Christian apologetics is good because the Christian witness undergirds it. What we mean by undergird is nakakapit. This word “undergird” appears in Acts 27:17 “After hoisting it up, they used supports to undergird the ship.” Sa salin sa Tagalog, ang “undergird” ay “matalian.” The Greek word means “to bear, to carry.” My point dito is that Christian witness carries Christian apologetic. Christian witness chauffeurs apologetics. Or to put it in a Pinoy way, ang Christian witness ang tricycle at ang apologetics ang pasahero. Apologetics ties neatly in the charter of Acts 1:8 “and you shall be My witnesses” which then ties well also with the Gospel ministry as Paul said in Philippians 1:16, “knowing that I am put here for the defense [apologian] of the gospel.” Apologetics then is well undergirded by the Christian witness that both Jesus and the apostles emphasized. Ito po ang pag uusapan natin ngayong episode.
The Greek word for “witness” in Acts 1:8 na binasa ko kanina is martures from where we get our word “martyr.” Sa Greek a “martyr” is, according sa Friberg Lexicon, “generally one who testifies to something.” There are at least two ways one can do this as one testifies about Christ -- through propositions and conduct. “The focus,” ayon kay Michael Carino, “is not only on the validity of knowledge but also on the virtue of the knower . . . from propositions to persons, from appraising beliefs to assessing believers.”* So Christian witness mahalaga ang integration both ng proposition at conduct.
Another meaning of “martyr” in Greek is that it means “to witness to ascertainable facts.” This is what we suggest here by proposition as a way to testify or witness. A proposition is “ a statement in which something is affirmed or denied, so that it can therefore be significantly characterized as either true or false.”† So, for example, we give testimony na si Kristo ay isang historical person -- yan ang ating proposition. And then we provide support or reasons or arguments for the truthfulness of that claim. Much of Christian apologetics is engaged sa ganitong type -- to build a case for the faith and to challenge the presuppositions and arguments of opponents. Iiwan muna natin ang topic na ito kasi magku concentrate tayo dito sa mga susunod na episodes as I talk about the 4H apologetics.
Christian conduct on the other hand is also part of Christian apologetics as a witness. Sabi sa Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology,
Another New Testament form of testifying to Jesus and the gospel is through proper Christian conduct. Jesus tells his disciples ( John 13:34-35 ), "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." The command to love is not new (cf. Lev 19:18 ; Deut 6:5 ). What is new is the revelation of God's love through Jesus. As Jesus bore witness of God's love to the world by his life and death ( John 3:16 ), his followers by loving as he has loved will reveal a Christ-like love to a world that has never seen him. Any inquiry into the reason for this selfless love will encounter the good news of Jesus' saving work an event historically reliable and theologically certain. Proper Christian conduct, therefore, provides timeless testimony to Jesus' perfect and final expression of God's love.‡Hindi ito related lang sa mere compliant na mga actions but more fully sa virtuous life. It is a life na ang tawag ni Paul is in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ (Phil 1:27). More than just talking about specific actions that are good, we are actually talking here more deeply when we talk of conduct. At yan yung habituated action na naging bahagi na ng iyong goal to have a character that is exemplary. Ang tawag diyan ay the virtuous na life o yung sabi ng kaibigan kong pastor na si Phonny Jorquia na “disposition” o yung “paniniwalang pinaninindigan at sinasabuhay.”
May binanggit si Carino sa kaniyang thesis na napakaganda nating iconsider sa pagbibigay ng witness sa related sa sinasabi ko dito na conduct,
Everyday discourses do not use blanket terms such as justified or unjustified [propositions]. Rather ordinary people direct their evaluation to persons. We condemn people who are narrow-minded, careless, rash, prejudiced, rigid, obtuse, jumping to conclusions, ignoring relevant facts, relying on untrustworthy authority, lacking insight, etc. We admire people who are insightful, sensitive to detail, able to think up explanations of complex data, open-minded, aware of their own fallibility, wise in making judgments, etc.§A witness of Christ does not only present justified propositions but also a conduct that is worthy of the Gospel. This is the reason why apologetics is good because it carried by the Christian witness.
Nabubuo ang conduct na ito by habituation o ‘yung nagawa na niyang ugali. Nauunawaan niya na biniyayaan siya ng Diyos, ayon 2 Peter 1:3, “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.” Subalit kasama nyang reliable na mga faculties na yan, responsable pa rin ang Christian na pagyamanin ito. Kasi nga ministry siya sa ebanghelyo sabi sa Philippians 1:7, 16 na pagtatanggol sa ebanghelyo. Apologetics is a witness to the faith.
Ang pagtatanggol ay may kaakibat na disposition. It means that “your walk does not give the lie to your confession” (Meyer’s NT Commentary). Ang kanilang readiness to give a defense nagsisimula sa pundasyong nilatag nila ng kanilang disposisyon. Sabi ni Arthur Holmes,
a disposition is a tendency to act in certain ways. Disposition is more basic, lasting and pervasive than the particular motive or intention behind a certain action. It differs from a sudden impulse in being a settled habit of mind, an internalized and often reflective trait. Virtues are general character traits that provide inner sanctions on our particular motives, intentions and outward conduct.║Nagtanong ako sa mga kaibigan ko kung ano ang pagkaunawa nila sa salitang disposisyon. Napakaraming sagot. Malimit it is a translation of the English word disposition which “state of mind regarding something; inclination.” Ang pinakapaborito kong defnition galing sa mga kaibigan ko ay galing kay Pastor Phonny Jorquia. Ang disposisyon daw ay isang “paniniwalang pinanghahawakan at pinamumuhay.” It is within the orbit ng practical wisdom kasi while it begins as an abstract concept like kabaitan sa ating kaisipan, siya ay nagiging action sa taong may disposisyon. It is a motion of the will. Dagdag pa ni Holmes na ang taong may disposisyon ay may katangian na,
stemming from who you are at your core level, to act in certain ways . . . [I]t is not simply, therefore, an impulse, good or bad, but rather a settled habit of mind. [I]t has a function of providing judgment on motives and outward actions. Virtues, then, relate to who we are as people; our character.¶Sa apologetics, naka undergird ang ganitong kaisipan. Sa 1 Peter 3:13-16 naka indicate ang mga katangiang “Zealous for that which is good,” “for righteousness’ sake,” “sanctify the Lord,” “with meekness and fear,” “a good conscience,” “your good conversation.” Mga katibayan na naka-undergird talaga ang apologetics sa sinasabi na witness as conduct. So apologetics is really good.
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* Michael R. Carino, Epistemically Reasonable and Responsible Faith (thesis), 37.
† "Proposition" Dictionary.com (website); accessed at http://www.dictionary.com/browse/proposition.
‡ Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology, sv., "Testimony"; https://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionaries/bakers-evangelical-dictionary/testimony.html
§ Carino, 40
║ Arthur Holmes, Ethics: Approving Moral Decisions, Contours of Christian Philosophy, ed. C. Stephen Evans (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1984), 116.
¶ Holmes, 116.
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