The Spiritual Virtues of
Apologetics
Kurt Jaros
The Spiritual Virtues of
Apologetics
1. Faithfulness
“We are urged to be attentive, wise, discerning,
prudent, circumspect, understanding, teachable,
lovers of truth, intellectually humble and
intellectually tenacious, along with many other
positive intellectual traits. ... On the other hand,
warnings abound against laziness of thought, folly,
immaturity in our thinking, being easily duped or
gullible, … engaging in idle speculation, intellectual
arrogance or vicious curiosity …”
- Dr. Jay Wood, Epistemology: Becoming Intellectually Virtuous
The Spiritual Virtues of
Apologetics
1. Faithfulness
2. Intellectual humility
“If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even
Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been
raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.
More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses
about God, for we have testified about God that he
raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in
fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not
raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if
Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are
still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep
in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in
Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.”
– 1 Corinthians 15:13-19
The Spiritual Virtues of
Apologetics
1. Faithfulness
2. Intellectual humility
3. Open-mindedness
James Spiegel writes, “And moral change takes at
least two forms: (1) altering one’s behavior to
conform to a standard one already accepts and
(2) changing one’s view about certain aspects of
the moral standard itself. The former demands
self-control, while the latter requires an open
mind as well.
“So I may be completely willing to live with
integrity, but if I don’t believe, for example, that
music piracy is morally wrong, then I won’t
display integrity in that area of my life. And if my
mind is closed to the possibility that such
behavior is wrong, then I’ll remain stuck in that
sin. In such cases, repentance and spiritual
growth depend upon open-mindedness.”
James Spiegel, “Open-Mindedness: The Virtue Between Dogma
and Doubt,” cct.biola.edu, Sept. 1, 2014
The Spiritual Virtues of
Apologetics
1. Faithfulness
2. Intellectual humility
3. Open-mindedness
The Spiritual Virtues of
Apologetics
• These virtues play out in our relationships
– With God
– With the self
– With other humans
The Spiritual Virtues of
Apologetics
• These virtues play out in our relationships
– With God
– With the self
– With other humans
• Like relationships, becoming virtuous
requires effort
The Spiritual Virtues of
Apologetics
• These virtues play out in our relationships
– With God
– With the self
– With other humans
• Like relationships, becoming virtuous
requires effort
• You’re already on your way!