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| I figured you all need some illustration |
Don't get me wrong, though. I enjoy writing those types of articles and I feel they have an impact, however, I would also like to write articles that educate about the faith. In case you didn't already know, this blog was created for the purpose of apologetics. (Its a pun! "Don't Apologize" Get it? :D) My hope is to have a number of posts dedicated to different aspects of faith, particularly those that are confusing, obscure, and potentially controversial, to answer questions and to clear up any doubts you may have. That is my goal through this blog: to defend and explain the Catholic faith.
What is apologetics? Well, I'm glad you asked. Apologetics is a practice of the Catholic Church dating all the way back to...well, Christ. Christ himself engaged frequently in the defense of his own faith by quoting from scriptures and applying morality to hypothetical real-world situations (parables.) This is exactly what an apologist does, unfortunately we can't all be as good as Jesus was. He did, however, have an unfair advantage (being the all-knowing God and everything.)Often, Patrick Madrid will jokingly describe apologists as "People who go around apologizing for being Catholic." In reality, the word 'apologist' stems from the Greek word 'apologia' which has been adapted into English as meaning "a formal justification". This word was even used in the Greek legal system to describe what would now be a defense attorney. So, contrary to popular belief, 'apologetics' does not mean an 'apology' as we know it today. Usually, when someone makes an apology, they have some sort of guilt and a reason to be sorry. Catholics don't have anything to be sorry for. We believe what we believe. Don't apologize. (There, you see? The name of the blog has a purpose.)
Apologetics has a very real purpose in the church today. Evangelization (spreading the word of Christ) is one of the biggest objectives of the Church. In our world, Christianity is very widely known. This is both a good and bad thing. Because Christian ideas are so widely known, this means that misconceptions of the Faith are also very widely known. People nowadays are less likely to immediately believe when you tell them about Christ's message. This means that, when evangelizing, you have to be prepared for people to resist your teaching. People will call you out and try to make you seem less credible. Just as we are all called to evangelize, we are also called to be apologists. St. Peter tells us all in his first letter to always be ready to defend your faith.
"In your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect." 1 Peter 3:15How does one prepare himself to give a defense? Well, I'm glad you asked that, too. There's no way to prepare yourself for every question you will ever be asked. However, If you have a solid idea of how to handle yourself when a discussion arises, you will be okay. Fr. Sebastian Walshe describes an apologist's process as "accepting a premise that the opponent himself holds and moving from that accepted premise to a premise that is agreeing with the Catholic faith."
By this, he means finding a belief that you share with the other person and reasoning with them leading their beliefs to better understand yours. Fr. Walshe uses an example of an instance where you would be discussing with a Protestant. Because you both agree that the Bible is truth, you would use this common ground to explain to them the reasoning behind a Catholic doctrine.
There are definitely right and wrong approaches to apologetics. Most of the wrong approaches can be avoided by a simple, yet effective, question "What would Jesus say?" If you feel yourself getting angry (which is a perfectly reasonable reaction to confrontation) instead of yelling at the other person for their belief, attempt to calm yourself by thinking of the Christlike way to deal with the situation. After all, we are attempting to promote the Christlike way of life.
An apologetics argument can be difficult. My advice is to study and pray about the faith as much as possible. St. Paul in Romans 2:17-24 warns against hypocrisy, and hits on the point that he who teaches others must also teach himself. If you keep yourself well versed, it will be difficult for you to be caught off guard. Reading articles and books as well as watching/listening to other apologists helps a lot. There are many men and women who are very gifted apologists. Take advantage of their experience, and read up! A man I met recently at a Steubenville conference, Matt Fradd, is an amazing testimony to Christ and offers terrific advice for apologetics in one of his articles. [click here]
I'm praying for all of you! I hope your apologetics ventures will be fruitful. The best advice I can give you is to speak with the Holy Spirit in your heart. Sometimes you don't have the right words, but He does. Also, when you argue, do it for the glory of God, not for your own. It is very easy for an influential speaker to grow cocky with his gift. Keep all of this in mind, and you will all be very successful apologists!
Philippians 4:8-9
God Bless!
-Patrick
If you have any questions you want answered or topics you want discussed, email me, and I will get to writing. The topic for my next article is "Blessings." Thank you!
