Defending the Faith 2: How Do We Defend Christianity?

Here's a word to add to your Christian vocabulary: Apologetics—The branch of theology that defends and proves the truth of Christian doctrines. Yes, there is an entire study devoted to just defending the Christian faith.

Previously, we discussed why we should learn to defend the Christian faith. I showed how 1 Peter 3:15 instructs us to be ready to give a reason for our beliefs. The next step is understanding how we are called to defend our faith.

Recently I've been learning more regarding this topic. I've heard about many extreme approaches to defending one's beliefs, from yelling and calling people fools to softly and carefully treading so as not to offend and possibly turn someone away. I, personally, would fall somewhere in the middle, but what does the Bible say about this?

The first step is recognizing that the battle Christians are in is a spiritual war. Second Corinthians 10:3-5 makes this point clear. "For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ." [ESV] A lot is packed into these verses. Some key points I'd like to make for this topic are:

• Spiritual warfare is a very real battle every single Christian is engaged in, whether they realize it or not! The enemy is constantly seeking to devour Christians, and he succeeds far too often. Many people (Christians included) do not understand or choose to believe in the spiritual realm of angels and demons, but they are just as real as the sun shining or you breathing. Christians need to always be on guard against the attacks of the devil.
• In understanding this, it is also crucial for Christians to realize they aren't fighting earthly battles when defending their faith, but they are coming against the powers of darkness in the name of Jesus. Christians possess spiritual weapons designed to "destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God." Christians shouldn't try to make a "scholarly" case for Christianity without allowing God to lead them and give them the words to speak.

The verse we examined in my last post and the following verse also give some insight as to how we should defend Christianity. First Peter 3:15-16 instructs Christians "but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, 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, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame." [ESV]

• The first bit we can glean from this is that Christians must honor Christ. One of the best ways to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with others is to be the example so that the unsaved look at you and ask what makes you different from everyone else. Realize that you are serving a holy God, and give Him all the honor He is due.
• Additionally, when Christians are responding to people, they should behave gently and respectfully. This rules out the radical, yelling-at-people approach. Consider how receptive you'd be to an idea if the person attempting to convince you is screaming in your face. Behave in a manner you know is worthy of the King you serve. You are His ambassador.

Another verse with important tie-ins to defending Christianity is 1 Peter 2:15 "For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people." [ESV]

• One of the biggest points non-Christians make that they seem to think undermines any Christian's stand is pointing out that Christians aren't perfect. They often point to the crusades and say that Christians are hypocritical for preaching one thing and living another. And they would be right in some cases. Sometimes, this causes Christians to doubt if they should be teaching and sharing their beliefs. They wonder if they are being hypocritical and if so, then they think they have no place criticizing others. Hypocritical Christians need to examine themselves and make sure that they are living in a God-honoring way that reflects Christ.
• However, no one is perfect, and all Christians will mess up. The world interprets this as a piece of evidence that Christians are just a bunch of hypocrites. The difference is for Christians who recognize their faults, and praise Jesus for saving them from their sin. Something I've noticed that seems to cool the steam of hostile unbelievers when they accuse Christians of being judgmental hypocrites is having the Christian readily admit they themselves are flawed as well. This often catches unbelievers off guard and destroys their accusations of judgment on the part of the Christian. When a Christian says, "Yes, I mess up. Yes, I'm sometimes a hypocrite. Yes, I'm a sinner. And yes, I've been saved and forgiven by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ" suddenly the unbeliever can't call the Christians judgmental. The Christian has knocked down a barrier and worked in the gospel message all in one.
• Coming back to the verse, Christians should do good, simply because God tells them to, but also because it is a wonderful witness. But when they mess up, even that can be used to bring people to Christ.

Here's yet another passage that shows Christians how to act and defend their faith. Colossians 2:6-8 "Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ." [ESV] Once again, there are multiple points in this passage.

•  The three major pieces of instruction offered first all direct the behavior of Christians. They are to walk in Christ, and be established firmly in the faith. You can't defend your faith if you aren't convinced of it yourself. Know what you believe and why.
• Don't allow anyone of the world to cause you to doubt God. Many intellectuals and scientists have what may seem like good and compelling arguments, but don't allow their empty deceit to fool you. If someone brings up a seeming "contradiction" in your faith, then ask a strong fellow Christian and reestablish your convictions. Don't be afraid to ask questions and seek answers, just don't fall prey to the "logic" of the world. 

Notice that in all these verses, the instructions are for responding. First Peter 3 says to be prepared to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you. First Peter 2 doesn't even include speaking. Rather, it merely commands you how to behave. Of course, the Bible also instructs Christians to "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations . . ." (Matthew 28:19-20). However, I do find it interesting that all three of these passages are about responding and answering. The definition of defend is to: resist an attack made on (someone or something). That's what I'm discussing in this particular post, not how to go out and preach the gospel. That's a topic for another time. :)

These verses just barely scratch the surface of the Biblical instruction for how to defend the Christian faith. I've found countless others rich with teachings on this topic. I encourage you to see how many others you can find until I share a few more in part two of "How Do We Defend Christianity?"

Have you ever been placed in a position where you've had to defend your beliefs? How did you handle the situation?

 P.S. I changed my blog layout in anticipation of spring! Let me know what you think. :) 

A Year in Review: 2017

These last few months have been hectic, as I'm sure you can guess based on my absence from the blogging universe. Between Thanksgiving, Christmas shopping, taking trips, Christmas, school, friends, and my birthday, life has been quite the busy adventure. Am I the only one having trouble believing 2018 is already upon us? Please note, this post has a large amount of photos. :) What's a year recap without pictures?

I know it's already halfway through January, but allow me to recap my year, if for no other reason than for the sake of my own sanity to bring closure to 2017.

One of my favorite Princess Bride quotes. :)

In some ways, 2017 was a far better year than 2016, but in other areas it was just as hard—or harder. There have been some amazing highlights to my year, but also quite a bit of difficulties regarding the health of family members. I've made some fabulous friends, but also lost some other close friendships. I've received good grades in tough classes, but also struggled through certain areas of my schooling. I can think of several words to summarize 2017: challenging, surprising, full of change, but if I had only one word to describe it, I'd say it was a year of growth. Spiritually, mentally, and emotionally. I faced several new experiences, some good and some . . . not-so-good.

Growth; Spiritually
I am confident this last year has grown me stronger in my walk with God. I've made many mistakes (thank you, Jesus, for your grace and mercy!), but each time I came out stronger. I found myself placed in situations where I had to make the choice to put God as more of a priority in my life. Throughout the year, God also placed me in circumstances where I could help and give advice to others. This gave me a chance to answer some questions for myself and learn how I can share with others. I've become more firm in my convictions, and closer to more fully trusting God. Each different environment I found myself in was an opportunity to shine more brightly for Christ. Every person I had contact with was a chance for me to act like "God's Billboard". All the situations I faced were ways to test me and my commitments to people and God. Not that I was ever ashamed of what I believe, but now I'm a little more willing to speak up about it and for what I know is right without cowering. As you can probably tell based on the added dimension of seriousness my posts have had, I've been viewing things in a deeper level, and I've found myself eager to share the things God points out to me. I'm still learning how to find and follow God's plans for my life, but through everything I experienced in 2017, I've come to trust God more and be more willing to be His hands and feet.

Growth; Mentally
My sophomore and junior years of high school have been tough. Really, really, difficult. By noon on some days, I can practically feel my mind expanding. :) Don't ever believe that all homeschoolers have it easy. ;) As my family and friends can attest to, I've had a heavy schedule and extremely challenging courses. For the first time, I tried having a double (i.e. college) schedule with a few of my subjects. Last semester I did a full year of Physics and PreCalculus, so that I don't have either science or math this semester and can double up on some other subjects. Some of my favorites of the past year are my Apologetics (defending the Christian faith), Worldviews and World Religions (studying six major worldviews of modern day), and Constitutional Literacy (learning the original intent of the Constitution in relation to where America stands today). All these classes have changed my outlook at the world and the people in it. Now I have a better understanding of why people view things the way they do, and I'm better equipped to talk with them. My other courses have also been readying me for adulthood. While the schedule has been challenging, I've truly enjoyed studying more about the world in which I live.

Growth; Emotionally
Between friends and family having some major health crisis and looking ahead thinking about my future, it's been a pretty emotional year. Unfortunately, it has become far too easy for my emotions to wear me down and lead toward depression. Thanks to my wonderful family, friends, and God, I made it through the year. I'm still drained emotionally, but trying to keep my focus on God rather than everything the world throws at me helps.

Life hasn't been easy, but God has been good. He's blessed me and my family beyond measure. I've found one of the keys that's guided me through 2017 has been a continuous gratitude. Thanking God for all the blessings, big and small. "Thank you, Lord, for the beautiful weather!" "Thanks for amazing friends!" "Thank you that I have food to eat and clean water to drink." "Thanks for allowing me to have another day on this earth!" "Thank you for helping me do well on this test/in my job." There are so many things to be grateful for. " Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above . . ." (James 1:17) Concentrating on the blessings rather than the difficulty has been a key step for me this year.

Now, for the lighthearted part of my 2017 journey.

~Blog Stats~

Total Blog Posts: 172 (including this post)
Number of 2017 Posts: 28
Most Popular Posts of 2017:

• Dear God, Where Have You Been?
• 8 Reasons Why Summer Isn't My Favorite Season
• Tag Time
• Urgent: Prayer Request
• #RebelliousWriting
• Writing Accomplishment!

 Personal Post Favorites From 2017:

• The "Highlights" posts: January, February, March, April, Summer
• "Tu" v. "Usted"
• The Blades of Acktar: Deliver (Plus Author Interview)
• #RebelliousWriting
• Dear God, Where Have You Been?
• God's Billboard
• God's Plans

I'm up to 49 Google followers and 52 email subscribers. (Some of those are overlaps.) Nine email subscribers were added in 2017.
My blog has now had almost 33,600 pageviews over its history. Almost 20,000 of those are from the United States, but apparently I have nearly 9,000 views from Russia. There's also a substantial amount from France and Canada.
I only changed my blog layout twice.

~Writing Stats~

As seems to always be the case, I didn't do nearly as much writing this year as I'd hoped. But considering all my other varied experiences, I'm okay with that.
Words on Arkinland Chronicles (formerly Dragon Chronicles): 14,700+
Words on other projects: 13,000+
Grand Total: Almost 30K

~Reading Stats~

I'll wait on this and am planning a separate post for just my reading in 2017. Stay tuned!

~Firsts~

Here are a few of my new experiences in 2017 with no particular order.
I spent an afternoon whitewater rafting on the Kern River! I've dreamed of river rafting for years, so to finally be able to was thrilling.

Early in the year, I got my amateur radio technician license! Having the option to use the radio for communication has been extremely freeing for my family.

I learned to play both the board games of Catan and Risk. Since playing them for the first time, they've become among my favorite games. (I'm currently the Catan champion in the family.)

In March, I had the excitement of watching myself on a big screen in Bakersfield for the Christian Youth Film Society's annual film festival. For those of you who recall from November 2016 when I participated in the film camp, the short film I acted in was entered into the Film Festival. It was extremely fun to hear the crowd laughing at all the humorous scenes. :)

Beginning of December, I volunteered at a Christmas party for foster children where I worked at a cookie decorating table.

My sister and I rode our horses over to a neighbor's property for the first time and were able to work in an arena.

I filmed a funny short movie (mostly) on my own, for a homeschool project on Newton's Laws of Motion.

A still from the film: a fig newton bar being chased by a star destroyer.

My sister and I performed a scene from the Princess Bride for the Life Camp talent show. (It was our first act together in the talent show.)

I acted in front of a green screen.

Flying a drone for the first time was exhilarating!

In June, my family and I returned to Lone Pine for vacation and worked on a lavender farm for a few days. My sister and I also were able to help with the horses on the farm. This was the first time in months I'd had a chance to relax and read, both of which I did in some unusual places (like up in a tree over a river).

Reading in the middle of a high mountain meadow.

I finally was able to travel to the beach with a group of friends as part of high school Life Camp. We had a wonderful time, and even had "chapel" on the beach.

I participated in Camp NaNoWriMo for the first time. (It's a virtual writer's camp.)

During the solar eclipse, I watched it from the 70% zone.

This was my first full year as the church librarian. (That's still the best job out there when you love reading!)

I finally drove my dad's tractor for the first time as part of filming another family movie. :)

While on a trip to Hume Lake for my sister's birthday, we helped the staff build the set in the chapel for their summer camps. The castle design was extremely intricate!

I went on the ocean for a whale watching expedition!

~Other Highlights~

Counseling for the second time at Camp Good News for a week of the summer was a marvelous experience. My group of girls tested me but were all so sweet, and I loved being there to pour into their lives and teach them about Christ for a week.

Last winter was a record for rainfall with a total of 42"! Gratefully, the rain came over a long enough time period where we didn't have mudslides from the fire a few months previous.

My family and grandparents took our tenth annual family picture at a coffee shop in Carmel, CA. We're so blessed to have had those ten years of good health and great memories.

Over the course of the year, my family and I took trips to Pacific Grove and Monterey, Los Angeles, Kernville, Lone Pine, Shaver Lake (where we went skiing again!), Sequoia National Park and Kings Canyon National Park.

Skiing at Shaver Lake

Relaxing by the Kern River

Taking pictures of the Kern River

I had a doctor dig around in my finger because I accidentally stuck a pencil in it. Long story. Don't worry, I won't post pictures of that. :)

We filmed another short family movie over the summer and fall. It's best described as an Indiana Jones parody with lots of fossils included. :) We consider this to be the height of our production quality thus far, by expanding our limits to working with a green screen, "blowing things up" for the sake of the film (don't worry, not really), and creating a "behind the scenes."

This was our "explosion"

Even the horses got in the film!

My family and I started a hunt for all 50 license plates. So far we have 42.

I actually dressed up for my church's Light the Night festival. I didn't think I was going to but then I decided, "why not?" My outfit was technically Cleopatra, though I'd rather not be associated with her. Instead, I'm just saying that I was an Egyptian queen. :)

My family's Christmas picture this year expanded to include our horses, Dream and Baylie.

~Favorite Pictures I Took~

I've posted a few of these at some point during the year, but they're still my favorites. Enjoy!

Monterey Bay. Everyone says this could be a postcard photo.

I really like this one. :)

Ocean sunsets are among my favorite pictures to take.

This was on the whale watching trip.

This is probably my favorite from the whole year.

~Bible Verses and Quotes~

A Bible verse I often referred to during 2017 was my current "theme verse", 1 Timothy 4:12. "Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity."

One of my favorite quotes I heard last year is: "Life isn't how many breaths you take, but it's the moments that take your breath away."

With that, I'll wrap up my 2017 recap. I hope you enjoyed getting a glimpse into my year! May 2018 be a blessed year for every one of you! Thank you for reading. :)

Note: All images used in this post are not to be duplicated or used in any format without express permission by the photographer.

Blogging Anniversary // Q&A

July 16 is A Great God and Good Cocoa's fourth birthday! I've thrown around multiple ideas to celebrate, and settled on doing a Q&A session. I considered making it into a vlog (a post in the form of a video), but due to limited internet I'm going to keep it all text. Maybe next time. :) Thank you everyone who gave me suggestions for celebrating four happy years!

Now, your part in this is to ask questions! In the comments you may ask up to six questions. (No more than that please.) They can be about anything from my blogging to my writing to my personal life to my thoughts on certain spiritual topics. I don't think I need to say this, but of course, all questions need to be kept “rated G”. Nothing beyond that. Thanks. Whether you know me in person or we've just recently met through our blogs, you can learn a few new things about me.

So what have you been wondering about me? Now's your chance to ask and I'll answer in a post on July 16! (Please ask all questions by July 13.) I'm looking forward to answering your queries!

Note: I reserve the right to not answer any specific question without giving a reason.