The first time I heard the term “apologetics” was in a worldview study I did with my youth group when I was 15 years old. I had always been solid in my faith, but I remember that study being so interesting and helpful as I considered how to communicate the “reasons for the hope within you” (1 Peter 3:15). I went through another round of being interested in apologetics in my early 20s, listening to various podcasts, and reading books like The Case For Christ.
However, my relationship with apologetics quickly became a bit complicated the deeper I got into it. I became aware that there are different approaches to apologetics, and they are not all necessarily biblical. I witnessed different apologists critique methods used by others, which forced me to think through those things myself. Under the surface of all this was the sneaky suspicion that all this apologetics knowledge was not actually helping me - though it was interesting, I never needed apologetics to convince me that my faith was reasonable, and I was developing a feeling of inadequacy. I was never going to be able to remember all this information in an actual conversation about my faith.
I kind of veered away from my interest in apologetics over time, but after I became a mom and my kids grew older, the apologetics conversation became present everywhere I turned. “We need to be teaching kids apologetics!” was being shouted from every corner, and I didn’t necessarily disagree. But my uneasiness remained.
My husband and I have talked through this topic extensively, and I always feel able to communicate my thoughts so well in our private conversations, but it’s challenging to be as clear in writing or as honest in other conversations about the pitfalls I see in some aspects of apologetics. In this article, I am going to try to outline my thoughts, as a layperson who is very much not an expert on the subject. I don’t want to come across over-critical, or as if I don’t like apologetics at all! I think it can be interesting to study apologetics and very helpful for some people, and I enjoy reading about apologetics from trusted sources myself. But I believe we need to approach modern apologetics with some foundational understandings, or we could end up doing some harm.
1. Apologetics cannot be the basis for truth.
This is the point I have the most difficulty in articulating, so bear with me.
For years I have read books and heard podcasts about the “reasonableness” of Christianity, or how it’s logically consistent, or how there is so much evidence for this or that being true. And I don’t disagree with any of that. At the same time, we need to understand that someone can have a belief that is logically consistent based on the available evidence, and that belief can still be untrue. A belief that is true will be reasonable and logical and have evidence behind it, sure, but those things aren’t what make that belief true.
The real question is, what is the source of truth? Is it only based on things we see in the physical world? How do we know the physical world is actually real and not just a simulation, as some argue? Where does logic even come from, and why does it work? I hope you see the dilemma.
Logic only proves the consistency of a line of thinking, it doesn’t prove something as true. Physical evidence can be interpreted in many ways, which is why our understanding of science and history is constantly shifting as new physical evidence comes to the surface. So how can we know anything we believe about anything is actually true?
There has to be something behind it all. Truth, with a capital T, comes from somewhere else, outside of evidence and logic - it has to have a source. A good apologetics method needs to recognize that everyone is ultimately relying on their underlying source of truth, and some “sources” are as shaky as whatever they can see with their eyes. Our understanding of truth, as Christians, should not be so shallow. As Christians, we understand that we can only know something is true insofar as it aligns with the only source of Truth, which is God Himself.
2. Apologetics approaches that argue without using the Bible are actually undermining the Bible.
There is an ad going around Instagram as we speak for a “theology” curriculum that proudly proclaims that it will teach your kids how to argue for Christianity without using the Bible. I know people who have purchased it. I wonder if they understand how insidious such an approach is.
I went to a talk by Renton Rathbun recently, and he used an illustration that makes the point well, so I’m going to borrow it. Suppose you have a ruler you are using to measure something. You aren’t too sure about that ruler though, and feel like you need to confirm the measurement. So you get another ruler, and measure again with that ruler. Which ruler has now become the standard for an accurate measurement? The second ruler has become the standard by which you are now measuring the first. You can introduce as many new rulers as you want, and each new ruler becomes the standard by which you are evaluating all the others. At some point you need to pick THE standard and measure all the rulers by that one standard.
When we are “measuring” Christianity so to speak, God’s Word is the standard by which all else must be measured. If we are using something else to “confirm” the Bible, whether it be archeological evidence, logical arguments, etc., we are now setting those things as the standards and judging God’s Word by them!
This mistake is so subtle and unfortunately so common. For the Christian, God’s revelation of Himself through the special revelation of the Bible must be the standard. We cannot set the Bible aside and argue from lesser “standards” or we are undermining the very source of truth that God has given us. And as I tried to establish in the first point, without God Himself as the source of truth, which He has given to us most clearly in His Word, there is no way to know what is true at all.
3. Apologetics cannot protect your children from unbelief.
I want to reiterate here that I think it is definitely a good thing to teach our kids apologetics, especially a good apologetics method that is based on the understandings I tried to communicate above. I wouldn’t want to discourage someone away from apologetics altogether. I think apologetics can be encouraging for the Christian, and I think knowing how to communicate apologetic information to unbelievers can remove some barriers to them believing the gospel. We are told to “destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God” (1 Cor. 10:5), and apologetics is certainly part of that.
My concern starts to arise when I see moms put too much faith in apologetics as the thing that is going to keep their child in the faith. You see this with statements like “Your kids need to study apologetics so their faith isn’t destroyed in college.” The attitude seems to be that if we give our kids enough evidence, they will have to believe, and then they will be protected from arguments from atheistic professors or friends. This is making apologetics into an idol. “Evidence” is a shaky basis for belief because someone can always bring different “evidence” that can seem very persuasive.
Like me, I am sure you have watched many a wonderful debate between Christian apologists and atheists. If presenting the evidence was all it took for someone to believe, we should see people falling on their knees and repenting right there. But clearly apologetics arguments are not enough to make someone believe.
We forget that salvation only comes from a work of the Holy Spirit on someone’s heart. Our faith does not come from an airtight argument, it comes from God Himself, by His grace. Without His conviction, we all would continue suppressing the truth in unrighteousness (Romans 1:18). God is the one that draws us (John 6:44), and the Holy Spirit convicts us of sin (John 16:8). When we are saved no one can snatch us out of Jesus’s hand (John 10:28-30). God is the one who grants us repentance, and the work He begins in us will be carried out to completion because He is faithful (Philippians 1:6).
We can give our kids all the evidence in the world, but it doesn’t guarantee their salvation and endurance in the faith - and that’s scary for us moms! But even so, it is a mistake to put our hope in apologetics. We must bring our kids before God in prayer for their salvation and spiritual growth, and tell them the gospel every chance we get. This doesn’t mean we don’t prepare our kids to face the secular arguments they will encounter throughout their lives, we should do that. But our faith needs to be in the One who will hold them fast, not in the arguments of fallible men. As we teach our kids apologetics, it should be from the perspective that God will help them persevere to the end.
4. Apologetics conversations should always lead to the gospel.
What is the purpose of apologetics, anyway? Is it mainly for Christians, or unbelievers? The word “apologetics” comes from the Greek “apologia”, which means to give a verbal defense. This is a biblical idea, since we are to demolish arguments that are raised against the knowledge of God and take every thought captive to Christ (2 Cor. 10:5). I think there is a role here in apologetics for encouraging the Christian, but what about in conversations with unbelievers?
This brings me back to the discouragement with apologetics that I developed years ago. I would listen to extremely smart apologists communicate the evidence, I read alot of books, and I often found myself rehearsing imaginary conversations in my mind. How would I communicate the evidence if I were to get into this kind of conversation? There was no way I could remember it all! It left me feeling that I could never succeed in apologetics without memorizing vast amounts of information and being ready at a moment’s notice for a debate, and that was intimidating.
In the end though, I was overcomplicating it. Apologetics should not be used to beat someone over the head with information. The end goal needs to be to communicate the gospel - and that is much less intimidating.
I’ve seen some expert apologists tear down every argument raised in debates with unbelievers, but that in itself does not bring a person to faith. We must use apologetics in conversations with unbelievers not to “own” the debate, but to bring them to the gospel message. If we forget this part, what is it all for anyway? We might look all smart and knowledgeable, but the souls of our opponents are just as lost. If we never get to the gospel, apologetics is not glorifying God, it is just glorifying ourselves.
There is an art to this, and I won’t pretend I have ever done it well in conversation myself. But it hurts me when Christian apologists are criticized (by other Christians, even) for not sticking to the debate because they tried too hard to preach the gospel in the conversation. The gospel (not apologetics) is the power of God for salvation to those who believe (Romans 1:16). Any apologetics instruction that does not also teach us how to point every conversation back to the salvation that only comes through faith in Jesus Christ - well, it’s just missing the whole point.
I’m writing this article from the perspective of a Christian mom, and I know that is also most of you who will be reading this. I hope I’ve convinced you to take care when choosing apologetics books for yourself or your kids. It takes discernment to evaluate apologetics sources for what they are holding up as the source of truth - some are obviously excluding God’s Word, but watch out for subtle undermining too. I hope I’ve also been able to remind you that our faith is in God, not in apologetic arguments, and the gospel is the key to the whole thing.
To close this article, I’ll share a few books I’ve read, in whole or in part, that approach apologetics in the way I’ve argued for here. I’m also including a couple podcasts. I wish you wisdom and discernment as you learn more about apologetics, and I pray you remember to keep Christ in the center, “in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge"(Colossians 2:3).
Recommended Resources:
Expository Apologetics by Voddie Baucham - Baucham shows us how Paul himself argued apologetically in Scripture, and how to have biblical apologetics conversations ourselves.
The Ultimate Proof Of Creation by Jason Lisle - Lisle communicates problems with different approaches to apologetics, before giving us the “ultimate proof” - I haven’t finished this one yet, but I can see where he is going with it enough to recommend it.
Every Believer Confident by Mark Farnham - If you aren’t sure how to bring an apologetics conversation back to a personal level that leads to sharing the gospel, I think this is the definitive guide for how to do that.
The Renton Rathbun Show by Renton Rathbun - Rathbun actually has a PhD in Apologetics, and he has thought through the deeper issues with certain apologetics approaches. I’ve really been enjoying his conversations on this podcast.
Wretched Radio by Todd Friel - Particularly look for the “Witness Wednesday” episodes. Friel goes to college campuses and has actual conversations with students, including apologetics arguments, but in a gentle and compassionate way that always brings the student to the good news of salvation. This podcast is the main resource that has given me confidence that I could handle a witness opportunity with an unbeliever. Also see: Ray Comfort at Living Waters on Youtube.
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