by Jade Turner
Before I even knew that Christian apologetics was a field of study, I loved learning how to defend my faith. Knowing that there are good answers to the questions and objections that skeptics have about Christianity revitalized my faith as a teenager and gave me such confidence in my faith.
I definitely did not know then that I would become immersed in the world of apologetics and even co-found a ministry for women in apologetics. While I am so blessed to be able to speak at different apologetics events, I believe that I am primarily called to be a “one-dollar apologist.” This is someone who is willing to take the opportunities in their circle of influence to defend the gospel to whoever asks.
I will never forget the night when I was able to do this with a total stranger.
Many years ago, I was with Jonathan (my boyfriend then; husband now) on a casual date. We were strolling around a Barnes & Noble and eventually found ourselves in the Christian book section. We were eyeing the array of study Bibles and discussing translations and commentaries (Bible nerds then; Bible nerds now). Suddenly, someone behind us asked a question: “Are you guys Christians?” We turned around and nodded, surprised. There was a young man there with a friendly face and dark curly hair. He then said, “Well, I’m an atheist, but I have a lot of questions.”
I nearly laughed in shock. Talk about fish jumping into the boat! It felt like we were in a staged scenario about sharing our faith on the fly. But no, this was a real, curious person named José, and we told him that we would be happy to talk with him.
This was before Jonathan and I were apologetics students at seminary, but the Lord had already been working in our lives to be able to give good reasons for our faith. We both had been learning to defend our faith for years, and had seen the fruit of that in our own Christian walks. It equipped us for evangelism.
Now we found ourselves with José, ready or not to answer his questions . . . and he had a lot of them.
As soon as we would answer one question, he’d fire off the next one. We went back and forth for a good while; his questions were all over the place. He asked about God, Jesus, the Bible, objective truth, and about those who had never heard of Jesus. He wasn’t mean-spirited, and it did not seem like he was trying to de-convert us.
After what felt like the hundredth rabbit trail we had gone down, the Holy Spirit nudged my heart: “The gospel. Get to the gospel.”
So eventually I said something like this: “José, you seem like a smart guy. Think about the length of eternity. If you’re wrong, you have your eternal soul to lose. Do not risk it. Jesus died for you and he’s the only way to salvation.” We ended the conversation pleasantly. I asked him if I could add him on Facebook so we could continue talking, but I never heard back from him.
I am still in awe of how God orchestrated that event, and I still pray for José when I think about him.
I am not a world-renowned apologist (a.k.a. a million-dollar-apologist), but I am a Christian who desires to defend my faith to whoever asks me. As believers, that is what we are all called to do. Famous apologists like Alisa Childers and William Lane Craig have incredible influence and can reach millions of people from their platforms. However, they can’t reach your family, friends, and neighbors like you can. They can’t be at every bookstore, waiting for a curious skeptic to ask questions. That’s where we come in, faithful Christians and one-dollar-apologists ready to engage whoever the Lord sends to us.