Apologetics presupposes reason.
Thinking.
But what kind of thinking?
Thinking based on reason, logic and evidence.
Is there any other kind?
Oh yes!
It’s very popular!
Thinking based on personal preference twisted to fit presupposed conclusions not derived by due process.
Due process to what?
The Laws of Logic.
The Fundamental Laws of Thinking ignored by the will of men twisting reality to fit the bigotry of personal preference in spite of reality.
You find this in every intellectual discipline, from Physics and Biology to Theology and Philosophy.
None of us are immune.
And it’s very appealing.
Freedom from the sinister grip of false worldviews requires intellectual honesty and unceasing vigilance.
Because it’s easier to adopt worldviews based on popular assumptions derived from false premises and invalid logic.
They are located on the lowest shelf of the intellectual marketplace and given away for free.
But not without a price.
Intellectual servitude.
And it’s easy to blame others for this.
It’s common to point fingers at our so-called educational system for failure to provide the tools that empower students to think for themselves.
It’s popular to blame professors for punishing students who are out of compliance with their latest secular manifesto.
But are we any different?
You and I?
Don’t we tell our children what we believe but not why we believe, and expect them to follow suit?
Don’t we discourage questions and sometimes equate damnation to doubt?
Christians themselves were the greatest deterrent to my becoming a Christian for decades.
But when I became a Christian the hard way in 2003 I was puzzled by the exodus of youth from Christianity.
They were raised in homes devoted to Christ. Why would they reject the truth of Christianity?
For the same reason I did.
Unanswered questions.
But before you take offense to my criticism of your parenting, understand my words apply to me too.
My children were not brought up as Christians, nor are they Christians now.
My failure runs deep.
Please pray for my children.
As I pray for yours.
As we work together hand in hand, shoulder to shoulder to understand and articulate what we believe and why we believe it.
Never again to fail the sacred charge of all parents to always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks us to give a reason for the hope that we have.
Beginning at home.