Apologetics as Worship

I have been thinking a lot about the role of apologetics.  Traditionally aplogetics has been a sub-set of evangelism.  It is a set of intellectual arguments that are used as one tool to bring people to faith in Christ.  There is truth to this.  There is a need to clear away some of the uncertainties that are a roadblock to people who are moving toward Christ but are distracted by false criticisms.  This is good and this one of my reasons for being involved in apologetics.

But I would like to suggest that as much as apologetics belongs in the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20), it is also a part of the Great Commandment (Matthew 22:37-39).  We often think of worship as being about emotion, of feeling good in God’s presence and offering our hearts to God.  That is true, but Jesus also commands us to love God with our minds.  I must confess that when I work on apologetic projects, as much as I am hoping to help those seeking God or those struggling with doubt, I also feel like I am worshipping God with my mind.  When people attempt to demonstrate God’s existence in creation, they are not so much convincing atheists to believe, as they are joining in the worship song of creation (Psalm 19:1).  When we attempt to prove Jesus’ divinity from passages such as Philippians 2:5-11 and Colossians 1:15-18, we sometimes forget that these are not theological essays but rather hymns of praise.  Anselm of Canterbury (1033-1109), an early apologist, wrote a book called the Proslogion that is still used in apologetic demonstrations of God’s existence.  Anselm begins his work with these words:

Come on now little man, get away from your worldly occupations for a while, escape from your tumultuous thoughts. Lay aside your burdensome cares and put off your laborious exertions. Give yourself over to God for a little while, and rest for a while in Him. Enter into the cell of your mind, shut out everything except God and whatever helps you to seek Him once the door is shut. Speak now, my heart, and say to God, “I seek your face; your face, Lord, I seek.”  

This is a book of worship as much as it is about apologetics.  This idea of apologetics as worship is helpful in a number of ways.  In this postmodern era when people are looking for experience more than intellectual arguments, apologetics stands out as an expression of worship with the mind that can be experienced.  Secondly, if apologetics is worship to God, the temptation to become nasty with opponents quickly disappears.  Finally, it takes away much of the pressure of having to convince skeptics that their opinions are wrong.  If apologetics is worship, all we can do is use the minds that God has given us to present the Gospel in a reasonable and intellectually honest fashion and then to allow that gift to be used by God in any way he chooses, including perhaps using it to bring others to faith.