Fall 2020 · Vol. 49 No. 2 · pp. 208–210
Book Review
Apologetics at the Cross: An Introduction for Christian Witness
Joshua D. Chatraw and Mark D. Allen. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2018. 322 pages.
In a recent interview between Eric Metaxas, host of The Eric Metaxas Show, and James Tour, Professor of Materials Science and NanoEngineering and Computer Science at Rice University, Tour revealed that in a typical week he leads one person to Jesus Christ. He noted that in most of these cases he outlines the basic gospel message and supports it with key biblical passages. One might have expected such a brilliant and accomplished scientist to utilize a sophisticated apologetics arsenal in these discussions, but most of the time he keeps it simple.
What does that mean for the rest of us? It may well be that Tour is perfectly accurate in his assessment of what most people need to hear in order to accept Jesus as their savior. Does that imply that apologetics as a discipline is irrelevant? As intriguing as the idea might be, I think that would be the wrong inference to make. {209}
Studying apologetics remains a necessity for several reasons. First, there is great personal benefit in understanding the rational foundation of the Christian faith. My college theology professor would often note that “the heart cannot rejoice in what the mind does not believe.” For months after my own conversion, I sought answers to intellectual questions that, to me, were vital and dealt with such issues as the historical reliability of the New Testament documents, the scandalous reality of gratuitous pain in the world, the relationship between faith and science, and so on. Second, pastors and leaders should be able to provide intellectually honest answers to the issues young men and women face at university and be equipped address the inevitable “faith fatigue” many people feel as life wears them down. This is a particularly crucial skill to develop in a culture that has now thoroughly been indoctrinated by secular humanism and is increasingly hostile to the Christian worldview. Finally, Scripture itself encourages followers of Christ to cultivate a well-reasoned faith (1 Pet 3:15).
In this respect, Apologetics at the Cross represents an exceptional resource for those who wish to become more familiar with apologetics as a discipline. It should be noted that the authors do not simply wish to offer a model that is limited to intellectual arguments and debating techniques. Joshua D. Chatraw (PhD, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) and Mark D. Allen (PhD, University of Notre Dame) purport, instead, to present an approach that begins and ends at the cross: “The goal of apologetics must be the cross. Apologetic appeals using historical evidence, logic, desire, story, experience, and imagination are important, but they must not become of first importance (cf. 1 Cor 15:3). They should serve to bring people to what is of first importance—namely, the cross” (29).
The book is divided into three parts. Part 1 addresses the foundation for apologetics at the cross. Here, the authors examine various strategies used in Scripture to confront false beliefs and persuade the audience to choose God and be faithful to him. Part 2 deals with the theological structure for apologetics at the cross. This section explores approaches that have been adopted to proclaim the gospel throughout the history of the Church. Part 3 more specifically looks at the task of contextualizing the Good News for our generation. As the authors point out, even though the gospel is universal, it also emerged in a particular period of history and in a specific culture. The communication of God’s redemptive plan for humanity must therefore always be contextualized. The authors consider how this process of contextualization already unfolds in the biblical text and offer a variety of suggestions to bridge the cultural divide in our own time.
Despite their critique of the adversarial paradigm that has at times governed the practice of apologetics, the authors demonstrate that {210} throughout its history the Church has consistently been nimble, loving, and relevant in its communication of the gospel and engagement with culture.
Apologetics at the Cross offers a wealth of information about what it means to proclaim the gospel and defend the Christian faith. The book is a resource that I highly recommend to all who desire to be better equipped to engage in the Great Commission. But the value of this book does not only reside in the information it contains; it is also a vivid reminder of what it means to share the gospel. To proclaim the gospel entails much more than setting up a persuasive argument; it most fundamentally demands the desire to listen to and identify with the person who is before us. It is an encounter that occurs indeed at the foot of the cross and is governed by the attitude that the cross requires: “The cross, a symbol of humility and suffering, should shape the way we do apologetics” (29).
In a day and age when many people harbor serious misperceptions about the Church and Christians, the encouragement to stand at the cross is most welcome. But if Christians need to reflect the humility and the love that the cross represents, how can they act and speak with confidence in a culture that now remembers next to nothing about the Christian tradition and has now been thoroughly conditioned to ignore the message of the cross?
In this respect, the authors remind us that above everything else, the proclamation of the gospel must ultimately be dependent on the supernatural intervention of the Holy Spirit both in the life of the person who seeks to share his or her faith and the person who receives it. “We must also remember that our appeals are only made effective ‘with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power’ (1 Cor 2:4-5)” (29).
And this brings us full circle to my opening reference to James Tour. Behind the thorough knowledge of the Bible this remarkable scholar brings to the table, I am convinced that his uncanny ability to share his faith with men and women of the scientific community may well reside in three qualities that we should all seek to emulate: a profound love for Jesus; a deep humility and love for others that can only originate from the cross; and a radical reliance on the power of the Holy Spirit.
“For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Cor 2:2).
