Why I Founded the Evangelical Debate Society

Biblical Apologetics for a Postmodern Age


Why I Founded the Evangelical Debate Society


by Lee Edward Enochs


"That in all things, Jesus Christ might have the preeminence."

(Colossians 1:18b)


Apologetics, the art and science of giving a coherent and reasoned defense for the Christian faith, is a Biblical mandate that has consumed my life for two decades. Since first hearing the evidence for Biblical Christianity from an Evangelical Christian medical student on the University of Michigan campus in the Spring of 1986, I have been consumed with a passion to know the reasons why Christianity is true and with the Biblical command to "give everyone an answer for the hope that lies within me" (1 Peter 3:15).

Since I was a teenager, two of the essential questions that has driven my mind and conscience are the following, "Is Christianity true?" and "What is the best defense of the Christian faith?"

From the time I was a young boy holed up in in the labyrinth of dusty books in the University of Michigan undergraduate library, where I often slept with books as my pillow, I have spent literally thousands upon thousands of hours consumed with these two questions attempting to determine the best lines of argumentation that demonstrate the veracity of the Christian faith and world-view.

We live in an era of Western Civilization that is awash is subjectivity and relativism, thus attempting to determine the objective truth and evidence for Christianity seems odd and irrelevant to most non-Christians today. Even in the Evangelical Church throughout America, it has been my personal experience, after ministering and studying in some of Evangelicalism's largest churches and institutions of higher learning, that very few Evangelical Christians can give reasons why they believe the Christian faith is true or can defend the essential truths that make up the body of doctrine of Historic Evangelical Christianity.

Many of the Evangelical apologetics ministries now functioning throughout the North American hemisphere are not dedicated to giving Biblical and exegetical answers and evidences for that demonstrate the truthfulness of the Christian faith, rather they are committed to giving Aristotelian and Thomistic based philosophical lines of argumentation to defend the faith instead of offering compelling Scriptural/exegetical evidences that substantiate the Christian


This dearth and great void of Biblical Apologetics that help equip Evangelicals with Scriptural reasons for the historic Protestant and Evangelical Christian faith is why I started the new ministry called the Evangelical Debate Society, to equip and educate the Evangelical Christian faith with answers that demonstrate why Christianity is true and to attempt to give the non- Evangelical Christian reasons why Christianity is true.


In organizing and participating in debates where the claims of Evangelical Christianity are discussed and scrutinized in a careful and analytical manner, I have found that this stimulates a tremendous interest in Christians to learn how to defend the faith and gives impetus and motivation for unbelievers in Evangelical Christianity to look into the claims of the Bible and the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ.


I see the aims of Biblical Evangelical Apologetics as being four fold:

1) To give Biblical reasons why Evangelical Christianity is true.

2) To refute non-Evangelical Christian arguments against Biblical Evangelicalism.

3) To equip the Christian Church for the work of the ministry.

4) To evangelize the world for the Lordship of Jesus Christ.


This is why I started the Evangelical Debate Society, to give a Biblical defense of Historic Evangelical Christianity, to equip the saints for the work of the ministry (Ephesians 4:10-16) and to fulfill Christ's great commission to preach the Gospel and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19-20, Mark 16-15, Luke 24:44, John 20:21, Acts 1:8, Romans 10:9-17, 1 Corinthians 9:13-16 and 2 Timothy 4:1-5).

Two books that articulates my approach to Apologetics called, Presuppostionalism were written by the late Dr. Greg L. Bahnsen (B.A. Philosophy, Westmont College, M.Div and Th.M, Westminster Theological Seminary and Ph.D. Philosophy, University of Southern California) are entitled as follows;

1.Always Ready: Directions for Defending the Faith:

http://www.monergismbooks.com/alwaysready5281.html

2. Van Til's Apologetic: Readings and Analysis:

http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product?event=AFF&p=1017511&item_no=20991


"But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name." (John 20:31).



Jesus Christ is Lord, He died and rose again from the dead! (Romans 10:9-10).


Most Sincerely in Jesus Christ,

Lee Edward "Ed" Enochs
Chairman,
The Evangelical Debate Society