Apologetics is the task of presenting a well-reasoned, intellectual defense of the truth claims of the Christian faith. In the early church, persecuted Christians defended the faith against paganism, polytheism, and political threats. In the medieval church, rational approaches to systematic theology guided a logical defense of the Christian faith against the attacks of false religions. During the Protestant Reformation, theologians defended the truth of the gospel against attacks both from within Christendom, as well as the truth of the Christian faith in the face of false religions. During the Enlightenment, Christian theologians defended the reasonableness of Christianity against the attacks of the rationalists and the deists who cast aspersion on supernaturalism, as well as against skeptics. In the modern era, Christian apologists refuted the attacks of German higher criticism, liberalism, and Marxism. In postmodern culture, theologians have had to defend the truth claims of the Christian faith against existential philosophy, Neoorthodox theology, the mysticism of neo-Gnosticism, moral relativism, and other world religions, as well as against secularism and new atheism. Christian apologetics in the postmodern era confronts institutionalized antisupernaturalism.

Drs. R.C. Sproul, John Gerstner, and Arthur Lindsley provide a rational defense of Christianity and a friendly refutation of Cornelius Van Til's presuppositional apologetics. They assert that Christianity is eminently reasonable and provide tools for sharing the faith.This book is divided into three parts. Section I is a prolegomenon dealing with the problems and methods of apologetics. Section II develops the theistic proofs and authority of Scripture. Section III is given over to a critique of presuppositionalism in apologetics.Classical Apologetics will help the thoughtful Christian understand his or her faith better, and it will provide more solid grounds for sharing this faith with others.

In Apologetics of the Early Church, Dr. R.C. Sproul addresses the attacks that were leveled at the church in its first four hundred years, and he explores how Justin Martyr, Augustine, and other early church apologists answered the charges of their critics.

In Apologetics of the Early Church, Dr. R.C. Sproul addresses the attacks that were leveled at the church in its first four hundred years, and he explores how Justin Martyr, Augustine, and other early church apologists answered the charges of their critics.

A short guide to help young Christians defend their faith. It’s good to be prepared for hard questions. And if you’re a Christian, hard questions are going to come. The Bible says we should be prepared to give an account of our faith, and so Dr. Stephen Nichols has written this short book to help you defend what you believe. Read, and make sure you’re ready. About the Track SeriesTrack is a series of books designed to disciple the next generation in the areas of culture, doctrine, & the Christian life. While the topics addressed aren’t always simple, they are communicated in a manner that is.

A Truly Reformed Apologetics? Cornelius Van Til claimed that all traditional apologetic methodologies are flawed and that those Reformed Christians who use such methods are compromising their theology. His goal was to develop an apologetic method that is truly consistent with Reformed theology. Did he achieve that goal? For almost a century, Reformed theologians, especially in North America, have debated this topic. The debate has often been acrimonious, with serious charges and counter–charges coming from both sides. This book seeks to take the debate in a more constructive direction by clearing away as much misunderstanding as possible in order that we might add to discussions of apologetic methods the actual practice of apologetics. In Part One, Cornelius Van Til’s own system of thought is set forth in a clear way in order that readers may know exactly what it entailed. His doctrine of God, creation, the fall, common grace, redemption, and the antithesis are explained in order that readers might understand the apologetic implications of these doctrines. Part Two is devoted to explaining why many Reformed Christians have not embraced Van Til’s apologetics in spite of its popularity and influence. These chapters outline biblical, philosophical, theological, historical, and practical concerns with Van Til’s system of thought. This book argues that Van Til’s apologetic system of thought is consistent with neither Scripture nor Reformed theology.

Christian apologetics is that which deals with answering any and all critics who oppose or question the revelation of God in Christ and the Bible. This study explores a whole host of doctrines important to the church and defends them all against common objections and misconceptions. Working through this series will challenge and equip you to defend the faith.

John H. Gerstner (1914-1996) was a Professor of Church History at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and Knox Theological Seminary and an authority on the life and theology of Jonathan Edwards. He pastored several churches before accepting a professorship where he taught church history for over 30 years. He was also a visiting professor at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Ill., and author of many books and articles.

that Moses had was to be able to demonstrate that God had called him to go to the Israelites and lead them out of Egypt. Moses was an apologist to his own people.

The toughest three years of my life were my seminary years, because I was a zealous Christian studying in a citadel of unbelief. Every day, the precious doctrines of our faith were attacked viciously by my professors. One professor lashed out at a student in my class for coming to seminary with too many preconceived ideas, such as the deity of Christ. Another professor attacked a student when he preached on the cross. “How dare you preach the substitutionary atonement in this day and age!” the professor said. There was a hostility that was palpable in the air, and it was discouraging. All kinds of questions were raised, and even though I understood the philosophical assumptions behind the critics’ attacks, there were still many questions I was not equipped to answer. Intuitively I knew these men were wrong, but I couldn’t answer them.

At that time, there was basically one major seminary in the United States that was faithful to historic Reformed theology—Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. After classes were over at my seminary for the day, I used to read Westminster professors such as J. Gresham Machen, John Murray, Ed Stonehouse, Ed Young, and others. And they would give me answers to the questions I had. After a while, when I heard a question I wasn’t able to answer, I had confidence that God had raised up great men of learning who knew far more than I did and were able to answer these skeptical questions.

I said to the Ligonier staff many years ago: “The work that we do in apologetics may not be understood in all of the details by all the Christians who hear it. But if we can answer these questions and show the credibility of Christianity, the folks in the church will not be devastated by the voices of skepticism that surround them.” We’ve known students in our churches who’ve gone to college—even professedly “Christian” institutions—and had a crisis of faith. In many cases, they’ve hung on by their fingernails because they were being beaten down every day, ridiculed and scorned for their faith in Christ. What such kids need is the task of apologetics inside the church, to calm their fears. And it is not just college students, it is all of us who live in this fallen world. Because if Satan can’t take away our faith, he might be able to intimidate us to such a degree that we are paralyzed, that we are not quite as bold as we were before. And so, not everybody is called to be a professional apologist, but we are all called to study apologetic issues and to see that there are reasons for the hope that is within us.

translated “respect” could equally be translated “reverence.” It’s the same word used of how we should approach God. So we exiles are to treat our examiners with gentleness and reverence.

Then there’s verse 16. Peter reminds us that who we are is every bit as crucial as what we say. May the testimony of our lives not put the testimony of our words to shame. Instead, “may our good behavior in Christ” also be our apologetic.

The Moment

Before Paul stood up and made his defense at Athens, Acts 17:16 records that Paul’s “spirit was provoked within him.”

If someone, especially in the United States, had fallen into a “Rip Van Winkle” sleep in 2011 and awoken five years later in 2016, he would likely ask, “What happened to my country?” The recent cultural change has been cataclysmic and elicits a response. May our response not be cowardice or compromise. Otherwise, we would violate the command of 1 Peter 3:15–16. We would cease to be the church.

Instead, may our hearts be stirred within us. May we be apologists, confident in the gospel and compassionate toward our persecutors. May we always be ready to give a reason for the hope that is within us—the only hope for a world in desperate need of the gospel.

When people first hear the word apologetics, they typically think of our modern use of the word apology. They often conclude that the task of apologetics is apologizing for the Christian faith as if to say we are sorry for our faith. However, the word apologetics derives from the Greek word apologia, which means “to give an answer” or “to make a defense.” Apologetics is not an apology, it’s an answer—a defense of what we believe. In his first epistle, Peter writes, “In your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15). In his commentary on 1 Peter, Dr. R.C. Sproul writes: Our preparation is to make us ready to give a defense and a reason for the hope that is in us . . . . If your neighbor says, “I notice that you are a Christian. What is it that you believe?” are you ready to explain not only what you believe but why you believe it? Some Christians tell those who inquire that we simply take a leap of faith with no bother about the credibility or the rational character of the truth claims of the Bible, but that response goes against the teaching of this text. The only leap of faith we are to take is out of the darkness and into the light. When we become Christians, we do not leave our mind in the parking lot. We are called to think according to the Word of God, to seek the mind of Christ and an understanding of the things set forth in sacred Scripture.

God calls us to be ready to make a defense for the hope that is in us, but notice that He calls us to do it with gentleness and respect. Apologetics isn’t just for some Christians, it is for all Christians. We all must know what we believe, why we believe it, how to live it, how to defend it, and how to proclaim it—and we must do so with gentleness and respect.

totally different Greek root. Hagios (holy), meaning an "object of awe," translates a form of the Hebrew verb qod, "to divide." Things that are holy (such as the Sabbath day) are separate, set apart. God "blessed the seventh day and made it holy" (Gen. 2:3).

We must conclude that "holiness" is not primarily a moral or ethical concept but the biblical principle of making correct distinctions—in other words, holiness is Twoism. When we say God is holy, we are saying that He is different in His ontological being, and that relative to every other being, He is "other," that is, "holy." (Of course, God is, in His very nature, the definition of morality, so He is also morally pure.)

Herman Bavinck said, "The holiness of God, that is, His distinction from, and His absolute transcendence of, every creature—it was that which was lost to the Gentiles."

God is not only holy/distinct in His relation to the world, but He is holy in Himself. God in His divine being is three distinct persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, who are never confused—although they possess the same divine nature. Thus, God is the source of personal holiness.

The world was created holy, with everything in its rightful place. God carefully separated day and night, seas and dry land, etc.; He created different "kinds" and gave them all specific "names," and declared everything was "very good." In His creation, God established distinctions. Distinctions are essential to holiness. To make holy is to establish the structures of Twoism.

Enter cultural apologetics. Our cultural decline can be measured by the contemporary determination to "eliminate the binary," that is, to erase the concept of Twoism, and to promote unholy Oneism. Teachers now seek to "model nonjudgmental behavior and challenge binary thinking." We now are discovering "nonbinary pronouns." A United Methodist training curriculum for their VBS programs proposes dropping "the gender binary by avoiding such language as boys and girls." Progressive spiritual teachers propose "non-dual" or non-binary spirituality.

The contemporary attack on "the binary" (twoness) is a massive cosmological attack on the Twoist nature of existence reflecting the Creator-creature distinction and all the distinctions the Creator has made. What I suggested in 1992 was confirmed by the British Jewish philosopher Melanie Phillips in 2010: "The real agenda has been to use sexuality as a battering ram against the fundamental [i.e., Twoist] tenets of Western culture in order to destroy it and replace it with a new [i.e., Oneist] type of society altogether."

Jesus is the only answer to our fallen Oneist situation, as the transcendent God mysteriously became man in order to bring us sinners, by His cross, into a restored holy Twoist communion with Himself as our Creator and Redeemer and with one another.

Dr. Peter Jones is executive director of truthXchange, a ministry that exists to recognize and respond to the rising tide of neopaganism. He has authored several books and is the teacher on the series Only Two Religions.

not be mistaken for elementary, for it is a rather technical vindication of supernaturalism versus naturalism defined as a view that nothing exists except nature, that is, the gigantic interlocking of all particles of matter existing from times immemorial. Nature cannot explain the origin of rational thought, and even less provide a basis for morality and conscience.

We are led, therefore, to recognize a powerful and purposive reality beyond the material world, who is the creator and sustainer of all that exists. With this in view, it is not strange that there would be occasions in which interaction between this power and His world might occur where the laws that govern matter might not function as they ordinarily do.

C.S. Lewis then devotes an essential chapter to the “Grand Miracle” of the incarnation of the second person of the Trinity. Then he discusses miracles of the old creation with “the Divine Man focusing for us what the God of Nature has already done on a larger scale” (p. 169). The miracles of the new creation are those in which a “reversal” is manifest, principally the resurrection, which is fundamental for the whole of Christianity.

A brief epilogue and two appendices conclude the book. Throughout we can appreciate the great qualities of C.S. Lewis, his earnestness, his meticulous care not to leave any gaps in his reasoning, his thorough commitment to Holy Scripture, and his marvelous style. Dealing with objections to the virgin birth of Christ, he says that some opponents of it “think they see in this miracle a slur upon sexual intercourse (though they might just as well see in the feeding of the five thousand an insult to bakers)” (p. 115).

That parenthesis is worth the price of the book!

A sermon by R.C. Sproul on 1 peter 3:15

Christian young people face constant attacks on the truth claims of their faith. It is vital that they’re prepared to give an answer for the hope within them (1 Pet. 3:15).

On September 18, 2021, we hosted Always Ready in Sanford, FL., a conference for Christians between 12 and 18 years old. Eric Bancroft, Nathan W. Bingham, Stephen Nichols, and Burk Parsons helped equip students with the Bible’s answers to some of the most common attacks raised against the Christian faith.

Is it necessary to defend your faith? First Peter 3:15 tells us that it is. But is defending the faith a matter of giving historical and archaeological evidences for the dependability of the Bible, or giving rational arguments using the tools of philosophy? Supposing you had all of your evidences and arguments prepared, are they really going to work on the unbeliever? Dr. Sproul looks at Christian apologetics as he helps us understand how to fulfill the mandate in first Peter.

This message will define apologetics and explain its basic task and purpose.

As a Christian, what is your responsibility in sharing your faith? What do you need to know, and how do you equip yourself with sound arguments to defend the gospel? In this session, Nathan W. Bingham explores the importance of apologetics and why young Christians must always be ready to share and defend the reason for the hope that lives within them.

The gospel of John will help you with evangelism and apologetics. Toward the end of his gospel, John says, “These things have been written so that you may believe” (John 20:31).

Read John, and here’s what you will find: You will find characters all over the map. You will find fishermen. You will find Roman soldiers. All of them are being confronted by Jesus, and all of them are forced to answer a question: “Who is Jesus and what are you going to do about it?” As you read John, you will see how Jesus interacts with folks, how the disciples interact with folks, and how they present the testimony of who Jesus is. You will learn plenty of ways to present the gospel. You will know who Christ is and what He has done. Just remember this: “These things are written so that you may believe.” So, that is an easy one, the gospel of John.

How should we contend for the truth claims of Christianity? On this episode of 5 Minutes in Church History, Dr. Stephen Nichols continues his discussion of apologetic methods in the 20th century.

At the start of the 20th century, the church began to face new challenges to Christianity. On this episode of 5 Minutes in Church History, Dr. Stephen Nichols explains several of the methods Christians used to defend their faith in a changing world.

In the last of this series of discussions regarding the integrity and authority of the Bible, Dr. Sproul discusses some interesting arguments that have been advanced in church history to defend Scripture. In this lecture, he delves into Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion, where Calvin himself gave some rather unusual arguments for the authority of sacred Scripture.

Jesus Himself makes a claim that no human teacher ought ever to make unless it's a true claim. He says, "I say nothing on My own authority, but what the Father reveals to Me I declare to You." In Part 4 of "The Bible and Apologetics", the question presents itself, "Was Jesus' teaching on the writer of the Pentateuch and other historical questions correct?" Dr. Sproul spends time going through the claims of many theologians about Jesus and how His two natures come into play with his teachings.