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Reason For Hope: Doing Apologetics in Malaysia
Reason For Hope: Doing Apologetics in Malaysia
Reason For Hope: Doing Apologetics in Malaysia
spiritual walk as I tried to make sense of the claims of Christ in relation to other faiths,
especially the Buddhist-Taoist tradition. To be frank, I did not come to faith after arriving
the historical evidences of Jesus’ resurrection. The decision to trust in Him as Lord and
Savior followed the hearing of a simple gospel message, which convicted me of sins
against a holy God and the need for reconciliation with Him through the sacrifice of
Christ on the cross. However, coming from a plausibility structure that would not take
Christian claims at face value, my newfound faith launched an ongoing and often lonely
As time went by, I discovered other reflective people in and outside church who ask
fundamental questions in life like our origin, identity, purpose and destiny. The
dissatisfaction with simplistic albeit pious clichés for an answer is both our blessing and
our curse. I began to feel acutely the vacuum in the local church for suitably equipped
ministers who address such issues with sensitivity and knowledge. Again, I turned to the
wisdom of books by Augustine, Francis Schaeffer, C.S. Lewis and others. In this paper, I
seek to explore the role of apologetics in Scripture and church history in a missional
1
The Possibility And Necessity of Apologetics In Scripture
Derived from the Greek word apologia, which meant “defense”, the apologetic task
involved refuting objections leveled against the Christian faith (defensive apologetics)
and/or providing a positive case for its acceptance (offensive apologetics)1. As such, it
could play a potentially crucial role in both strengthening the faith of believers and
helping to remove obstacles that hinder a seeker from coming to faith in the task of
in the ministry of Jesus Himself? In His didactic dialogues with Pharisees, Sadducees and
disciples, Jesus rationally answered objections, opened up hidden assumptions with well-
placed questions and appealed to miraculous signs as evidence for His claims2. During
debating Jewish religious leaders and pagan philosophers at Mars Hill on the validity of
the gospel (Acts 14:15-17, 17:2-4, 16-31, 18:4, 19:8-9)3. Since Luke took care to
explicitly record that some who heard his presentation indeed chose to believe (Acts
17:34), the narrative does not function as an illustration of the bankruptcy of persuasion
as taught by Watchman Nee. Even some of these converts’ names (Dionysius and
Damaris) were mentioned, indicating that these men from Athens eventually made an
1
Steven Cowan, general editor, Five Views On Apologetics, (Zondervan: Grand Rapids, 2000), page 8
2
Some examples of Jesus’ rabbinic use of logic and reason in disarming objections can be seen in passages
like Matthew 11:4-6 (appeal to evidences), 21:24-26 (questions that expose motives), 22:37 (tertium quid),
22:41 (reductio ad absurdum) and Luke 13:10-17 (a fortiori argument).
3
Scripture citations are taken from J.P. Moreland, Love God With All Your Mind: The Role of Reason In
the Life of the Soul, (NavPress: Colorado Springs, 1997), page 131
2
Not only that, we also have clear biblical injunction in 1 Peter 3:15-16 for a persecuted
church to be prepared to give a credible answer (apologia) to everyone who asked for the
reason why they believed. It is not just a nice suggestion or a duty for an elite group of
intellectuals only. Biblical apologetics thrive or wither in the whole church as we carry
out the missionary task. Interestingly, the same passage also admonished us to be gentle
and respectful, keeping a clear conscience and displaying Christ-like behavior before
hostile critics. How we need to vigilantly shun the besetting sins of tactless method,
intellectual pride and lack of grace evident in many would-be apologists! In 2 Corinthians
10:4-6, the church is urged to take apart arguments that set itself up against the
warfare is therefore not primarily about doing prayer walks around the neighborhood.
Especially in a pluralistic context like Malaysia, the church needs more informed,
However, there are also some common objections which have been advanced against the
use of apologetics in favor of a simple proclamation of the gospel. For example, we are
reminded of Paul’s warning “that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive
philosophy” (Colossians 2:8) and “the gospel is the foolishness of God… I come not with
ultimately the Holy Spirit is able and responsible to convict and renew a sinner’s heart to
repentance and trust in Christ, not the cogency of our arguments. However, a more
careful reading of the texts mentioned suggests that Paul was actually warning us against
3
false philosophy, not philosophy per se. In order to beware of false philosophy, we need
As we have seen earlier, Paul himself used reasoning in gospel proclamation and his
condemnation was directed against prideful intellectualism, not against reason itself (1
Corinthians 8:1). The crucifixion is offensive to human pride for the Jews sought
miraculous signs whereas the Greek sophists peddle ‘wisdom’ by improving their
speaking skills to persuade people with empty rhetoric, not substance.5 Simply put, the
antidote for arrogance is humility, not ignorance (1 Corinthians 14:20). When Jesus
dependent humility, not the mental ability of toddlers, as a condition to enter the
Kingdom. It is not uncommon to find proud ignoramus who are defensive and unwilling
to learn from others too. Therefore, intellectual witness should not be viewed as a
could open spiritual eyes to see the truth. Just as the ministry of transportation is to ferry
people to a physical place where they can listen to the gospel, the apologetic ministry
seeks to bring them to a “cultural and intellectual space” where the communication of the
While it is obvious that God does not need our defense, His sheep nonetheless needs
reflects: “To be ignorant and simple now — not to be able to meet the enemies [of Christ]
4
Norman Geisler, Beware of Philosophy: A Warning to Biblical Scholars, (Christian Apologetics Journal,
Volume 2, No.1, Spring 1999), page 17 <www.ses.edu/journal/articles/2.1Geisler.pdf> (20 February 2007)
5
J. P. Moreland, Love God With All Our Mind: The Role of Reason In the Life of the Soul, page 58 - 59
4
on their own ground — would be to throw down our weapons and to betray our
uneducated brethren who have, under God, no defense but us against the intellectual
attacks of the heathen. Good philosophy must exist, if for no other reason, because bad
philosophy needs to be answered."6 Therefore, Scripture seems to mandate a duty for the
church to earnestly contend for the faith (Jude 3). While faith is beyond reason, it also
does not require a fideistic, intellectual suicide. Biblically understood, faith involves the
Historically speaking, the apologetic task had an important pedigree and we could learn
from its ancient role in the church’s mission as the gospel spread to a predominantly
Gentile context. By the second century, educated converts like Justin Martyr, Theophilus
the face of persecution and intellectual challenges from their Greco-Roman civilisation.
They do not just argue about religion but broader cultural issues like religious freedom,
the meaning of education and history of nations.8 Justin showed appreciation for Socrates
and Heraclitus as men who partook of a vague knowledge of the Logos, as honorary
ostracization. While we do not know if they had much success with the pagan
intelligentsia or political rulers to whom the corpus was addressed, the Apologists
6
C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory, (Macmillan Publishing: New York , 1965), page 28.
7
Millard Erickson, Christian Theology, (Baker Books: Grand Rapids, 2001), page 951 - 954
8
Robert M. Grant, Greek Apologists of the Second Century, (SCM Press: London, 1988), page 11
5
nonetheless provided a theological foundation on which later Christian thinkers would
develop and finally replace the prevailing pagan philosophies of the day.9
Although the legacy of other apologists operating in the context of mission encounter
could be cited, their role has significantly diminished in the modern era.10 In order to
glean some lessons on how apologetics at its best has served the church, I would just
highlight two outstanding theologians even though their contribution was not entirely
without fault11. Burdened by many ecclesiastical and pastoral concerns, Augustine was a
North African bishop during the fifth century A.D. while Aquinas was a widely-travelled
Dominican monk in the medieval era. The former wrote his most significant treatise, The
City of God, in response to an “epochal shift” occassioned by the fall of Rome while the
latter was roused to encounter the rise of a sophisticated Islamic civilisation in Spain with
In a perceptive study by Curtis Chang, we could see that in their differing interaction with
rhetorical strategy to enter the challenger’s story, retell it and capture the retold story
9
Gerald Bray, ‘Explaining Christianity to Pagans: The Second-Century Apologists’ in The Trinity In a
Pluralistic Age: Theological essays on Culture and Religion, edited by Kevin Vanhoozer, (Eerdmans:
Grand Rapids, 1997), page 9-10
10
See Harold Netland’s excellent discussion on how, with varying degrees of evangelistic success and
biblical fidelity, Christian apologists like Theodore Abu Qurrah and Zwemer (Islam), Matteo Ricci
(Confucianism), William of Rubruck (Buddhism) and many others have left a legacy on the mission field.
Harold Netland, Encountering Religious Pluralism: The Challenge to Christian Faith & Mission,
(InterVarsity Press: Downers Grove, 2001), page 252 - 256
11
All of us are influenced by our culture and historical condition. One may argue that there were occasions
when Augustine’s theology succumbed to Platonic dualism and Aquinas’ synthesis with Aristotelian logic
was frequently indicted as having put asunder the realm of nature and grace. Nancy Pearcey, Total Truth:
Liberating Christianity From Its Cultural Captivity, (Crossway: Illinois, 2005), page 74 - 80
12
“While there is no precise criterion for what qualifies as an epochal challenge, Christians encountering
one feel that the ground they have taken for granted is shifting. The basic reference points that have guided
how they inhabit their epoch as Christians seem to be toppling.” Curtis Chang, Engaging Unbelief: A
Captivating Strategy from Augustine and Aquinas, (InterVarsity: Downers Grove, 2000), pages 13 – 19
6
within the gospel narrative. That is, both men immersed themselves within the paradigm,
authorities or story of the alternative worldview to find a shared space for dialogue, then
reinterpret it to reveal tragic incompleteness or dissonant tensions inherent in its plot and
finally capturing the rival stories by revealing how the ‘resolution’ is finally found in the
gospel.13 They were not trapped behind an airtight fortress that has no point of contact
with others. Neither did they lose the dramatic plot of an overarching Christian narrative.
As testament of their labor, Augustine defeated the pagans’ attempt to blame Christianity
for Rome’s decline, insisted that the city of God is never coterminous with any “Christian
nation” and made possible the preservation of learning in medieval churches. Without
experiment and empirical evidences, thereby crippling the emergence of modern science
in the West.14 Their legacy of cultural relevance and biblical faithfulness should spur
13
Ibid, pages 26 - 27
14
Ibid., page 137 – 138
7
Although there has been laudable work done by organisations like Kairos Research
Center and NECF Research Commission, the Malaysian church remains generally
robust inquiring spirit so crucial for the apologetic task. As many denominations were
is a common emphasis on “the dangers of the world, the comforts of the separated piety,
mitigating circumstances could be cited like pragmatic, populist and “immediate result”
Unsurprisingly, Noll’s critique of the ‘scandal of the evangelical mind’ for an American
setting is largely relevant here as well, posing a formidable barrier against the
development of an intellectual witness and cultural mandate for many complex and
Also, in the minds of many Malay Muslims in Southeast Asia, there was no distinction
between the arrival of Christian missionaries and the European powers which waged war,
colonized their lands and controlled the regional spice trade. The Portugese, Spanish,
Dutch and English colonizers fought among themselves for the spoils and cruelly
15
Mark Noll, The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind, (InterVarsity: Leicester, 1994), page 109 – 145. For a
brief sociological and political dimension on the decline of the evangelical mind in America, see Nancy
Pearcey, Total Truth: Liberating Christianity From Its Cultural Captivity, (Crossway: Illinois, 2005), page
251 - 294
16
“When faced with a crisis situation, we evangelicals usually do one of two things. We either mount a
public crusade or we retreat into an inner pious sanctum”. Ibid, page 141.
8
exploited the local people so a deep sense of antipathy remained even today.17 Long after
gaining national independence, the political elite in Indonesia and Malaysia considered
Islam as closely linked to nationalism and regarded Christian mission as a social threat.
Given such a sensitive post-colonial scenario, some Christians prefer to steer away from a
robust apologetics because stressing propositional truth claims seem like a mask for
societies, which looked with disapproving suspicion, if not open hostility, at any religious
faith that claims to be the exclusive truth. While we are obviously living in a society with
religions are equally valid in terms of access to truth and effectiveness in salvation. This
view is illustrated beautifully by the ancient story of ten blind men trying to describe an
elephant after touching different parts of its body for the first time18. As they announced
their conflicting discoveries, a heated argument ensued. Awakened by the quarrel, the
Rajah corrected all of them by saying, “The elephant is a huge animal and each of you
touched a part. In order to know the whole truth about what the elephant looks like, you
must put together all the parts!” The moral of the story is that no religion has privileged
access to the whole truth. Each religious view is a partial experience of the same Reality
from its own culturally conditioned perspective. Given such a cultural milieu, it seems
9
Doing Apologetics In The Malaysian Context
Offering diagnosis without prescription makes for light work so let us explore some
proposals on how the apologetic task may be carried out in the Malaysian context. In
view of many contemporary challenges, Dr Ng Kam Weng urged the Malaysian church
to take proactive steps to enhance resources and nurture promising young leaders while
they are still in colleges. I heartily concur with his proposal for long-term and intentional
programs to equip them with necessary tools to interact with Asian philosophies and
religions in an engaging method and accessible language.19 While there has been a
resurgence of apologetic works in the American context, most of the materials were
classical apologists like William Lane Craig, Norman Geisler and J. P. Moreland would
proceed from a defence for the existence of God through various theistic arguments, the
possibility of miracles and historical reliability of Scriptures. The goal is to lay a realist,
historical foundation for accepting the resurrection of Christ, a crucial ‘clincher’ for the
vindication of Christ’s unique claim to Deity.20 The Malaysian church has definitely
Gospels since Muslim apologists like Ahmad Deedat borrowed the tools of liberal
biblical criticism in their attempt to show that the Gospels are internally inconsistent or
19
Ng Kam Weng, Current Concerns For Christian Intellectual Witness, (NECF Malaysia Cross-Currents
Consultations), <http://necf.org.my/newsmaster.cfm?&menuid=12&action=view&retrieveid=25 > (20
February 2007)
20
For example, see Norman Geisler and Paul Hoffman, editors, Why I Am A Christian: Leading Thinkers
Explain Why They Believe, (Baker: Grand Rapids, 2001)
10
textually corrupt. Such apologetics will continue as long as sensational challenges from
The Da Vinci Code, “The Lost Tomb of Jesus” documentary and others flood the media.
However, more often than not, we encounter alternative religious systems which already
took the existence of the supernatural or spiritual world for granted. In contrast, many
demonic, neglecting their positive cultural elements and revealing their own captivity to
scientific data. Perhaps, the effectiveness of theistic arguments from design, morality,
causality and others may be applicable for agnostics or atheists who have developed a
synthesis with Buddhism.22 But what may work for a secular atheist may not work for a
theistic Muslim or pantheistic Hindu. Asian Christians need to rethink our rhetorical
story-telling that involves the imagination and listening with empathy.23 Many people,
context of authentic community. They also want to see the fruits of our belief in
21
On the difficulty for the two-tiered Western mind to understand and address issues on astrology and spirit
world, see Paul Hiebert, ‘The Law of The Excluded Middle’, (Missiology 10:1, 1982), pages 35 - 47
22
In my personal experience, many reflective Buddhists have integrated an atheistic, naturalistic worldview
with Buddhist spirituality, which is not built on the existence of any deity. While some atheists in the West
may be critiqued for an arid and reductionist view of man, their Asian counterparts have found nourishment
in a non-theistic religion.
23
Randy Newman, Rabbinic Questioning – A Better Way To Evangelize, (Christianity Today, Faith in the
Marketplace, 18 Dec 2004), <www.christianitytoday.com/workplace/articles/rabbinicquestioning.html>,
(20 February 2007)
According to Huntington’s provocative and frightening analysis, “the central and most dangerous
dimension of the emerging global politics would be conflict between groups from differing civilizations”.
Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash Of Civilizations And the Remaking of World Order, (Simon & Schuster:
London, 1996), page 13
11
embodied living and compassion for the needy before examining their validity. Having
between truth and grace by following Jesus Christ who personified both (John 1:17).
infinite regress of proofs for every belief. Somewhere along the line, the buck stops at
some properly basic beliefs which we intuitively know without inference from other
beliefs.25 It is argued that evidences for God’s existence are not necessary for a rational
faith even though such evidences may indeed exist. Echoing Calvin, belief in God
emerges from an innate ‘sense of the divine’. Christians have epistemic permission to
believe in God since such basic beliefs are the results of our cognitive faculties
24
The weakness in the Alpha course model is the difficulty to get busy seekers to commit to extended
weekly meetings but the relational, conversational and group hospitality around a meal approach is a right
direction for food-loving Malaysians. Lausanne Committee For World Evangelization, The Uniqueness of
Christ In a Postmodern World and The Challenge of World Religions, (Lausanne Occasional Paper 31,
2004), <http://community.gospelcom.net/lcwe/assets/LOP31_IG2.pdf > (20 February 2007)
25
For some examples, basic beliefs are our belief in the existence of other minds, the past, moral intuition
like torturing babies is wrong, 2+2=4 and the existence of an enduring self.
26
See the section on reformed epistemology by Kelly James Clark in Steven Cowan, editor, Five Views On
Apologetics, page 266 – 273.
12
By probing hidden presuppositions behind the demand for evidences, I find Reformed
epistemology helpful to deflect the burden of proof from resting solely on the believer’s
shoulders. After all, how many church members in our midst could grasp such subtle
not obligated to be a temporary agnostic or give up the faith at the pain of irrationality
against the dominant naturalistic accounts of epistemology that Plantinga had to wrestle
with.28 However, in a pluralistic context, it seems to open wide the door for Buddhists,
Hindus and Muslims to claim ‘epistemic rights’ to their fundamental beliefs as properly
basic as well.
While committed to the necessity of Holy Spirit’s inner witness to convict us of the truth,
Harold Netland pointed out that various self-authenticating experiences that overcome
any amount of contrary evidences could also be found in other religions. Our notions of
what constitutes basic beliefs depend heavily on prior ontological and theological
understanding of the nature of human beings.29 We cannot take these assumptions for
granted especially if others do not share them. But if there is no neutral, universally
rational foundation by which we could evaluate conflicting truth claims, on what basis do
we privilege the Christian gospel? Is it merely one among the many we choose from due
27
While not every individual needs to be able to handle such objections, challenges nonetheless needs to be
met as a community project. We cannot interpret the world intra-textually without findings from the world
from speaking to our Christian worldview as well.
28
If our brains evolved to produce consciousness for the sole purpose of survival, there is no reason to
suppose why our cognitive faculties should produce true beliefs. Even false beliefs could aid survival if
such false beliefs prompt us to run away from predators.
29
Harold Netland, Encountering Religious Pluralism: The Challenge to Christian Faith & Mission, pages
260 – 264
13
to the whims of history or culture? While postmodernism or pluralism may arguably
provide a level playing field for all kinds of stories, a religious claim that has no referent
emerging leaders today.30 He observed that the goal of all social traditions is to construct
a well-ordered society.31 Instead of asking, “Which religion alone is true?” the question
should be reformulated as, “Which religious vision provides the basis for community in
the truest sense?” Although all religious traditions may contribute to societal cohesion,
Grenz’s contention is that the gospel alone provides a more complete vision of the nature
of community that all human religious traditions aspire to achieve since it embodies the
highest understanding of who God actually is.32 The human search for communal
relationship actually mirrors the Triune nature of the eternal God Himself as “plurality-
in-unity”. The church is the visible embodiment of God’s universal purpose in the gospel
to reconcile a diverse people and renew them in a gathered community as a sign of the
age to come.
In the Asian context, where collective identity and relationship are stressed despite rapid
strategy integrally modeled in the church. However, as he himself has noted, various
30
See the chapter on Apologetics: From Rationalism To Embodiment in Robert Webber, The Younger
Evangelicals, (Baker: Grand Rapids, 2002), pages 94 - 106
31
Stanley Grenz, Renewing the Center: Evangelical Theology In A Post-Theological Era, (Baker: Grand
Rapids, 2000), page 281
32
Ibid., pages 284 – 286
14
communities espouse different understandings of what constitutes true community.33
Without some common ground in our understanding of what “community” means, how
could we then claim that the Christian story fulfills what they are actually seeking? And
the claim that the gospel provides a “more” complete basis for community life in
comparison. Ironically, Grenz’s proposals seem to make sense only if we do not overstate
the divergence in our foundations of rationality, morality and community. This should not
be surprising since different human cultures and languages do share a common humanity.
foundationalism. Again, Harold Netland is perceptive to point out that current discontent
with positive apologetics owes more to the manner in which it is sometimes done and
positive, cumulative case for Christian theism. Since the gospel provides the most
the universe and our human experience, we could rejoice in the convergence of many
apologetic streams. From the classical apologists, we drink in empirical evidences that
demand a verdict. From the Reformed epistemologists, we learn to trust in the Spirit’s
ability to produce genuine faith apart from arguments. From the presuppositionalists, we
33
Ibid., page 280
34
Harold Netland, Encountering Religious Pluralism, page 278
15
discover that unique features of human life make sense only when interpreted through a
biblical outlook. With the incarnational apologists, we live out the practical
No matter how we conceptualize it, the ethical criterion of truth remains a crucial
challenge for the faith community. As a minority, we are called to demonstrate how a
state of monistic ‘dhimmitude’.35 If the ultimate apologetic is found in Jesus’ prayer that
His believers may be one as a reflection of Trinitarian love (John 17:21-22), our
challenge today may sound like this: “How would the koinonia as an inclusive,
sanctified, racially and socially diverse community of faith be any different from a
theology into socio-political practices that would answer our community’s yearning for
racial reconciliation, public governance with integrity, peacemaking and liberation from
oppression and poverty? The late Lesslie Newbigin wrote that it is precisely because we
want unity that we seek the truth by which alone humankind can become one: “That truth
35
According to Huntington’s provocative and frightening analysis, “the central and most dangerous
dimension of the emerging global politics would be conflict between groups from different civilizations”,
rather than ideological or economic boundaries. Samuel Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and The
Remaking of World Order, (The Free Press: Kingsway, 2002)
36
Quoting John Zizoulas, we could also say, “In God the particular is ontologically ultimate because
relationship is permanent and unbreakable. Because the Father, the Son and the Spirit are always together,
the particular beings are the bearers of the totality of nature and thus no contradiction between ‘one’ and
‘many’ can arise.” Quotation found in Colin Gunton, The Promise of Trinitarian Theology, (T & T Clark:
Edinburgh, 1991), page 97
16
found by repeating abstract nouns like justice and love; it is the man Jesus Christ in
whom God was reconciling the world. The Truth is personal, concrete, historical.”37
If the Malaysian church could thus demonstrate an alternative society that transcends
ethnic, cultural, economic class and political barriers, the perception of Christianity as a
Western colonial reality will be more effectively exorcised. Our apologetic should also
take on board a faithful portrayal of Christ, as the Suffering Servant-King who laid aside
His majesty and emptied Himself in humility to rescue and serve humanity (Matthew
10:28, Luke 22:27). The cross subverts every pretension to power by violence and de-
legitimates manipulation and oppression. Although it does not guarantee innocence in its
over all, thus preventing a partisan abuse.38 Through the atonement of Christ, the way for
In a stirring call, Engel and Dryness argued that the New Testament church made a
parody of the ‘center-periphery’ mission model, which has as its starting point centers of
power and wealth before moving to the periphery of those who were impoverished
spiritually and physically. The book of Acts recorded how the gospel made its way from
Caesar.39 Today, churches in the so-called Two-Thirds World need to embody the self-
37
Lesslie Newbigin, The Gospel in a Pluralistic Society, (Eerdmans: Grand Rapids, 1989), page 170
38
J. R. Middleton and B. J. Walsh, Truth Is Stranger Than It Used To Be, (InterVarsity Press: Downers
Grove, Illinois:), page 87
39
J.F. Engel and W.A. Dyrness, Changing the Mind of Missions: Where Have We Gone Wrong?
(InterVarsity Press: Downers Grove, Illinois), page 40 – 43
17
emptying and suffering Christ, not the imperialist Caesar. As servant-leaders, we need to
engage contemporary issues in our proclamation and service for the sake of the world as
the diversity and integrity of different cultures and ‘language games’, while holding to
humanity in God’s image and live together in the same created world.
Concluding Remarks
dialogue. There are also other themes which deserve our attention like interfaith
AIDS and poverty. Although the process of Islamization is a growing concern, which
calls for courageous countercultural witness, the church also needs to draw from the rich
resources for social programs that spring from a common theistic outlook with Islam, the
should permeate the rank and file in the office, classroom, factory and ‘rumah terbuka’
during festivities. That is, Christians should abandon a ‘ghetto’ mentality and actively
pursue to be with the other, collaborate with them in action and discourse to understand
evangelism.40
40
Ravi Zacharias International Ministry, Meekness and Truth Ministry and the Agora ministry among
others are currently providing such equipping resources in conversational apologetics for the laity.
18
In conclusion, let us heed the rousing call for the apologetic task by J. G. Machen when
he said, “It is true that the decisive thing is the regenerative power of God. That can
overcome all lack of preparation, and the absence of that makes even the best preparation
useless. But as a matter of fact God usually exerts that power in connection with certain
prior conditions of the human mind, and it should be ours to create, so far as we can, with
the help of God, those favorable conditions for the reception of the gospel. False ideas are
the greatest obstacles to the reception of the gospel. We may preach with all the fervor of
a reformer and yet succeed only in winning a straggler here and there, if we permit the
while collective thought of the nation or of the world to be controlled by ideas which, by
the resistless force of logic, prevent Christianity from being regarded as anything more
Bibliography
41
J. Gresham Machen, What Is Christianity?, (Eerdmans: Grand Rapids, 1951), page 162.
19
1. 20th Century Theology: God & the World in a Transitional Age, Stanley Grenz & Roger
2. Apologetics To the Glory of God: An Introduction, John Frame, P & R Publishing: New
Jersey, 1994
7. Greek Apologists of the Second Century, Robert Grant, SCM Press: London, 1988
8. Love God With All Your Mind: The Role of Reason In the Life of the Soul, J. P. Moreland,
9. Malay Muslims: The History And Challenge of Resurgent Islam in Southeast Asia,
Millard Erickson, Paul Kjoss Helseth and Justin Taylor, Crossway: Illinois, 2004
12. The Gospel in a Pluralistic Society, Lesslie Newbigin, Eerdmans: Grand Rapids,
1989
13. The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind, Mark Noll, InterVarsity Press: Leicester,
1994
20
14. The Trinity In a Pluralistic Age: Theological essays on Culture and Religion,
15. The Uniqueness of Christ In a Postmodern World and The Challenge of World
16. The Younger Evangelicals, Robert Webber, Baker: Grand Rapids, 2002
18. Why I Am A Christian: Leading Thinkers Explain Why They Believe, edited by
21