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Why GOOD Apologetics Matter

Apologetics used to be a dirty word in my mind. The word literally means "to defend" and apologetics in a Christian context means to "defend and provide evidence for Christianity." How could that possibly be a dirty word? Shouldn't we all seek to give an account for the hope that we have?

Well growing up my only real encounters with apologetics and apologists were really negative. Occasionally we would have a guest preacher who would share with us "reasons we can be confident in our faith," or something to that effect. Without fail every time this happened the presentation would be on defending Young Earth Creationism from "science." 

This left a bad taste in my mouth because even at a young age I knew that the age of the earth wasn't what mattered most. I was meeting kids at school who didn't even believe that God existed, let alone cared about how old planet earth was. I went to school to hear people mocking Jesus openly, claiming he was a fairy tale character. 

Apologetics, when done right, defends what is most important to the Christian faith. Things like the existence of God, the historical reality of Jesus, evidence for the resurrection, and the reliability of biblical manuscripts are all vital to the Christian faith (and admittedly several of these are far more important than the other). What apologetics does is smooth over roadblocks and objections to these basic premises and ideas, making it easier for people to come to know Jesus Christ.

We need good apologetics that focuses on what matters most. The Christian faith is centered on Jesus Christ and what he has done. We need to ensure that that story can be told effectively. Focusing all of our time on controversial, non-essentials just distracts everybody from matters, Jesus.

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