General Schematic for Christian Apologetics

GENERAL SCHEMATIC FOR CHRISTIAN APOLOGETICS

Virgil Warren, PhD

            The following abstract of the flow of apologetics shows how critical introduction to the New Testament fits in the full picture of Christian evidence. Instead of beginning with objective Christian evidence, as traditionally done, this format includes a prior step with evangelism and apologetics becoming parts of the larger schematic. Coming to conviction begins in the present with (1) evidence people depend on. (2) The answer in Christianity comes from a cluster of historical events surrounding the person of Jesus the Messiah, especially his resurrection and the meaning of his life, death, and resurrection for human need in any age. (3) When people begin to carry out the principles of living Christ taught and to receive in experience the love of Christ, the purposefulness of life, the freedom from guilt, and the confidence of living under One that is trustworthy, they confirm subjectively that the truth in reality is also the truth for them. Living in the new condition helps them identify more clearly their real needs in addition to perceived needs. This stage helps them understand the message itself more clearly, and so on. The process forms an ongoing dynamic of reciprocal causation between the “poles” in the picture.

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