Monday, November 5, 2012

'Be Ready' to Defend Faith


'Be Ready' to Defend Faith

Published: Tuesday, Aug. 10, 2010


"There are some who turn up their noses at apologetics," Brother Peterson said, particularly critics of the LDS Church who say apologetics is not concerned with truth, is intrinsically dishonest and is not real scholarship.

"But this is a fundamental misunderstanding," he said. "Apologetics, like any other form of reasoning from evidence, can be either good or bad."

Socrates, Origen of Alexandria, Thomas Aquinas, John Locke and C S. Lewis are among historical figures he mentioned who belong to the "venerable" tradition of apologetics.

"What troubles me, though, is some faithful (LDS) members profess to disdain apologetics as well," he said. "This seems to me really misguided and not well thought out."

He added, "I think it is a duty incumbent upon all of us to 'apologize,' in the original sense, for our faith, and it's simply a human duty to 'apologize,' in that sense, for positions that you hold."

He cited 1 Peter 3:15, Paul's admonition to "be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear." The word translated in that passage as "answer" is the Greek word apologia, or apology, Brother Peterson said.

Saturday, November 3, 2012

Just for Fun