Joe Rogan’s Interview with Wesley Huff Reveals a Shift in Christian Apologetics
Just a few decades ago, it was widely assumed within scholarly circles that Christianity is intellectually indefensible. At best, it was a fairy tale. At worst, it was responsible for nearly every bad thing in the history of Western civilization. New Atheists like Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens confidently proclaimed that God was a “delusion” and that “religion poisoned everything.” The thought that Christianity could contribute anything true or good for humanity wasn’t just denied. It was mocked.
Things have changed. In the last few years, many people have deconstructed this naïve view of the faith they’d been brought up to disbelieve. For some, it was the obvious failure of secularism to live up to its promises, especially in the context of woke progressivism and radical Islamism. For others, it was realizing that biblical claims keep coming up true. Most notably, the historian Tom Holland has, at least in scholarly circles, done more than anyone to restore the reputation of Christianity as a historical force for good in the world and the confidence of Christians at the same time.
Perhaps the best recent example of this renewed proper confidence was apologist Wesley Huff’s three-hour conversation with Joe Rogan. Not only did Huff have potentially tens of millions of listeners to think about, but a host who doesn’t suffer fools lightly. If you listen, bearing in mind that Rogan’s often-crass language is not for kids, you’ll hear from Huff a strong, clear, and compelling defense of Christianity, including the reliability of the biblical text. Huff clearly knows his apologetics stuff and delivered it with clarity and enthusiasm.
Still, even though the reaction to the presentation was just what a Christian would hope for, Huff didn’t come up with a brand-new way of explaining Christianity. The same information is widely available in apologetics books, seminary courses, and seminars. What was remarkable was how straightforward it all was. Huff spoke with such confidence, without pandering or evading. Most notably he did apologetics without apologizing.
Apologizing has become a go-to tactic for pastors and preachers seeking to be “relevant” to a culture hostile to Christ. More than mere honest admission about Christian failures, this was an acceptance of the skeptical narrative that Christianity is anti-intellectual, oppressive of minorities, judgmental, and hypocritical, all followed by a “but still give Jesus a chance” attaboy at the end. Perhaps the intention behind this “Jesus is great, Christianity is terrible” narrative was noble, but who wants to join the losing team?
The main problem with the obsessive accommodationist approach to apologetics is not only that it rarely works; it’s that, quickly, it becomes difficult to distinguish, both for them and for us, between offense taken at the Christian’s failure to live up to the truth and offense taken to truth itself. We can never contort ourselves or the Gospel enough to make it relevant or palatable for those unwilling and unable to face the reality of their sin.
Most important, apologetics by apology distorts the Faith. Christianity isn’t a fairy tale with a good moral, nor is it something that can ever be “true for you and not for me.” It’s the very truth revealed by God, about God, the human condition, and His world. It is the most accurate account of reality and therefore worthy of our curiosity and confidence.
Because of what has been revealed by God about the human condition, we should be quick to humility and repentance. We need not hide our failures as if the whole system depends on our perfection. As a friend likes to say, a jerk for Jesus is still a jerk.
At the same time, like Huff, Billy Graham, Francis Schaeffer, Chuck Colson, C.S. Lewis, and so many apologists dating back to Justin Martyr, we can have proper confidence while loving our neighbors enough to say what is true. As St. Paul said, we should never be ashamed of the gospel if it truly is “the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.”
Photo Courtesy: ©YouTube/JRE Clips
Published Date: February 19, 2025
John Stonestreet is President of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview, and radio host of BreakPoint, a daily national radio program providing thought-provoking commentaries on current events and life issues from a biblical worldview. John holds degrees from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (IL) and Bryan College (TN), and is the co-author of Making Sense of Your World: A Biblical Worldview.
The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of CrosswalkHeadlines.
BreakPoint is a program of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview. BreakPoint commentaries offer incisive content people can't find anywhere else; content that cuts through the fog of relativism and the news cycle with truth and compassion. Founded by Chuck Colson (1931 – 2012) in 1991 as a daily radio broadcast, BreakPoint provides a Christian perspective on today's news and trends. Today, you can get it in written and a variety of audio formats: on the web, the radio, or your favorite podcast app on the go.
