Apologetics Is Also a Vocation

There is a time and place for it. Years ago, I eschewed Bible studies because I didn’t desire to be a student any longer. I didn’t want to sit in a room arguing about the proper definitions of words in Scripture and what they might or might not mean. There is a time and place for education and sitting under a mentor or teacher; there is even a time and a place for questioning the mentor’s teachings. At a certain point — and my heart has always longed for it — Christians should take on vocations and live them rather than engaging in endless studying. Apprenticeships are supposed to be temporary — aren’t they? In most vocations, education is finite, even if the occasional recertification is required.

But there are people who are given the gift of teaching, and they engage in this type of wrangling to keep their minds sharp. The other word for this is apologetics. I suspect I have little of the teacher about me, and that is why (most of the time) wrangling over words doesn’t appeal to me. Yes, despite that, I’ve been teaching for years. In fact, I just finished my last tutoring gig last week. I taught all subjects, with a focus on math. This was not because I’m particularly gifted in math, but because this was what most of my students needed help in. And by the grace of God, I’m a jack of all trades and can switch from English to math to Spanish in one session. Not that this switching always happens with ease. And certainly not because I wish to make this a life task and keep switching from subject to subject.

God allowed me to teach, even though it was not a skill I possessed, nor something I have a passion for. Thank you, God. And thank you, God, for taking me out of it. I don’t know what my calling is. I like to encourage people and give them chance after chance to do the right thing (if I had ever taken on a full-time teaching job, I’m afraid I would have done the same, and my students would have been spoiled). I suppose my vocation is hidden in there somewhere. I was thinking on this subject because there is a natural prejudice in my household against Christian debate, and I am first among the prejudiced. I don’t find it profitable. Yet, I’ve found myself listening for hours to apologetics on my favorite YouTube channels. That would mean, I guess, that I like it more than I admit. Then again, I’m not the one engaging in argumentation when listening to a video. Argumentation is much easier to take when other people are doing it, and I have no stake in winning or losing.

Let me be clear though: there are only certain apologists I appreciate. And what I appreciate them for is not their egos or their gotchas or their numerous words. I appreciate those who make their ideas and the ideas they are defending very clear. They clarify ideas for me, rather than muddying the waters. Not all ideas are of equal importance, of course. But some are truly foundational. And I need those foundational ideas to be as solid as possible, if I’m allowed to switch word imagery on you. I need clear waters and solid foundations. Thank you very much.

That’s all I have to say about that because we’ve just had a long discussion in my prejudiced household, which began with an apologetic against Sola Scriptura (from me, and only at my husband’s bidding). Huh. We all claim not to enjoy debate, yet we do engage in it at times. If you had seen us thirty years ago, you would understand a little better that we used to be debaters. Hardcore. Ah, well, perhaps we were just going through the challenge phase of our apprenticeships. Arguments are for the young, and after that, they are only for old, decrepit teachers who can’t give them up.