Consider this list:
- Apologetics is not about providing answers but about raising questions.
- Apologetics is not a one-size-fits-all strategy.
- Apologetics is not about winning arguments but having discussions.
- Apologetics is not berating people to your point of view but honestly respecting differences of belief.
- Apologetics is not just pointing out differences in beliefs but offering reasons to think differently about those beliefs.
- Apologetics is not a replacement for the gospel but can be a preamble to the gospel message.
- Apologetics is not effective apart from the work of the Holy Spirit.
Sadly, I’ve seen subtle and often quite negative outcomes when Christian apologists get together. It’s hard to detect, but important to guard against. It’s the idea of “groupthink.” Most importantly, apologetics is not groupthink. Let me explain.
Chapter 5 of I Told Me So: Self-deception and the Christian Life by Gregg A. Ten Elshof addresses this phenomenon of “groupthink” and shows how it aides in self-deception. The rules are simple:
Rule A: Don’t.
Rule A.1: Rule A doesn’t exist.
Rule A.2: Do not discuss the existence or nonexistence of Rules A, A.1, or A.2.
Nowhere is groupthink more easily identified than in many of the megachurches in America. Despite homelessness and poverty in the major cities of our country, churchgoers drive their BMWs and live in their spacious houses enjoying their backyard BBQ steaks with their fine wine while rarely or never hearing a charge from the pulpit to take up their cross and truly sacrifice for the sake of others. Instead “we surround ourselves with those willing to ignore the questions with respect to our particular standard of living.” Sadly, groupthink is deployed in many facets of Christianity where homosexuality, war, liberal democrats, women in ministry, etc. are topics never broached or opponents are never engaged resulting in one group vilifying or even demonizing the other. We can always depend upon the group for “getting help when [deception is] not working.”
How does this apply to Christian apologetics? Some who engage the apologetic task see it as shoring up good arguments and learning tactics to combat opponents’ views. 2 Corinthians 10:5 is often cited as the Christian apologetic mandate. While it is helpful to hear from others and learn from them, if apologists primarily surround themselves with those of like mind, then intellectual growth will not occur and a form of groupthink will win the day. When birds of a feather flock together, the pursuit of truth is one of the first casualties.
There is hardly any apologetic value in failing to take seriously an alternative view or honestly seeking to evaluate antithesis on its own ground. Dismissing arguments because the conclusion does not fit within an adopted framework may result in believers being dismissed at the end of the day. In groupthink, expressions like “The biblical position is…,” or “Orthodoxy demands that…,” or “God’s Word clearly says…” are thrown around as if no further discussion is necessary. Don’t get me wrong, I believe God’s Word is true and authoritative and there are a minimum set of necessary and sufficient beliefs that define the boundaries of Christianity (or any world religion). But apologists must consider with all sincerity alternative positions and not off-handedly banish them.
One of the values/guidelines of this blog reads “Be open to antithesis. While belief in the historic Christian faith is essential to my identity (and perhaps to yours), consider alternative ideas and graciously interact with paradigms and presuppositions that you may not share.”
If Christian apologists want to be taken seriously, then the first order of business is to show a genuine respect for and interest in alternative positions whether in the safe company of believers or facing an opponent.
Integrity commands it.
Intellectual humility requires it.
Civility demands it.
But what if they have already thought about an alternative way of thinking that they’re being given, and found it to be false? Are they supposed to consider it all over again? Or what if they know the Bible enough that they don’t have to consider it? For example, if somebody told me “murder is ok, and the Bible says nothing against it.” According to what you just said, integrity would demand that I consider the possibility that that statement is true. Just because somebody doesn’t agree with you does not mean they are being closed minded. It just means they know what they believe and they are sticking to it.
Thanks for commenting and giving thought to my proposal.
My thesis is not that we give the same weight to every alternative, since some alternatives are not reasonable or informed. In your example, to claim that the Bible says nothing about murder would be uninformed on any cursory reading of the relevant texts. Claiming something to be so does not make it so. The way in which I would approach the interlocutor would be: “If the Bible says nothing about murder, what would you say to Exodus 20:13?” I’m not not endorsing the alternative position by asking the question this way, but showing the opponent respect by asking them to justify their position in light of the evidence from the text.
Of course, when in a safe crowd of other believers, one may stand firm on a received position but using caveats like “the biblical position on x is…” does very little to encourage dialog and often shuts down the discussion if the majority in the room are in one camp versus another. Instead, comments like “The weight of the biblical data as I understand suggests…” will go much further toward gaining an understanding of a topic.
I think we agree with each other, we just describe things differently. I do agree very much with you here. Too many people see being “open minded” as not being grounded in your belief in God. They see it as a bad thing. When in fact if we are not open minded we can never hear what God has to say to us. We have to have an open mind to hear what God is trying to tell us because nobody has a perfect view of life as God does. We have to be willing to let God change and mold us into the person he wants us to be. We need to always examine what we believe, compare it to God’s word, pray for his wisdom, and be willing to change in order to align with God. That’s why we need to always study the word of God, and pray for his discerning spirit, so we can recognize him when he speaks to us.