St. Isidore of Seville understood the reason why so many people engage “apologetics.” It is not for the pursuit of truth, as they often claim, but rather, for glory. “The pursuit of contentious arguments is engaged in not for the sake of truth but out of a desire for praise, and there is such perversity in such things that they do not know how to cede to the truth and they contend to destroy correct doctrine itself.”[1] This is why, once someone has become an apologist who praises themselves and says they can and will take on everyone who wants to debate them, the reality is they are not seeking to promote the truth but themselves. They have come to a particular opinion that they want to defend at all costs, and for this reason, instead of engaging an authentic investigation into the truth, they engage sophistry to defend themselves and their beliefs, no matter what. Despite what such apologists want us to think, truth remains the truth, and will always be the truth. No one needs to defend it.
Those who act like the truth needs them to defend it prove they are far from understanding the truth or how it is to be engaged. They don’t serve the truth. All they do is serve themselves and the glory they think they can attain, which is why St. Isaac of Syrian said: “Someone who has <in fact> tasted truth will not argue over the truth. Someone who is considered among people as zealous on behalf of the truth has not yet even learned what truth is really like, since once he has truly learned about it, he will also desist from zeal on its behalf.” [2] Many people, sadly, assume that they can convert others by whatever sophistry they have to offer. They think the truth can be proven by their own arguments, arguments which they often claim are based upon reason alone. They are wrong. There is no such argument possible. All arguments fall back on some given which cannot be proved by debate, but must ultimately be accepted as a truth. And this is why what can be proven through such an argument is not necessarily true, for what they use as a given or foundation for their argument can end up being false. Thus, as St. John Chrysostom recognized, “So, too, even if something which is proved by reasoned arguments is true, these arguments do not provide an assurance which is full enough nor a faith which is sufficient for the soul.”[3]
This is not to say we cannot and should not share our beliefs with others. That is far different from trying to get into a debate, thinking we have impeccable arguments that necessarily will lead everyone to believe what we believe. But, when we do so, we should be careful; we need to do so with all due humility, making sure pride does not get the best of us, for it is pride which makes us think we can and should do more than we can. Sharing our experiences and understanding with others, in full humility, can help people appreciate our beliefs. It might have people consider what we believe for themselves, but even if they are not convinced, even if they do not end believing as we do, hopefully they will come to understand and appreciate our beliefs better. Similarly, such humility should lead us to listen to them, their own experiences and beliefs, and come to appreciate what they believe better as well. We should never think of ourselves as given the task to go out in the world and force others to believe as we do.
We need to engage the middle way, embracing a delicate balance which allows us to share with those who are interested what we believe and why we believe it, while not going around with zeal thinking we are so special everyone should listen to what we have to say. We can and should share our faith with others, but we must do so out of love, realizing, moreover, that we are imperfect, that our understanding of truth is imperfect, even as our presentation of it will be imperfect. We should have no expectations as to how others will relate to what we say. We can hope that we will help others better understand our faith, but we must not assume we can do even that. We certainly should not get angry when they do not listen to us or take our advice or ideas seriously. If what we say has value, its value does not come from us, but from the truth itself. It can and will be revealed to them in other ways. We are not important. For, as St Isaac explained, “The gift of God and the knowledge of him is not a cause for commotion or shouting out; rather, the place where the Spirit, love, and humbleness reside is entirely filled with peace, and this is the sign of the coming of the Spirit, for by these the person on whom the <Spirit> has tabernacled is made perfect. “[4]
The more we find people angry and hostile to others, though claiming to possess the truth, the more we know that they lack something of the truth. The more they want to receive praise and glory for what they say, it is also clear, their love is not of the truth, but themselves. And what they think they know is often wrong, so that in the end, they promote all kinds of harmful ideologies through their zeal. They might appear kind when they are shown the respect they desire, but they become hostile when that does not happen. And, more often than not, they act like they are being persecuted when they are questioned, showing once again, their faith, their devotion, is more in themselves than the truth. In this way, St. Gregory Palamas suggested that our way of life, more than the words and the arguments we can make, is the means by which the truth can be better shared and many known to others: “As for us, we believe that the true doctrine is not what is known through words and arguments, but what is demonstrated in people’s works and lives. That is not only the truth, but the only certain and immutable truth.” [5] And so, those who like to judge others, or promote themselves through debates, do reveal something of the truth, but the truth they reveal is of themselves, not the greater truth in and of itself. That is, all they do is reveal their own lack of character, that is, their own incontinence:
Is another incontinent with his life? Why, hast thou been appointed his judge? Wilt thou discharge his accounts? Mayest thou be able to render even thine own on that terrible day of judgment! Is he incontinent in his life? And art thou not incontinent and unbridled in thy tongue, who chatterest of other men’s affairs, and takest a shameful pleasure in stories? Art thou not steeped in passions in thy mind (would it were only in the mind!) who art so easily convinced by the slander of thy neighbour, and whereas thou shouldest cover thy face when others are uttering it, thou appearest the first to publish it abroad? [6]
We must, therefore, engage others with humility and grace. We must not think that the truth needs us to defend it. We cannot force the truth on others. It is something they need to learn about for themselves. The more we think that the truth is something under our control, the more we give in to pride, and through that pride, our zeal proves not to be for the truth, but for ourselves and our own self-promotion. The more we go out in the world with that kind of zeal, the more we show forth either our pride or our ignorance. Then, we will have shown our way is far from the way of Christ and the saints:
A person becomes perpetually clothed in zeal over the way of life of other people in two different ways: either it is from pride or from stupidity. Outside of these two causes there is no room for someone to become full of zeal: either it is because his own blemishes are less in his own eyes than those of everyone else – and maybe he thinks they do not even exist at all! and as a result <he considers> he is capable of bringing everyone to the truth – or he imagines he is being a friend of God when he hates sinners. This is a mentality of utter stupidity, and one that is totally alien to all knowledge of God: such a person does not realize that the saints accepted all kinds of death on behalf of wicked men and murderers in order to bring them to the way of God by means of love. [7]
The way of truth, the way to share the truth, is through our action, and not just any actions, but actions made out of and done in and with love. Love does not boast. Love does not force itself upon others. Love does not make unjust demands. Love would have us promote and lift up others. So long as we do not have this at the forefront of our engagements with others, especially in relation to discussions of the faith, we show ourselves to be far from the truth ourselves. Thus, if we truly love the truth, we would heed this as a warning and work to counteract our pride and ignorance by embracing humility and the way of love. If we do not, then our words, however great they might sound, will not ring true. Others will quickly realize we are not so concerned about the truth, leading them not only to ignore us, but to turn away from what it is we would have them believe as they will think it is as false as we are.
[1] St. Isidore of Seville, Sententiae. Trans. Thomas L. Knoebel (New York: Newman Press, 2018), 166.
[2] St. Isaac of Nineveh, Headings on Spiritual Knowledge (The Second Part, Chapters 1-3). Trans. Sebastian Brock (Yonkers, NY: St Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2022), 211 [Chapter 3; Fourth Discourse].
[3] St. John Chrysostom, On the Incomprehensible Nature of God. Trans. Paul W. Harkins (Washington, DC: CUA Press, 1982), 273 [Homily 11].
[4] St. Isaac of Nineveh, Headings on Spiritual Knowledge (The Second Part, Chapters 1-3), 211 [Chapter 3; Fourth Discourse].
[5] St. Gregory Palamas: The Triads: Books One. Trans. Robin Amis (Wellington, Somerset: Praxis, 2002), 104 [This is from the complete translation of the first book, which is not had in the Westerns of Spirituality Volume of the Triads that I normally use].
[6] St. Photius, The Homilies of Photius, Patriarch of Constantinople. Trans. Cyril Mango (Harvard: Harvard University Press, 1958; repr. Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2017), 233 [Homily XIV].
[7] St. Isaac of Nineveh, Headings on Spiritual Knowledge (The Second Part, Chapters 1-3), 54 [ Chapter 1].
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