The discipline of Christian apologetics holds a place near and dear to my heart. It was one of the primary means by which God strengthened my faith and called me into ministry. Like many others, I remember having conversations in college about my Christian faith. I recall discussing the tough issues that college students love to spend time talking about. These discussions were not quite on the level of whether or not God could create a stone too heavy for him to lift (Dr. Ronald Nash would later tell me the answer to that question is, “no.”). But we did deal with some very practical questions about Christianity, especially as it relates to other belief systems. I was a very unprepared Christian college student. That realization, however, led me to read. I began reading a book on world religions and cults by Josh McDowell. I next remember buying and reading a book on a strange ”thing” called Christian apologetics by some guy I had never heard of named, Norman Geisler.
What I learned in the years that followed was that almost all I really needed for most “defenses of the faith” was a better knowledge of what I believed. This drove me to dig into God’s Word as well as systematic theology. The rest, as they say, "is history." God used the study of Christian apologetics (the defense of the Christian faith) in my life to drive me to a deeper understanding of the essential truths of the Christian faith as well as how to communicate those truths more effectively. As a pastor, I’ve discovered over the last couple of decades that there are very few new questions. Instead, more often than not, there are the same questions asked in different ways. My mentor, Ken Boa, once told me while I was a seminary student that it’s okay to be asked a tough question by someone and not have the answer… the first time. But, he said, you should never be asked the same question twice without having an answer. In other words, being “stumped” once is virtually a rite of passage. Being stumped by the same question twice is lazy. The first time we’re stumped by a tough question should encourage us to read and study to find the answer. What I’ve tried to do over the years is to get back together with folks who asked me the tough questions and use those opportunities to share my faith with them if they were not already a Christian, or to disciple them if they were. One of the worst things you can do is try to bluff an answer. It seldom works and I’ve learned folks respect your honesty when you say, "I don't know." Having said all of that, I need to be clear: There are indeed some very hard questions about the Christian faith. These questions relate to evil, other religions, science, the Bible, just to name a few. By God’s grace I’ve learned there are some very bright and gifted Christian thinkers who have thought and prayed long and hard about those questions and what God’s Word has to say about them. These very capable apologists have written extensively on most, if not all of those issues, and many have some very helpful websites. The following websites on this list are general apologetics websites. In other words, they are my favorite websites that address a little bit of everything. Make sure to check these sites out. I think you’ll find them a big help. PS – There are many outstanding apologists who will not be found on the list below because they either do not have a website or because their site is not much more than a storefront or a calendar of where and when they will be speaking. They are being used of God in mighty ways, but the sites below are the ones I believe will be the most useful to you online. PSS - New apologists and apologetics websites are popping up regularly. If I've left anyone off of this list, please share their information with me and I'll take a look. Thanks. 1.) Reasonable Faith.org (William Lane Craig’s site) 2.) Ravi Zacharias International Ministries 3.) The Veritas Forum 4.) Stand to Reason (Greg Koukle) 5.) Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry 6.) Apologetics 315 7.) Apologetics Press 8.) Ankerberg Theological Research Institute 9.) Gary Habermas 10.) Christian Research Institute 11.) Lee Strobel 12.) Mary Jo Sharp (Confident Christianity) 13.) J. Warner Wallace (Cold-Case Christianity) 14.) Apologetics.org 15. Always Be Ready 16. Sean McDowell
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