In chapter two, The Biblical Basis for Apologetics, Groothuis states that “the task in this chapter is to tighten up our understanding of apologetics by explaining its basis in Scripture.”
Christian apologetics is the rational defense of the Christian worldview as objectively true, rationally compelling, and existentially or subjectively engaging. The word apologetics comes from the Greek word apologia…. In the days of the NT “an apologia was a formal courtroom defense of something (2 Timothy 4:16) …. The term is used specifically for a rational defense of the gospel in three texts: Philippians 1:7, 16, and most famously in 1 Peter 3:15-16.”
Read moreIn chapter two, The Absurdity of Life without God, Craig grapples with “the human predicament” or the significance of human life in a post-theistic universe. One of the early apologetists dealing with the human predicament was Blaise Pascal (1623-1662). He emphasized both the miserableness and greatness of man. Man is miserable without God for he has no significance or even certainty as to why he exists. Yet man does not seek to know God and thus the meaning of life. Man is also great in that he can recognize his misery and do something about it. This led to Pascal's Wager argument. When the odds that God exists are even, then the prudent man will wager that God exists. “For if you win, you win all; if you lose, you lose nothing” (Pensees, 343).
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