Thoughtful Reflections on Faith and Life
One of the pressing issues for the church today, although not everyone agrees with this, is sexual abuse in the church. I remember when evangelicals used to point to Roman Catholics and abuse by priests as evidence of their theological error. Now, sexual abuse within evangelical churches is as rampant as everywhere else. How do … Read More “Apologetics and Responding to Sexual Abuse in the Church” »
The first thing that I want to say is that this is not an attack on Christian apologists. I firmly believe in the importance of Christian apologetics and I am an apologist myself. But as an insider, I have found myself getting disillusioned by what apologists say and how they say it. I believe that … Read More “Dangerous Fallacies Commonly Used by Christian Apologists” »
Two of my greatest interests are autism and apologetics. When both topics come together, I’m in my happy place. One of the podcasts that I listen to is Christianity on the Spectrum, a podcast that looks at autistic people, both Christian and ex-Christian. One of their recent episodes was called Autism and Apologetics. This episode … Read More “Apologetics, Autism, and Important Lessons” »
I have been involved in some sort of theistic apologetics for a long time. I can recall presenting evidence for the existence of God while I was still in the process of moving from a general theism to a return to Christianity. After seminary, I heavily embraced what is sometimes called the “Apologetics industrial complex” … Read More “5 Trends That Have (Re)Shaped My Christian Apologetics” »
What Lewis tries to accomplish in his popular apologetics is to let the readers taste the symbolic universe of Christianity from the inside. He invites them to immerse into the grand story and to soak in the atmosphere of the Gospel. He avoids watering it down with abstractions and moralistic platitudes. The modern reader is … Read More “C.S. Lewis and the Language of Apologetics” »
Apologists put a lot of time and energy into their activities. But what is it that they are actually trying to achieve? I am not suggesting that all apologists should share the same goal. But I do think that apologists should reflect on what they are trying to accomplish. Some potential goals Choosing goals I … Read More “Apologists Need to Clarify Their Goals” »
There are those who really push back against Christian apologetics, and I’m not talking about skeptics. I think that some Christians have a problem with apologetics because of a misunderstanding about apologetics. The truth is that there are different forms of apologetics, some better than others. I would like to show what apologetics can be, … Read More “Apologetics: What It Can Be, Should Be and Should Not Be” »
There has been a huge resurgence in Christian apologetics over the past couple of decades. It can be said, without exaggeration, that there is an entire Christian apologetics industry in place. The amount of books, podcasts, video channels, conferences, and theological degrees related to apologetics is greater than at any other time. Some of the … Read More “3 Shifts That Christian Apologetics Must Make” »
There has been a huge renaissance in Christian apologetics, ranging from the scholar to the pastor to the layperson. But what is the role of the Christian apologist? What should be their goal? I discuss this in this episode based on a video I recorded. For more on Christian apologetics, visit me here. Please support this … Read More “What is the Role of Christian Apologetics?” »
I truly believe that there will always be a need for Christian apologetics. What that apologetics looks like might shift from era to era but it will always be important. However, I have seen a change in how Christian apologetics is undertaken and it concerns me. I see an increasing adoption of a conviction that … Read More “A Plea to Contemporary Christian Apologists” »
What type of Christian is apologetics for? Is it for just conservative evangelicals or is it something that all Christians can benefit from? It is interesting that I ask this question because I asked something similar about disability theology. In this post, I recognized that liberal churches are more active in disability theology/ministry, but that … Read More “Is Christian Apologetics Only For Conservative Evangelicals?” »
I frequently hear comments that apologetics is not very useful in evangelism and that “no one” comes to faith through apologetics. I’m not convinced that is accurate. In fact I know people who faith journey was greatly influenced by apologetics. So how does apologetics fit with evangelism? One way is what I call pre-evangelism. Just … Read More “What Role Does Apologetics Have in Evangelism?” »
I have been involved in Christian apologetics for as long as I have been a Christian. I still believe in apologetics, despite all of the suggestions that the time for apologetics is over. However, there has been a shift in how I go about apologetics. This is not meant to condemn others with different convictions … Read More “Jesus-Centred 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 … Read More “Do People Become Christians Through Apologetics?” »
Although we can see the beginnings of Christian apologetics in the New Testament in the ministries of Peter and Paul, apologetics really got going in the second century. It is here that we see Christian thinkers writing “Apologies,” defences of the Christian faith in a systematic fashion. The focus was often on clearing up misunderstandings … Read More “The Origins of Christian Apologetics” »
What is the role of Christian apologetics? For many people, both believers and nonbelievers, the assumption is that it is to prove that Christianity is true. I want to argue that is not a good goal. First of all, it is impossible to prove that Christianity is true. Part of the problem is that we … Read More “Apologists Should Not Try to Prove That Christianity is True” »
I have been involved in Christian apologetics for a long time. It has been an important part of my personal discipleship, influenced, no doubt, by my background as an atheist. I firmly believe that Christian apologetics continues to be extremely useful, both for helping seekers and as discipleship for believers. But I do have some … Read More “Christian Apologists and Culture Warriors” »
In my previous post, I shared why I often consider giving up on Christian apologetics. In this post, I will share why I have not given up on apologetics. Many of the things that we value are based on personal experience. For example, disability theology is very important to me because I am a father … Read More “Why I Have Not Given Up on Christian Apologetics” »
Apologetics has been a huge part of my faith ever since I made a personal commitment to Jesus in my mid-20s. I have written a lot on Christian apologetics ever since. While my interests have broadened, especially in the intersection of disabilities, apologetics is still very important to me. I still hear from some Christian … Read More “3 Reasons I Still Write About Apologetics” »
There are two approaches to Christian apologetics that I believe are ineffective and at best are unattractive. There are those who are so unsure of themselves that they have very little to offer. There is some kind of God out there but we really can’t say much about him. There was a Jesus but he … Read More “Balancing Confidence and Humility in Christian Apologetics” »
Christian apologetics is not something that is going away any time soon. From time to time, you will hear that apologetics has had its day. Despite the major transformation of society by technology and the influence of postmodernism, there will always be a need for apologetics. Just as apologetics of the early church fathers was … Read More “The Future of Christian Apologetics” »
The short answer is yes. As a pastor of a local church, I have a firm conviction that Christian apologetics should be closely tied to the church. One of the things that I appreciate about William Lane Craig is that in addition to his work with Reasonable Faith, he also teaches Christian doctrine in his … Read More “Does Apologetics Belong in the Church?” »
Many of the Christian apologists that I talk to focus much of their thought on philosophy. Some of them almost equate philosophy and apologetics. I would like to suggest that Christian apologists need to focus more on history. Why? Here are a few reasons. Some attacks on Christianity are based on historical events, such as … Read More “Why is History Important For Christian Apologists?” »
Part of being good at Christian apologetics simply avoiding some unhealthy practices. Even if you don’t know the answer to every question, you can still be effective by avoiding these seven deadly sins. Being nasty in tone. Even if your content is accurate, being disrespectful can derail your apologetic. Attacking other Christians. I’m not talking … Read More “Seven Deadly Sins of Apologetics” »
Two of the areas that I write on the most are Christian apologetics and disabilities. This makes sense. My faith journey includes a period of atheism and I am a skeptic by nature. In addition, I have two children with autism and so disabilities are close to my heart. But how do Christian apologetics and … Read More “How Apologetics Intersects With My Interest in Disabilities” »
Most people who are interested in Christian apologetics desire to be good apologists. For those of you who would prefer to be a bad apologist, here is my advice. Feel free to NOT follow it. Spend more time attacking other Christians than removing obstacles to non-Christians. Remind people who do apologetics a different way that … Read More “7 Steps to Become a Really Bad Apologist” »
Here are some apologetics-related posts that you should go check out. Hope in the Face of Death Is a Sign That Christianity Is True – Misty Callahan Why Shouldn’t We Trust the Non-Canonical “Arabic Gospel of the Infancy of the Savior”? – J. Warner Wallace Can Reason Lead Us To A Relationship With God? – Al … Read More “Midweek Apologetics Roundup” »
Christian Apologetics: Past & Present: A Primary Source Reader: Volume 1: To 1500. Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Publishers, 2009. 498 pp. Hdbk. Since its start, the Christian church has needed and used apologetics. The New Testament is full of apologetic language, aside from the standard 1 Peter 3:15. Throughout its history, the church has had many … Read More “Christian Apologetics: Past & Present” »
