Two Types of Apologetics

As I have read numerous books, articles and blogs on apologetics, I have come to a conclusion: there are two types of apologetics.  The first type of apologetics is one that seems to be aimed at encouraging believers.  All too often it is done by poking fun at and ridiculing other belief systems.  There is a dark tone to it and it seems to be telling believers that they should feel good about themselves because at least they are not like those atheists/Muslims/Jehovah’s Witnesses/etc.  Often counter-cult apologetics falls into this category.  There is a place for encouraging the believer but it does not have to be done at the expense of ridiculing others.  The second type of apologetics is that which seeks to build bridges to others.  It looks for areas of agreement and does not seek to argue every obscure point of doctrine.  It attempts, not to prove Christianity true, but to present Christianity as a reasonable faith that is worth consideration by the skeptic.  While I hope to encourage believers on this blog, I do not want to disrespectful to others (and I apologize if I have been).  However, my main concern is to build bridges to others and to equip believers to do the same in their own context.  Hopefully, the content of this blog will be helpful in that purpose.

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