One of the many jobs I held down while a freshman in college was as a sales associate for Kinney Shoes. What was expected to be a busy shopping day turned out to be extraordinarily slow, and as a result we were over staffed. The store manager, assistant manager and another sales person and myself were all waiting near the back of the store, trying not to scare off casual shoppers. The manager made mention of a belief in evolution, which prompted my interest and one of the most well-reasoned arguments for God my 19-year-old mind could think of.

I reasoned that evolution leads back to the origin of life, and even the universe. Some argue that the universe was first caused by a massive primordial egg that exploded and the obvious question is, where did that egg come from? There has to be something that is eternal, without a beginning or an end and the simplest explanation for non-spiritual person is that some form of matter and energy that creates the egg is that eternal source of everything.

My argument was that nothing can exist that wasn’t, in one form or another, already in the egg. Life. Order that can overcome the disorder of the egg’s explosive start to the universe. Reason. A will to keep the universe in order and the power to order it. In the end what we have is an eternal, life-giving force that is responsible for the origin of the universe and all life in it. A force that has the ability to reason and that operates by its own will. This is starting to sound less like some impersonal egg and more like God, I reasoned.

This is an example of apologetics, arguing from another person’s point of view toward Jesus. It’s what the apostle Paul did on Mars hill in Acts 17.22-34, only Paul’s words were delivered more effectively as some followed him that day, while all I got was three blank stares. As convincing as my arguments were, no one was persuaded to trust in Jesus that day, which was disappointing to say the least. And this is one of the pitfalls of being an apologist. You can study other world views, you can know the Bible inside-out, you can care deeply for others and more often than not the results are sparse.

Disappointment, discouragement and even depression can result from the apologist’s lifestyle. While not everyone is called to this kind of ministry, every Christian is called to be able to answer questions about their faith in Jesus. It is a bit like Martial Arts, it’s a good idea for everyone to have an idea about how to defend themselves but not everyone needs to have earned a Black Belt. For the casual apologist, saying “I don’t know” is certainly okay as long as it is followed with, “but I’ll find out.”

When someone challenges your faith it is important to answer the challenge, even if it’s a few days later. Ask you pastor or a strong Christian friend for advice and direction, search the Internet and books for answers and for ways to challenge the opponent. Frances Scott Key, the author of our national anthem, wrote: “I do not believe there are any new objections to be discovered to the truth of Christianity. Men may argue ingeniously against our faith, but what can they say in defense of their own?” Prepare to answer objects but also prepare to go on the offensive.

For those who think this might be a ministry they are suited for, more is required. Tomorrow we will look at what it takes to earn your belts in one of Christianity’s greatest disciplines.

Click the link to go to part three: http://think-biblically.com/8-blog/357-apologetics-3