Every Thought Captive

Today I will continue to outline the major ideas from the Pratt book "Every Though Captive." As was mentioned Friday this is not just a great book for teenagers, but for al ages. Really all that I am posting are my own personal thoughts cultivated by reading this book.


PART II

There are two opposing world views that exist in the world, a non-Christian and a Christian. In order to build a biblical apologetic one must recognize the difference between the two. There is no such thing as neutrality, or common ground, between the Christian world view and the non-Christian world view. The foundation for the non-Christian world view is the concept of human independence, while the foundation for the Christian world view is the concept of total human dependence upon God. Because both Christians and non-Christians share the same world, are created in the image of God, and have the offer of salvation through Christ there can be some dialogue, however the fundamental difference still remain. Ultimately the Christian apologist must faithfully depend on the Holy Spirit to soften the heart of the non-Christian and bring about faith in their lives. In order to accomplish this task the Christian apologist must live a consistently Christian life. One’s arguments will not affect someone unless their life also reflects those arguments. The Christian apologist must also be careful in his approach with non-Christians. There must be a certain amount of gentleness and reverence when challenging one holding a differing position. However, the Christian apologist must always lead the conversation in a way that Christ, and the need to accept Him, is discussed. In order to accomplish this it is necessary to follow the correct procedure by: depending wholly on Scripture, having complete faith in Christianity, remembering man’s dependence on God, and finally giving proper attention to the effects of sin.

There is some value in the methods of popular apologetics, however these methods have resulted in great failures because of an unbiblical view of human reason. The process of many of these popular apologists is to verify the claims of Christianity with human reasoning. This procedure creates a method that makes independent human reasoning the ultimate authority over God, and His revealed truth. Because this method completely denies man’s dependence upon God the Christian apologist should seek to build his defense upon the foundation of God’s Word. Based on the principles of Proverbs 26:4-5 the Christian apologist should justify what he believes by presenting the truths of Scripture, and by demonstrating the foolishness of the non-Christian worldview. Evidence from the external world, and personal experience both have their role in biblical apologetics, however one must look first to Scripture to defend Christianity. Great caution must be taken when using external evidences. External evidences must be viewed in light of Scripture instead of independent human reasoning. Personal experience can be an effective tool, particularly when conversing with a post-modern thinker, however this dialogue must lead back to the Gospel. In addition to presenting truth in his defense the Christian apologist should also highlight the foolishness of the non-Christian. Instead of thinking in the same manner as the non-Christian for the sake of argument the Christian apologist should point out the foolishness of non-Christian thinking. It is important to show the non-Christian thinker that he is reasoning circularly based on his own independent reasoning. In this too it is important that conversation eventually leads to the Gospel. For ultimately only the regenerate man saved by Christ can accept the truth of a Christian world view.