Relational Apologetics: Defending the Christian Faith with Holiness, Respect, and Truth

by Michael C. Sherrard

How do you know that there is a God? How do you answer someone who says that truth doesn’t exist? What do you do when someone asks you how you know that Christianity is the right religion? If you are like many people, the only answer you can offer is, “Well... I just have faith.” But to a world that wants to know if God is real, this is not a good enough answer.

Christians must be ready to give a reason, a good reason, for their hope in Jesus, and their lives must be a holy reflection of their message. In Relational Apologetics, Michael C. Sherrard seeks to help Christians do just that: become holy people that defend Christianity both in word and deed. Using stories and drawing upon personal experiences, Sherrard teaches the importance of personal holiness, treating skeptics with respect, engaging in authentic conversations instead of shouting matches, and having well thought out answers to the skeptic's questions. In the process, you’ll learn that defending Christianity is as much about who you are and what you do as it is what you say. And you will find that your life is intended to be an apologetic for God and a light for men to find Him.

164 pages, Paperback

First published September 6, 2012

Reviews

[Terri Sherrard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm the wife. So my review probably doesn't count!:) I love it!:) To state the obvious!

[Jay Medenwaldt · Rating 5 out of 5]

The purpose of this book is to help apologists improve their methods so they can be more effective when doing evangelism. It's a wonderful book and a must read for all apologists. I think I may even start recommending this one ahead of Tactics by Greg Koukl because reading this book and heeding the advice will help apologists apply the methods in Tactics in a more effective way.

Apologists sometime have a bad reputation, both inside and outside the church. We often like to think it is because people just don't like truth and therefore, they resist apologetics. The examples in the book show that this does not have to be the case. We can be loved and respected while still doing apologetics. The book does this by recommending methods that correspond to scientific principles pf persuasion. This book can help apologists, even experienced ones, find the right balance between speaking truth and love.

Anyone who's into apologetics should read this book right away. It's a quick and easy read so there's no reason to wait.

[Cassady Channita · Rating 5 out of 5]

Apologetics for real people. Loved it and highly recommend!

[Michael Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short, non-technical, practical guide to winsome apologetic methods. If you've read Tactics by Koukl, much of this will not be new. The emphasis on holy living as an apologetic is welcomed!
Would love to see this expanded into a more thorough relational method.

[Jason Mccool · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished reading this book, and I have to say, this was exactly the book I needed to read. I do enjoy learning, and I want to be "prepared to give an answer for the hope I have" and to "accurately handle the word of truth", but so often that becomes the end goal. Michael gives very clear reminders that knowledge is good, but not very useful if you run everyone off. As he says, "if all you want to do is win an argument, your heart is not in the right place." "Knowledge is important but it can be dangerous if it is not accompanied by a pure heart. Knowledge often leads to arrogance, and arrogance is an enemy of the gospel." He did deal with some "tactics" you might call them - ways of improving your skills as a logical debater - and with some of the standard fare of apologetics like understanding truth, relativism, religious pluralism, biblical reliability, evil and the problem of pain, and the complementary nature of faith and evidence, but the more unique aspect of this book, of all the apologetics books I've read, was his attention to things like listening intently and seeing your "opponent" with the love and grace that Jesus sees you. The relational aspect of apologetics is sometimes a passing thought in other books, but his attention to it was something I needed to be remind of.

Books are tools to me, and I highlight a lot (if it's good), and write in the margins, and tab the snot out of most of my books. Thumbing back through this book, I can see where he addressed things apologists shouldn't do, things that made me write "ouch" in the margin as he exposed my own shortcomings. But you know, the books that make you say ouch, not because they're insulting you, but because you recognize the truth of the author's insight, and your failure in that area, are the ones you learn the most from. "Guard the presentation of the gospel. Honor truth by putting limits on what you say." Part 4 of the book was dedicated to application, and he started it out with a quote from Penn Jillette, the famous atheist magician/comedian: "How much do you have to hate somebody to believe that everlasting life is possible and not tell them that?" Valid question. Sherrard then asks the equally valid question of nerds like me, "Will you do more than just learn?... Christianity is a going religion, not a sitting one. We don't wait for the world to come to us. We go." Well, some of us do, I'm afraid. Another one of those "ouch" pages.

I'll close with a quote from his last chapter: "Loving others demonstrates to them the true purpose of knowledge. Growing in knowledge is not just about learning the rules. It is not about being able to spout facts. It is about knowing God fully, such that you obey Him. And when you obey Him, you discover real life." That kinda put things in perspective for me. Am I racing to learn more and more and more, to be able to win arguments but turn people away from Christ in the end, or am I seeking knowledge that I may know God, and thereby lovingly help more people to know Him as well? Am I setting the process above the end goal? As he says in the epilogue, "The most overlooked part of apologetics is the gospel. Apologists tend never to get that far in conversations with nonbelievers.... Remember that apologetics is a servant of the gospel, and sometimes the servant just needs to get out of the master's way."

Oh, as far as format and and whatnot, it was a very readable style, with short chapters divided into subtitled sections that make for good stopping places when you can't read uninterrupted. The list of resources at the end was good as he gave a short description of each one and grouped them by category. I found a couple of new resources I was familiar with in there. I didn't realize there were study questions for each chapter at the end of the book until I was done, but they were very good probing questions that would be great for a weekly small group discussion of the book. Enjoy. I know I did. :)

[Jimmy]

The author at the beginning of the book made it clear that the book “is about how to share and defend your faith as a non-scholar to a non-scholar” (11). I would have to say it’s probably too basic for those who have spent a significant time reading apologetics. However, the book is not so much about facts in favor of Christianity (although it does mention them from time to time) as it is with how Christians are to engage in apologetics with those whom they are conversing with. What I did appreciate the most about this book is it’s strong call for the Christian to be holy in one’s own personal life. For instance, Sherrard stated “A daily repentance, turning away from sin and toward Jesus, is perhaps the most important apologetic for God you can posses. This is because your life must reflect your message, or your message will appear to be false” (24). After laying the foundation for holiness, the author then showed how Christian living shape how we go about doing apologetics, such as when we do not know an answer, Christian humility dictate that we are honest and then promise to do further research. Having our holiness shape how we deal with others with apologetics is important and there is nothing objectionable with the book in that regards. In terms of apologetics’ methodology, the book is from a broadly Classical perspective, but since the work is not mainly about the evidences for Christianity, the Classical flavor is rather mild. For instance, he does not fleshed out the Cosmological or Teological argument though he mentioned them by name in the footnotes. I believe how Christians address the problem of evil to be quite revealing in terms of the apologist’s theology, since one’s theology proper and doctrine of man does intersect with theodicy. Here the author did mention that the”freewill” debate among Christians is above his “paygrade” (his own term), a smart move on his part. He also did pretty good addressing the problem of evil in light of an atheistic evolutionary standpoint: “The notion of evil only makes sense in a universe of purpose that contains a standard of purpose and goodness. We call things evil when they violate this standard. But, again, from where did this standard come from? It can’t be a result of evolution. An accident is not binding” (140). There are minor concerns I have here and there in this book and among them is his first footnote that mentioned that Antony Flew had recently moved towards Deism, but Flew has been dead since 2010 and for a book published in 2012, Flew couldn’t have just “recently” became a Deist of sort (I would contend that he’s now a full theist, but that’s another point, another time). Then in the epilogue, Sherrard said, “Though we have talked about evidence and logic and arguments, we must remember that many people will not bow to God because of their heart” (143), which as a stand alone statement is biblical correct. But then he goes on to explain: “Many people do not love themselves. Many people do not like themselves” (143-44). The Biblical assessment of man has never been that they reject God because they don’t love themselves, if anything, the Biblical data suggests otherwise.

[Darren Hamilton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book. A simple walk through talking with people about what you believe based on respect. Helpful arguments to deal with some of the main argument lines today when it comes to denying God.

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good source to add to your tool kit of preparation to share your faith with those you come in contact with