1 Peter 3:15 commands Christians to “honor Christ the Lord as holy, [in your hearts]. Always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect” (ESV).
This is the very purpose of, and the main scriptural motivation behind, Palm Beach Atlantic University’s (PBA) annual “Faithful Witness” Apologetics Conference, which saw its third iteration take place October 25-26, primarily based in PBA’s DeSantis Family Chapel.
In a statement, the conference’s host and professor of philosophy of religion, Dr. Paul Gould, expounded upon the message of 1 Peter 3:15 by asserting that “The Christian story is true, and we want to be able to defend and articulate that truth to those in culture.”
Keynote Speakers Enthrall and Encourage
The event’s first two keynote speeches were delivered by writer and English professor Dr. Karen Swallow Prior and postdoctoral researcher at Western Sydney University, Dr. Luke A. Barnes, who respectively presented intellectually stimulating lectures on the topics of the revitalization of the Christian imagination and the “fine-tuned” nature of the cosmos.
Though different, the topics served the shared purpose of enlightening the audience, composed of visitors and students alike, to love God more intimately and to increase their knowledge and faith in Him.
“Fine-tuning…reconnects us with our intuition,” declared Dr. Barnes in his presentation before adding that the concept of fine-tuning acts as “an assurance” of faith and reason in an intelligent God.
Author and speaker Rebecca Brewster Stevenson and associate professor of philosophy at Azusa Pacific University, Dr. Joshua Rassmussen, gave the latter two keynote speeches titled “Who Gets to Name Us?” and “A New Argument for God from Story.”
Pastor Jeff Robinson: Apologetics through love
After each of the keynote speeches were breakout sessions, a trifecta of talks ranging in topics from the biomechanical ideology of transhumanism to highly relevant “pop culture apologetics.”
Dr. Jeff Robinson, pastor of Grace Fellowship: A Church for All Nations, facilitated one of the talks, which bore the appropriate title of “Apologetics in Preaching: Exposition through an Apologetics Lens.”
During the talk, Pastor Robinson carefully explained how to apply apologetics in preaching, as well as in casual conversation, placing a strong emphasis on showing charity and kindness during engagements of discussion and reasoning.
The lecture’s central idea, as so explained by Pastor Robinson, was that “Apologetics is the art of loving people well” through the making of a defense.
“It’s just in faith, doing apologetics, which is…reasonable defense, but also in a spirit of gentleness and respect,” he summarized.
Pastor Robinson later stated that he sees this loving application of defense and reason being successfully adopted by his own church congregants, as well across the map “in South Florida…where people in all sorts of industries are being confronted with [the fact that] there is evidence for the person of Jesus.”
To learn more about the acquisition of PBA’s Certificate in Cultural Apologetics, or to donate to the program, visit https://pbaapologetics.com/
