Why the Black Church Needs to Take Apologetics seriously

Clare Williams shares reasons why church leaders should engage with apologetics and the difference it can make in discipling young people

In a world full of questions and so many competing answers, church should be a place where young people can find responses to life’s deepest questions. At times, whenever I scroll through social media, I feel as though I’ve walked into a room with hundreds of people shouting. There are so many opinions, so many platforms and podcasts. With all these voices, the truth of the Gospel can become lost, especially for young people who may not have the tools to discern truth from error. Enter Christian apologetics, a tool we can use to engage with the issues that young people in Black-majority churches are facing.

Why apologetics?
Growing up in Black Pentecostal church, I remember having powerful encounters with God but not having a forum in which to ask questions. I was often advised to “pray and trust God”, and even though this was good, I wrestled with many questions in my twenties, experienced crises of faith, and eventually decided to leave my 10-year teaching career in search of answers.

It was during this time of training in apologetics that I noticed a ‘gap’, whereby the questions of young Black British Christians, seekers and sceptics were not being addressed. Questions such as: Is the Bible a tool of oppression? Should I practise indigenous African spiritualities? How can God be good when the world is so unjust? Doesn’t Christianity crush my authentic identity? Is Christianity a copycat religion?

So, in 2019, I launched Real Questions to support Black churches seeking to respond to these objections which emerge from Christianity’s colonial legacies and the present-day, lived experience of racial discrimination. We can’t ignore them. We can’t plaster over them with spiritual platitudes. Instead, we can demonstrate how the Christian faith offers robust answers to these pressing questions.

What is apologetics?
Apologetics isn’t what it sounds like. It isn’t about apologising or saying sorry for what we believe as Christians. Instead, it comes from the Greek word apologia, which we see in 1 Peter 3:15 – ‘But in your hearts, revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason (apologia) for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect…’ This means we can draw upon evidence of God’s work in creation, the sciences, history, philosophy – and so much more – to present a compelling case for Christianity. There is a strong legacy of this in both Scripture and the intellectual history of the Church.

Called before yet another council, the apostle Paul made a defence of his faith in Acts 22. Early church fathers like Tertullian wrote tracts and treatises to defend Christianity in the face of unorthodox ideas being perpetuated by figures like Marcion of Sinope, who sought, among other things, to remove the God of the Old Testament from the Bible. There are many Christian apologists and organisations that are engaging with questions of our culture, ranging from philosophers like William Lane Craig, to cultural apologists like Preston Perry, Rebecca McClaughlin, and my own platform, realquestions.co.uk.

How can we use apologetics?
Perhaps today the word ‘defend’ is off-putting and sounds like Christians are called to be combative. But this doesn’t have to be the case. If a young Black person, who isn’t a Christian, asks: “How can a good God exist when there’s so much injustice in the world?” we may turn to the pages of Scripture which show how God is just, how He is kind, and how He cares deeply about oppressed people, e.g. Zechariah 7:8–10. However, if that young person doesn’t believe that God exists or that the Bible is a trustworthy source of information, this response won’t do much to present Christianity as a credible worldview.

Using an apologetics approach, we might encourage a young person to examine where the concept of justice itself comes from, and if it is best explained in a world where God does or doesn’t exist. This would be an example of using the moral argument for God’s existence and applying it to a tangible question of today.

Where can we start?
Pastoring young people is a rewarding yet very demanding role, and with all the work that goes into discipling them, we need to find as many resources as possible. A good place to start with Christian apologetics for young people is Reboot City*, a big youth event for youth aged 12–18, to ask their big questions about faith. The Jude 3 Project is an excellent African American resource, which engages with questions of Black faith and culture. www.realquestions.co.uk takes a Black British approach to the subject.

Clare Williams is a speaker, PhD Sociology student, and podcaster.  Visit www.realquestions.co.uk

(* taking place in Reading and Manchester this year)