The Problem with Christian Apologetics
I want everyone to repeat after me: “I don’t know.” Go ahead, say it – it’s quite liberating! It’s kind of the same feeling as shouting “I admit that I believe Michael Bolton is truly ugly,” but without the popular backlash.
Apologetic Professor is incredibly fond of that phrase (meaning "I don't know;" although I'm fond of the one about Michael Bolton, too).
I cannot figure out for the life of me why Christians feel the need to answer every single question about the faith.
No one holds anything else to this kind of standard in any other aspect of life. When quantum physicists tell us they cannot explain how big forces and small forces fit together, we do not say “well, I guess all of quantum physics is bosh. Screw gravity!” When astronomers say they cannot explain how a black hole works, we do not say “I suppose there is no such thing as a supernova after all.” If your friend cannot tell you how to navigate around New York City, does it follow from that that she cannot tell you how to get to her own house?
The point is obvious: Not knowing things does not (necessarily) invalidate the things one does know.
Well, Christianity does not claim to answer every question. In fact, in Christianity we are repeatedly taught to question and doubt the limits of our own knowledge. Yes, to question. To doubt. Indeed, it may surprise some folks to realize that it borders on blasphemy in Christianity to think we have all the answers; by definition, only One being in the universe can have all the answers. By a curious coincidence, God did not decide to put all answers to everything in my head. Bad break!
Oftentimes, I think when someone asks us a question like “why does John say there were two angels at the tomb when Mark says one angel?” I wonder why Christians spend a lot of unnecessary time trying to prove that 2 = 1. (That is kind of like the equivalent of trying to make up an answer about how to get to Wall Street when we don’t know how to get there.) The proper answer isn’t to try and prove that 2 = 1; the proper answer is “I have no idea; but who cares? Let me tell you about what we do know. The accounts about Jesus do not disagree on anything important. Let’s talk about those.”
So that’s the Apologetic Professor promise. I’m not going to simply answer every question as if I know the answer. I don’t know all the answers.
Apologetic Professor is incredibly fond of that phrase (meaning "I don't know;" although I'm fond of the one about Michael Bolton, too).
I cannot figure out for the life of me why Christians feel the need to answer every single question about the faith.
No one holds anything else to this kind of standard in any other aspect of life. When quantum physicists tell us they cannot explain how big forces and small forces fit together, we do not say “well, I guess all of quantum physics is bosh. Screw gravity!” When astronomers say they cannot explain how a black hole works, we do not say “I suppose there is no such thing as a supernova after all.” If your friend cannot tell you how to navigate around New York City, does it follow from that that she cannot tell you how to get to her own house?
The point is obvious: Not knowing things does not (necessarily) invalidate the things one does know.
Well, Christianity does not claim to answer every question. In fact, in Christianity we are repeatedly taught to question and doubt the limits of our own knowledge. Yes, to question. To doubt. Indeed, it may surprise some folks to realize that it borders on blasphemy in Christianity to think we have all the answers; by definition, only One being in the universe can have all the answers. By a curious coincidence, God did not decide to put all answers to everything in my head. Bad break!
Oftentimes, I think when someone asks us a question like “why does John say there were two angels at the tomb when Mark says one angel?” I wonder why Christians spend a lot of unnecessary time trying to prove that 2 = 1. (That is kind of like the equivalent of trying to make up an answer about how to get to Wall Street when we don’t know how to get there.) The proper answer isn’t to try and prove that 2 = 1; the proper answer is “I have no idea; but who cares? Let me tell you about what we do know. The accounts about Jesus do not disagree on anything important. Let’s talk about those.”
So that’s the Apologetic Professor promise. I’m not going to simply answer every question as if I know the answer. I don’t know all the answers.