BACKCHAT
Answering Christianity’s critics
By Chris Sinkinson
Christian Focus. 126 Pages. £6.99
ISBN 978 1 781 914 069
It will happen sometime in the next couple of months. I’ll be on the phone to a friend or relative and they’ll ask about something they saw on the news or in a documentary that seems to challenge the Christian faith. What do I say?
I doubt I’m the only one wondering, and Chris Sinkinson wants to equip us to ‘give a word back’ (the meaning of the word ‘apologetics’) when people come to us with their questions.
Collecting together material from his ‘Unapologetic Christianity’ column, Sinkinson gives well informed answers to an impressive array of questions, whether it’s gay marriage, the ‘God particle’ or the Gospel of Judas. Each chapter is brief and non-technical, which is just how we have to be in real-life conversations, but there’s a further reading list at the end if (like me!) you’d love to look into things more.
Integrity of witness
Of course, nobody could answer every question we might encounter, and what really sets this book apart is the example it gives of the manner in which we answer our friends’ questions. Sinkinson is keen to underline that we mustn’t belittle or berate people, and his answers show us how to blend genuine respect with a boldness for truth. He’s also concerned for the integrity of our witness, and we see Christian urban myths skewered alongside secular ones. We can’t give back just any word, it has to be true!
Of course, apologetics has to go hand-in-hand with evangelism. The key word to give back is the gospel word about Jesus. Several of Sinkinson’s answers do this really well, showing us how topics like archaeology or the latest films can lead naturally to issues like God’s judgment or the identity of Jesus.
If the book has one weakness, perhaps it’s the range of worldviews addressed. Most of our neighbours, and almost all the media, are pretty secular in outlook and the book reflects that. Even so, I’d love to have seen a few chapters that dealt with questions our Muslim or non-western neighbours ask. But perhaps that’s just a request for a sequel!
