The word Apologetics comes from the root word “apologia”, making a case for something as in a court of law. Apologists are lawyers, out there making the case for Christ. As an apologist, it is your job to give reasons as to why anyone should believe Jesus.

In todays information heavy world, many people (especially in the West) believe that Jesus is just like any other ancient, outdated superstition. There is an atheistic worldview popular in academia that believes everything we observe can be explained through science. Whether it is naturalism, materialism, or scientism, there is an entire population that thinks these worldviews are for intellectuals, while Christianity requires blind faith. Frankly, there are plenty of Christians that believe they possess blind faith as well.

Enter, the apologist.

This is where the apologist shows that there actually is evidence for the Christian faith. There are many aspects of the Christian faith that can be supported evidentially, from creationism to evidence for the resurrection of Christ.

Alright. So apologetics is making a case for christianity, as in a court of law. Giving evidence and answering questions. But what does this actually look like?

As Christians, we use apologetics to show others that, while they have good questions, we have good answers. The late Norman Geisler says in his book “When Skeptics Ask”, apologetics is pre-evangelism. As apologists, our goal is to remove the mental roadblocks that non-believers find between themselves and Christianity. We are not going to bring everyone to Christ every single time we present to them a sound argument, but we can show them that these questions they have are met with strong answers. While the image of a lawyer illustrates the job of an apologist, it seems far too rigid to display the day-to-day apologetics that changes hearts and minds. It is often a well-timed question, a personal conversation with someone you know well, a well thought out philosophical argument you share with a stranger. Additionally, there are many aspects of life and thought that you can focus on as an apologist. There are apologists who are experts in evolution, philosophy, former Muslims who use that experience to shape their apologetics; if you have an interest in it, we here believe you can use it in your apologetics toolbox somehow.

What’s the problem?

When an apologist writes a really good book or formulates an intricate argument via some other medium (ex. videos, presentations) their audience is non-Christians who choose to spend their time and energy investigating Christianity. This leaves out large portions of the population who otherwise will never get to hear all the great stuff we talk about at Equipping Apologetics. Even though they might do incredible work, it might not be reaching the right people.

Like we said, we’re in an information heavy world today. That doesn’t mean that all that information is sound information. There are plenty of people being fed a false narrative that Christianity is an unstable crutch for the intellectually weak. If they never get themselves to a William Lane Craig debate or find themselves reading a Stephen C. Meyer book, they may never honestly engage with the best arguments for Christianity.

What’s the solution?

You! That’s where the Christian comes in. Just as we go forth and plant seeds, if we are equipped with apologetics, we will be able to give people the reason and evidence they may need to see that Christians aren’t all crazy people who just believe something because some old book told them to. Where a famous apologist misses many individuals with questions, you come in! That is why we strive to not only answer objections of non-Christians, but to equip Christians to share apologetics in their own life.

As apologist J Warner Wallace famously says, “we don’t need another million-dollar apologist. We need a million one-dollar apologists”.

What about Christians?

Many Christians have been in a season or place where they’ve said, “I just don’t feel God right now”. As we know, God is not a feeling. However, if you’ve never been exposed to the intellectual side of faith before, it can be a challenge to emotionally hold on to faith when you “just don’t feel God right now”. When your emotions feel this way, it is important to hold onto what you have previously found to be intellectually sound. If your foundation with Jesus is purely emotional, it is only a matter of time before emotions change. But if you also have a foundation of logic and reason, then this evidence never ceases to point you towards Jesus. Even when you don’t “feel” it, you can stand firm on what you KNOW to be true.