Pre-emptive Apologetics:
Using Faith and Reason to Prepare
Students for College
Dean E. Hardy
Charlotte Christian School
www.YouthApologetics.com
What is Apologetics?
Def. -- The act of defending the truth of
Christianity.
1 Peter 3:15. “Always be prepared to give an
answer to everyone who asks you to give the
reason for the hope that you have. But do
this with gentleness and respect.”
What is Preemptive Apologetics?
Preemptive Apologetics begins with an
inquisitive attitude toward the intellectual and
spiritual challenges that students will face
over the next four years of college.
The teacher anticipates these challenges, and
gears their class (Bible or otherwise) to
prepare them for these
specific tests.
Katie, a former student and a strong Christian
writes in an email, “I went to UNCC feeling
totally ready, excited to just get away and do
something new and exciting, not realizing
that I was entering into the most intense
battle I've experienced yet in life. Spiritually,
mentally, relationally... in every aspect... my
freshman year of college was a battle.”
Objectives for this session
I. To show the reasons why preemptive
apologetics is necessary
-Statistical
-Biblical
-Practical
II. Methodology (Vaccination method)
III. To offer a possible topical guide for an apologetics
class.
III. To give resources to teachers to bring back to
their own school/classes.
I. The reasons why preemptive
apologetics is necessary
A. Statistical Reasons …
On God…
• While 84% of teenagers state that they
believe in a god, only 79% college freshmen
claim that there is some supernatural
element to the universe. (150,000)
More Statistical Reasons
On Hell…
• While 71% of teenagers agree that there will be a
judgment day when God punishes evildoers, only
63% of college students agree that God will punish
those who reject him.
• Colin writes, “Maybe hell doesn't exist. I am
completely unsure and I was wondering what your
thoughts were. I once heard a girl pose the
question, ‘How could God be having a party
upstairs while people are suffering in hell?’”
More Statistical Reasons
On Faith and Security…
• Only 19% of teenagers have “some” or
“many” doubts, while 80% say that
they have very few to no doubts at all!
• Contrast this with the mere 42% of college
freshmen who state that they are secure in their
religious beliefs.
• Two-thirds (65%) of college juniors report that they
question their religious/spiritual beliefs at least
occasionally (18% frequently), and a similar
number (68%) say that they are ‘feeling unsettled
about spiritual and religious matters’ at least ‘to
some extent.’”
More Statistical Reasons
On belief in what their parents believe…
• About three in four teens in the United States
consider their own religious beliefs somewhat or very
similar to their parents.
• Alternatively, 52% of college freshmen openly admit
that they disagree with their parents on matters of
religion.
• One-third (38%) of the juniors
report feeling ‘disillusioned
with my religious upbringing’
at least ‘to some extent.’”
• Statistical data resources can be found in the handout.
B. Biblical support for apologetics
2 Corinthians 10:5 We demolish arguments
and every pretension that sets itself up
against the knowledge of God, and we take
captive every thought to make it obedient to
Christ.
Acts 17:17 So he (Paul) reasoned in the
synagogue with the Jews and the Godfearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace
day by day with those who happened to be
there.
More verses supporting the
need for apologetics
Titus 1:9 He must hold firmly to the trustworthy
message as it has been taught, so that he
can encourage others by sound doctrine and
refute those who oppose it.
Philippians 1:7 It is right for me to feel this way
about all of you, since I have you in my heart;
for whether I am in chains or defending and
confirming the gospel, all of you share in
God’s grace with me.
C. Practical Reasons for Apologetics
Ask one of your students this simple question:
How do you know that Christianity is true?
or more directly…
How do you justify your
belief in Christianity?
II. Methodology: Vaccination
Define Vaccination:
to inoculate a person in
order to produce immunity.
Method: Expose the students to some of the
ideas they will encounter in “the real world”
while still under the spiritual guidance of their
teachers, parents, and pastors.
II. Methodology: Vaccination (continued)
For Example…
“I am firmly convinced that religions do harm
as I am that they are untrue…it is thought
virtuous to have faith- that is to say, to have
a conviction which cannot be shaken by
contrary evidence. Or, if contrary evidence
might induce doubt, it is held that contrary
evidence must be suppressed.”
-Bertrand Russell
“Why I am Not a Christian,” p.
vi
Another example:
“Some people believe homosexuals choose to be homosexual. No,
what I have witnessed are homosexuals choosing to deny their
sexual orientation, some even going so far as marrying a person
of the opposite sex and having children.
Homosexual Christians do not need a church that forces them to live
a lie. They need love, acceptance, and affirmation. They need a
church that has learned homosexuality is not a sin. They need a
faith community which is honest about biblical interpretation.
Yes, the Bible. But what about the Bible?, some will ask. What
about those verses that indicate homosexuality is a sin? How
can you say homosexuality is not a sin when the Bible clearly
says it is?”
Some parts of the Bible are not the Word of God. I want you to
know that not only in your head, but also in your heart, especially
in your heart.”
- A local pastor
(Charlotte, NC)
Another example:
“It’s time for a new religion. I’m sorry if this offends,
but the lies we are telling each other today just
aren’t believable any longer. So far, I have not
found a religion that acknowledges the truths of
physics, chemistry, and the sciences…Today’s
religions are simply outdated.”
J.P. Long
A senior in at East Meck
III. Topical Guide…
1. Define terms and consider philosophical issues
Norman Geisler writes in his introduction to Stand
Your Ground:
“The warning of the apostle Paul is as sharp today as
it was in the first century when it was given:
“Beware of philosophy...” (Col. 2:8). But one
cannot be-ware of philosophy unless he is aware of
philosophy. No one would go to a doctor for a cure
who didn’t study sickness. For how can one treat
the illness unless he knows what it is? Likewise,
our young people must be exposed to the
ideological “diseases” of our day in order to know
how to respond to them.”
“Good philosophy must
exist, if for no other
reason, because bad
philosophy needs to
be answered.”
(C.S. Lewis, The Weight
of Glory, 50).
III. Topical Guide…
1. Define terms and consider philosophical issues (continued)
Justification of Christianity
(evidential apologetics)
View of Epistemology
The Study of Knowledge
True beliefs about reality
View of Truth
Correspondence Theory
(What corresponds to reality is true)
View of Reality
Metaphysical Realism
(There is an actual physical world out there)
“The philosophy of
the classroom in
one generation will
be the philosophy
of the government
in the next.”
-Abraham Lincoln
III. Topical Guide…(continued)
2. Explain worldviews…
Atheism
“There is no god.”
Agnosticism
“You can’t know if
there is a god.”
Naturalism
“There is
nothing beyond
the natural.”
Supernaturalism
“There is something
beyond
the natural.”
Pantheism
“God and the World are
identical.”
Deism
“God exists, but he does not act
in the universe.”
Polytheism
“There are many finite gods.”
Finite Godism
“God exists, but is limited in one
or more aspects of his nature.”
Hey Mr. Hardy,
“I have a question about how to defend the faith
against agnostics. It seems like half the people on
campus [Wake Forest] believe in some sort of
concept
along the lines of agnosticism.” -Griffin M.
Monotheism
“There is one infinite and
perfect being”
3. Other issues that need to be addressed:
PROOF!
What does the word “proof” mean?
What things in this world can we prove 100%?
Can you 100% prove what you had for
breakfast 3 days ago?
In accepting ANY
truth claim, there is always
a hint of FAITH.
3. Other issues that need to be addressed:
Logic!
We need to be sure that we are not only
teaching students WHAT to think, but even
more so HOW to think correctly.
Here is a logic tool that helps many students
defend their belief…
Logic!
SELF REFUTING
ARGUMENTS
To say that a statement is selfdefeating is to say that “it did what it
claimed could not be done.”
Apply the claim to itself!
Examples . . .
A Self-Defeating Statement
“I can’t speak a word in English.”
“Didn’t she say that in English?”
A Self-Defeating Statement
“There is no truth.”
“Is that true?”
A Self-Defeating Statement
“You can’t know anything.”
“Then how do you know that?”
Is she meeting her own standard?
“There are no absolutes!”
“Is that absolutely true?”
Is she meeting her own standard?
“All truth is relative!”
“Is that a relative truth?”
Is she meeting her own standard?
“No one has the Truth!”
“Is that true? (You obviously do)”
Is she meeting her own standard?
“That’s just your
interpretation!”
“Is that just your interpretation.”
Is she meeting her own standard?
“You ought not judge!”
“Is that a judgment?”
Is she meeting her own standard?
“You are intolerant!”
“Are you tolerating my perspective?”
Is she meeting her own standard?
“That’s true for you, not for me!”
“Is that idea just true for you, or
is it true for everybody?”
Logic Continued...
Truth and Validity
A. Two tests for arguments: Is it true? Is it valid?
B. Truth deals with the content of the argument.
(do the premises correspond to reality?)
C. Validity deals with correct logical structure.
(if the logic is incorrect, it is illogical!)
D. An argument must be true and valid for it to be
usable.
Let’s look at some examples:
III. Truth and Validity (continued)
Example # 1… is it valid? Is it true?
The sun is 30 million miles away.
Light travels at 186,212 miles per second.
Therefore it takes 2.75 minutes for sunlight to
reach earth.
Example # 2… is it valid? Is it true?
If Bunnies are furry animals, then Bears are
furry animals too.
Bears are furry animals.
Therefore, Bunnies must be furry animals too!
3. Other issues that need to be addressed:
The Problem of Evil“If God desires there to be evil in the world,
then he is not good. If he does not desire
there to be evil, yet evil still exists, then he
must not be powerful enough to
stop it. Therefore, if God exists,
he is either not loving or not
powerful.”
-John Stuart Mill
Richard Dawkins on God:
“The God of the Old Testament is arguably the
most unpleasant character in all fiction:
jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust,
unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive,
bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic,
homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal,
filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal,
sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent
bully.” – taken from “The God Delusion”
3. Other issues that need to be addressed:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Proofs for the existence of God
The Authority of the Bible
The Historicity of the Bible (Did Jesus exist?)
The Trinity
Ethics
Apologetics and Evangelism
IV. Some resources for you…
• www.uctv.tv - University of California Television-
Great Realstreaming videos by Philip Johnson, Os Guinness
•www.christianlogic.com- Fun With logic…
•www.impactapologetics.com- great resources!
•www.allaboutgod.com GREAT site for
everything apologetics- very teenager-friendly!
•www.YouthApologetics.com – My website.
If you have any questions email
Dean.Hardy@charchrist.com