By George Alvarado

To explain Evidential Apologetics, it is necessary to first reveal what distinguishes it from Classical Apologetics. In Classical Apologetics, we must first establish the existence of God and argue for a theistic universe before we touch on things like miracles, or the resurrection of Jesus Christ, which would confirm His existence. In Evidential Apologetics (EA), philosophical arguments do not need to be presented in order to affirm the truth of Scripture. Archeology, scientific research, fulfilled prophecy, recorded miracles, and the like are all evidence that God and the Scriptures are indeed true.

What is important to understand about EA is that this is a “proof is in the pudding” type of apologetics. Whenever someone attempts to provide “evidence” against the validity of the creation account via Darwinian Evolution, EA will respond with evidence of its own in order to defend the veracity of Scripture concerning creation, or in order to disprove the claims made by the opposing party. Also, EA can present archeological evidence of locations, events, or persons in the Bible in order to defend the historical validity of Scripture. In essence, what is needed is evidence (however that may be defined) in order to provide the unbeliever with some tangible reason why God and the testimony of Scripture is indeed accurate and true.

How this kind of apologetic typical plays out is in an Evolution vs. Creation debate. However, this need not always be the case. Whenever someone argues against the veracity of Scripture, fulfilled prophecy as evidence to defend that what the Bible says is indeed inspired by God would be a form of EA. Another instance would be if an unbeliever challenges you concerning contradictions in the Bible or scribal corruptions (in other words they think that the Bible has been corrupted over the ages as it has been translated). You can refute such arguments using evidence of Greek word usage, historical-archeological contexts, etc. to reveal the fallacy of the supposed contradictions, and also Greek manuscripts and their copies to touch on the integrity of translations. The list can go on and on, but the important thing to remember is that EA attempts to establish the truth of Scripture and/or the existence of God based off of tangible evidence.