How to combat heresy in six minutes.
Let's learn from the man who tried: Stephen, the first Christian martyr.
Imagine that you have been charged as a heretic. You are in court facing off against powerful aristocrats who will decide your fate. They grow angrier by the minute and you fear for your life. You have been given six minutes to plead your case. What do you say?
Stephen, the first Christian martyr, was charged with blasphemy and accused by false witnesses of overthrowing Moses’s laws (Acts 6:11-14, ESV).1 He gave a six-minute-long speech (at least that’s how long it took me to read it) to the Sanhedrin, or the Jewish high court, to defend his faith and point out the hypocrisy of the councilmen. After that speech, Stephen was stoned.
Rembrandt’s The Stoning of Saint Stephen stunningly depicts Stephen’s godly vision and stoning (currently housed at the Museum of Fine Arts of Lyon).
Was Stephen’s speech a poor model for apologetics because it ended with his death? By no means! Stephen’s address contained key components which we should aim to replicate in our own apologia:
Stephen moves from a defensive to an offensive position by citing the same reference as his accusers. Stephen was addressing the Sanhedrin, a ruling group largely comprised of Saducees, a wealthy class including many priests. The Saducees held anti-spiritual heresies: they ascribed to only the Torah and thus denied the bodily resurrection (Acts 4:2, ESV) and the afterlife. As a result, Stephen cleverly cites events in the Torah, the only books of the Bible accepted by the Saducees, to make his point. He uses the foundation of their heretical beliefs against them and instead of defending himself, he launches an offensive attack.
Obviously, citing the Bible won’t work on non-Christians who doubt its validity, but it can be effective with groups such as the Jehovah’s Witnesses, for example, who identify as Christians but don’t accept key tenets of Christianity (see John Piper’s use of the Bible against the J.W. heresy that Jesus isn’t God).
In general, when wishing to convince someone to accept a premise, it is best to cite references that they already deem reputable, otherwise you will have two layers of arguments on your hands: the first to convince them of the validity of your references and the second to make your intended argument.
Stephen relies on Scripture and the Spirit, not solely his own wits. Clever arguments are great for captivating a crowd, but Christians don’t have to worry about relying on our proficiency alone, for we know that the Almighty is far wittier than the cleverest human (just read Jesus’s snappy comebacks to his dissenters). Stephen leans on God for support in his apologia and finds it in full: he uses Scripture to form the basis of his argument and we are told that he is “full of faith and the Holy Spirit” (Acts 6:5), so we may presume that the Spirit is giving him the right words to speak (Luke 12:12).
Most of us aren’t as righteous as Stephen, but that shouldn’t stop the genuine Christian from pursuing apologetics. We should be honest, though, about our spiritual maturity and our motivation for doing so, recognizing that shoddy arguments made apart from God will likely do more harm than good.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)
Stephen is unabashedly honest; he doesn’t fall victim to misguided politeness. He calls out the Sanhedrin as a “stiff-necked people” who “resist the Holy Spirit” (Acts 7:51). He calls them out for betraying and murdering Jesus and for “receiv[ing] the law as delivered by the angels and […] not keep[ing] it” (Acts 7:53). Stephen isn’t being needlessly cruel; he is speaking truth without concealment.
I would also argue that Stephen’s audience (a powerful group of religious heretics), their emotional state (they are extremely angry), and his circumstances (he is defending his life) demand a much harsher tone than, say, a conversation with a curious and respectful non-Christian.
Stephen unrelentingly shows agape to his enemies. After his conviction, Stephen intercedes for those who are responsible for his death: “and falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them’” (Acts 7:60).
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)
So how can we learn from Stephen? In the modern Western world, #3 is the easiest trap in everyday conversation. Nowadays, there is a trend towards the prioritization of “niceness” above goodness and truth. Those who hold dissenting opinions are often ostracized in an avoidance of conflict and in a misguided drive for harmony over truth, even in academic contexts. As a result, Christians increasingly shy away from apologetics if it means expressing an unfashionable belief or telling someone— Christian or not — that they’re wrong. In a world that believes in relative morality, asserting absolutes is viewed as judgmentally dogmatic at best and dangerously divisive at worst.
Stephen teaches us that vehement dedication to the truth, agape for one’s enemies, and unflinching humility can coexist. Whether you are facing death in six minutes’ time or engaged in a friendly debate, don’t waste your breath on watered-down half-truths that you think will land better because they are less offensive. Strive to tell the whole truth… but make sure Scripture backs you up first.
Crossway Bibles. The ESV Study Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008.