Are you new to graduate school and looking for ways to respond when people around you ask questions about faith? Or searching for some helpful shorthand to distill your years-long study of apologetics into a brief conversation? In this series, Rick Mattson shares some ideas from his extensive work in apologetics. Click here for the rest of the series.
In this series of “short replies” to skeptics of Christianity, we’ve looked at four issues:
In each case I suggested an “elevator apologetic” that is meant to invite skeptics into deeper reflection on the issue.
Here’s a fifth example:
The skeptic’s objection: God has to prove himself to me, or I’ll never believe.
Theological background to our reply (not actually verbalized): Jesus performed many signs and miracles throughout his ministry in order to “reveal his glory” (John 2:11). But rarely if ever did he submit himself to a direct demand for proof (see examples in Luke 4:9, Matt 12:38). Rather, his message seemed to be, “Open your minds to the unique ways in which I reveal myself. Then you will find me.” In other words, we must come to God on his terms, not ours.
Elevator reply (what we actually say): In Christianity God has chosen ways to reveal himself that don’t necessarily look like scientific proof. For example, he showed himself most fully to us by sending his Son, Jesus, into the world to provide a pathway to God. He sent a personal messenger, not a scientific experiment.
Parting questions to the skeptic: Have you carefully read the accounts of Jesus in the Bible? Would you like to read one of them together with me?
An analogy to use if you have a little more time with the skeptic:
Trying to find God through only the means you choose is like cutting a slot in your front door, a foot wide and six inches high. You tell the Post Office and UPS to deliver all your mail through the narrow slot. It may be easier to sort and categorize your mail with this method. But of course you will miss many packages this way.
That’s how it is with God. His revelation through Jesus Christ is not always what we expect, just as the size of a package isn’t always predictable. But that’s the way he chose. If we open ourselves to God’s methods of revelation and not confine him to one narrow slot called “scientific proof,” we are more likely to find him.
Resources:
James Sire: Apologetics Beyond Reason: Why Seeing Really is Believing
Blaise Pascal: Pensees (see esp. Section VII)
C.S. Lewis: Mere Christianity
Rick Mattson is a national evangelist and apologist for InterVarsity, speaking at over eighty campuses the past few years. He lives in St. Paul, MN with his family. He studied at Bethel Seminary of St. Paul, MN, where he received his masters in the philosophy of religion. As part of his current duties he serves as evangelism coach for graduate students at several universities. Rick’s a committed family man and serious golfer. He is the author of three books: Faith is Like Skydiving, Faith Unexpected and Witness in the Academy.
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