To understand what apologetics are going to be like in the future, one must take a look at the past.
Rewind back to 1517. Martin Luther posts the 95 Theses and inspires what has come to be known as the Protestant Reformation. Because of this, many changes were made for many different reasons. I want to focus primarily on the aspect that until the Reformation, only the priests were capable of reading the scriptures. The reality of this truth made for a biblically illiterate society. Hence they would fall for the corrupt doctrine of indulgences. This brought the need for icons (think of all the paintings in all the windows in the catholic churches that permeate Europe). Those that could not read could learn the stories of scriptures through the stain-glass windows.
Fast forward to today. In every pew, hotel room, and household (generally speaking) you can find a copy of God’s Word. It is with this availability that I want to make a connection. Notice that with increased availability there is increased illiteracy (George Barna, Theme 3). There is a direct connection to the level of access the modern day Christ-follower has to the Word of God and biblical literacy. In the years following 1517, there was an open door for an opportunity of Scripture being distributed in their own vernacular (Luther helped with this). People were given the opportunity to comprehend what God’s Word said based on their own understanding of it, instead of what others told them. This was an incredibly influential change in organized religion.
Unfortunately, the neglect of bible reading (or in this case, biblical literacy) appears to be growing despite its availability in our culture. The modern day American apologist has to deal with the mixed belief systems that have been established as a combination of biblical illiteracy (or willful ignorance) and a mixture of many of the “organized” religions. The only proper establishment of understanding how to grasp this truth is to ask 6 simple questions:
1. Who is God (His nature)?
2. What is the Bible?
3. Who is Jesus?
4. Who is the Holy Spirit
5. What is salvation?
6. Who is the church?
The only proper answers are in the corresponding list:
1. God is personal, intimate, and is exists in the Trinity.
2. Inspired Word of God, authoritative for Christian practice.
3. The hypostatic God-man (two natures)
4. The third person of the trinity.
5. Grace through atonement
6. The body of Christ
Any alterations to these answers do not support a Christian worldview. Feel free to use these questions as a skeleton for an apologetic to other world religions. Comments welcome!
