totally radical in theology. The
68
important promoters of the movement are; Karl Barth,
Emil Brunner, Eduard Thurneysen, Friedrich
Gogarten, Reginald Fuller, Rudolf Bultmann, and
Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

The following are their presuppositions;

A refusal of all beliefs of fundamental
Christianity.
 They reject the Bible alone as the Holy Spirit-
inspired word of God, and is the source of all
revelation, doctrine, and authority. Carl Barth
said ‘The gospel is not a truth among other
truths. Rather, it sets a question mark against
all truths.’ He also said ‘The Bible is God's
Word so far as God lets it be his Word’ (Church
Dogmatics-Barth).
 They believe in the possibility of Salvation to all
without Christ.
Christian Mysticism: Such group search
for the mystical encounter for spiritual contentment.
Whatever comes ahead of them during the mystical
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experience is perceived as from God. The following
are their presuppositions;
 Refusal of the Bible alone as the Holy Spirit-
inspired word of God, and is the source of all
revelation, doctrine, and authority.
 Rejection of doctrine and theology.
 Exaltation of mystical experience to the level of
revelation.
 Salvation through mystical experience.
 Spiritual contentment through mystical
experience.
Christian Spiritism: is a deceitful group
operating under the cover of Christianity partaking all
items used in Christianity, but applying trances and
psychic readings practiced in ancient time to connect
themselves with the dead. Such practice is an
abomination to the Lord (Leviticus 20:6, 27;
Deut.18:12). The following are the presuppositions of
Christian spiritists;

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  They believe God as an infinite spiritual
intelligence and impersonal power directing the
universe.
 They believe Jesus as a mere man and not
God.
 They believe Jesus as a link between physical
and spiritual world.
 They don’t believe on virgin birth, resurrection,
second coming.
 They don’t believe in the existence of heaven
and hell, to them they are only states of mind.
 They reject Bible as the only Word of God, but
use their spiritualistic items.
Christian Cults and Occults: According
to Josh McDowell, a cult is a pervasion, a distortion
of biblical Christianity, and as such rejects the historic
teachings of the Christian Church while an occult is a
deceitful group which carries the idea of things
hidden, secret and mysterious. All Christian cultic and
occultic groups operate in a disguised manner. Their
main effort is to make themselves clean before
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people by using Bible as their sacred book, but the
Scriptures give them a knockout blow. These groups
don’t operate in the same style because many differ
from one another. Something special in Christian
occultists always uses the knowledge of magic to
produce what seems like miracles. However, you can
recognize them by noting their following
presuppositions;
 Rejection of consistence hermeneutical
approach.
 Rejection of salvation by grace through faith.
 Rejecting the uniqueness of Jesus Christ.
 Elevation of their own books to the level of the
Bible.
 They believe that occult techniques are
approved by God.
 They believe that the spirit beings that help
them are from God.
 They reject most of what the bible says about
the devil and his angels.

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  They believe that occult phenomena can bring
people closer to God.
The following are examples of Christian
cults;

 Church of Scientology.
 Children of God: Family of Love.
 Worldwide Church of God, of Armstrong.
 Spiritualism.
 Church Universal and Triumphant.
 Unitarianism/Universalism.
 Gnosticism/Neo-Gnosticism.
 Way International.
 Holy Order of MANS.
 Church of the Living God.
 Mormonism.
 Jehovah's Witnesses (The Watchtower
Bible and Tract Society).
 Moonies: Unification of Churches.
 Christian Science Church.
 Rev. Ike Penitents: Snake Handlers.

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  Churches for Homosexuals: Universal
Fellowship of Metropolitan Community
Churches.
 Branch Dravidians: "Waco", David
Koresh.
 Peoples’ Temple: Jim Jones, Jonestow.
Non-Christian Cults and Occults: In
these groups, hidden wisdom is studied in a hidden
manner. They use charms, magic, voodoo,
Hypnotism, Ouija Boards, astrology, numerology in
their rituals. Occultic Cults are satanic movements
manifested in Satan Worship, Sorcery, and Demon-
assisted healings. They study science because they
take science as a branch of Alchemy that they try to
use to add validity to occultist practices. In their
operation, they pretend to be Christians by using
Christian items. The following are their
presuppositions;
 Rejection of Bible alone as the Word of God.
 Rejection of salvation by grace through faith.

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  Rejection of Jesus Christ as the only Lord and
Savior.
 Rejection of all fundamental Christian doctrines.
 Elevation of non-Christian scriptures to the level
of the Bible.
Examples of non-Christian cultic groups
are; Hare Krishna, Transcendental Meditation etc.
while non-Christian occultic groups are; The Black
Mass, Church of Satan, Order Templi Satanis,
Worldwide Church of Satanic Liberation, Order of the
Black Ram, Ordo Sinistra Vivendi.

Non-Christian religions: These are the

famous world religions including Hinduism,
Buddhism, Confucianism, Shintoism, Islam etc.
These religions have the following presuppositions;

 They reject Bible alone as the Holy Spirit-

inspired word of God, and is the source of all
revelation, doctrine, and authority.

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 They reject grace alone as the foundation of
salvation. They believe a man can obtain
salvation through his own meritorious works.
 They reject Faith as the only way through which
one can receive the free gift of justification.
 They reject Christ as the only Saviour and the
only mediator between God and man.
 They deny the deity of Jesus.
 They reject the Holy Trinity.

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 CHRISTIAN APOLOGETICS AND LOGIC

Logic is derived from the Greek word ‘logos' to mean

‘reason' or ‘thought.' Logic is both the science and art
of reasoning to arrive at a valid conclusion. It is
science because it gives norms, principles, standards
or criteria of correct thinking. It is an art for it officially
establishes certain rules for the achievement of truth
and removal of errors.
Logic as the art of valid reasoning it
becomes the common basis of all knowledge or arts,
e.g., Business, literature, medicine etc. It firmly gives
guiding principles to judge or calculate the quality,
importance, amount or value of the processes by
which knowledge is obtained.

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The Relationship Between Christian Apologetics
and Logic
Logic is the branch of learning which is very
significant in apologetics because always in
practicing Apologetics, the Christian must make an
application of appropriate truth, facts, and reason
preceded with prayers.
Moreover, reasoning is biblical. It is the
process of passing from something given to
something unknown. Capacity to reason is God’s
special gift to man, who was created in God’s image
and likeness.

God in Isaiah 1:18 says, “Come now, and let us

reason together,’ says the Lord, “Though your
sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as
snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall
be as wool.” (NKJV).

Acts 19:9, “But when some were hardened and

did not believe, but spoke evil of the Way before
the multitude, he departed from them withdrew
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the disciples. Reasoning daily in the school of
Tyrannus.” (NKJV).

Acts 19:8, “And he entered the synagogue and for

three months spoke boldly, reasoning and
persuading them about the Kingdom of God.”
(ESV).

Christian Apologetics and Logic are both

science and arts. There are two types of science
namely; Positive/Descriptive and Normative. The
Positive science describes things as they are, for
example; Biology, Physics Chemistry etc. The
Normative science describes things as they should
be, for example; Ethics, Aesthetics etc. Therefore,
both Logic and Christian Apologetics are normative
science because they describe things as they should
be.
Furthermore; both Christian Apologetics
and Logic are mental sciences dealing with the
operations of the mind.

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 However, it should be noted that Christian
Apologetics is the truth by itself, but Logic is the art of
reasoning to arrive at the truth as it lays down certain
rules for the attainment of truth. For that case, Logic
is only necessary to Christian Apologetics but not
essential. It is important because it is used to put
skeptical mind into the process of passing from
something unknown to something which is known
and true, but it does neither save (Jesus does), nor
convicts of sin and righteousness nor opens the heart
to understand the truth (John 16:8) (Holy Spirit does)
. Matt Slick says, “Logic is simply a tool in the
arsenal of Christian apologetics.”
On the other hand, Logic acts only as a
signboard pointing to the reality (Christian
Apologetics). This means that even without signboard
one can reach the destination.
Types of Logic
There are two types of reasoning, namely;
A. Deductive

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 Deductive reasoning is the one from the
universal premises to the particular conclusion.
The conclusion is less in quantity.
e.g., All Christians are Spirit-filled.
Godwin is a Christian
Therefore, Godwin is a Spirit-filled.
B. Inductive.
Inductive reasoning is a process from particular
premises to universal conclusion. The
conclusion is greater in quantity than premises.
e.g. Bryan is a sinner
Ann is a sinner
Therefore, all men are sinners.
Note: The inductive reasoning is concerned with
material truth while deductive reasoning is not
concerned with the reality (the truthfulness of
statement) but only with the operation of thinking.

Introduction to Logical Fallacies

A fallacy is a violation of the rules and
principles of logic. Wherever there is a rule, there is a

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possibility of its violation which leads to fallacies.
There are two types of fallacies;
a) Formal Fallacies
A formal fallacy is a violation of the form of a valid
syllogism.
b) Material Fallacies
A material fallacy is any erroneous reasoning
caused by the falsity of one or the other of its
premises.

Logical Fallacies to Avoid In Christian

Apologetics
1. A Christian apologist should avoid defending a
biblical fact with a little knowledge of the particular
fact. A little knowledge is always dangerous. It is
called a fallacy of knowledge of half-truths.
2. A Christian apologist should avoid relying on
personal experience in defending the faith. It is
called the fallacy of personal experience. For
example; You should not trust women because I
have experienced in my life.

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3. A Christian apologist should avoid evading,
ignoring the issue or missing the point or arguing
beside the point. It is called the fallacy of ignoring
refutation (Ignoratio Elenchi).
4. A Christian apologist should avoid attacking the
individual instead of the argument (argumentum
ad hominem). For example; I didn't know if I'm
dealing with a stupid.
5. A Christian apologist should avoid pointing out the
negative consequences to someone who is
holding the contrary position (Argumentum ad
baculum/appeal to the stick). For example; If
you don’t want to be converted you will die.
6. A Christian apologist should avoid trying to win
support for an argument by taking advantage of
his or her opponent's feelings of pity or guilt
(argumentum ad misericordiam-appeal to pity).
For example; I cannot continue explaining to you
about this because your education is too low to
understand.

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7. A Christian apologist should avoid influencing
people accepting something because of it is
believed by many people (argumentum ad
populum/appeal to popularity). For example;
many rich businessmen have accepted the Lord
Jesus, why not a poor like you.
8. A Christian apologist should avoid using some
past Christian tradition as the basis for making
people accept something (argumentum ad
antiquitatem/appeal to tradition). For example;
traditionally, we have been doing this, so it is a
right thing.
A Christian apologist should avoid defending an
error by pointing out same errors made by the
opponent (Tu quoque/you too). An error is not
treated by pointing other errors. For example; You
accuse us of this error while you do many errors
like this.

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 REFERENCES

1. Cowan, S. ed. Five Views of Apologetics. Grand

Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishers, 1999.
2. Gleason L. Archer, Encyclopedia of Bible
Difficulties (Zondervan, 1982), PP. 15-17.
3. Evans, Stephen. Pocket Dictionary of Apologetics
& Philosophy of Religion. Downers Grove, IL:
Intervarsity Press, 2002.
4. Geisler, L. Norman. Baker Encyclopedia of
Christian Apologetics. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker
Books, 1999.
5. Groothuis, Douglas. Christian Apologetics: A
Comprehensive Case for Biblical Faith. Downers
Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press, 2011.
6. https://carm.org/
7. https://www.theopedia.com/pelagianism
8. Rowan Williams, Arius: Heresy and
Tradition (Eerdmans, 2002)
9. R. P. C. Hanson, The Search for the Christian
Doctrine of God: The Arian Controversy, 318 -

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 381 (T&T Clark, 1998; reprint: Baker Academic
and T&T Clark, 2006)
10. Encyclopedia, s.v. “Monothelitism” by John
Chapman.
11. Wilson, R. McL. The Gnostic Problem. London:
A.R. Mowbray & Co. Limited, 1958.
12. Yamauchi, E.M. “The Gnostics and History,”
Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society
14:1 (Winter 1971): 29-40.
13. Hodge, Charles. Systematic Theology, 3 vols.
Hendrickson Publishers, 1999.
14. McDowell, Josh, Evidence that Demands a
Verdict, San Bernardino: Campus Crusade for
Christ, Inc., 1972.
15. Dr. Johnson C. Philip & Dr. Saneesh Cherian.
Pre-suppositions and Classification of Christian
Apologetics, a Calvin Research Group Academic
Resource, Module 002A1.
16. McDowell, Josh. A Ready Defense. Thomas
Nelson Publishers, 1993.

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17. Ryrie, Charles. Basic Theology. Moody
Publishers, 1999.
18. Celestine Sahaya S. Essentials of Formal Logic.
Salvatorianum, Morogoro, Tanzania, 2010.

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