Covenantal Apologetics | Backpack Radio Reflection Episode #178

Episode #178: Covenantal Apologetics

Oh, I loved this one! The guest is K. Scott Oliphint, a professor at Westminster in Philly, and he’s got a book out. He sounds like he really knows his stuff.

Let’s see if they let me post this one.

I guess I want to talk about the importance of getting into it. Of going all analytical. Of “over-thinking,” whatever that means.

This very morning, I was driving my kids to school and they launched into an impromptu comparison of the churches we’ve attended. Among the things they noted was the fact that, at this church, there’s a ball pit in the home where we go for our small or community group meetings, which is a vast improvement over the non-pit offerings of other churches. The ball pit, one of my kids said, is “awesome.” But, she continued, “someone kicked me in the head” in the pit. Alas, it’s a trade off. When one picks a church, one must consider whether or not there is a ball pit—but one must understand the risks: You Might Get Kicked In The Head.

And by sharing this, I am illustrating what exactly?

We make our choices based on what we believe, on what we value.

Here’s the thing: I’m not much of a theologian or an apologist. I prefer reading Ernest Hemingway, probably Charles Dickens, and maybe even obscure poetry or some William Faulkner’s wild prose over and above this hard-core doctrinal stuff. That said, I think it’s super important. One has to get over one’s own prejudices and weaknesses. The apologetic must come first. If you’re a Christian, but you don’t really know why—or if you can’t speak intelligently about beliefs—it’s a problem. I think it’s why we Christians get a bad reputation. We kinda sound dumb. It isn’t our odd dating habits or even the whole creationism thing; it’s that we can’t adequately back up our beliefs about these things. We get a little stupid.

So, like, don’t pick your church because you get to play in the ball pit. Go for the apologetic, the Truth.

All this to say that I really liked this episode. I found it rigorous, substantive, good for the soul.

I know I think anecdotally. This has been highlighted more and more in my life as a writer. I’ll be approached to look at some piece of analytical writing and I’ll kinda wince at the dryness of it all. I’m sure the analytical-types read my stuff and ask, “But where’s the content?” I’m all like, You have to earn your content through story.

The interesting thing is that God does it this way too. I don’t want to say that He “earns” His content, but God talks doctrine often enough by using story. He “backs up” the apologetic with the life of Abraham or Isaac or Moses or Joseph or Hannah or Elizabeth or Mary.

So don’t diss story.

But don’t diss apologetics, either.

My guess is that many a fine Christian is backing off this stuff because it seems so esoteric. Really, that can’t be right. God did give us exciting stories like the Red Sea parting and King David doing stuff you see in the movies—but He also gave us the book of Romans. Go figure.

This episode will give you some apologetics to ponder. This way, you go beyond Ball Pit Thinking.

  

Jennifer Bell is mostly a writer, but she's also an English teacher. The author of two books of fiction, she lives with her husband and two kids in Phoenix.