Welcome to the world of weblogs, or blogs, and the cyberspace they all inhabit, known as the blogosphere. This is an inherently democratic realm where Kathy from Kalamazoo has the same platform for her views on religion as a scholar with a fistful of advanced degrees. Therein lies the greatest opportunity and the greatest difficulty with how Christians engage the religion blogosphere.

“The beauty and danger of blogging is that it gives a voice to the common man,” said Rich Tatum, a blogger who has been on the cutting edge of all things Internet in various capacities with church denominations and ministries including the Assemblies of God and Christianity Today International. “Everybody becomes a publisher. They create a lot of noise, and sometimes it’s hard to find the signal in the noise. But there’s a surprising number of interesting writers out there who are posting interesting content.”

Blog Basics. Since blogs made their first appearance on the Internet in the late 1990s, they have changed in appearance and function while proliferating in numbers. The first weblogs were simple lists of Web sites of interest to the site host. These blogs also contained chronological lists, arranged from oldest to newest, of any changes made to a Web site. That style quickly evolved into the current arrangement of posts, arranged from newest to oldest, of short items written in a journalistic, diaristic style, Tatum told the Journal.

Internet surfers can interact with a blog in a variety of ways. The vast majority of visitors simply clicks on the blog and reads its content. Others may subscribe to the blog and automatically receive any new posts. Each blog contains a mechanism where readers can comment on a post and thereby interact with the blogger and other commenters.

There’s plenty to comment about, according to Web sites such as Technorati (http://technorati.com) and BlogPulse (http://www.blogpulse.com), which monitor the world of blogs. A feature on the front page of BlogPulse offers stark evidence of how massive the blogosphere is. As of August 3 this year, the blogosphere contained nearly 79 million identified blogs. In the previous 24 hours, 93,041 new blogs became live, and 651,253 posts were indexed.

Cats, Bosses, and Other Denizens of the Blogosphere. Bloggers, including those who comment on religion, fall into one of three categories developed by business author and blogger Seth Godin. “Cat bloggers” are so called because they tend to be the kind of people who will share very personal items, such as what their cat did today, that would be considered by many other people to be trivial or mundane. A Christian cat blogger is someone who shares personal details of their daily devotional lives. “Boss bloggers” are those who speak with some authority for an organization through their blogs, such as pastors and CEOs. An “idea blogger” is anyone who has an idea they want to share with others. These bloggers can be authors, teachers, and theologians.

Michael Kress, managing editor of Beliefnet, sees two general categories, personal blogs and issue blogs, each with subcategories. “Some personal blogs are pure diaries from doubters and people who are struggling or from people who are more devotionally oriented and who want to get other people to worship and pray with them,” said Kress to the Journal. Issue blogs comment on news stories and how they affect particular religious beliefs and practices.

Devotees, Skeptics, and the Inquisitive. Web surfers normally read religion blogs for two reasons. The first is to monitor current events and trends. “People are thinking about the interaction of Christianity and everyday life on their own, and now they can see how other people are thinking. That’s how we view our blog: as an application of Christian worldview to life,” said Melinda Penner, co-founder and blogger for the apologetics ministry Stand to Reason, in an interview with the Journal.

The second reason is belief-centered. People will search out blogs written by like-minded thinkers in an effort to bolster their own beliefs. The reverse is also true: readers occasionally will monitor and engage with bloggers opposed to their own beliefs. “People read bloggers they identify with,” said Kress. “This person articulates how the reader sees the world and becomes a mouthpiece on an issue or a factor of life such as religion. But there are also those who love to pick a fight and argue. They get so riled up and incensed by this person that they must read their blog in order to respond.”

Non-Christian Blogs. Evangelical Christians have plenty to choose from when exploring the portion of the blogosphere populated by those who do not share their religious faith. All the other major world religions are represented with the tone and subject matter ranging from serious to whimsical. Judaism features sober-minded issue discussions on Jewschool (http://jewschool.com) and more personal reflections from The Velveteen Rabbi (http://velveteenrabbi.blogs.com). People interested in Islam can consult a comprehensive blog called Mere Islam (http://www.mereislam.info). There are even blogs devoted to Shinto and Zoroastrianism.

Blogs about New Age religion and atheism are easy to find and often provocative. Quest for Personal Nirvana (http://success-nirvana.blogspot.com) offers assistance in using “New Age tools such as Subliminality, Lucid Dreaming, Hypnosis (and) Binaural Beats.” Atheist Revolution (http:// www.atheistrev.com) features the tagline, “Breaking away from irrational belief and opposing Christian extremism in America.” Scientology backers will like Scientology and Me (http://scientologyandme.wordpress.com), but will not find comfortable reading in Formerly Fooled and Finally Free From the Deceptive Cult Called Scientology (http://free-from-scientology.blogspot.com).

Other blogs are found on Web sites that invite participation from all religious beliefs and practices. A major player in this category is Beliefnet, which was started in 1999 and was purchased in 2007 by Fox Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation. Blogs are a small but growing part of Beliefnet, according to Kress.

“We have a wide net, but we’re always looking to fill certain gaps where we feel we need more content or a balancing voice. If we tilt too liberal, we find a more conservative voice to balance it out. Since bloggers are opinionated, we are committed to providing content to everyone on every side of the spectrum,” she said. Beliefnet blogs, which can all be found from a pulldown menu at the site’s homepage (http://www.beliefnet.com) include “God’s Politics” by liberal evangelical Jim Wallis and its more conservative counterpart “Crunchy Con” by Rod Dreher; “Conversations With God,” based on the book of the same name by Neale Donald Walsch; and “Deepak Chopra and Family.”

The God Blogs. Christians were quick to catch on to the potential of blogging, said Tatum. Today, nearly every denomination and official organization’s Web site has a spot for a blog. Pastors, priests, and ministry leaders are frequent contributors as boss bloggers and idea bloggers. Anglicans who were not able to attend the once-a-decade Lambeth conference in Canterbury, United Kingdom, could keep informed by reading the blogs of a number of attending bishops, from both the conservative and liberal viewpoints. Some local church Web sites include boss blogs from their pastors.

Christian cat bloggers use their sites to share devotional thoughts or other items for everyday people. For example, “Sprittibee” is the nickname of a Christian homeschooling mom and also the name of her blog (http:// sbees.blogspot.com). Other blogs blur the categories of cat, boss, and idea blogs. Tatum’s “Blog Rodent” (http://tatumweb.com/blog) is primarily an idea blog, but has also featured posts updating readers about family news. Other blogs take an outside-the-box tone, such as “The Shrine of the Holy Whapping” (http:// holywhapping.blogspot.com), which consists of posts by a group of self-styled “Catholic nerds.”

Within Christianity, a subcategory of blogs focuses on apologetics. Some of these blogs are concentrated on a particular tenet of Christian belief or against a particular perceived error. Examples include “Faith and Gender” (http:// faithandgender.wordpress.com), which defends “the Bible’s teaching on the nature and rela­tion­ship of the sexes”; “Reformed Baptist Apolo­getics” (http://reformedbatistapologetics. blogspot.com), which is based on the beliefs and writings of seventeenth-century Particular Baptists; and a defense of young-earth creation­ism from the blog of Ken Hamm, founder of Answers In Genesis (http:// blogs. answersingenesis.org/aroundtheworld/feed).

Another category of apologetics blogs is more general in nature. Stand to Reason, an organization that equips believers to give a full explanation for Christianity and Christian values, started its blog after overcoming some initial reluctance. “People had been suggesting it as long as three and a half years ago,” said Penner. “At that time I saw blogs as mostly political, and we are not a political organization. But then I realized that the staff here was always talking about things in the news and evaluating things we had read. Then I realized a lot of other people might like to hear the kinds of things we talk about.”

Stand to Reason blog posts have explored topics such as the arguments made by the new batch of best-selling atheist authors, the place of doubt in the life of a Christian, same-sex marriage, and the Trinity. “What interests us about the specific topics and events we blog about are the interactions of ideas and life and understanding what people believe,” said Penner.

Opinions vary on the effectiveness of apologetics in the blogosphere. “I enjoy reading apologetics from people who have written a text, but I’m not a huge fan of following it on a blog,” said Tatum. “Blog authors tend to generate an audience of like-minded readers. The people who disagree with you on a blog are not likely to be devoted readers. They will cruise by and probably drop a comment here and there and never come back again.”

An Evangelical Navigation Guide to the Blogosphere. The sheer amount of blogs and the shortage of discretionary time in the average person’s day make exploring the blog­osphere a daunting prospect. How can Christians best develop the ability to separate the gold from the dross? One motivating factor may be the awareness that people and organizations hostile to Christianity are active and aggressive in the blogosphere. Case in point: Atheist Revolution has a series of postings instructing other atheist bloggers how to get the most visibility from their sites.

For readers of blogs, discernment and an assessment of the credibility of the blogger are keys. Kress suggests reading the “About Me” biographical sketch. “Some of these have very little information, and that bothers me,” she said. “I want to know about this person before I decide to read.” Examine the “blogroll,” which is a list of favorite blogs. If the work of a blogger receives consistent mention from his or her peers on blogrolls, readers can take this as a sign of quality. “You get a real sense of who’s respected when you see them listed over and over,” said Amy Hall, one of the Stand to Reason bloggers.

Thinking of starting your own blog? The first notion to dispense with is that blogging will be lucrative. Very few blogs are profitable. Most are maintained for reasons other than cash flow. Blogging, if done properly, will require a significant investment of time. There is also a certain kind of writing that works best in blogs. “You need immediacy. You need to get straight to the point,” advises Kress. “Longer posts are fine, but they have to be relevant. Does your blog have a point, and does it stay on point?”

The best apologetics blogs have a set of qualities in common, say Stand to Reason’s Penner and Hall. One of them is a winsome ability to make a strong argument without overstating the case and maligning the character of an opponent. They recommend taking the same tone on a blog as you would when standing face-to-face with a person with whom you are sharing faith.

Tatum adds that changing minds on a blog depends on building a relationship with someone who disagrees. “That’s the biggest problem with mediated communication like blogs, instant messaging, and Skype (an Internet telephone software). It’s not face-to-face. You don’t have all the nonverbals, which means you don’t have an easy way to communicate passion and concern. You have to be very good with words,” said Tatum.

—Lee A. Dean

Christians often feel like strangers to anything or anyone involved with the occult. Traveling to the strange world of the occult understandably may be intimidating, even for those brave souls who set out on the journey.

Having been involved in occult practices prior to trusting Christ and in ministry for many years after trusting Him, I believe this reaction is not only normal, but healthy, given that the occult is evil and dangerous. Retreating from the occult is one thing; retreating from witnessing to those in the occult, however, is another.

Various misconceptions about the occult and its practitioners form another barrier to evangelism. It is vitally important for Christians to keep in mind, as a corrective to such misconceptions, that the power of the gospel to bring salvation (Rom. 1:16) is real, that everyone is made in the image of God, and that there should be nothing daunting about witnessing to someone in the occult when Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit is in the encounter. A basic understanding of what the occult is and why people are drawn to it will be helpful for the believer who desires to prepare for such an encounter.

Clarifying the Definition of Occult. Illumi­nat­ing what constitutes the occult can be tricky because there is disagreement¹ on what the occult is and definitions vary. My working definition of the occult is “an underlying supernatural worldview supporting various practices that are designed to access information or power through reading hidden meanings or through contact with super­natural beings or forces.”

The occultist sees the exterior world as masking a deeper reality. Tapping into these secret truths or powers requires the divinatory ability to interpret general symbols in the natural world (like astrology), or specific symbols, images, or numbers (like Tarot cards or numerology) in one’s life that convey messages; as well as the practical ability to perform esoteric techniques, rituals, and/or incantations to summon aid or direction from forces, disembodied beings, deities, or the dead. The occultist is more of a practitioner than a philosopher and cares about what works in practice, and not what one wonders in theory.

Occult practices are delineated in Deuteronomy 18:10–12: divination (tarot cards, astrology, numerology, palm reading, crystal balls, psychic abilities, and other related practices); initiating contact with spirits or with the dead; and sorcery (the attempt to bring about changes in reality through access to invisible powers or forces or through contact with spirits and/or gods). Astrologers, tarot card readers, psychics, mediums, people who practice what they may call “white magick,”² then, and those who combine a variety of these practices, would all fall into this category.

For the purposes of this article, the occult is not limited to Wicca or Neopaganism, though some of the discussion here applies to them. Satanism, although an occult system, has its own ideology. Many New Agers are involved in occult practices, and some occultists blend New Age views with their own, but the New Age worldview differs in some significant ways from the occult. This discussion thus does not include Satanism or the New Age.

There is no central authority, doctrine, or teaching in the occult, but there are some common characteristics. The principles listed as follows are widespread in the occult, but not everyone necessarily accepts all of them.³

• There is no absolute truth.
• Experience (and for some, nature) informs one’s truth and ethics.
• There is a unifying energy or force(s) in creation that humans can access to alter reality.
• Power is neutral.
• Good and evil are two sides of the same coin, and should be balanced.
• There may be deceptive or even evil spirits, but Satan does not exist as an actual, personal being.
• One can imbue objects with power.
• The rational has its place, but intuition has priority.
• Death results in reincarnation, or death is final.

Understanding People’s Attraction to the Occult. One of the things I’ve been asked many times is, “Why would anyone get involved with something evil like the occult?” The answer is that they do not see it as evil. People in the occult are more likely to see it as part of a spiritual practice used for self-knowledge, personal or spiritual growth, healing, or harnessing energy for helping purposes. They thus regard the occult as participating in beneficial activities. They also tend to get engaged in it gradually, even over many years. They either do not become aware of any negative effects of this association for a long time, if ever, or they become desensitized to it.

The esoteric nature of the occult also attracts people who want to know things others don’t. Occult practices usually entail learning complex systems such as astrology, magical rituals, and numerology. Learning these is challenging and seems to offer a lifetime of discovery and growth in self-knowledge. This is one reason many bright teens and young adults are drawn to the occult. Possessing arcane knowledge makes a person feel special.

Whatever the reasons for being drawn in, it is always much harder to leave than it was to get involved initially. The occult feeds the fallen nature and, as time goes by, imprisons those involved ever more deeply and fiercely on all levels—mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual.

Dialoguing with Occultists. There is no formula for witnessing to someone in the occult, especially since occultists are inclined to be individualistic. They also tend to be on their guard. You should view the occultist as a person made in the image of God and not just as an occultist. Pray for the Lord to give you love for that person. Since occult views vary, begin by asking what his or her particular beliefs are (do not use the word “occult”). It might be helpful to imagine that you are on an investigative assignment to find out all you can about that individual.

It is helpful to ask about the person’s spiritual background, what was attractive about his or her present beliefs, and why he or she rejects Christianity. Listening respectfully will help you understand these issues, give you insight into the occultist’s comprehension or ignorance of the gospel, and open the door for you to speak. Try to ask questions that will get the person to think specifically about his or her beliefs. For example, if the person believes that good and evil are relative, ask for examples and how that works in real life. If the person believes god is an impersonal force, ask, “Why then do you think it is that we are all beings who seek personal relationships?” Some people are more willing to answer questions than others, so you need to be sensitive to this. You do not want to sound like you are interrogating. Remember that although He can use believers in doing so, only God can open people’s eyes. Keeping all this in mind, here are further suggestions:⁴

• Don’t mislead the occultist regarding your faith—you don’t need to announce your Christianity right away, but do reveal it earlier rather than later in the course of the conversation.
• Don’t be surprised if the occultist refers to the Bible or claims its authority.
• Don’t use terms the person may not understand such as atonement, redemption, justification, and so forth; it is better to give examples of what these are.
• Keep in mind that there is demonic power underlying the occult and that the occultist is in bondage (usually unknowingly). At the same time, remember that nowhere in the Bible are believers told to fear Satan—we are to be prudent, vigilant, and discerning, but not afraid; therefore, do not fear occultists (1 John 4:4).
• Don’t try to prove that a particular occult practice or experience is wrong; instead, seek to discuss the nature of God and Jesus, especially Jesus’ power over nature, demons, and illness, as narrated in the Gospels.
• Don’t pretend to know things you don’t.
• Don’t hesitate to stand on the truths of Scripture, but do this with gentleness and love (1 Pet. 3:15).
• Let the person see Jesus’ love in you! There is no such love in the occult. Despite friendships one may have with other occultists, and despite the belief of some occultists in a divine being, the occult is isolating. This is because the individual, being in rebellion against God, seeks answers from the self, creation, or fallen angels (usually without awareness of the latter).

A Final Word of Encouragement. Jesus said, “believe in the Light, so that you may become sons of Light” (John 12:36).5 The Bible also says that believers are to “walk as children of Light” (Eph. 5:8). Treating occultists with kindness and respect is a way to show them this Light that indwells us; doing so exalts God, and paves a way to share the gospel so that they, too, may turn from darkness to light (Acts 26:18; Col. 1:12–14). The darker the night, the brighter the light, and witnessing to someone in the occult not only reveals Christ’s love and truth to that person, but allows you to experience His amazing power as well.

—Marcia Montenegro

Marcia Montenegro is a former professional astrologer who now has a ministry that reaches out to those in the occult and New Age and educates Christians in these areas.

notes

1 Non-Christians may see the occult as hidden teachings that may or may not involve the supernatural. Some Christians use the term “New Age” for the occult, but this writer makes a differentiation between the two.

2 Occult magic is often spelled with a “k” as “magick” to distinguish it from stage magic.

3 See articles on Marcia Montenegro’s Web site at www.christiananswersforthenewage.org on “Astrology,” “The Psychics: Can They Help You?” “What Do You Mean by the Occult?” “Spirit Contact: Who Is on the Other Side?“ “Occult Terms,” and “Wicca, Witchcraft, and Neopaganism.”

4 For further information, see “10 Q & A on Magic, Spells, and Divination,” Rose Publication Pamphlet, principal author, Marcia Montenegro, http://www.rose-publishing.com/productdetails.cfm?PC=999.

5All Bible quotations are from the New American Standard Bible.

The reasons for this anemia are multidi­mensional and complex. Three recent books explore the lack of a “Christian mind” in contemporary evangelicalism, and I highly recommend them. Mark Noll’s The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind (Eerdmans, 1994) explores the historical roots of evangelical anti-intellectualism. Os Guinness’s Fit Bodies, Fat Minds (Baker Books, 1994) discusses some of the historical problems and also outlines what a Christian mind should look like. J. P. Moreland’s Love Your God with All of Your Mind (Navpress, 1997) explains why Christians don’t think theologically, develops a biblical theology of the mind, and offers helpful apologetic arguments and strategies to empower the church intellectually.

My purpose here is briefly to lay out six factors that inhibit apologetic engage­ment. If these barriers were removed, our apologetic witness could grow into what it should be in Christ.

1. Indifference. Too many Christians don’t seem to care that our culture routine­ly ridicules Christianity as outdated, irra­tional, and narrow-minded. They may complain that this “offends’’ them — just as everyone else is complaining that one thing or another “offends” them — but they do little to counteract the charges by offering a defense of the Christian world­view in a variety of settings.

Yet Scripture commands all Christians to have a reason for the hope that is within them and to present this with gentleness and respect to unbelievers (1 Pet. 3:15). Our attitude should be that of the apostle Paul, who was “greatly distressed” when he observed the idolatry of sophisti­cated Athens. This zeal for the truth of God led him into a fruitful apologetic encounter with the thinkers there who had gathered to debate new ideas (see Acts 17). It should for us as well. Just as God “so loved the world” that He sent Jesus to set us right with Himself (John 3:16). Jesus’ disciples should so love the world that they endeav­or to reach the lost by presenting the gospel and answering objections to the Christian faith (John l7:l8).

2. Irrationalism. For some Christians, faith means believing despite the absence of evidence and argument. Worse yet, for some faith means belief despite actual evi­dence to the contrary. The more irrational our beliefs, the better — indeed, the more “spiritual” they are. Although Paul teaches that God makes foolish ‘‘the wisdom of this world” because it is false wisdom (1 Cor. 1-2), God’s revelation is not irrational. Nor must belief in it be irrationally held. God does not require us to suspend our crit­ical faculties in order to believe what He has made known. Through Isaiah, God declares to Israel, ‘‘Come now let us reason together” (Isa. l:l8). Jesus commands us to love God with all of our minds (Matt. 22:37).

When Christians opt for irrationalism, they become just another “religious option’’ and are classified along with Heaven’s Gate, the flat Earth Society, and other intellectually impaired groups. In the wake of the mass suicide in the Heaven’s Gate cult, several major magazines such as Esquire, Newsweek, and US News and World Report claimed that the faith of those who ended their lives in accordance with Marshall Applewhite’s science fiction religion was no stranger than that of Christians, who believe ridiculous things us well. Sadly the attitude of some Christians lends support to such accusations.

3. Ignorance. Many Christians are not aware of the tremendous intellectual resources available to the them “to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints’’ (Jude 3). This is largely because many major churches and parachurch organizations virtually ignore apologetics. One major campus ministry with a fine history and otherwise splendid program offers no materials to help students deal with the unbelief emanating from secular profes­sors. Few evangelical sermons address the evidence for the existence of God, the resurrection of Jesus, the supremacy of Christ, the justice of hell, or the logical problems with non-Christian worldviews. Christian best sellers, with rare exceptions, indulge in groundless apocalyptic speculations, exalt Christian celebrities (whose characters often do not fit their notoriety), and revel in how-to methods. You can tell much about a movement by what it reads — and by what it does not read.

4. Cowardice. In our pluralistic culture, a “live and let live” attitude is the norm. A capitulation to social pressure haunts evangelicalism and drains its convictions. Too many evangelicals are more concerned about being “nice” and “toler­ant’’ than being biblical or faithful to the exclusive gospel found in their Bibles. Not enough evangelicals are willing to present and defend their faith in challenging situa­tions, whether at school, at work, or in other public settings. There is a strong temptation to privatize faith — to insulate and isolate it from public life entirely. Yes, we are Christians (in our hearts), but we shy away from engaging anyone with what we believe and why we believe it. This is nothing less than cowardice and a betrayal of what we say we believe.

Consider Paul’s inspired request for prayer and his admonition to us:

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone (Col. 4:2-6).

We may experience rejection, but Jesus encouraged those who are persecuted for His name’s sake: “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matt. 5:11-l2). The apostle Peter echoed his Master: “If you are insult­ed because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you” (1 Pet. 4:l4).

On the other hand, not all witnessing meets with rejection. When the Holy Spirit blesses our efforts, people will respond with interest and even with saving faith (Rom. 1:16). We must never forget that Jesus has all authority in heaven and on earth, and that He has commissioned us to declare His gospel (Matt. 28:18-20).

5. Arrogance and intellectual vanity. At the other end of the spectrum of error lies the arrogance of the know-it-all apologist, who is more interested in displaying his or her arsenal of arguments than in defending the truth in a godly manner. The besetting sin of apologetics is intellectual pride, and it must be avoided at all costs. The truth we defend is a gift of grace, not of our intellec­tual achievement. We develop our apolo­getic skills to sanctify ourselves in the truth, to win souls for Christ, and to glorify God. We must speak “the truth in love” (Eph. 4:15). Truth without love is arrogance: love without truth is sentimentality.

Arrogance also occurs when some apologists accuse other believers of heresy without sufficient evidence, Paul told the early church leaders to expect heresy in their midst and to be on their guard against it (Acts 20:28-31). We should do the same. But we must be vigilant not to slander fel­low Christians or to assume the worst about them. I know of this error firsthand, having myself been accused of being New Age when a critic horribly misread a por­tion of one of my anti-New Age books. Let’s not waste our apologetic energies unjustly attacking other believers, when real heretics and aberrant teachers cry out for refutation and correction.

6. Superficial techniques or schlock apologetics. Some who get excited about apologetics may become content with superficial answers to difficult intellectual questions. Our culture revels in rapid responses to almost everything, and tech­nique is king. Some Christians memorize pat answers to apologetic questions — such as the problem of evil or the creation/evolution controversy — which they dispense without a proper engagement of the issues and without a deep concern for the soul that raises the question. I once saw a little book called something like The Handy Dandy Evolution Refuter. Yes, macroevolution is false, and good arguments have been raised against it from both nature and Scripture. But the matter is not as simplistic as the title of that book makes it sound. Apologetics must include intellectual integrity.

Francis Schaeffer’s apologetic motto was that we must give “honest answers to honest questions.” First, we must really hear the question being asked or the objection being raised. We must get inside the minds of those who are giving reasons for not following Christ. Each person is different, no matter how common some skeptical objections may be. Don’t reduce people to clichés.

Second, respond to what you hear. Don’t answer a question that was not asked. Such a superficial approach will not impress the thoughtful unbeliever. If you cannot come up with a sound answer to the objection at the time, don’t try to hide your ignorance or inability. Honestly admitting your limitations is better than giving a shoddy answer. Tell the person that he or she has a good point and you need to think more about it. Christianity is absolutely true, but this doesn’t imply that any one Christian can handle absolutely every objection raised against it. We should avoid easy apologetic techniques and instead develop intellectual resources and cultivate real dialogue with unbelievers.

Walter Martin rightly said that the evangelical church is a sleeping giant. And he endeavored mightily to awaken it to its God-given potential to present the gospel and defend it against skeptical and objections. With such a legacy in mind, may we rekindle that vision and find the passion and wisdom to put it into effect through the power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8).

Douglas Groothius, Ph.D., teaches philosophy at Denver Seminary and is the author of seven books, the most recent being The Soul in Cyberspace (Baker, 1997).

The reasons for this anemia are multidi­mensional and complex. Three recent books explore the lack of a “Christian mind” in contemporary evangelicalism, and I highly recommend them. Mark Noll’s The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind (Eerdmans, 1994) explores the historical roots of evangelical anti-intellectualism. Os Guinness’s Fit Bodies, Fat Minds (Baker Books, 1994) discusses some of the historical problems and also outlines what a Christian mind should look like. J. P. Moreland’s Love Your God with All of Your Mind (Navpress, 1997) explains why Christians don’t think theologically, develops a biblical theology of the mind, and offers helpful apologetic arguments and strategies to empower the church intellectually.

My purpose here is briefly to lay out six factors that inhibit apologetic engage­ment. If these barriers were removed, our apologetic witness could grow into what it should be in Christ.

1. Indifference. Too many Christians don’t seem to care that our culture routine­ly ridicules Christianity as outdated, irra­tional, and narrow-minded. They may complain that this “offends’’ them — just as everyone else is complaining that one thing or another “offends” them — but they do little to counteract the charges by offering a defense of the Christian world­view in a variety of settings.

Yet Scripture commands all Christians to have a reason for the hope that is within them and to present this with gentleness and respect to unbelievers (1 Pet. 3:15). Our attitude should be that of the apostle Paul, who was “greatly distressed” when he observed the idolatry of sophisti­cated Athens. This zeal for the truth of God led him into a fruitful apologetic encounter with the thinkers there who had gathered to debate new ideas (see Acts 17). It should for us as well. Just as God “so loved the world” that He sent Jesus to set us right with Himself (John 3:16). Jesus’ disciples should so love the world that they endeav­or to reach the lost by presenting the gospel and answering objections to the Christian faith (John l7:l8).

2. Irrationalism. For some Christians, faith means believing despite the absence of evidence and argument. Worse yet, for some faith means belief despite actual evi­dence to the contrary. The more irrational our beliefs, the better — indeed, the more “spiritual” they are. Although Paul teaches that God makes foolish ‘‘the wisdom of this world” because it is false wisdom (1 Cor. 1-2), God’s revelation is not irrational. Nor must belief in it be irrationally held. God does not require us to suspend our crit­ical faculties in order to believe what He has made known. Through Isaiah, God declares to Israel, ‘‘Come now let us reason together” (Isa. l:l8). Jesus commands us to love God with all of our minds (Matt. 22:37).

When Christians opt for irrationalism, they become just another “religious option’’ and are classified along with Heaven’s Gate, the flat Earth Society, and other intellectually impaired groups. In the wake of the mass suicide in the Heaven’s Gate cult, several major magazines such as Esquire, Newsweek, and US News and World Report claimed that the faith of those who ended their lives in accordance with Marshall Applewhite’s science fiction religion was no stranger than that of Christians, who believe ridiculous things as well. Sadly the attitude of some Christians lends support to such accusations.

3. Ignorance. Many Christians are not aware of the tremendous intellectual resources available to the them “to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints’’ (Jude 3). This is largely because many major churches and parachurch organizations virtually ignore apologetics. One major campus ministry with a fine history and otherwise splendid program offers no materials to help students deal with the unbelief emanating from secular profes­sors. Few evangelical sermons address the evidence for the existence of God, the resurrection of Jesus, the supremacy of Christ, the justice of hell, or the logical problems with non-Christian worldviews. Christian best sellers, with rare exceptions, indulge in groundless apocalyptic speculations, exalt Christian celebrities (whose characters often do not fit their notoriety), and revel in how-to methods. You can tell much about a movement by what it reads — and by what it does not read.

4. Cowardice. In our pluralistic culture, a “live and let live” attitude is the norm. A capitulation to social pressure haunts evangelicalism and drains its convictions. Too many evangelicals are more concerned about being “nice” and “toler­ant’’ than being biblical or faithful to the exclusive gospel found in their Bibles. Not enough evangelicals are willing to present and defend their faith in challenging situa­tions, whether at school, at work, or in other public settings. There is a strong temptation to privatize faith — to insulate and isolate it from public life entirely. Yes, we are Christians (in our hearts), but we shy away from engaging anyone with what we believe and why we believe it. This is nothing less than cowardice and a betrayal of what we say we believe.

Consider Paul’s inspired request for prayer and his admonition to us:

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone (Col. 4:2-6).

We may experience rejection, but Jesus encouraged those who are persecuted for His name’s sake: “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matt. 5:11-l2). The apostle Peter echoed his Master: “If you are insult­ed because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you” (1 Pet. 4:14).

On the other hand, not all witnessing meets with rejection. When the Holy Spirit blesses our efforts, people will respond with interest and even with saving faith (Rom. 1:16). We must never forget that Jesus has all authority in heaven and on earth, and that He has commissioned us to declare His gospel (Matt. 28:18-20).

5. Arrogance and intellectual vanity. At the other end of the spectrum of error lies the arrogance of the know-it-all apologist, who is more interested in displaying his or her arsenal of arguments than in defending the truth in a godly manner. The besetting sin of apologetics is intellectual pride, and it must be avoided at all costs. The truth we defend is a gift of grace, not of our intellec­tual achievement. We develop our apolo­getic skills to sanctify ourselves in the truth, to win souls for Christ, and to glorify God. We must speak “the truth in love” (Eph. 4:15). Truth without love is arrogance: love without truth is sentimentality.

Arrogance also occurs when some apologists accuse other believers of heresy without sufficient evidence, Paul told the early church leaders to expect heresy in their midst and to be on their guard against it (Acts 20:28-31). We should do the same. But we must be vigilant not to slander fel­low Christians or to assume the worst about them. I know of this error firsthand, having myself been accused of being New Age when a critic horribly misread a por­tion of one of my anti-New Age books. Let’s not waste our apologetic energies unjustly attacking other believers, when real heretics and aberrant teachers cry out for refutation and correction.

6. Superficial techniques or schlock apologetics. Some who get excited about apologetics may become content with superficial answers to difficult intellectual questions. Our culture revels in rapid responses to almost everything, and tech­nique is king. Some Christians memorize pat answers to apologetic questions — such as the problem of evil or the creation/evolution controversy — which they dispense without a proper engagement of the issues and without a deep concern for the soul that raises the question. I once saw a little book called something like The Handy Dandy Evolution Refuter. Yes, macroevolution is false, and good arguments have been raised against it from both nature and Scripture. But the matter is not as simplistic as the title of that book makes it sound. Apologetics must include intellectual integrity.

Francis Schaeffer’s apologetic motto was that we must give “honest answers to honest questions.” First, we must really hear the question being asked or the objection being raised. We must get inside the minds of those who are giving reasons for not following Christ. Each person is different, no matter how common some skeptical objections may be. Don’t reduce people to clichés.

Second, respond to what you hear. Don’t answer a question that was not asked. Such a superficial approach will not impress the thoughtful unbeliever. If you cannot come up with a sound answer to the objection at the time, don’t try to hide your ignorance or inability. Honestly admitting your limitations is better than giving a shoddy answer. Tell the person that he or she has a good point and you need to think more about it. Christianity is absolutely true, but this doesn’t imply that any one Christian can handle absolutely every objection raised against it. We should avoid easy apologetic techniques and instead develop intellectual resources and cultivate real dialogue with unbelievers.

Walter Martin rightly said that the evangelical church is a sleeping giant. And he endeavored mightily to awaken it to its God-given potential to present the gospel and defend it against skeptical and objections. With such a legacy in mind, may we rekindle that vision and find the passion and wisdom to put it into effect through the power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8).