I get A Slice of Infinity sent to my email everyday. It is one of the most thought provoking devotionals I know of. The following was written by Ravi Zacharias and it's funny, but when I hit the tag surfer button, I do get a lot of blogs full of skepticism based on how Christians are viewed, people not "buying Christianity" because of all the hypocricy they see. This is really something to contemplate :
05/15/08
The Apologetic of the Apologist
Ravi Zacharias
A starting point for taking on the responsibility of the work of Christian
apologetics is recognizing the role that living out a disciplined
Christian life plays. Even a brief examination of the Scriptures reveals
this striking imperative: one may not divorce the content of apologetics
from the character of the apologist. Apologetics derives from the
Greek word apologia, "to give an answer." 1 Peter 3:15 gives us
the defining statement: "But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord.
Always be prepared to give an answer (apologia) to everyone who
asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with
gentleness and respect."
I have always found this to be such a fascinating verse because the
apostle Peter, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, knew the hazards
and the risks of being an answer-bearer to the sincere questions that
people would pose of the gospel. Indeed, when one contrasts the answers
of Jesus to any of his detractors, it is not hard to see that their
resistance is not of the mind but rather of the heart. Furthermore, I
have little doubt that the single greatest obstacle to the impact of the
gospel has not been its inability to provide answers, but the failure on
our part to live it out. The Irish evangelist Gypsy Smith once said,
"There are five Gospels: Matthew Mark, Luke, John, and the Christian, and
some people will never read the first four." In other words, apologetics
is often first seen before it is heard.
For that very reason the Scriptures give us a clear picture of the
apologetic Christian: one who has first set apart Christ in his or her
heart as Lord, and then responds with answers to the questioner with
gentleness and respect. Therefore, one must not overlook the stark
reality that the way one's life is lived out will determine the impact
upon the skeptic. There are few obstacles to faith as serious as
expounding the unlived life. Too many skeptics see the quality of one's
life and firmly believe that it is all theory, bearing no supernatural
component.
I remember well in the early days of my Christian faith talking to a
Hindu. He was questioning the strident claims of the followers of Christ
as being something supernatural. He absolutely insisted "conversion was
nothing more than a decision to lead a more ethical life and that in most
cases it was not any different to those claims of other 'ethical'
religions." So far, his argument was not anything new.
But then he said something that I have never forgotten, and often reflect
upon: "If this conversion is truly supernatural, why is it not more
evident in the lives of so many Christians that I know?" His question is
a troublesome one. After all, no Buddhist claims a supernatural life but
frequently lives a more consistent one. The same pertains to many of
other faiths. Yet, how often the so-called Christian, even while
proclaiming some of the loftiest truths one could ever express, lives a
life bereft of that beauty and character.
This call to a life reflecting the person of Christ is the ultimate
calling upon the apologist. The skeptic is not slow to notice when there
is a disparity, and because of that, may question the whole gospel in its
supernatural claim. Yet when they are met with gentleness and respect, we
will help meet the deepest longings of the heart and mind, and they will
find where true discovery lies. Let us live so accordingly.
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