Can Apologetics become a god? - No question unanswered?

[St. SteVen]

I have brushed up against this topic on occasion. Time to hit it head-on.

Christianity claims to have all the answers. In order to maintain that claim Apologetics were born.
And to be clear, a reasonable amount of Apologetics aren't a problem. A biblical basis for our faith.

But after I had matured in the faith (go ahead and laugh), I began to notice something about Apologetics.
Church attenders, and especially those who hadn't memorized all the Apologetics, wanted answers.
To pastor a church meant being the answer man (or woman). The flock wants answers.

And in some cases, it seemed that if a Pastor, or Bible commentator, didn't have an answer,
they made something up. Which left me in a strange place. A loss of trust in the ability of leadership.
It was never okay to say, "I don't know." The church response might be, "We need to find a new Pastor."

Discussion questions:
1) Is our faith built upon answers?
2) Are we saved by Apologetics?
3) Aren't doctrines man-made?
4) Have Apologetics ever failed you?
5) Can Apologetics become a god?


--- PARODY ---

Christian: We have all the answers.
Victim: Good; I haven't done today's crossword puzzle yet.
Christian: I didn't mean those sort of answers.
Victim: That's okay, I can do my own puzzle games.
Christian: I mean the really important answers to life.
Victim: Like how to get my keys out of a locked car?
Christian: No, like where you will spend eternity.
Victim: It seems to take an eternity to get my keys out of a locked car.
Christian: Aren't you concerned about your eternal destiny?
Victim: Not really. I'm concerned about getting my keys out of a locked car.
Christian: That is a temporal concern; I'm talking about eternity.
Victim: I'm late for an appointment. That's my main concern at the moment.
Christian: Shouldn't you be more concerned about your eternal destiny?
Victim: Oh good, the police just arrived to rescue me.
Christian: To rescue you from being locked out of your car?
Victim: No, to rescue me from you.

[

 

[St. SteVen]

I have brushed up against this topic on occasion. Time to hit it head-on.

Christianity claims to have all the answers. In order to maintain that claim Apologetics were born.
And to be clear, a reasonable amount of Apologetics aren't a problem. A biblical basis for our faith.

But after I had matured in the faith (go ahead and laugh), I began to notice something about Apologetics.
Church attenders, and especially those who hadn't memorized all the Apologetics, wanted answers.
To pastor a church meant being the answer man (or woman). The flock wants answers.

And in some cases, it seemed that if a Pastor, or Bible commentator, didn't have an answer,
they made something up. Which left me in a strange place. A loss of trust in the ability of leadership.
It was never okay to say, "I don't know."
The church response might be, "We need to find a new Pastor."

Discussion questions:
1) Is our faith built upon answers?
2) Are we saved by Apologetics?
3) Aren't doctrines man-made?
4) Have Apologetics ever failed you?
5) Can Apologetics become a god?


--- PARODY ---

Christian: We have all the answers.
Victim: Good; I haven't done today's crossword puzzle yet.
Christian: I didn't mean those sort of answers.
Victim: That's okay, I can do my own puzzle games.
Christian: I mean the really important answers to life.
Victim: Like how to get my keys out of a locked car?
Christian: No, like where you will spend eternity.
Victim: It seems to take an eternity to get my keys out of a locked car.
Christian: Aren't you concerned about your eternal destiny?
Victim: Not really. I'm concerned about getting my keys out of a locked car.
Christian: That is a temporal concern; I'm talking about eternity.
Victim: I'm late for an appointment. That's my main concern at the moment.
Christian: Shouldn't you be more concerned about your eternal destiny?
Victim: Oh good, the police just arrived to rescue me.
Christian: To rescue you from being locked out of your car?
Victim: No, to rescue me from you.

[

 

[Jericho]

1) Is our faith built upon answers?

No, otherwise, it wouldn't be faith.

2) Are we saved by Apologetics?

No.

3) Aren't doctrines man-made?

Yes, but then, I would consider apologetics to be a doctrine.

4) Have Apologetics ever failed you?

I can't say that it has.

5) Can Apologetics become a god?

I'm not sure how it could.

I don't think Christianity has ever claimed to have ALL the answers to every single question. We have some answers, especially to the big questions: Who are we, why are we here, etc. But some things are unknowable. For those things, we can give a plausible explanation, and I would distinguish that from merely making something up.

 

[Windmill Charge]

Is our faith built upon answers?

Christianity is based upon historical facts found in the Bible.

Love the parody :)
But questions like why are we here, what is the meaning of life, what about evil and injustice?

Is eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die! An adequate response to injustice and suffering?


Are theologies man made? Of course they are. They are men's attempt to rationally explain God and how God interacts with men.

 

[St. SteVen]

For those things, we can give a plausible explanation, and I would distinguish that from merely making something up.

Here's an example of one.

Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit - The unforgivable sin?

I reject the standard doctrine that states that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (the unforgivable sin) is unbelief. The scripture in question does not support that conclusion. As I understand it, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is to attribute the works of God to Beelzebub. (Satan) Matthew...

www.christianityboard.com

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