Apologetics Sermon Illustration #57: Man blows up part of house while chasing fly

GO TO PART 56

 

Point: Presuppositional apologetics as founded by Cornelius Van Til make the point that to attack Christianity ends up being self-destructive to one’s worldview, making things unintelligible and meaningless.  The bigger problem isn’t the “gadfly” of a Christian doctrine; but rather to try to remove it results in more serious problems.

Picture: Here is a news story that illustrate the point of Presuppositional apologetics:

A man has blown up part of his house in France while trying to swat a fly. The man, who is in his 80s, was about to tuck into his dinner when he became irritated by a fly buzzing around him. He picked up an electric racket designed to kill bugs and start swatting at it – but a gas canister was leaking in his Dordogne home. A reaction between the racket and the gas caused an explosion, destroying the kitchen and partly damaging the roof of the home in Parcoul-Chenaud village. According to local media, the unnamed man had a lucky escape, sustaining just a burn to the hand. However, the fate of the fly is not known, news outlet Sud-Ouest notes. The man has since checked into a local campsite while his family repair the house.

(Source)

Of course all analogies break down somewhere, and of course this does not imply attacking the God of the Bible result in an actual destruction of the truth of God.

POSSIBLE SCENARIO FOR EMPLOYING THIS ILLUSTRATION DURING APOLOGETIC EVANGELISM

OPPONENT: I have a moral objection to Christianity <Insert moral argument>

CHRISTIAN: Interesting, I see a greater dilemma in that I’m not sure you have the basis for a moral standard to object to Christianity to begin with.  What is the basis for determining what’s wrong and right in your worldview?

OPPONENT: Right and wrong should be up to an individual.

CHRISTIAN: Well if its up to an individual then its relative.  Who are you to say God is wrong if its up to individuals including God?That’s irrational.  I mean check out Officer Chauvin and the belief that morals are up to individual to decide and Jeff Durbin: Does Atheistic Morality Make Sense?

OPPONENT: I don’t get what you are trying to do.

CHRISTIAN: What I’m trying to do is establish how your case against Christianity with your worldview end up being more self-destructive to your position than you realized.  It’s like this instance I heard recently from the news of a guy who thought a “fly” was a problem but his attempt to remove it results in more problems. <Insert illustration>

GO TO PART 58