I do not intend to exaggerate when I say that every believer must be engaged in apologetics. I will give you the best reason why. I will present not only a divine mandate but also a divine example -- yes, God not only commanding apologetics but Himself doing apologetics. What I am saying is what was said more emphatically by RC Sproul,
By divine example and divine command apologetics is a mandate God gives to His people. If God Himself provides evidence for what He declares to be truth it is calumnous to repudiate the value of evidence. If God commands us to do the work of apologetics it is disobedience to refuse the task.*So in this episode magpe present po ako ng combination po ng divine model at divine mandate. Mga models and mandate po ito na explicit po sa Bible na sinabi at ginawa ng Panginoon.
Hindi invention ng Christianity ang apologetics nung panahon nila. It was already a practice by civil society even way before the first century. Ang non-religious at classical notion ng apologetics ay may legal-forensic na idea. The Greek word is "apologia." It is used sa mga courtrooms. Sabi ni Kenneth Boa and Robert Bowman sa kanilang aklat na Faith Has Its Reasons: An Integrative Approach in Defending Christianity,
In ancient Athens it referred to a defense made in the courtroom as part of the normal judicial procedure. After the accusation, the defendant was allowed to refute the charges with a defense or reply (apologia). The accused would attempt to “speak away” (apo—away, logia—speech) the accusation. The classic example of such an apologia was Socrates’ defense against the charge of preaching strange gods, a defense retold by his most famous pupil, Plato, in a dialogue called The Apology (in Greek, hē apologia).†
Sa notion na ganito na nagte-testify to something maaari tayong magsimula sa example at mandato galing kay sa ating Panginoon.
Apologetics is simply giving a reasoned defense, a testimony to the truth of the matter. Jesus understands this about the Father. Sa kaniyang pagkaunawa the Father is a testifying God. Divine testimony in the Old Testament, “refers to the revelatory self-witness of God to his people.”‡ Kaya naman sa isang pagkakataon sa kaniyang apologetics He appealed to the testimony of or “self-witness of God” the Father bilang pagtatanggol sa kaniyang misyon. Tugon niya sa mga Jews sa John 5:31-36 --
If I alone bear witness of Myself, My testimony is not true. There is another who bears witness of Me; and I know that the testimony which He bears of Me is true. . . . But the witness which I have is greater than that of John; for the works which the Father has given Me to accomplish, the very works that I do, bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me."
And the next sentence says it all, “And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me” (v37). The English Standard Version and many versions of this, interchange “testimony” and “witness” for the same Greek root word that occurs 76 times in the NT and which means according to the Friberg lexicon as a "declaration of ascertainable facts based on firsthand knowledge or experience bear witness to, declare, confirm.” The point of Christ is clear: the Father Himself testified for him. Ayon sa aklat na Classical Apologetics ni Sproul et al,
Jesus [here] follows the Old Testament rule of the corroboration of testimony by at least two witnesses, and shrinks from any claim of self-attestation. The principle is clear: “If I alone bear witness of Myself, My testimony is not true.” Far from verification, Jesus declares that singular self-attestation does not verify, it falsifies.§
Ang classic example natin ng divine example at mandate sa Old Testament is in what is believed to be the oldest book of the Bible, ang book of Job.
Sa isang nakakalulang karanasan para kay Job, sinukat ng Panginoon ang kakayanang mag-reason ni Job by asking him questions na parang nangungutya, "Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Dress for action like a man; I will question you, and you make it known to me” (38:1). Inulit nya ito sa 40:6, “Dress for action like a man; I will question you, and you make it known to me. Will you even put me in the wrong? Will you condemn me that you may be in the right? Have you an arm like God, and can you thunder with a voice like his?” God then concluded ang kaniyang litanya ng patunay kay Job with, “Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty? He who argues with God, let him answer it.” Sa totoo lang nakaka-awa din si Job, yet what an experience for a man to hear God Himself give a reasoned prosecution para magbigay ng katuwiran si Job.
Frazzled and -- ano nga yung usong word ngayon? -- shookt, Job replied, “I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know” (24:3). God had provided incontrovertible reason to Job na hindi lang naman gustong pagalitan ng Panginoon pero gusto Niya ring makumbinsi.
This idea of reasoned persuasion or makatuwirang pangungumbinsi characterizes the divine example and mandate in apologetics. God demands to be engaged in an exchange of persuasive reason. In Isaiah He instructs the poor prophet, “Come now, and let us reason together” (1:18). The word translated as “let us reason” in the Hebrew is a cohortative imperfect verb. What cohortative means is may pakiusap o admonition; at ang imperfect ay tila baga patuloy na gawin. So sa simpleng salitang kanto ay parang si Kuya Boy Abunda na “Tara usap tayo.”
In the book of Isaiah this frequent appeal na "usap tayo" will be a cardinal feature in God's dialogue with the prophet. At one point God invites disputation. In 41:21, “Present your case,” the Lord says." The Hebrew for this "case" is "disputation" or "strife." In a manner of speaking, para siyang si Michael Buffer na "Let's get ready to rumble."
Sproul et al explains of 41:21,
The God of Israel [here] presents His case, providing myriads of demonstrative evidential works and future prophecies which vindicate His claim as a truth-teller. He gave a sign to Gideon on the fleece (Judg. 6:30-40), and a sign to Moses and the court magicians by a staff (Exod. 4). Moses saw the leprous hand and the burning bush, both attesting to the divine claim. To Pharaoh and the people of Egypt were given the plagues, culminating in the Nile’s becoming a river of blood and the firstborn children a sign of judgment.║
Isa pa siguro sa mga paraan kung paano natin ito makita ‘yung nakitang testifying God ni Kristo sa Ama is to look at Exodus 25:16 “And you [Moses] shall put into the ark the testimony that I shall give you.” Ang Hebrew word na translated “testimony” dito ay ginagamit din na word as “witness testimony” o pagtetestigo. Hindi si Moses ang testigo or bearer of the witness kundi ang Diyos at itong testimony na ito ay ibibigay nya kay Moses. Magandang ganyan din natin maunawaan kung bakit alam ni Moses ang mga libong taon bago siya pinanganak. Ang tinutukoy ko ay yung pag create ng mundo, sila Cain at Abel, kay Abraham at marami pang iba. Dahil ito sa paglalahad ng Diyos, bilang testigo sa mga nangyari. Isa din kasi ito sa mga patunay na ang Kasulatan ay nararapat lamang na galing sa Diyos mismo dahil, ayon na rin isang manunulat,
Ito’y may kalagayang mula pa sa sinaunang kasaysayan. Ang Bibliya’y mistulang uban na nagaantanda ng karunungan, sapat upang maging kagalang-galang. Walang buháy na kasaysayan ang higit na nauna pa sa talá ni Noah: subalit ang Bibliya’y naglalahad ng mga katotohanang mula pa sa umpisa. Ito ang tiyak na panuntunan ni Tertullian: ‘Yaong mula pa sa pinaka dakilang sinauna, id verum quod primum, ang siyang dapat tanggapin bilang pinaka natatangi at tumanggap ng pagsamba.¶
We can see this testimony of “God Himself provides evidence for the claim that He is the true God, displaying His divine credentials openly.”# Sa episode na ito we presented the divine mandate and example of apologetics.
From this limited divine examples, we will proceed to look into the apostolic mandate next episode.
__________
* RC Sproul, John Gerstner and Arthur Lindsey, Classical Apologetics, 20
† Boa & Bowman, Faith Has Its Reasons, 1.
‡ Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology, sv "Testimony", accessed at https://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionaries/bakers-evangelical-dictionary/testimony.html
§ Sproul, Gerstner & Lindsey, 50
║ Sproul, Gerstner & Lindsey, 49
¶ Thomas Watson, Body of Divinity, Question 2; translated to Filipino by Alvin Tugbo.
# Sproul, Gerstner & Lindsey, 44
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