"The fool has said in his heart there is no God"
Psalm 14:1
“But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear.”
1 Peter 3:15
We live in a time period that many scholars and astute observers of our chaotic age have called, “The Postmodern era of Western Civilization.” That is, the vast majority of people now living within the North American hemisphere no longer believe in the notion of absolute truth and morality. In the face of this ethical and propositional wasteland, the Church of Jesus Christ has been commanded by God to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19-20, Mark 16:15, Luke 24:44-47, John 20:21 and Acts 1:8).
In order to effectively reach our relativistic and pluralistic society with the saving Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, his followers must also heed the Biblical mandate to engage in the activity of Christian Apologetics. The term “Apologetics” is taken from the Greek word “Apologia” meaning to “give a defense” of something through rational argumentation. The New Testament uses the term “apologia” eight different times in New Testament. In Acts 22: 1, the Apostle Paul said, “Brethren and fathers, and fathers hear my defense which I offer to you now." In Acts 25:16 Paul said, “Is it not the custom of the Romans to hand over any man before)the accused meets his accusers face to face and has an opportunity to make his defense against the charges?” In 1 Corinthians 9:3 Paul wrote, “My defense to those who examine me is this."
In Philippians 1:7 Paul wrote “Since both my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the Gospel you are all partakers of grace with me.” And in 2 Timothy 4:16 , the Apostle Paul writes, “At my first defense no one supported me but all deserted me, may it not be counted against them.” Not only did the Apostles of Jesus Christ command that Christians engage in the role of apologetics, defending the essential truth claims of the historic Christian faith, but you also see the Patristic Church Fathers obeying this call and command as many of these immediate successors to the Apostles defended the historic Christian faith against the false teachings that raged against the early Church. Church history is replete with examples of the Church Fathers defending the Faith against such heretics as Marcion, the Gnostics and Dynamic Monarchians.
Great Christian leaders of history such as Tertullian, Athanasius and Augustine all were faithful in their time and defended the essential truths and body of non negotiable truths of the historic Christian Faith. Similarly, Christians in our contemporary postmodern world are called to make a defense of the faith and to refute the objections of the unbelieving world around us. We are called to stand up against all opposition and proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord to the Glory of God the Father (Romans 10:9-10 and 1 Corinthians 12:3-4).
In light of the Christian's responsibility to engage in the mandate to defend the faith, what should the concerned Christian do with the argument that "God is dead?" While the "death of God" school of theology and philosophy is no longer a strong movement in America, the notion of God's death is very much with all of us in the United States.
That is, while many Americans profess to believe in the conception of the Christian God, they live as functional atheists in the respect that their faith has no impact on their decision making and other relevant parts of their lives. "God is dead, and we have killed Him," is a famous comment from long ago.
It may seem outlandish to many, but if we are realistic about the spiritual and ideological state of American society, we would have to admit that the historic Christian conception of God is no longer the prevailing ideological and epistemological driving point of the vast majority of Americans. While we may profess to have a "personal relationship with God" or whatever, we must admit, that abject materialism and secularism are the more dominant worldviews in our society than the traditional conception of God.
Is God dead? In reality, no, God is not dead. He is very much alive. In God, we live and move and have our very being. God is the source of our very existence. However, the traditional conception and notion of God in American culture is very much dead. We have replaced God with the "gods" of abject materialism and creature comfort. While God is very much real, we have killed the conception of God as a cultural reality with our greed and crass consumerism. We must repent as a collective society and turn back to the God of historic Christianity before it is too late. This God sent His only begotten Son to die on the cross and rise again that we might live with Him in glory forever.
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