"Oxford Dictionaries has selected “post-truth” as its 2016 Word of the Year. According to Oxford, something is post-truth if it is “relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.” To qualify, the Word of the Year need not be new. As Katy Steinmetz of Time Magazine reported, it must capture the culture’s mood and preoccupations. Post-truth does exactly that...Subordinating truth to personal desires is seductively easy, given the human condition. We are intellectual beings who strive to make sense of our world...The problem comes when we elevate feelings over facts, believing that personal preferences are what determine meaning and fulfillment. Objective truth is jettisoned...We no longer just elevate personal preferences over truth. We elevate our own personal preferences over the preferences of others. When that happens, freedom will die the most ironic of deaths under individual autonomy’s machete." (Juris Doctor & Scholar Abdu Murray)
"Abdu Murray is North American Director with Ravi Zacharias International Ministries and is the author of two books, including his latest, Grand Central Question: Answering the Critical Concerns of the Major Worldviews. For most of his life, Abdu was a proud Muslim who studied the Qur’an and Islam. After a nine year investigation into the historical, philosophical, and scientific underpinnings of the major world religions and views, Abdu discovered that the historic Christian faith alone can answer the questions of the mind and the longings of the heart. Abdu holds a BA in Psychology from the University of Michigan and earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Michigan Law School. As an attorney, Abdu was named several times in Best Lawyers in America and Michigan Super Lawyer. Abdu is the Scholar in Residence of Christian Thought and Apologetics at the Josh McDowell Institute of Oklahoma Wesleyan University."
"According to the American Heritage Dictionary, apologetics is “formal argumentation in defense of something, such as a position or system.” A Christian “apologetic” is not an apology as we usually use the term, that is, to say you are sorry for something. We use the word “apology” in the sense that we give a defense of the Christian faith. Apologetics comes from the Greek word apologia, “to give an answer.” 1 Peter 3:15 gives us the defining statement: “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer (apologia) to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.” The Scriptures do not divorce the content of apologetics from the character of the apologist. The apostle Peter, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, knew the hazards and the risks of being an answer-bearer to the sincere questions that people would pose of the Gospel. For that very reason the Scriptures give us a clear picture of the apologist: one who has first set apart Christ in his or her heart as Lord, who then responds with answers to the questioner, and does so, with gentleness and respect."
