Week 2

Chapter 1 - What is Apologetics?

Class Date: August 27, 2025

If you would like a PDF copy of this webpage, you can download it here - Week 2 - PDF

Apologetics Means a Defense

Types of Apologetics

Apologetics can be divided into different types:

A description of the four types can be found here, which I think you’ll find interesting - Types of Apologetics.

Is Apologetics Biblical?

Some people think that apologetics is not necessary and argue that we should let the Holy Spirit do His work. Some say that you can't "argue" someone into the Kingdom.

Why Is Apologetics Important?

Dr. Craig provides three basic reasons for why apologetics is important:

Shape Culture

In this section, Dr. Craig points out that the "gospel is never heard in isolation" (p.17) and that the culture influences how people view, relate, and respond to ideas. He points out the role that secularism has had on our culture. I think that secularism is at least partially responsible for the increase in the number of people that are referred to as "religious nones" in our society. (We'll discuss "religious nones" more during Week 3.)

Dr. Craig states, “Why are these considerations of culture important? Why can’t we Christians just be faithful followers of Christ and ignore what is going on in the culture at large? Why not just preach the gospel to a dark and dying world? The answer is, because the gospel is never heard in isolation. It is always heard against the backdrop of the culture in which you’ve been born and raised. A person who has been raised in a culture that is sympathetic to the Christian faith will be open to the gospel in a way that a person brought up in a secular culture will not.”

He points out the role that secularism has had on our culture. I think that secularism is at least partially responsible for the increase in the number of people that are referred to as "religious nones" in our society.  (We'll discuss "religious nones" more during Week 3.)

On a related note, Dr. Douglas Groothuis, in Christian Apologetics: A Comprehensive Case for Biblical Faith states, “In defending and commending the faith, Christians need to detect exactly what their dialogue partners believe about reality” (p.42, 1st edition). “While the technical discussion of worldviews falls into set categories—theism, deism, pantheism, naturalism, polytheism—people’s beliefs are not always that well categorized.” “Once a person’s worldview has been identified, the apologist should work on establishing common ground with the unbeliever in order to move closer to the Christian perspective.” “But besides worldview detection and looking for points of common ground, we need relational wisdom as to when and how to present arguments for Christian truth. Apologetic “dumping” or “blasting” with little concern for the state of the soul of the unbeliever may relieve pent up tension and display the apologist’s knowledge, but it does little to bring anyone closer to eternal salvation. Some people are quite ready to get an earful of Christian truth; others are so closed that one must retreat and restrategize for another occasion.” (pp.42-43, 1st edition).

Dr. Groothuis continues with, “Another crucial matter for apologetic encounters is context or situation. Since our culture places little value on genuine intellectual dialogue and   p 44  discourse (which takes time, effort and discipline), we must deliberately seek out contexts in which these ideals may be lived out. Although we may find ourselves in apologetic discussions “on the fly” in less than ideal situations (God often engineers such divine appointments), the best intellectual environment is usually one in which there is silence and time to reflect and discuss the things that matter most. This ambience should be as free as possible from distracting stimuli—particularly television, the great destroyer of truth and rationality—and the hurried and harried atmosphere of contemporary culture. Silence, however, is a rich atmosphere for rationally engaging truth, and should be cultivated” (pp.43-44, 1st ed).

Strengthen Believers

Sometimes believers, as well as unbelievers, have questions about the claims of Christianity. This section points out that there are three main benefits of apologetics in your personal Christian life.

  1. “Knowing why you believe as well as what you believe will make you more confident in sharing your faith with others” (p.19).
  2. “Apologetics can…help you keep the faith in times of doubt or struggle” (p.20).
    • “When you’re going through hard times and God seems distant, apologetics can help you to remember that our faith is not based on emotions, but on the truth, and therefore you must hold on to it.”
    • All of us will have difficult times in our life, so I would like to highly encourage you to read the article, "How Apologetics Helps Through Times of Grief”. The author offers these benefits and elaborates on each of them:
      1. Apologetics gives stability through times of grief
      2. Apologetics grants security through times of grief
      3. Apologetics gifts serenity through times of grief
      4. The study of apologetics is going to make you a deeper and more interesting person.”
  3. "the study of apologetics is going to make you a deeper and more interesting person. American culture is so appallingly superficial, fixated on celebrities, entertainment, sports, and self-indulgence. Studying apologetics is going to take you beyond all that to life’s deepest questions, questions about the existence and nature of God, the origin of the universe, the source of moral values, the problem of suffering and evil, and so on. As you wrestle with these deep questions, you yourself will be changed" (p.24).

The following is optional supplemental reading that may interest you.

Win Unbelievers

In this section, Dr. Craig discusses the role of apologetics on winning unbelievers. Here are two resources I would like you to consider. I suspect we won’t have time to discuss them during class, but I offer them for your own reflection.

How to Get the Most Out of This Book

In this section, Dr. Craig gives the admonition, “So this is a book to be studied, not just read.” I hope this course will be beneficial to you and can be a resource in helping you solidify your understanding of apologetics.

You may want to consider downloading each week’s Google Docs file as a PDF file and place it in a folder on your computer. (In Google Docs, go to the File menu at the top, scroll down to Download, then choose PDF document.)

By the way, if you prefer to sit on your couch (instead of an office chair) and you have an iPad, I’d recommend purchasing the app, Goodreader (https://www.goodreader.com/) ($5.99). This app has a LOT of capabilities but is easy to use.

If you prefer hard copies of file, go to the File menu, and scroll down to Print.

Another format is called Markdown. For those who are more technologically savvy, this might interest you. A good free program for managing Markdown documents is Obsidian (https://obsidian.md/). For those who might be interested, feel free to contact me and I’ll show you the basics of Obsidian, which I use every day.

Dr. Craig states in this section, "This book is intended to be a sort of training manual to equip you to fulfill the command of 1 Peter 3:15 (...but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, ready at any time to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you - CSB). So this is a book to be studied, not just read.

In this section, Dr. Craig explains discusses logic, premises, conclusions, and argument maps.
Note: A good book on the topic from a Christian perspective is Clear Thinking in a Messy World: A Christian Guide to Logic, Reason, and Cognitive Bias by Kenneth R. Samples and Mark Perez
You can hear the author describe Chapter 1 - What is Logic? by going here - Clear Thinking | Clear Thinking #5: Why Study Logic?, Part 1 | Clear Thinking.

*** The book indicates that the argument maps for each chapter can be found at http://davidcook.com/onguard, but that is an old link. Instead, you can find them here - OnGuard_ArgumentMaps_Images.pdf.

Reflection Questions.png
Class Activities.png

Reflection Questions and Class Discussion

Go to the Handout for Week 2 and either write in or type in your thoughts to these questions. We'll share our thoughts with each other in a think-pair-share activity.

What Role Does Faith Play in Believing in Christianity?

  1. In this chapter, Dr. Craig states that one of the purposes of apologetics is that it strengthens believers, and later in that section, he states that one of the benefits of learning apologetics for a Christian’s personal life is that “knowing why you believe as well as what you believe will make you more confident in sharing your faith with others.”  I’d like to add that knowing why you believe means answering the question, “What is the basis for your beliefs?” This involves clarifying in your mind the relationship between the concepts of belief, trust, and faith.


In order to explore this further, please watch the following video starting 2:49 (2 minutes & 49 seconds) - https://youtu.be/OpwxM2wNChE?si=10AqZepYh2IKvUK3&t=169 Note: If you are using a hard copy of this handout, here’s an easier URL to type to get to the same video - https://tinyurl.com/DanielAndBeau.  (This link should take you to the 2:49 mark.) As you listen to Daniel (the young man on the left) talk about the role of faith, pay attention to what he says.

Reflection Questions.png Class Activities.png
*Do you think faith is a way of knowing that something is true? Write or type out your answer on page 2 in the Week 2 Handout* We’ll discuss the answers to your questions in a think-pair-share format.

Note: Here’s some food for thought. You don’t need to respond to this, but for those who want to dig deeper, you may find this interesting. A question worth pondering is “What is faith?” What role does it play in our believing the claims of Christianity?  The King James Version of Hebrews 11:1 states, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”  To gain a greater understanding of this verse, it is worthwhile to look at other translations, which you can find at https://www.bibleref.com/Hebrews/11/Hebrews-11-1.html Also, a search will bring out a fuller understanding of this verse. Here's what one website said about this verse: What does it mean that faith is the substance of things hoped for (Hebrews 11:1)? and here's a video about that verse: What Hebrews 11:1 Means (The Most Powerful Definition of Faith) - What Hebrews 11:1 Means (The Most Powerful Definition of Faith).

Supplemental Reading.pngAfter you have watched the video above, read the article, “Tactics for Atheists” by Greg Koukl at https://www.str.org/w/tactics-for-atheists.

Reflection Questions.png Class Activities.png
According to Greg Koukl, what is the relationship between faith and knowledge? Write or type out your answer on page 2 in the Week 2 Handout. We’ll discuss the answers to your questions in a think-pair-share format.

Questions You or Others Might Have Regarding the Claims of Christianity or the Bible

What are some questions that you or maybe others might have regarding claims of Christianity or the Bible? Maybe the questions haven’t resulted in you or others doubting your faith, but they have simply given you or others “pause” and made you wonder how to answer or deal with the question. Brainstorm for at least a few minutes, write or type out your answer on page 3 in the Week 2 Handout We’ll discuss the answers to your questions in a think-pair-share format.

Questions, Thoughts, or Ideas I have:

On page 4 of the Week 2 Handout, write or type any questions that entered your mind during the reading of this week’s chapter or the supplemental reading above. Time permitting, we can discuss them during our class time.

Things to do Before the Chapter 2 Session (Week 3)

Prior to the class session for Chapter 2 (Week 3), in addition to reading Chapter 2, there are some questions to answer, a video to watch, and an article to read. You'll see all of these items mentioned in the

  1. Read Chapter 2 - "What Difference Does It Make if God Exists?" and use the Week 3 webpage as a Reading Guide.
  2. Go to Google Docs and access the handout for next week's class (Week 3 - Chapter 2 - What Difference Does It Make if God Exists?) - Week 3: Ch. 2 - What Differences Does It Make? - Google Docs
    • For instructions on how to save the file to your Google Drive or if you want a copy but don't have a Google account, go to the webpage, Handouts.

Email Me if You Have Questions

** Email me at thecaseforchristianity2025 at gmail.com (put the @ symbol in place of the "at") if you have any questions during the week. (Notice that there is the word "the" at the beginning of the email address - thecaseforchristianity2025.) I am pretty quick at responding to emails so check your email soon after you have emailed me to see if I have responded.

Digging Deeper

The following is a list of books to consider for further reading and is not necessarily an endorsement of each book.

Apologetics - General

Logic

The Relationship between Faith and Reason

Footnotes

  1. p.23, Groothuis, D. (2011). Christian Apologetics: A Comprehensive Case for Biblical Faith. ↩︎