By Haley Cleveland
Do you have a desire to learn more about apologetics or explore faith questions that a friend or family member has been asking? Apologetics is necessary to help Christians clarify what they believe and why, giving confidence in God’s Word and allowing us to effectively and lovingly evangelize. But with so many apologetics resources available, it can be overwhelming to know how and where to start. Here are some easy next steps that will be applicable at any stage of the learning process!
1. Pray
Prayer will help you as you prepare your heart to learn and grow in apologetics. The Holy Spirit is a gift to you during this process. As you begin, pray for wisdom and guidance. Pray and meditate on the following Bible verses:
- Romans 1:16
- 1 Peter 3:15
- 2 Corinthians 5:20
- Philemon 1:6
2. Determine Your Starting Point
Apologetics is a broad field, so it is helpful to narrow down what you are looking for. What questions are you or the people in your life asking? If you’re unsure what questions to ask, consider these examples:
- What do I believe about truth?
- Can the Bible be trusted?
- How do I know that Jesus really lived, died, and rose again?
- Does the Bible stand against other religions?
3. Begin Your Study
Articles and podcasts are a great way to “get your feet wet” when it comes to the questions you have already identified. You’ll want to make sure your resources are trustworthy; perhaps your pastor or church offers recommendations. Women in Apologetics provides a large article database with many topics explored, as well as two podcasts: Clarity Over Chaos and Voices of WIA.
Some other websites that offer a broad spectrum of apologetics articles are listed below (many of these organizations also produce podcasts).
- Got Questions: gotquestions.org
- Stand to Reason: str.org
- Cross Examined:crossexamined.org
- Cold Case Christianity:coldcasechristianity.com
- TruthXchange:truthxchange.com
4. Go Deeper
After studying your topic through relevant articles and podcasts, you will likely see what areas require more in-depth study. You will want to read broadly on your subject to fully understand all sides of the argument. A good place to begin is by noticing sources from the author’s notes in podcasts and articles.
Women in Apologetics has many book recommendation resources available online! This is a great way to become exposed to other apologetics authors and subjects. You can also start with these:
- Tactics (Greg Koukl)
- Another Gospel (Alisa Childers)
- Bridge-Building Apologetics (Lindsay Medenwaldt)
- Mama Bear Apologetics (Edited by Hillary Morgan Ferrer)
- Five Views of Biblical Inerrancy (Edited by Stanley N. Gundry)
5. Share What You’ve Learned
Perhaps your interest in apologetics began with questions from an unbelieving friend. If they are open to it, share what you have learned and invite them to ask questions or continue to study the subject with you.
You can also seek out an apologetics mentor. Discuss what you’ve been learning and listen to their critique and feedback. This will sharpen your own discussion and conversation skills, and help you know how you should continue studying.
6. Take Apologetics Courses
Your deep study up to this point will expose you to many different topics in apologetics that you are interested in. Taking one or more courses in apologetics will help you develop your knowledge even further.
Women in Apologetics offers several courses on topics such as worldviews, truth, logic, everyday apologetics, Islam, and more!
Finally, many Christian universities offer apologetics courses and degrees. WIA offers a list of recommended programs at https://womeninapologetics.com/apologetics-programs/.
Getting started with apologetics is similar to learning any other subject; you start slowly with the basics, then move on to the more complicated aspects as you gain mastery. Hopefully, these six steps will help the process become less overwhelming. May God bless your study!