5 Things I Love About Apologetics
I recently posted 5 Things I Hate About Apologetics. In case someone gets the wrong idea, I want to give the other side of the story. There are plenty of things that I love about apologetics. I could say a lot about this but I will limit myself to five.
1) Apologetics strengthens my faith. Apologists are not super-Christians. We have our moments of doubt. We encounter things that are difficult to understand. But the more I dig into apologetics, the more I am confident that Christianity is the truth. It does not mean all my questions are answered but I know I am on a solid foundation.
2) Apologetics makes a difference. People say that you cannot argue people into heaven but I have seen people who are considering Christ but are held back by misconceptions. People can hide behind the “You Can’t Argue” banner all they want, but there are plenty of testimonies of people who found apologetics helpful in coming to faith.
3) Apologetics strengthens Christians. Apologetics is not just for seekers. My focus on apologetics is more for discipleship than evangelism. We want people to be active in ministry but they can’t get excited about ministry if they are not fully confident Christians. I believe that good apologetic discipleship has the potential to bring revival to our churches.
4) There are tremendous apologetics resources available. When I became a Christian, there was not much in terms of apologetics material available. There were a few good books but not much else. Now there is a huge stockpile of books, journals, blogs, podcasts, conferences and so on. This is the most exciting time to be an apologist.
5) There are some incredible apologists active today. Of course there are the super stars that sell out the conferences. But there are also the bloggers and the laypeople and the pastors in small churches. With the internet there are all sorts of ways to connect with these people and to encourage one another. We can share resources and pray for one another. I am thankful for all my brothers and sisters in the apologetics ministry.
See? Things are not that bad. In fact things are pretty awesome.
I have to agree with all five, but number three hits home the most. It was after I came to faith that I found apologetics and it most certainly strengthened my faith.