Christian Apologetics is Not About Apologizing

Summary

The speaker, originally an atheist, recounts his journey to faith after critically examining Christianity's evidence. He compares this intellectual exploration to his experience as a detective, where he faced life-threatening situations requiring trust in his bulletproof vest. The analogy is used to challenge Christians to have a similarly robust understanding of their faith, urging them to engage with skepticism and objections to strengthen their belief, rather than avoiding them.

Takeaways

• 🏰 The speaker identifies as a 'crummy Californian' due to lack of knowledge about California's history and trivia.
• 🔍 The speaker draws a parallel between being a superficial Californian and being a superficial Christian, both lacking deep understanding of their respective identities.
• 👨‍🦲 The speaker's background includes being an atheist and working as a detective, emphasizing a life rooted in evidence and rationality.
• 🤔 The speaker questions the discrepancy between the evidence-based approach of his Christian friends in their professional lives and their faith-based approach to Christianity.
• 🔑 The speaker emphasizes the importance of intellectual investigation and robust evidence in forming a confident Christian worldview.
• 🚨 A personal story about an officer-involved shooting illustrates the concept of trust in protective gear and the courage it can provide.
• 🦾 The analogy of a bulletproof vest is used to discuss the strength and confidence that comes from a well-supported Christian faith.
• 🧐 The speaker challenges Christians to engage with and respond to the objections of atheists and non-believers to strengthen their faith.
• 📚 The speaker advocates for deep intellectual exploration of one's beliefs, rather than accepting them without question.
• 💡 The speaker's journey from atheism to Christianity was influenced by the evidential and rational approach of his Christian friends.
• 🛡️ The speaker concludes by encouraging Christians to be unafraid of deep investigation into their faith, as it can lead to greater certainty and confidence.

Q & A

What is the speaker's claim about their identity as a Californian?

The speaker humorously claims to be a 'crummy Californian' because they can't answer difficult questions about California's history, geography, or laws despite being born and raised there.

How does the speaker describe their journey towards Christianity?

The speaker was a committed atheist who, at the age of 35, began to critically examine the truth of scripture, influenced by Christian friends who were rational and evidential in their professional lives.

What was the speaker's initial reaction to the discrepancy in approach between their friends' professional and religious beliefs?

The speaker found it contradictory that their friends could provide solid evidence for their professional cases but not for their belief in Christianity.

What does the speaker suggest about the intellectual rigor required to be a Christian?

The speaker implies that being a Christian should involve an intellectual investigation and robust evidence, rather than a blind leap of faith.

What is the context of the officer-involved shooting story mentioned in the script?

The story is about an officer who had to make a split-second decision when faced with a suspect pointing a gun at him, highlighting the need for trust in one's protective gear and quick thinking.

How does the speaker relate the officer's decision to trust his bulletproof vest to the Christian worldview?

The speaker draws a parallel between the officer's trust in his vest to stop bullets and Christians trusting their faith to withstand intellectual challenges.

What is the speaker's challenge to Christians regarding their understanding of the Christian worldview?

The speaker challenges Christians to be confident in their faith by engaging with intellectual investigations and being prepared to address objections and doubts.

What does the speaker suggest about the outcome of exposing Christians to evidence?

The speaker suggests that contrary to the belief that exposure to evidence might weaken faith, it could actually strengthen Christians' conviction in their worldview.

What is the speaker's stance on being a Christian?

The speaker is unapologetic about being a Christian, asserting that they are confident in their beliefs because they have delved deeply into the evidence.

What advice does the speaker give to Christians regarding their faith and intellectual exploration?

The speaker advises Christians not to be afraid of intellectual exploration and to dig deep into the evidence, as it will lead to greater confidence in their beliefs.

Outlines

00:00

😅 Self-Reflection on Being a 'Crummy Californian' and Christian

The speaker begins by humorously admitting to being a 'crummy Californian' due to lack of knowledge about state trivia. This self-deprecation extends to their identity as a Christian, suggesting that like their knowledge of California, they might not be deeply informed about their faith. The speaker then shares their journey from atheism to Christianity, prompted by the evidential and rational approach of Christian friends who were also law enforcement officers. They express frustration with the discrepancy between these friends' professional and spiritual reasoning, challenging the listener to consider whether their faith can withstand intellectual scrutiny.

Keywords

💡California

California is a state in the United States known for its diverse geography and culture. In the script, it is used metaphorically to describe someone who is born and raised in California but lacks deep knowledge about its history or specifics, similar to how the speaker describes their initial relationship with Christianity.

💡Christian

A Christian is a follower of Jesus Christ and his teachings as delivered through the New Testament. The speaker uses this term to describe their initial self-identification as a Christian by birth and upbringing, but questions the depth of their understanding and commitment to Christian beliefs.

💡Atheist

An atheist is a person who disbelieves or lacks belief in the existence of God or gods. The speaker mentions being a committed atheist, indicating a period in their life where they did not believe in any deity, which contrasts with their later exploration of Christian scripture.

💡Scripture

Scripture generally refers to a religious text, in this case, likely referring to the Christian Bible. The speaker talks about scrutinizing scripture to determine its truthfulness about Jesus, which is a central theme in their journey from atheism to Christianity.

💡Evidential

Evidential refers to something that is based on or provides evidence. The speaker uses this term to describe the rational and logical approach his friends, who are cops, take in their professional lives, which contrasts with their approach to defending the Bible's validity.

💡Metaphysical

Metaphysical pertains to the branch of philosophy that deals with the first principles of things, including abstract concepts such as being, knowing, substance, cause, identity, time, and space. The speaker contrasts the evidential approach with the metaphysical claims of Christianity.

💡Officer-Involved Shooting

An officer-involved shooting refers to a shooting incident involving a law enforcement officer. The speaker recounts a story of an officer who had to make a life-or-death decision, using it as a metaphor for the confidence one must have in their beliefs, similar to how Christians should have confidence in their faith.

💡Bulletproof Vest

A bulletproof vest is a type of personal armor designed to protect the wearer from bullets. In the script, the officer's decision to trust his bulletproof vest during a confrontation is used as an analogy for the confidence Christians should have in their faith, being protected from spiritual 'bullets'.

💡Intellectual Investigation

Intellectual investigation refers to the process of examining and exploring ideas or beliefs through critical thinking and evidence-based reasoning. The speaker encourages Christians to undertake such an investigation to strengthen their faith and respond to objections from non-believers.

💡Confidence

Confidence here refers to a strong belief or conviction in something, in this case, the Christian faith. The speaker argues that confidence in one's beliefs is not innate but comes as a result of thorough intellectual investigation and understanding.

💡Christian Worldview

A Christian worldview is a perspective on life and reality shaped by Christian beliefs. The speaker challenges Christians to know their worldview deeply, to be prepared to answer objections, and to stand firm in their faith even when faced with challenges.

Highlights

The speaker identifies as a Californian but admits to lacking knowledge about the state's history and facts.

The speaker draws a parallel between being a 'crummy Californian' and being a Christian who is born and raised in the faith but can't answer difficult questions about it.

The speaker's life journey includes a transition from atheism to a serious examination of the Christian faith at the age of 35.

The speaker's professional background as a detective influenced his approach to examining the truth of scripture.

The speaker noticed a discrepancy in the way his Christian friends approached evidence in their professional lives versus their faith.

The speaker challenges the idea of abandoning rationality and evidence-based thinking in order to embrace Christianity.

A personal account of being called to an officer-involved shooting incident is shared to illustrate a point.

The incident involved an officer conducting a field sobriety test and discovering a weapon during a pat-down search.

The suspect's decision to confront the officer with a weapon is detailed, highlighting the officer's vulnerability.

The officer's strategy to survive the confrontation by relying on his bulletproof vest is described.

A comparison is made between the officer's trust in his vest and a Christian's trust in their faith to withstand intellectual challenges.

The speaker questions whether Christians have tested their faith against the objections of atheists and non-believers.

The importance of intellectual investigation and robust Christian unity is emphasized for building confidence in one's faith.

The speaker refutes the idea that exposure to evidence would weaken Christian faith, suggesting the opposite might be true.

The speaker encourages Christians not to fear digging deep into evidence, as it can lead to greater certainty in their beliefs.

The speaker concludes with a personal commitment to Christianity, grounded in deep investigation and evidence.

Transcripts

I'm a California and if you ask me how

do I make that claim I'll just tell you

I was born and raised in California but

if you ask me the difficult questions

about you know when was California

established or how many counties are in

California or what's the California

state bird or a state tree or how do you

pass a law in California

well you'd find out pretty quickly that

I'm a pretty crummy California I think

it's times and the church those of us

who call ourselves Christians are kind

of Christians the way I'm a California

we were born and raised here and you

couldn't deny the fact we are Christians

but don't ask us too many important

questions

[Music]

most of my life I've been a pretty

committed atheist and at 35 I started to

take a really hard look at whether or

not the scripture was telling me the

truth about Jesus I worked as a

detective and I was working on a

surveillance team at the time and I had

friends there were cops and they wanted

me to become a Christian and they share

what they believed with me and I

discovered pretty quickly that these

folks in their professional lives were

incredibly evidential and rational and

thoughtful case makers they could give

you five reasons why that bad guy were

working is responsible for those

robberies but if I asked him for five

reasons why I could trust the Bible

suddenly took an entirely different

approach to their large picture big

metaphysical picture the claims of

Christianity they couldn't answer the

same way they could answer whether or

not that guy is our robbery suspect and

I thought to myself really you want me

as an atheist to jump from this kind of

rational view of the world where I can

make cases evidentially into a way of

living in which I can't even use

evidence I don't even think of things

that way anymore I can't do it I can't

turn my brain off in order to join you

no number of years ago I got called out

to it officer-involved shooting soon I

was working on my homicide team and sure

enough we get to investigate

officer-involved shootings too and when

I got there the officer explained to me

how he got no gun battle

he said he pulled over a car for drunk

driving as he walked up in the car he

could smell alcohol coming out of the

window so he asked a driver the car to

get out of the car

to do what he calls an FST we all called

that it says field sobriety test and as

soon as the gentleman got out of the car

he wanted to conduct a routine pat-down

search before he started the FST just to

make sure this guy's not carrying any

weapons but this guy was carrying a

weapon as a matter of fact he had a 45

caliber handgun in his waistband

underneath his shirt

this guy had just been released from

jail for an assault now as a parolee

in his waistband the officer not knowing

this told me turn around and face away

from him so he just wrote the pat-down

the suspect in this case decided to make

a decision he knew that if he was caught

with the gun in his waistband he would

do a huge it just for possession of gun

so we had to make a decision that night

about whether he's going to go back to

jail for a year or kill the officer so

he turned around after facing away from

the officer and turn around and face the

officer only about maybe five feet apart

and he pointed in his handgun directly

at the officer the officer was

completely off guard as a matter of fact

he didn't even have his own hand on his

gun as now he's facing down the barrel

of the suspects gun but he was wearing

his bulletproof vest

so he stood there and he decided give

her all my options here's what I'm gonna

do I'm gonna trust my vest that I'm

gonna tense up my stomach muscles and

I'm gonna take the first couple of

rounds while I get ready to return fire

now think about that for a second once

you know that the vest can stop rounds

and if you know that the vest can stop

rounds you're far more likely to stand

tall in that vest and a point of

challenge

so here's my question for you

do you know enough about your Christian

worldview to know that it can stop

bullets have you tested have you allowed

the bullets to hit the vest have you

listened to the objections of atheists

have you listened to the objections of

those who who don't believe Christianity

is true and are you prepared with the

answer confidence is not free confidence

comes at the end of an intellectual

investigation that requires an

intellectually robust form of Christian

unity yes you might hold that

Christianity is true today accidentally

you don't know why it's true but you

don't have to hold it that way

I think there are people out there who

are unbelievers who think that if if

only Christians would be exposed to the

evidence they would no longer be

Christians but if that's wrong what if

in fact the more you're exposed to the

evidence the more confident you would be

in your Christian worldview look I make

no apology about being a Christian

because I know I can dig as deep as I

want into the evidence and I'm not gonna

scare myself away from what I believe

I'm gonna become more certain of what I

believe don't be afraid to dig deep into

the evidence because you'll have the

same kind of confidence as a result of

that investigation

you