We all have perspectives, it’s part of being human. The way we were raised, life experiences, who we spend our time with, what we read and watch. Opinions and beliefs are spouted on social media and news like pollen in the air. Whether you are left / right, young / old, male/ female, atheist / Christian– there is no such thing as an unbiased viewpoint.
But, is your perspective or viewpoint informed ? Are your opinions and beliefs based on anything in particular? Do you catch yourself passing on “factoids” and realize you haven’t even thought it through to see if it makes sense?
The role of apologetics
We can all benefit from continuous growth in maturity and wisdom by examining what we think, believe, and say from time to time. It’s part of a healthy life to be mentally engaged in what we say, believe in, and how we operate. Below are a few resources to help you hone in on your skills, slice through facts and logic, and really test out your opinions and beliefs like a ninja.
That’s what apologetics is for– to know what you belief, why you believe it, and be able to defend it in a logical and factual way.
As a Christian, to really know what you believe and why is a practical way to carry out the great commission in love and respect. Having confidence in the background facts of your viewpoint gives a confidence and the ability to relax and really listen to others– carry on conversations with interest and gentleness and not defensiveness. Ultimately, to share the good news to a receptive heart and mind.
“ But in your hearts set Christ apart [as holy—acknowledging Him, giving Him first place in your lives] as Lord. Always be ready to give a [logical] defense to anyone who asks you to account for the hope and confident assurance [elicited by faith] that is within you, yet [do it] with gentleness and respect.” 1 Peter 3:15 AMP
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7 Christian Apologetics Resources for you:
Eternity in Their Hearts
We read this book thinking that it might be mildly interesting and maybe lean more towards geography versus Biblical concept but boy were we wrong. I am stunned at how God has interacted with people groups all over the globe preparing them for the Good News of who He is.
A key question we had when we began reading this book was to try to find better clarity on the role of missions to people who have never been reached. This book does a good job on showing an aspect of how God interacts and always shows a willing heart Himself in a way that we had never considered.
Cold Case Christianity
You may have seen J. Warner Wallace in the God’s Not Dead 2 movie as he takes the witness stand as expert testimony. In real life He uses his knowledge of forensics, evidence, and witness questioning techniques as a homicide detective in real homicide cold cases.
For Cold Case Christianity, He applies his professional skills to the ultimate “cold case” of the person of Jesus and His disciples. This is a very unique approach to apologetics from a former atheistic sceptic.
His writing style is very clear and well thought out with just enough examples from real world crimes to make his point while relating it to the Bible and its authenticity. It is a great resource for the question of Biblical credibility and whether the Bible is accurate to the way it was written long ago following the chain of custody.
Is Genesis History Series
Take a tour while hearing amazing features and facts from scientists of today– marine biologists, microbiologists, geologists, astronomers, taphonomists, paleontologist, mechanical engineers, atmospheric scientists, etc. Volume 1 in this series topics include: geology, Spirit Lake, the Grand Canyon, Nautiloid fossils, fossil record, coal, flood, ice age, climate change, radioisotope dating, tectonics.
Volume 2 covers biology, genetics, dinosaur soft tissue, origin of species, flight and mosaic animals, coral and evolution, DNA and mutations.
Volume 3 focuses on the Bible and stars: Genesis, planets, sun, moon, light travel, Big Bang, Tower of Babel, carbon-14 dating, Septuagint and Greek Old Testament, doctrine and creation. These are all on Prime video as well dvd.
Roadtrip to Truth
A 3-season video series, this set covers important topics for the day such as the ultimate postmodernist question– is there absolute truth? Using philosophy, logic, and the rules of the physical universe, what is the conclusion to pressing questions of today? John Fabarez travels to interview people and experts on what the current thought is on the street and what it all means.
A very engaging series with a good teacher’s guide as well as a Bible study guide if you wish for further research. It is well suited for great conversation watching as a family or a with a teen group.
Decide For Yourself
This is a unique book in that it is laid out as an interactive exercise. A question will be posed, possible logical answers are then listed as hypotheses, then scripture is listed to research for yourself, formulate your own conclusion, and have a well-founded doctrine that coherently fits with the Biblical evidence. It is set out very clearly with each question and the steps to formulate a conclusion are clear.
The reader is the one seeing for themselves what is written and are not spoon fed what to think. Gordon Lewis doesn’t just stop there , he finishes each question’s exercise with its significance to life application.
Evidence the Demands a Verdict
This book can be found in many apologetics libraries, pastor studies, classes, and reference libraries for good reason. It is an exhaustive look at all the historical data, references, facts, and statistics of the Bible and Christianity claims with rebuttals to current major questions. This book covers the Bible as a book, Jesus as a person in history, theism vs. atheism arguments, many more. A classic for all libraries.
Dig Deeper
Dig Deeper by Nigel Beynon and Andrew Sach delves into the structural writing of the Bible. Covering interesting various literary tools such as the copycat tool and the allusion tool, this book’s purpose is to open your eyes to some of the important aspects of reading the Bible. Did you know that the Bible will sometimes use a bell shape in its writing to signify a particular tool? Why know this? Because it helps to see the writing style being used to help make the point. It also helps to give insight as to what the passage is for.
As a non-Hebrew speaker, we can sometimes lose some of the added and powerful tradition and cultural references as well as the literary inferences. This book is a great one to add to your library.
