To a Special Granddaughter:
My Body of Work as an
Apologetic for Christianity
I have a special granddaughter who excels in a variety of ways. She just graduated from high school in Jackson, MI as the valedictorian of her class. She is an exceptional soccer player, but experienced a great deal of adversity in connection with the game, so that we never got to see just how much she might have achieved had she been at full strength. But perhaps the way she handled adversity and disappointment might be the best measure of the young woman she is. She had played soccer at every level up to high school varsity. We were looking forward to watching her work her magic on the varsity. But early in the first year she could try out for varsity she tore up a knee, and had to go through the surgery, the difficult therapy and all that goes with it. The next year, her senior year, she was again ready to give it her best, but again went out for the varsity team only to tear up the other knee and so to repeat the experience. But Laurie just keeps on going. She played summer soccer with boys and recently bashed heads with one of the big old college age boys. [Does that make you think of some kind of muscle bound monster? Far from it. Laurie is slender and pretty.] She tried to ignore it, shake it off and stay in the game, but then noticed the blood pouring out all over. It was just too much and she asked to be replaced.
Laurie is going to college on a scholarship to DePauw in Indiana. Going away to college is always a trying time for young people. So we will need to increase our support for this special granddaughter by our prayers, as for all our children and grandchildren. But it also occurred to me, at this time when I am not able to send as grand a gift as I had hoped, that Laurie may be ready to make use of some of Pawpaw’s books. So I am preparing a package.
My Thinking Through the Bible series is growing into quite a list, all expositions of various books of the Bible. They represent my life work, and I say two things about them. For years my son Rick and I have promoted the Thinking Through ... series as designed to encourage greater accuracy in the reading of scripture. I would hope that careful, attentive readers will not consider such expectations to be unrealistic.
But every now and then I am reminded of another goal and hope for my writings. My expositions of scripture really represent an apologetic for Christianity. They all contribute something toward the case for faith in Christ.
I am a Brooker (FL) boy, country through and through. The Seventy Seventh Street church in Birmingham is the only sizable church where I ever worked. I did not fare well and did not last long. (I may not have been ready for it.) But it is a source of amusement to me that I was succeeded at Seventy Seventh Street by Morris Norman, a good preacher who hails from Waldo, now a notorious speed trap on Hwy 301, not half an hour from Brooker. This Brooker boy still gets a smile out of being succeeded by a man from Waldo.
My mother, one of the principals responsible for any good in me, probably never had a real struggle for faith, at least to my knowledge. But my experience has been different. I had many trials of faith through my life, mostly my own fault. Anyhow, despite my unlikely background, I always wanted a solid foundation for faith, and I keep working on that foundation as I continue to study the scriptures.
The fact is, that is about all I have studied. It is about all I know. I am pretty weak when it comes to science, evolution, philosophy, most anything outside the scriptures. But the scriptures are the ground of my faith and I have always looked to them for answers. I do not understand those who think we cannot ask people to study the scriptures with us if they have not already accepted the inspiration of the scriptures. In my opinion people who espouse that view do not have much understanding of what is in the scriptures. The scriptures contain evidence and testimony that can lead us to faith. They also provide solutions for the problems of faith. They contain material to sustain faith when it is under trial. I probably will not, but I wish I would live long enough to write expositions of everything that is in the scriptures, Old and New Testaments. I am confident such a body of work would be about the best apologetic for Christianity anyone could produce.
What I want to communicate to any who stand in Laurie’s place in life is that Christianity has its own evidence—evidence that will not go away. It will not be ignored. It demands to be considered. I am sure Christianity has problems or objections that we may find difficult to answer. But we should not make too much of these. They are only difficulties, such as will be found in any philosophical position we take, to be dealt with as best we can consistent with the facts. They may be troublesome. But they do not overthrow the case for Christianity. That is my view. So I am going to send Laurie some of my books, and will point out how they relate to this case, along with a prayer that they will be a blessing in time to come.
Thinking Through John
I wrote a brief preface to Thinking Through John in February 2000, having emerged from a year-long study immersed in the Gospel of John, my skin still tingling. I hope you will read the whole preface, but here is an excerpt:
Christians often imagine people must be convinced that the Bible is the word of God before they can be expected to sit down and read it. But why? That view does not seem to reveal much understanding of what is in the Bible. Do we not realize that the New Testament contains the evidence that is supposed to convince people that Jesus is who he claimed to be? John declared his own aim and purpose near the end of his book, ... “These (signs or evidences) have been written in order that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name” (20:30f). John’s calculated purpose was to bring people to this conclusion about Jesus of Nazareth. Something about the evidence and testimony preserved in this ancient document is supposed to have power to bring people to an acknowledgment of Jesus similar to that of Thomas himself when he confessed Jesus as his Lord and God. ...
Thinking Through Acts
The entire book of Acts is an apologetic for Christianity, but three sections of my book deserve special mention. One is the preface, where I argued this point with regard to the theme of Acts. I have traced this thread throughout the book. But two sections develop the apologetic at some length. One is the conversion of Saul in chapter 9, and the testimony of his conversion to the truth of Christianity. The other is Paul’s appearance before King Agrippa in chapters 25 and 26. The speech is Paul’s fullest defense of his life and work, which is also to say it is his fullest presentation of the case for Christianity. Notice especially my discussion of the two different reactions, one from Governor Festus and the other from Agrippa, and Paul’s handling of each. It is here that a good deal of my approach to the argument for Christianity will be found.
Thinking Through Romans
Romans is the fullest exposition of the gospel plan of salvation found in the scriptures. It is especially important as setting forth the meaning and purpose of the death of Jesus Christ.
Thinking Through Ephesians and Colossians
Read the preface to understand how these two books contribute to the apologetic for Christianity. An excerpt is also given on the back cover.
Thinking Through John’s Epistles
These epistles are a response to those who claim to have new knowledge, and that our understanding of Christianity should be modified in every age in light of new learning. One of the original witnesses for Christ sees matters quite differently, contending that any new teaching must be judged in the light of the testimony of the witnesses.
Thinking Through Hebrews
This book asserts the perfection and finality of Christianity. The Old Testament left vacuums, but they have all been filled by Christ Jesus.
Thinking Through Job
This is my latest book, now in the hands of the publishers. It deals with the mysteries of divine providence, and certainly makes a major contribution to the apologetic by showing us how to deal with some of the problems of faith.
So there we are. This is not all, but it is quite a lot. I may not live to write on every Biblical book that contributes to the apologetic. But these works already begin to show us how important the scriptures are to anyone who wishes to be a believer without committing intellectual suicide, and to anyone who wants support for his faith.
Much love and admiration from your pawpaw, along with my best prayers,
L. A. Mott
