Approximately 30 million people watched and listened to a recent Joe Rogan podcast with New Testament scholar and apologist Wes Huff (Wes Huff on the Joe Rogan Experience: warning: Rogan curses quite a bit). Huff was invited onto Rogan’s podcast after a debate with agnostic Billy Carson went viral (Wes Huff vs. Billy Carson debate).
Over the past few weeks, I’ve spent a fair chunk of time digesting these two appearances (the Rogan show alone is over three hours) and the reactions to them across the internet. I think Huff’s popularity is a cause for great encouragement and also a challenge to us as Christians.
Three encouragements:
1. People are hungry for truth
In a time where disinformation and misinformation are rampant, people are hungry for solid answers. A look at the top of the podcast charts finds podcasts like Joe Rogan, The Daily from the New York Times (news), and Huberman Lab (health). Jordan Peterson, whose long-form conversations cover psychology, well-being, and religion has a significant following. People are not afraid of hard conversations.
2. Apologetics is very much alive
Apologetics (a defense of the faith) has a long history within the church. Justin Martyr, Tertullian, Origen, Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, CS Lewis, GK Chesterton, and Blaise Pascal are some of the greatest voices in responding to questions about the faith throughout history. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, perhaps because of a more laissez-faire culture attitude, it seemed as though many Christians had moved away from apologetics to relational approaches in evangelism. While relationships remain as important as ever in evangelism, responding to the questions of unbelievers seems to be rising in importance. Some of my favorite public apologists are Tim Barnett (Red Pen Logic), Gavin Ortlund (Truth Unites), and Glen Scrivener (The Air We Breathe).
3. There is a specific opportunity with young men
Joe Rogan’s podcast audience is 80% male, most between 18 and 34 years old. Young men seem to be particularly spiritually motivated right now. Gen Z is the first generation where a more significant proportion of men attend church than women.
Three challenges:
1. Don’t water down your witness
Mark Minard hosted the debate between Wes Huff and Billy Carson. If you watch the debate, I encourage you to evaluate Minard’s defense of the faith with Huff’s. Minard seems uncomfortable with the strength of Huff’s claims. He wants to pull the conversation back to Jesus. There is, of course, no more important topic of an evangelistic conversation than Jesus. I commend Minard for his testimony of Jesus’ impact on his life and his impulse to talk about Jesus. However, Minard seems to think that our trust in Jesus isn’t connected with our trust in God’s Word. Minard’s impulse is to cut himself off from the claims of the entire Bible (he said he doesn’t trust the Old Testament) and from the Christian community altogether (he has a negative view of the church). Huff shows us that we don’t need to do either when we share our faith with others. We don’t need to water down our witness.
2. Study
Part of what makes Huff so persuasive is that he has done his work. While most of us are unlikely to gain Huff's level of expertise, we ought to be inspired to go deeper. You can start with some of the YouTube videos I mentioned above. Wes Huff's infographics and his website in general are excellent resources. I would also point you to two of my favorite apologetics books I’ve read in the past few years: Why God Makes Sense in a World that Doesn’t and the updated version Evidence that Demands a Verdict (Sean’s update of his dad’s book is significantly better than the original, in my opinion).
3. You don’t need to be an expert
While we ought to be motivated to study, we shouldn’t feel like we must become experts to step into these conversations. Some of the most impactful moments in Huff’s conversation with Carson are when he asks Carson questions. We often feel we need to provide all of the answers in a discussion about faith. If that is the case, then we will never be ready. However, some of the most important moments are when we can lovingly reveal that the questioner has gaps in their understanding.
4. Speak with love
I think that Huff’s appearances have made such a splash because he demonstrates humility (listen for how many times he acknowledges that he isn’t an expert in an area) and love. He genuinely seems to care for those he is conversing with.
We are all invited to be witnesses of the great love of our great God and to unabashedly share the greatest story we could ever share: the story of the gospel. It’s for this reason last year, my friend and co-worker Stacy MacLaren and I joined the fray with our apologetics conversation: God in the Gray. If you want to check out one of those conversations, you might want to start with this one on church abuse.
May Christ advance his kingdom in spirit and in truth, and may we be vessels of hope in an age of confusion.
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Photo by Jonathan Ruvalcaba on Unsplash