LIBERTY UNIVERSITY JOHN W. RAWLINGS SCHOOL OF DIVINITY
The Golden Rule of Apologetics
A Paper Submitted to
the Faculty of the School of Divinity
in Candidacy for the Degree of
Doctor of Education in Christian Leadership (Ed. D) Department of Christian Leadership and
Church Ministries
By
Mary Gracias
Lynchburg, Virginia
5/2022
The Golden Rule of Apologetics
According to Jesus, the greatest commandment in the Law of God is loving God with your
entire being (heart, mind, soul, and strength) and loving your neighbor as yourself (Mark 12:28-
31). Jesus informs us in his teaching that treating others as you would like to be treated
effectively summarizes this greatest of commandments.
Still, as a confirmed sinner, I can (at best) merely strive to keep these pristine moral ideals.
Fortunately, the “good news” (gospel) of the New Testament is that Jesus Christ has perfectly
kept the Law of God in my stead and makes it possible for me to have right standing
(forgiveness and acceptance) before a holy and just God (Acts 13:39; Romans 5:1; Galatians
2:16). In my own theological tradition (Reformed), we view the believer’s imperfect attempt to
keep the Golden Rule as an appropriate and necessary act of gratitude to God for his gracious
act of redemption (see The Heidelberg Catechism, Part 4).
The Golden Rule in Apologetics
Since the Golden Rule applies to every action, that includes the critical enterprise of
Christian apologetics. The word apologetics is derived directly from the New Testament (Greek:
apologia, 1 Peter 3:15) and may be defined as the branch of Christian theology that seeks to
provide rational justification for the truth-claims of Christianity. In other words, apologetics is
how Christians go about defending their faith (Acts 17:2-4; 22-32; 2 Corinthians 10:5; Jude 3).
But how does the Golden Rule impact apologetic engagement? It applies in that believers
need to treat nonbelievers the way they want to be treated. This includes treating other
people’s beliefs, viewpoints, and arguments the way you want yours to be treated. The Golden
Rule’s application means that Christians should operate according to the highest standards of
intellectual integrity. Our enterprise of defending the faith should be characterized by honesty,
fairness, civility, and charity.
I first heard this principle applied to apologetics by gifted apologist and my friend, the late
Bob Passantino. Bob wrote eloquently about “The Golden Rule Apologetic” and he strove to
follow it in his many and diverse apologetic encounters.
It isn’t easy to always treat another person’s views with the same care and respect that you
want afforded your own. And this is especially true when the person you are dialoguing with
refuses to return the favor. But it is critical that Christian apologists strive for these invaluable
intellectual virtues. When non-Christians become convinced that believers in Christ prize truth
and intellectual honesty above all else, then the power of the Christian apologetic witness will
be greatly energized.
