Apologetics for Parents

Apologetics has scared off a lot of well meaning Christians because of its intimidating name and heavy purpose. However, the ministry of apologetics should be an important part of every Christian’s life.

What is Apologetics?
The nature and meaning of apologetics is giving a verbal defense for the Christian faith. Apologetics comes from the Greek word apologia, which conveys the idea of a person attempting to provide legitimate facts to exonerate the falsely accused (in this case Christianity). You can basically break up the word apologia into two parts: “apo” (away) and “logia” (speech), “to speak away” an accusation.[1]

Dr. Norman Geisler describes the meaning of apologetics in these terms, “[Apologetics] is simply to defend the faith, and thereby destroy arguments and every proud obstacle against the knowledge of God (2 Cor. 10:5). It is opening the door, clearing the rubble, and getting rid of the hurdles so that people can come to Christ.”[2] Furthermore, the usage of the form for apologia or apologeomai (the verb for “vindication”), is recorded at least nine times in the New Testament (Acts 22:1; 25:8, 16; 1 Cor. 9:3; 2 Cor. 7:11; Phil. 1:7, 16; 2 Tim. 4:16; 1 Pet. 3:15, 16).

Pete Bocchino provides a twofold task for the apologist. He articulates that the essential meaning of apologetics is, “to establish the credibility of the Christian faith given the objective evidence (reason), and secondly, to lead the non-believer to a point of decision (faith).”[3]


Why is apologetics necessary?
A prerequisite to defending the faith is not winning the argument! What is necessary in apologetics, and what makes it so effective is when the character of the apologist does not contradict, but rather complement the clear teachings and work of Christ! Bocchino stated that, “the degree to which we can serve Christ is contingent upon the degree to which we surrender ourselves to Him.”[4] For me, my initial response is to go about diffusing all the faulty and fallacious arguments espoused by students everywhere. However, as a servant (2 Tim. 2:24-26), ambassador (2 Cor. 5:20) and child of God (1 Jn. 3:1), I am to gently seek the direction and guidance of the Holy Spirit (Jn. 6:65). Hugh Hewitt rightly comments that, “It is not the Christian life to wound, embarrass, or play one-upmanship with colleagues, friends, or even opponents, but it’s a common vice that anyone can easily fall into.”[5]
Students and parents NEED to defend their faith whenever and as often as God gives them opportunity. There will even be times when a parent will need to defend their faith against the attacks of their teen. But you need to remember that it’s not about disproving your teen’s views, but rather improving your relationship while proving the TRUTH of God!

Apologetics has always be an untapped resource that most parents have overlooked when raising their teen. I believe that if more parents started using apologetics with the goal of strengthening their teen’s faith, the dropout rates of teens from church would be considerably lower than they appear today.

Here is an acrostic that I developed that defines more or less what a defender should represent:

“Always be ready to give a defense (1 Pet. 3:15).”
“Put on the Lord Jesus Christ (Rs. 13:14).”
“Obey God rather than man (Acts 5:29).”
“Let love be without hypocrisy (Rs. 12:9).”
“Obedient in all things (2 Cor. 2:9).”
“Give thanks to God always (2 Thess. 2:13).”
“Imitators of God (Eph. 5:1)”
“Speaking the truth in love (Eph. 4:15).”
“Test all things, hold fast to what is good (1 Thess. 5:21).”

[1]Kenneth Boa, Faith Has Its Reasons (Colorado Springs, Colorado: NavPress, 2001), 17 (page citations are to the reprint edition).
[2]Francis J. Beckwith, To Everyone an Answer (Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 2004), 9 (page citations are to the reprint edition).
[3]Pete Bocchino, Apologist (n.p., n.d.).
[4]Ibid.
[5]Hugh Hewitt, In, but Not of (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2003), 166 (page citations are to the reprint edition).