I was attracted to a Facebook
post on my timeline by a friend who had made a comment concerning the rising
issue of prosperity gospel generally in the world, and particularly, in Africa.[1] In his comment section, he made
the case that Christian bloggers should pursue apologetics and polemics for the
sake of the body of Christ. This was a good challenge for me, especially
because the nature of this blog has a firm basis for apologetics. Under the
submission of scripture, I enjoy and seek to learn more concerning “faith
seeking understanding” a phrase employed by the 11th Century
theologian, St. Anselm of Canterbury. To take up this challenge, I have decided
to do a mini-series of posts on apologetics as follows:
Apologetics 103: The How –
Biblical Examples
Apologetics 104: A
Contemporary Concern – Prosperity Gospel in Africa
---
This is the third part of
this series. We will be looking at some few biblical examples of how to do
apologetics. (For those who missed, see Part
1 and Part
2 here).
At first glance, we may think
that since apologia may be a reality that’s to be limited only to the
New Testament and beyond. However, from the first part definition of
apologetics as giving reason for our hope, some Old Testament narratives are
instructive in this matter.
How to look at the Old
Testament
At the outset it is good to
observe that the Old Testament (OT) foretold the coming of the Messiah. While modern
day believers’ faith in Jesus looks backward, the OT believers looked forward.
Their hope was anchored on the reality that in the future, there would be One
who would redeem them and reign supreme (Gen. 3:15, Isaiah 40:9-11, Zech. 9:9).
In these texts, we see that Yahweh would bring deliverance to his people in the
Messiah, the promised one. No wonder then Jesus sees the Old Testament as being
centered on him:
And beginning with
Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the
Scriptures concerning himself (Luke 24:27).
Therefore, though the
Israelites did not have the gospel in its far-reaching reality, their faith was
still in the God who redeems. Walter Kaiser Jr., Professor emeritus and an Old
Testament scholar looks at the ramifications of Jesus in the OT.[2] This affected their
relationship with God and with the nations around them.
The Zeal of the Levites
The narrative in Exodus 32
gives us a picture of the zeal required to stand up for God. The Israelites had
chilled long enough for Moses, and having gotten exhausted, asked the
assistant-CEO, Aaron, to build them a golden calf, using the gold rings among
their clans thereby creating the ultimate setting for a moment of debauchery.
Moses comes down the mountain of God upon instruction from God, and is appalled
by the state of affairs. God’s wrath burns to the point of ordering a mass killing
of those who had shown such contempt for his character. The Levites prove
themselves to be on the Lord’s side in their response: “then Moses stood in the
gate of the camp and said, “Who is on the Lord's side? Come to me.” And all the
sons of Levi gathered around him.” (Verse 26). Some may have more questions
about this account here, and I have provided useful links.[3] In sum, we see that the hope
we have in Christ should cause us to stand up for the truth in the face of
falsehood, justice in the place of injustice and righteousness in the place of
moral decadence. The Levites are honored by God for their zeal in standing up
for him. (Ezekiel 44:15)
Elijah and the Baals
A TIME-worthy power encounter,
similar to perhaps a Mohamed Ali versus Joe Frazier match, the episode in 1
Kings 18 hits closer home with regards to our discussion. We see here a logical
conundrum, very much similar to the differing assumptions between Korir and
Omondi in Part
1.
And Elijah came near to
all the people and said, “How long will you go limping between two different
opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” And
the people did not answer him a word (1 Kings 18:21).
In effect the conditional
clause “IF” shows that there are only two outcomes, without any middle ground:
God or Baal. Several other stories in the Old Testament show this power
encounter between Yahweh and the other gods of the Ancient Near Eastern
nations. Just like the obliterating of the Egyptian gods (each synonymous with the
10 plagues), Baal is defeated by the Living God in a comical way. A commentary on
this verse notes that “Elijah stood in the breach between two mutually
exclusive truth claims. He did not ask for arbitrary decision or an existential
leap into the abyss of subjectivity. He called for a decision based on
evidence, pleading with his God to provide it.”[4] God vindicates himself on the
behalf of those who stand up for him. This theme carries forward to the New
Testament.
New Testament Examples
The inspiration of the
scriptures is clear even in the different color of the New Testament writers.
Luke for instance writes to Theophilus, to give an account of his gospel
witness. His name is derived from two words, theo (God) and phileo (love)
hence lover of God. The systematic presentation of the gospel by Luke was to
help Theophilus distinguish the reality of Jesus Christ as fact or fiction, a
reason that is needed very much today in our times.
In his apologia, Luke writes
for various reasons: (1) internally, for the Christian community against
divisive issues such as circumcision (Acts 11:1-4 f.); (2) as a self-defense
against other sects such as the Judaizers (Stephen and the Sanhedrin Acts 6
& 7; Paul in the Jewish Synagogue, Acts 17:2-4); (3) as an apologia to the
Greeks (Paul in Athens Acts 17:16-34, Paul in Lystra and Derbe Acts 14:11-18),
and (4) for the political innocence of the Christians in the Roman empire (Acts
16:20 f., 17:6-7. Jesus and Paul are presented as innocent participants in this
political narrative (Acts 2:22-23; 22:22 especially vv. 25, 29)).
Bridging the Time Gap:
Contemporary Reflections
In contemporary culture such
reasons are instructive in the current and often divisive and grace-less theological
debates between various Christian sects or denominations, in the response to other
competing worldviews and philosophies and lastly, in the activism for the human
rights of Christians in persecuted nations. The Christian Post has reported on
the shocking persecution of Christians in North Korea. The topic of the
headline itself is harrowing: Christians
'Crushed Under Steamroller' and 'Hung on a Cross Over Fire' in North Korea.
The context of all these biblical
examples is usually that of suffering – suffering for believing in the God who
has revealed himself in Jesus Christ and confirmed through his Spirit. And yet
those who stand up for God in the face of suffering are happy.[5] Paul as a biblical example of
a bold apologist shows us that the purpose of his defense, in light of his
chains, is the confirmation of the good news that for all of us sinners deserving
God’s just wrath, God’s love has been shed abroad in the person and work of
Jesus Christ on the Cross of Calvary (Philippians 1:7). These biblical examples
serve to show us that the gospel is God’s grace for those who receive it.
My prayer for you with Paul is
that:
Your
love may abound more and more in knowledge and all discernment, so that you may
approve what is excellent and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,
filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the
glory and praise of God. (Philippians 1:9-11)
[1] The “prosperity gospel” in summary is the “wealth and
health” gospel that focuses on God’s gifts instead of God himself. For an
article that traces the African traditional worldview that underlies much of
this gospel in charismatic circles, see Conrad Mbewe, “Why is the Charismatic
Movement Thriving in Africa?” in Banner of Truth. Nov 2015 accessed here. The story of Job in the Bible can be seen as a
practical defense against prosperity gospel. See Vaneetha Rendall Risner, “The
Poverty of the Prosperity Gospel,” in Desiring God, June 2015. Accessed here.
[2] Walter
Kaiser Jr., “Jesus in the Old Testament,” Gordon Conwell Theological
Seminary (2009), accessed here http://www.gordonconwell.edu/resources/Jesus-in-the-Old-Testament.cfm.
See also Josh McDowell Ministry, “How did Jesus View the Old Testament,” bethinking
(2001), accessed from http://www.bethinking.org/bible/q-how-did-jesus-view-the-old-testament.
[3] These
verses show God’s just wrath towards sin. Contemporary culture looks down upon
the idea of wrath because of our sense of entitlement and sentimental view of
love. Here we see both truths as one, that God’s love and God’s wrath are
elements of his justice. This is a plea for anyone who desires to escape God’s
wrath to believe in Jesus Christ. God’s wrath towards the believer is taken
away as a result of the substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ on his
behalf, for which Moses foreshadows here (Exodus 32:30). See Paul Coulter, “Old
Testament Mass Killings,” bethinking (2010), accessed here http://www.bethinking.org/bible/old-testament-mass-killings
which responds to issues raised concerning God’s sanctioning of mass killings
in the Old Testament.
[4] R. C.
Sproul, John Gerstner and Arthur Lindsley,
Classical Apologetics (Grand Rapids, MI: Academie Books, 1984), 13
[5] Dallas
Willard, The Allure of Gentleness: Defending Faith in the Manner of Jesus (New
York: HarperOne, 2015), 31
very interesting read love it
ReplyDeleteHey Liz, I thank God. I hope it's of some tiny winy help :)
DeleteHey Liz, I thank God. I hope it's of some tiny winy help :)
Delete