Henri Blocher - Faith and Reason

The memory has remained etched in my mind. It takes me back to a bygone era (I have nothing to hide!) when I was thirteen or fourteen years old. The attempt to argue on behalf of the gospel was not well regarded in the circles around me, and my coming-of-age sensibilities had been instilled with the prevailing negative attitude (yet I was already interested in such things). Along comes a pastor-theologian from Athens, Greece, on a visit to the evangelical communities of the Paris region. I recall his name: Metallinos. His ministry was bearing great fruit: a growing church, the founding of a Bible institute, etc. I thus listen to him with respectful attention. I hear him highlight the role that his expositions on apologetics play for him in the furtherance of the Cause. I am stunned. The impact of the shock will no doubt later help me understand that a negative attitude toward apologetics is not in fact justified by biblical teachingthat in order to overcome an ill-conceived apologetics, for this kind has indeed existed, we need a well-conceived apologetics.

The term apologetics comes from Greek, and derives directly from a word the New Testament employs several times. Apologetics is the art and science of apologia, whose meaning is somewhat broader than that of our own apology (Fr. faire lapologie de, to excuse, rationalize). What is an apologia? It is a defense, in the first instance before a tribunal. The meaning then extends to apply to an ordered, reasonable, and reasoned discourse, seeking to justify a positionor a personso as to defend against an accusation, with a view to bringing about a favorable outcome. The prefix apo indicates a context of reply; logia is akin to logos, which implies reason, deliberation. The sum is that apologetics is about holding yourself accountable for the positions that you advocate. The apostle Paul can thus say that he has been appointed for the apologia of the gospel (Philippians 1:16), namely that he has adopted a discourse that persuades, if possible, his hearers and leads them to faith.

Another use of the term, in a verse which relates directly to the central point of our subject, is particularly interesting. It occurs in 1 Peter 3. The apostle, in context, is exhorting the faithful to patience and purity in conduct. Those whom he is addressing also find themselves in a situation of hostility; they are already persecuted: indeed, they have been cast into the fiery ordeal of testing (1 Peter 4:12 NIV). They should not be surprised by it, but rather consider themselves blessed to suffer for righteousness sake. If they are mistreated because they have acted justly, it is an honor that the Lord bestows on them. But in your hearts reverence Christ as Lord, the apostle tells them (1 Peter 3:15 RSV). Peter here borrows a phrase from the prophet Isaiah, which reads, Give to the L ord (YHWH, Jehovah) the place due him, the place due the most holy God. He applies it to Christ identified as the Lord, in order to encourage the faithful not to shrink back from giving him all the honor due him, even at the very cost of their lives through persecution. Always be prepared to make a defense [apologia] to any one who calls you to account for the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and reverence; and keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are abused, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame (1 Peter 3:1516 RSV; Peter employs here the same substantive which signifies, as I explained above, the type of discourse that a lawyer, a politician, or a philosopher might pronounce in support of his positions). Peter calls for an apology against, or rather directed toward, whoever requests a reason, whoever requests an account: With what arguments then do you justify your expectation? Why do you invest all your resources, indeed why do you lay down your very life, to follow this Jesus whom you call Christ? Christians must be ready, according to Peters exhortation, to have a discourse prepared which defends the commitment they have made, to give a reason for the hope that is in them.

Such is the task of the apologist, and we will note here that it involves the exercise of reason, as the word Peter employs in the original (logos) is normally translated (account is also possible). In the New Testament, we can see that the apostles, fully inspired by the Lordthey were not gaffe-prone when speaking in his name (though fallible in personal conduct, in apostolic teaching they were Spirit-led)did apologetics. They prepared discourses which made appeal, in certain respects, to arguments, and that for the purpose of leading their hearers to faith, or rather to confirm them in faith if they were already converted. The relationship between the exercise of reason and the commitment of faith remains an obscure enigma for many, believers and unbelievers alike, which is why the pages that follow treat this relationship first and foremost. They do not claim to treat the topic of apologetics in great depth. They leave aside many theoretical problems or conversely those more linked to practical concernsnotably the problem of problems, namely that of evil, which I have addressed in my book Evil and the Cross. Instead, this book takes as its focus of study the use of reason that has held sway over modernity, and decidedly over a large swath of our late modernity. The use of reason in science, including the natural sciences, with its method of empirical experimentation and its recourse to mathematics, offers the model. The science and faith debate thus plays an important role here. However, the ambition of this sketch is to situate the various topics raised along the way within their wider worldview context, and the context of ultimate concerns relative to the purpose of life itself.