I was on retreat this past weekend. Although I was not off the grid, I greatly curtailed my online access. I found a site with 12 quotes about Christian Apologetics in my twitter feed and thought it was worth sharing its wisdom. Here are my favorite three quotes:
1) If ours is an examined faith, we should be unafraid to doubt. There
is no believing without some doubting, and believing is all the stronger
for understanding and resolving doubt. - Os Guinness.
Sadly, so many Christians are so afraid of doubt that they become irrational in their attempts to defend the faith. They forget that God is the source of all truth and doubt is just God`s invitation to grow and to smooth the rough edges of our faith.
2) Belief is not what ultimately matters—truth is. In other words,
people are entitled to their own beliefs, but they are not entitled to
their own truth. Our believing something is true does not make it true.
The Bible isn't true simply because I have faith. Truth is what
corresponds to reality—telling it like it is. - Jonathan Morrow
I like the simple statement:" The Bible isn't true simply because I have faith". To which I would add "The Bible IS true because it was meant to tell a story that trully happened". A favorite tactic of those who argue against the Christian faith is to disregard the Bible as a reliable source of data. I have had people say to me "Prove to me that Jesus was a real person and that he resurrected from the dead, but you can not use the Bible". To which I respond: A tribunal in which the defence lawyers are not allowed to present any evidence as well as the testimony of witnesses corroborating that evidence, is not only grossly unfair but irrational.
Apologetics is aimed at persuading doubters, not at refuting the
defiant. He who demands a kind of proof that the nature of the case
renders impossible, is determined that no possible evidence shall
convince him. - Edward John Carnell
This is one I need to learn. Sometimes I spend so much time trying to persuade those who are defiant that I forget I should be spending all of my energies helping those who are doubting.
"Viva Cristo Rey!!"