In the past year, I’ve come across a number of defenders of the faith, apologists. These are people who have taken on the challenge of answering attacks on Christianity. One of the verses that comes to mind for this area of study is,
1 Peter 3:15 (NASB95) 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;I have no trouble with the study of apologetics. I wish I were much better at it.
Unfortunately, much of the time it’s just a futile effort. I enjoy listening to the repartée between the apologist and a Muslim who is taking him on. It deepens my knowledge of scripture and reinforces my concerns about Islam. The problem is that the people that they are talking to are not interested in a discussion or learning truth. They are simply there to go on the attack. I believe the term is polemics. Many of the discussions that we have with other people are not really discussions. There are more defending the castle against someone who wants to destroy it.
I listened to a number of these discussions, or more accurately arguments, and notice a pattern on the side of the Muslims. They never listen to what you say. They never listen to what they themselves say. It becomes a contest to see who can talk the fastest, and the loudest and be the most aggressive. When an apologist will read a passage out of the Quran and ask a simple question about it, the Muslim will ignore the question and bring up a whole new area to go on the attack. They interrupt, they talk over. They call you names. Rarely do they ever listen to anything. They know that if they listen, they will have to admit to truth and that’s not what they’re after.
If you enjoy the challenge, then go for it. If it sharpens your skills and deepens your understanding by forcing you to dig deeper into your own beliefs, then it can be worthwhile. If you think that someone who will not listen can be convinced of anything, I suggest you think again.
Keep in mind misunderstanding applies also to other Christians. Many times we are so set in our theology that we don’t want to look at any verses that conflict or any context that would make us change the direction of our thinking. Let’s be part of the solution.
homo unius libri
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Comments are welcome. Feel free to agree or disagree but keep it clean, courteous and short. I heard some shorthand on a podcast: TLDR, Too long, didn't read.