apologetics on the other side

In The Church on the Other Side, Brian McLaren argues that much of what passes for apologetics today is ineffectual. Here are his supporting points:

Circular Reasoning – McLaren reasons that the argument to defend the Bible by saying, “the Bible says” just doesn’t work. I agree yet I want to be careful not to jettison the Bible. Without it we will be caught up by false doctrines and teaching that follow the imaginations of evil men. We must also be careful (as Randy B. has warned) not to find Scriptures that fit our stories.

So what are we to do? We are to show up in the lives of others with power and we are to explain this amazing power with stories. The stories we tell, may be direct from Scripture, they may be our life stories, or they may be parables. In all cases we need to not teach more than the Bible teaches and ultimately, point to God and His Word.

Defensiveness – the issue here is that our apologetics are defensive. And worse, too often the only visible use of apologetic is to argue theological details with other believers. We need to get out of our buildings and into the streets with a cause for people to come to Christ.

Combativeness – this flows from the above. We see people as enemies rather than students, clients, or patients. So in addition to sitting back and being on the defensive, we react as if attacked (although there are times that we are attacked). Our objective toward the opponent is to either beat them into submission or increase the space between us. If we saw them as a partner rather than an opponent, then we would more likely come along side of them and help them in their journey.

Worldliness – I like this one. In this age we tend to handle the Bible as a textbook or some sort of encyclopedia. While it is certainly worthy of dissection and study that fills a lifetime, we often forget its nature. It is letters and stories and poems and … much of it is to be read as a whole rather than the verse by verse analysis we make of it. I think we underestimate its power when we relegate it to textbook status.

Distraction – McLaren states that, “apologetics got distracted from hunting tigers to chasing field mice.” As we work through the truth of God’s Word, we must remember to always keep our compass toward Christ. In Becoming a Contagious Christian, we are reminded to watch out for smoke screens. That is, we are to be prepared to answer real life questions but to ensure we always ultimately come back to the purpose of our conversation. It is too easy to get caught in argument for argument’s sake.

Dishonesty – do not exaggerate the claims. I agree that we should not exaggerate the claims but if we stick with what Jesus said, I don’t see that as a risk.

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