Do People Become Christians Through Apologetics?
I still hear claims from people that apologetics is ineffective in bringing people to faith. Really? And how do they know that?
I suspect that what is really going is that certain people feel that apologetics played no role in their own coming to faith. That is fair, but that does not speak to everyone’s experience.
A version of this is that apologetics can not lead anyone to Jesus, only the Spirit can. Well, fine. Then let us also acknowledge that evangelism and prayer can not lead anyone to Jesus, only the Spirit can.
The question we should be asking is by what means does the Spirit lead someone to Jesus?
I am very confident that the Spirit has used apologetics as one of the means to bring some people to faith. That is not because I have a vested interest in protecting the role of apologetics but because I believe that the Spirit can use anything.
I know of a person who became a Christian by walking down the street, finding a tract on the ground, reading it, and becoming convinced that Jesus was the answer. If the Spirit can do that, then the Spirit can use apologetics.
I have talked to people who have become Christians, in part because of the influence of apologetics. It did not play a role in my own coming to faith but only because I was unaware of apologetics. I was struggling with the questions that apologetics addresses but I assumed Christians just didn’t talk about these things.
You may not be drawn to Christian apologetics. It may not have been a part of your story and you may not feel led to use it in your own outreach. Fine. But don’t dismiss how God can use apologetics just because it is not your thing.
Apologetics is not for conversion. It is for keeping the sheep from asking questions.
That apologists can’t even agree on what they claim shows that you all simply make nonsense up.
It’s “pre-evangelism”. It helps pave the way for the gospel.
I think you are correct. I know several people who say that apologetics caused their conversion to Christianity. I also know people who say that counter-apologetics caused their deconversion from Christianity. Probably in both cases, we are dealing with people who are evidence-oriented and not emotionally-oriented. There are obviously other people who decide what to believe based on other factors, such as their emotions, social pressures, or simply mimicking the beliefs of their parents. I personally think that for something as important as your worldview, you should have evidence supporting it. And I would advise always studying both sides of an issue. Is Christianity true? Read both Christian and skeptic sources. Here are my recommendations:
Christian:
“The Resurrection of the Son of God” by NT Wright
“The Death of the Messiah” by Raymond Brown
Skeptic:
“The Case Against Miracles” by John Loftus
“Why I Believed, Reflections of a Former Missionary” by Kenneth W. Daniels