This is Taglish version ng episode ng Kaliwanagan kay Kristo noong October 31, 2017. Makinig sa weekly broadcast ng Kaliwanagan every Tuesday at Thursday sa Tanglaw sa Landas ng Buhay sa 702 DZAS sa oras ng 7PM
Hey friends ako po si Alisa [Childers] ng Mama Bear Apologetics, a partner of Ratio Christi International.
Ang layunin ng Mama Bear Apologetics ay tulungan ang mga nanay sa pagbibigay ng kasagutan sa mga mahihirap na katanungan sa pananampalataya. Ang mga tanong na ito ay nagsisimula sa tahanan. Ang mga nanay ang malimit na nauuna na makarinig nito galing sa kanilang mga anak. Kaya naman mga nanay, magtulung-tulong po tayo na matuto. Maari niyong sundan ang Mama Bear Apologetics sa web, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and iTunes.
Today’s topic is “Ano ang apologetics at ano ang kahalagahan nito sa mga moms?”
Ang apologetics ay isa na siguro sa pinaka-namamali na salita sa English language. Para sa ilan, ang ideya nila dito ay mga masusungit na propesor, o mga estudyanteng nagdedebate sa eskwelahan. May iba naman na ang apologetics ay paghingi ng tawad o sorry o pag apologize sa ating pananampalataya. Sa totoo lang, ang apologetics ay ang simpleng paraan ng pag iipon ng patunay para sa isang pinaniniwalaan at paglalahad ng paliwanag sa mga tao – lalong lalo na sa mga mahal natin sa buhay tulad ng mga nanay sa kanilang anak at pamilya.
Ngayon po we will talk about three reasons kung bakit mahalaga ang apologetics sa women and moms.
First, apologetics matters because the Bible says that it matters.
Second, apologetics matters dahil bahagi ito ng good spiritual warfare; bilang mga nanay we want to do good spiritual warfare on behalf of our kids.
Third, apologetics matters because our kids are leaving the church at alarming rate after high school.
The Bible Says Apologetics Matters
Apologetics matters because the Bible says that it matters. The command to do apologetics ay galing sa 1Peter 3:15 kung saan ang apostol Pedro ay kausap ang mga early Christians sa Asia Minor which was a Roman province and were suffering persecution because of their faith in Christ.
Ito ang kanyang sinulat,
[B]ut in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.
Sa verse na ito when Peter uses the word defense it is translated from the Greek word apologian which has to do with a verbal defense or speech in defense of something; a reasoned statement or argument. Ang lahat ng ito ay nakapasakop sa realm of evidence, logic and the mind. In ancient Athens it referred to a defense na ginaganap sa courtroom bilang parte ng isang normal judicial procedure.
After an accusation was made the defendant was allowed to refute the charges with a defense or reply or apologia. Kung kaya ang command to do apologetics has to do with evangelism -- it's being prepared to give a reason to give an apologia for the hope that is within you.
Itinuturo din na dapat itong sabihin with gentleness and with respect.
We have a saying in the apologetics world that we are not trying to win arguments but want to win people. Kung kaya bilang moms, the stakes are higher because we want to win our kids to Christ. Hindi sapat na sabihin lamang natin sa ating mga anak to just have faith or by not giving them good reasons to believe that the Bible is reliable and true.
And speaking of the Bible, marami tayong mga halimbawa na great men and women of faith na gumamit ng apologetics. Isang mahalagang halimbawa ay ito: John the Baptist who was first prophet of New Testament. This is the guy that baptized Jesus, that saw the Holy Spirit descending like a dove, that heard the audible voice of God say, “This is my Son in whom I am well pleased.” Kahit si John mismo ay nagkaroon ng isang moment of profound doubt dahil siya ay ipinatapon sa kulungan for calling King Herod out on marrying his brother's wife. And so he was sitting in prison. This was before any great persecution has broken out against Christians. In fact, this was when Jesus was still alive. Kaya naman si John habang nasa loob ng kulungan ay nagtataka kung ano ang mga nangyayari. Ipinadala niya ang kanyang mga disipulo upang tanungin si Hesus ng katanungang, “Are you the one or should we look for another?” John doubted. He had serious doubts. Jesus could have sent his disciples back to say “John you shouldn’t doubt” or “Just have faith” or “John you shouldn’t question God.” No, Jesus didn't do those things. Instead Jesus performed miracles and he sent John's disciples back. He told them to tell John what they saw. Jesus offered evidence to John to help with his profound period of doubt.
Ang isa pang halimbawa ay ang kilalang kwento ni doubting Thomas -- although Thomas wasn’t so much of a doubter dahil siya ay more of a skeptic. He was a rational person, o yung tao na laging naghahanap ng cause-and-effect. Jesus had of course at this point been crucified and was resurrected and appeared to the other disciples. So nung sinabi ng mga disciples kay Thomas, hindi kaagad siya naniwala (and siguro, neither would you, neither would I). But Jesus appeared to Thomas at pinakita niya kay Thomas his wounds. Jesus said, “Here examine my hands, put your hands on my side.” He offered evidence.
Si apostol Pablo din practiced apologetics when he reasoned with the secular philosophers in Athens in Acts 17; at sa mga Hudyo and Griyego sa sinagoga Acts 18. Si Hesus ay nakipagtalo sa mga Pariseyo gamit ang isang logic technique na ang tawag ay reductio ad absurdum [that is, “a method of proving the falsity of a premise by showing that its logical consequence is absurd or contradictory”] sa Matthew 12.
Sa Deuteronomy 6:5 nagsasabi na, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” Then Mark 12:30 quotes Jesus as saying, “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and all your soul, and all your mind, and all your strength” (emphasis added). In Greek ang word for mind ay may kinalaman sa ating understanding. Ang apologetics samakatuwid ay bahagi din ng pagsamba.
Apologetics Is Part of Spiritual Warfare
Apologetics matters because it is a part of spiritual warfare. Sabi ng 2 Corinthians 10:4-5,
For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.
Mapapansin ninyo na ito ay nasa context ng spiritual warfare. Marami sa mga words na ito have to do with the realm of the mind: talking about destroying arguments, lofty opinions raised against the knowledge of God and taking every thought to obey Christ. So doing good apologetics is also doing good spiritual warfare.
Apologetics Helps Kids Not to Leave Their Faith
Apologetics matters because our kids are leaving the church after high school at alarming rate. It is well documented anywhere from 70 up to 85% of Christian kids [in the United States] leave the church after high school. Bakit kaya? Nang tanungin sila, isa sa main reasons ay intellectual doubt. They didn’t think na ang Christian faith measured up intellectually dahil pag nagtatanong sila, ang sinasabi lang daw sa kanila ay “Just have faith.” O sinasabihan sila na dapat hindi sila nagtatanong ng ganon.
Isa sa mga major objections ay may kinalaman sa theory of evolution. Ang natatanggap nilang paliwanag sa simbahan ay mga oversimplified na view ng evolution. Dahil dito, pag sila ay nag college na at na-realize nila na ito ay napaka komplikadong teorya, naiisip nila na hindi naman pala nila talaga nauunawaan ang theory of evolution. Paano nila ngayon malalaman ang tama at mali?
So part of doing justice to our kids is ay turuan sila ng objections sa kanilang pananampalataya dahil haharapin at haharapin nila ito sa kolehiyo. Turuan natin sila kung paano mag-interact sa mga objections na ito, at gamitin ang kanilang talino para mag isip ng maayos, to use logic to understand the nature of truth and to think well about some these issues.
So bilang mga nanay, one of the most important things we can do is engage our kids with questions about God even if we don’t have all the answers. Maski kahit ipaalam lang muna natin sa kanila na safe place ang tahanan for these questions. Iparamdam natin sa kanila na kung di pa ninyo alam ang kasagutan, magtulong kayong maghanap na hawak kamay.
Sa isa sa aming blog posts sa panulat ni Natasha Crane pinapa-alalahanan niyo tayo na wag hayaang an gating mga anak may magkaroon lang “borrowed faith.” She writes
In my family, faith looked like spiritual “parallel play.” Parallel play is the stage young toddlers go through where they enjoy being near other kids, but don’t actually interact with each other yet. They’ll play blocks side by side, but they won’t find ways to play blocks together.
My family members would individually read their Bibles, go to church every week, participate in prayer chains, and humbly remind each other that plans would only happen “Lord willing.” Those were the spiritual blocks they played with next to me.
Meanwhile, I went to church, was at least mildly interested in what I heard, felt confident that if I died I would be saved, prayed occasionally on my own, went to church camps, attended youth nights, and freely told anyone who asked that I was a Christian. Those were the spiritual blocks I played with next to them.
But we never spiritually played together. Without that deeper engagement, my faith simply remained shallow and was based on living out a copy of what those around me were doing.
I left home with a completely borrowed faith.*
Dito sa Mama Bear Apologetics, we hope to equip you to do better than that to make sure your kids leave their home with a faith that they own, that they have made their own.
NOTE: Subaybayan ang susunod na Mama Bear Apologetics episode sa November 30.
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* Natasha Crain, "The Number One Sign Your Kids Are Just Borrowing Your Faith (and Not Developing Their Own)," Natasha Crain (website), accessed at http://christianmomthoughts.com/the-number-one-sign-your-kids-are-just-borrowing-your-faith-and-not-developing-their-own/.
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