The Importance of Cultural Apologetics

Establishing the Christian Voice, Conscience, and Imagination

As the West grows more and more post-Christian, engaging the predominant culture with the gospel in coherent, winsome, and theologically sound discourse has never been more important. Though apologetics have long been practiced as the way to argue for the plausibility of Christianity and its tenets, cultural apologetics takes those practices a step further to apply gospel and biblical principles to our culture so that we might actually engage people who are uninterested in Christianity.

In this article for Gospel Coalition, Trevin Wax explores what cultural apologetics are and why they are so essential to the future of the church. Wax uses a definition from Paul Gould to define cultural apologetics: “The work of establishing the Christian voice, conscience, and imagination within a culture so that Christianity is seen as true and satisfying.” To do this, Wax argues that we must be able to understand our culture, what people believe, and their deepest longings in order to speak to their hearts and their minds about Jesus.

Tim Keller’s ministry has been a wonderful example of someone who engages in both apologetics and cultural apologetics as he shares the gospel in one of the most secular and influential cities in the world—New York City. 

Wax says, “Tim Keller combines both pastoral sensibility and cultural awareness. With Keller, you see what it means to be an exegete of the culture, not just the Scriptures. But that exegesis of the culture is always in service of explaining the Scriptures, of making the application of Christian teaching more incisive, more compelling, more carefully tuned to the idols of our time.”

Christian Union equips students and professionals to engage in cultural apologetics so that the beauty and power of the gospel might transform our culture. From rigorous Bible courses at influential universities to salons in New York City featuring renowned thinkers, Christian Union is working to ensure that young believers are able to articulate and share their faith in creative, winsome, and thoughtful ways.