When it comes to apologists, there are those who seek to be generalists and those who seek to be specialists. I am a firm believer that we need both. I am actually somewhere in between.
I do a lot of general apologetics but much of what I do is historical apologetics, especially in the context of the Bible. Within that category, my specialization would be the historical Jesus, especially the Jesus myth.
Areas of interest should be embraced. Having said that, I believe there are certain things that apologists should know at least something about. This is not about being an expert in everything but having a basic concept and having some idea of where to find out more information. I will not explain each concept but will simply list them and leave them to you for further research. They are in no particular order.
- Hermeneutics
- Systematic Theology
- Early Church History
- Old Testament
- New Testament
- World Religions
- Modern Religions and Sects
- Logic
- Communication
- Science and Faith
If you look at this list and realize that you don’t know anything about most of this, it is time to do something about it. It is only ten topics. Find short introductions to each topic and take a couple of years to familiarize yourself with each of these.
