In our information age, there can be a real war of ideas. When an atheist talks about their rejection of God their response is usually about a lack of evidence.
I believe it is becoming increasingly important to have reasons as to why we believe. I do believe your personal testimony of what God has done is powerful and is enough for witnessing. I also think apologetics can be a good supplement.
Apologetics
Apologetics strives to give objective reasons to why Christianity is true.
The word apologetics comes from the Greek word “apologia” which means to defend. People are bound to come with objections. Typical questions answered by this school of thought include - if God created the universe who created God, why does God allow so much suffering, how do I know God is the right God when there are so many?
If we don’t have a framework with how to deal with these objections we might feel our foundation shake somewhat. But with a basic understanding of apologetics, we can nullify these objections and stand firm.
My gateway into apologetics was the “askcliffe” YouTube channel. In these videos, Cliffe Knechtle goes onto university campuses and has constructive dialogues with students about the existence of God. These videos discussed hard questions that I had no idea on how to answer, but they taught me that these objections to the faith weren’t to be feared. After all, we are on the side of truth.
Frank Turek of Cross Examined is another great resource for someone getting started in apologetics. Turek does a great job of speaking in an easy to digest way.
Truth
There is another side effect of delving into apologetics. That is, we will gain a new appreciation for the truth. There is a certain beauty that occurs when you have an epiphany full of truth amidst contrary information and deceitful ideas. When the truth shines bright amongst lies it is a sight to see.
“Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.” (Psalm chapter 51, verse 6)
Supplement
I believe that apologetics is helpful because it can strengthen your foundation. When you are filled with doubt and your feelings are betraying you, apologetics can give you some objective truths to help you stand firm.
It can help take the threat and sting out of an atheist objection. Often times in a believers life, doubt is suppressed. Too many people are ashamed of their doubt. More and more doubt creeps in. And if left undealt with and it can domino into catastrophe. Into deconversion.
But apologetics can be a force to fight this.
A Caveat
But it should be noted that studying apologetics is an academic and philosophical discipline. It doesn’t necessarily lead to spiritual growth. It is no substitute for personal Bible reading and church engagement. This is why I describe it, not as fundamental, but as supplementary.
Every Weapon
The fact is this, Christianity in Australia, is on the decline. And we should take advantage of every weapon we have to fight this. We should be equipping prayer warriors. We should be crying out for revival. We should be building up believers to stand firm. We should be discipling with all our heart.
We should also present Christianity as a logically coherent, intellectually viable option. This is becoming increasingly important in our, post scientific revolution, information age.
Apologetics adds a shield to handle objections. A foundation to stand firm. And a stone to break down intellectual walls. And brings us closer to truth.