A Calvin Research Group Academic Resource, Module 10A2
The Preparation to Become An Apologist
Dr. Johnson C. Philip & Dr. Saneesh CherianPracticing apologetics is increasingly becoming an unavoidable and a necessary activity for Christians. The attacks directed against the Christian Faith are growing at an exponential rate in the twenty first century, and no Christian remains immune from it.
In fact every Christian can point to occasions either in school/college campus, or in the office, where one or more colleagues asked pointed questions that in effect attacked the Christian Faith. The options were also clear: either you give us a satisfactory answer, or quit exhibiting your faith to us.
Anti Christian sentiments have grown so much worldwide that books that attack the Bible become instant best-sellers in any language and in any country. T V programs routinely attack Christians and present them in highly distorted manner. Numerous magazines and even technical journals are being published against the Bible, and several large publishing houses bring out books regularly against the Christian faith. All these anti Christian ideas permeate in society. Ideas have consequences, and questions hostile to the Christian faith are therefore fired repeatedly at Christians individually or collectively.
The response from the Christian community takes many forms. Some jump into the fray and use apologetics without any preparation whatsoever. They feel anyone can be an apologist, despise preparation, go to war against powerful enemies of Christianity, and are humiliated and made laughingstock in front of others. Instead of defending the faith, they invite only shame.
There is a second group that feels Christians should keep silent even in the face of mounting attack against the faith. Some of these people do not understand the issues at all and continue to live in fool's paradise. Others are escapists and do not wish to get involved. Still others do not know what to do and keep silent. Though this group is made up of inactive people who never respond to challenges against the faith, they are better than the first group which gets into battle without preparation. In the long run, those who rush without preparation cause embarrassment while the second group that remains silent causes the church to lose may young believers to unbelief. However, there is thankfully a third group that rises to the task.
This third group is made up of people who are prepared for Christian Apologetics. They know that the opposition is causing much damage in the Christian community specially among the young people. They also know that someone needs to stand as the bulwark in the Christian community, and that this is possible only with adequate preparation. It is, thank God, these people who silence the critics, answer sincere inquirers, and help the doubting Thomases among the Christians. Following the model of Christ, they are willing to offer evidence to anyone who asks for it.
Almost every sincere Christian can practice apologetics if he has adequate preparation. Not everyone can become a specialist, though, and that is not needed also. It is similar to the field of medicine. Most people who go to a hospital suffer only from common ailments, and they need only a General Medical Practitioner for help. Only twenty percent or less need to go to a specialist medical doctor. Even among them only a minority needs the help of a super-specialist. Similarly, the average well-informed Christian can handle the bulk of the questions faced in everyday life. Twenty percent of the questions will need the help of people who have a specialized apologetics ministry.
In the next pages we will outline the preparation needed to become a good apologist. The general practitioners of apologetics will need to follow the first few steps while those who aim at specialization will need to follow all the steps.
Spiritual Preparation: Since Christian Apologetics aims to defend the Christian faith, the apologist should obviously be a born-again Christian of good spiritual commitment and standing. If his faith is worth fighting for, then he himself should first be committed to it. But if he himself has no commitment to it, he is getting into a battle by proxy. He is trying to lay down his life for something he is not convinced about in the first place. That will not work.
Spiritual commitment is not a one-time or once-for-all event, but an ongoing process in which he examines himself every day and affirms his commitment on a regular basis. This demands a life where daily devotion, study, reflection, and resolution, all geared to continuous spiritual growth.
No apologist can grow in a spiritual vacuum, nor can anyone sustain his spiritual IQ by depending upon himself alone. So he should make it a practice to read the spiritual giants of his era as well as of bygone eras. This will put him in touch with the greatest spiritual minds of all the times, accelerating his own spiritual understanding as he imbibes the way God illuminated others of his kind.
Such reading and meditation should have two components, and both of them are important. The first part is a regular, disciplined, and time bound devotion and study. The best possible time of the day should be allocated for it. One should not miss this appointment, except in case of emergencies and unavoidable engagements. As the apologist keeps this appointment without fail, his body and mind gradually adapt to it in such a way that he begins to get maximum benefit from it. His whole system gets tuned to that event at that time, his concentration and perception are enhanced, and he begins to enjoy his spiritual feast and exercise.
While a regular, time bound, devotion and study of scriptures is the essential first step of preparation, conscious reflection on it during free times and without a set time is the second part. The apologist should make reflection an essential part of his life. Initially he will have to do it consciously, but gradually his whole being will be tuned in such a way that his mind automatically gets back to it as soon as he is free. Spiritual reflection becomes integrated with his thought process.
In Joshua 1: 8 we read, "This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success". The Word of God repeatedly emphasizes the need for reflection on a regular basis. In Psalms 1:2 and 3 we read, "But his delight is in the Law of the Lord; and in His Law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in seasons; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper".
Along with one's spiritual life and growth, the apologist should also take great care of his theology. While meditation and reflection are usually informal, theology is much more formal and systematized presentation of doctrinal information which is found in the Bible in a scattered manner. God has His own perfect purpose in scattering information about every key doctrine throughout the Scripture, and we should not question the way He operates. Christians, specially the Apologists, need to integrate this information. However, when such information on a given subject is collected, collated, and interpreted, one may make mistakes. A key verse might be ignored. A key turning-point might not be noticed. The real thrust of a passage might be overlooked. This is why the systematization of theology took two millennia from the completion of the Canon.
Systematization and deduction is a long process, where one fine-tunes the deductions and inductions in each round of interpretation. However, in the hurry that most people are in, they might at times overlook the discipline needed, and might come to theological conclusions which are not entirely correct. Since the entire theological edifice of the Bible is one whole and tight-fitting integrated unit, an error in one place without exception results in error in other places. The Apologist should take care to spot and avoid such errors because once there is error in one's thinking or perception at the theological level, one can never become a successful apologist, for nothing substantial is left to defend if the foundation is missing or crooked. This is why the aspiring Christian Apologist should become highly literate or well-read in theology.
History has shown repeatedly that people ignorant of history are condemned to repeat the avoidable errors of history. The same is true of theology. Those who are not exposed to the ongoing stream of orthodox theology, and those who do not care to study the erroneous views and interpretations in the theology of others often end up favoring interpretations and ideas that ultimately lead them into errors that have long ago been condemned by orthodoxy. [We must hasten to add here that in theological circles the word "orthodoxy" represents commitment to the fundamentals of the Christian faith, and hence is a positive word. This needs to be pointed out here because the word has other shades of meaning too, including pejorative uses].
Within theology, the Christian Apologist should be firmly committed to the four Cardinal Doctrines which are:
Sola Scriptura: Bible alone is the Holy Spirit inspired divine revelation, and Bible alone is the final word in all matters of doctrine and practice.
Sola Fide: Faith alone is the means of obtaining justification, and human merit or work plays no role in it.
Sola Gratia: Grace alone is the means of salvation, and works play no role in it.
Solus Christ: Christ alone is the Saviour, and there is no other mediator between God and man.
Any wavering on these Cardinal Doctrines will result in diluting other doctrines and eventual compromise. For example those who waver on Sola Scriptura are quick to denounce the six-day fiat creation. From there they degenerate to theistic evolution and the eventual abandonment of the entire special-creation and Edenic sin framework. Nothing much is left for defense or apologetics at this stage, and this has been demonstrated through the degeneration and fall of many Christian Apologists who compromised on the Cardinal Doctrines.
Battles are won only by armies that are prepared to fight. The same is the situation with Christian Apologetics. Every aspiring Christian Apologist should nurture his spiritual life and theology on a daily basis all his life.
Some Practical Tips: Things done randomly might yield some results initially, but the end will be chaotic. Witness a large house that results from random modifications and ad hoc constructions over a few decades. The house would surely be very large, but this patchwork would also be chaotic, to say the least. Much money, resources, and space would have been consumed, but the end-result will not be pleasing. The same is it with your spiritual and theological self-enrichment. A spiritual life and vision developed randomly and in an ad hoc manner might eventually seem great, but that is only because it is inflated and bloated. There is nothing substantial inside, and it lacks foundation. It would fall down at the most unexpected moment, the way an unplanned house crumbles down in an earth quake.
To avoid the element of randomness, the apologist should follow a systematic plan of devotion and Bible-study. Any plan that suits him and that he is able to follow for a long time will be okay. Many lists are available that help a person to read the whole Bible in one year in very convenient daily segments. Devotion-related guides are available, and some of them are of very high spiritual quality. Which of these you choose is not all that important. What's essential is that once you choose a good plan you should stick with it for sufficiently long for it to create an impact in your life.
Reading good expository magazines and books, listening to audio, etc. is also important. As you continue studying in this manner, the Word of God will open up to you in a special manner. You will begin enjoying the Scripture in unusual ways and will find ideas and inspiration jumping out at you as you read familiar passages.
You should also read some of the more well-written and orthodox systematic theologies. You should also read the classics that keep appearing on narrower topics in theology. For example, you should read William Fitch's God and Evil as it tackles the question of how evil can exist in a world controlled by a benevolent God who is also all-powerful and why does He not eliminate evil altogether. You should read James W. Sire's The Universe Next Door about World views, Is Jesus the only Saviour by Ronald Nash, The problem of Pain by C. S. Lewis, etc. The larger volumes will give you a comprehensive framework whereas the smaller and more focused works will give you a clearer understanding of special issues in theology.
If at all possible you should also regularly read some of the more conservative theological journals. These will keep you updated on many important issues in theology, and will also keep you ready to answer many perplexing questions. Many of these journals are available on the web for free download, costing you little. There are also many small and large theology websites that discuss every possible theological question. Keep yourself updated on a regular basis.
Mental Preparation: Christian Apologetics is basically a battle of ideas where wrong ideas and philosophies are refuted and the right set of ideas is propounded and defended. Since human mind is the seat of ideas, apologetics requires interaction at the mental level.
While all humans use their minds, not all of them use it fully or for entirely constructive activities. The fall in Eden has corrupted the human mind to such a level that rising up beyond this depravity to think in a wholesome manner has become difficult for the unregenerate man. Even regenerate people do not have their depraved minds immediately transformed into the state of innocence. What is more, in every generation there are any number of people who keep devising methods, arguments, and philosophies so as to confuse, persuade, or lead people astray. Thus for the truth-loving child of God, every day brings new frontiers of mental fight.
The problem with mental fight is that since it is invisible and not material, people on the defense side (victims) take it lightly. Even Christians on the offense usually do not give it the attention or seriousness it ought to receive. What cannot be seen with the eyes often deceives us into thinking that it does not exist. Such as ideas that underlie deviant movements, are ignored or underestimated.
The Scripture repeatedly stresses the role human mind plays in spiritual life and spiritual battle. In Proverbs 4: 23 we read, "Keep your heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. In today's health-conscious world large number of people invest heavily in health and fitness equipment because changes to one's health for worse are immediately visible, and they wish to counter and arrest it. But similar changes at the mental level are not that obvious, except to the highly trained people. This is one reason why the Scripture places a heavy emphasis on guarding the mind.
So important does God consider the mind that the Scripture uses the word mind/minds at least 111 times, the word thought/thoughts 139 times, the word think/thinks 82 times, and the words heart/hearts close to 1000 times. Many more mind-related words are used, but the above statistics are sufficient to impress any thinking Christian person about the importance of the human mind. Many subjects to which Christians give much importance are not mentioned even one-tenth of this time. That being so, how much more importance we ought to give to the mind in the light of the above-mentioned statistics.
The Preparation to Become an Apologist: In 2 Corinthians 11:3 the Spirit of God says, "I am afraid, lest as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your MINDS should be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ" (NASB). Obviously, the human mind is the most essential human component of the system used fighting Satan. The same idea is emphasized by the Scripture in Ephesians 4:7-9 which in NASB says, "This I say therefore, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer as the gentiles also walk, in the futility of their MIND, being darkened in their UNDERSTANDING, excluded from the life of God, because of their HEART; and they having become CALLOUS, have given themselves over to sensuality, for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness". The human mind needs to be channeled into the right direction even in the lives of the greatest believers and apologists. Else it will go astray and fall into the deepest sin and rebellion as witnessed in the life of Solomon the most intelligent human and the wisest believer the world has ever seen.
Coming to the Christian Apologist, he should always remember that it is a battle at the mental level. If he prepares himself at this level, he will be able to fight. If he neglects preparation in this area he is poised for failure in his professional life and disaster in his personal life.
The Christian Apologist should therefore take great care of his mental life. He should keep interacting with the best conservative minds of the present and past, through personal interaction as well as through reading. He should read books that can challenge, inspire, and also the ones that can answer his personal doubts.
There is a misunderstanding among most Christian Apologists that they are immune to doubts, and that they shall never face doubts themselves. This false belief can greatly handicap and even spiritually kill them. Most people who see doctors and medical personnel erroneously think that these people never fall sick. Actually nobody can indiscriminately work in the medical field, and all medical workers are always under above-average threat of catching infections because they are closer to germs and viruses than the average person is. The secret of their health is not all-round immunity, but "all-round precaution". They take all the essential vaccinations in time, do not forget to take the booster dosages, wash their hands after touching people with contagious diseases, and use gloves and masks when necessary. What's more, they also take good care of their health so that the resisting power of their bodies against infections remains at the peak. The moment they fail to do this, they fall victims of every possible infection. The same is the situation with the Christian Apologists and their faith.
The Christian Apologist should take care of his mind in the same way. He should keep reading the best apologetics books, magazines, and journals. He should also keep exploring the techniques used by the enemy. Above all, he should always keep himself at the peak of mental health so that nothing quickly overwhelms his defenses.
He should also keep examining his spiritual commitment and persistence. Any reduction in these should immediately be corrected by reading the best apologetic works and also by interacting with zealous apologists. One's spiritual life should also be overhauled and 'refitted'. All intense apologetic involvement and battles should be avoided as long as one is in a weak and susceptible condition.
Practical Preparation: Christian Apologetics definitely has a theoretical side, but these theoretical studies become useful and successful only when it is used in the practical arena. This requires rigorous practical preparation. Just as learning the principles of swimming in a classroom does not make one a swimmer, mere exposure to the theoretical aspects of Christian Apologetics will not make one a capable apologist.
Oral and written communication are the vehicles of apologetics. While all of us speak and write, not all of us do so effectively either in personal life or in formal situations. Witness the number of people who frequently run into trouble due to their speech. Thus the apologist should continually sharpen his skills of oral and written communication. He should make it a habit to frequently read books and articles on communication, delivery of speech, and print-media communication. Tons of free material is available on the net, if one is not able to afford books.
The apologist is depriving himself if he restricts all his communication to the oral media. He needs to write frequently (even if these are not meant for publication), because only expression in writing makes one exact. While all of us speak a lot, most of us would be shocked if a transcript of any of our speeches were given to us. We would quickly discover that we did not say what we thought we did, and it did not go the way we thought it did. Important words (though they did come to our mind) would be missing, essential phrases would not be there, and often the presumed link between our statements would not be there.
Reducing our ideas, arguments, and apologetic presentations to writing helps us to analyze the content as well as the way it is presented. It would help us to spot our weak points. All of this will go a long way improving communication. We will become more clear. People will be able to hear what we want them to hear rather that what we think they heard us saying.
Though the primary purpose of the personal writing-exercise mentioned earlier is to develop accuracy and compactness of expression, if the apologist can go ahead and get published, it will add to his preparation and preparedness. First, it refines his ability to communicate. Second, the feedback from his readers helps him to discover his weak spots and also the current areas of discussion and debates related to the Christian faith. Third, a writer gradually develops popularity and authority though his published work, and emerges as an expert in his field of writing. This in turn makes him more popular and welcome among his potential listeners.
The apologist should also keep his eyes open to developments in society that support the Christian faith, and also things that challenge the Christian faith. For example newspaper and magazines worldwide carry news, articles, and stories from time to time that question the Christian faith directly or indirectly. The apologist should be the first one to read them, analyze, and formulate an objective answer (even if he would never have to face that question). Since no apologist can read all the available periodicals, should develop a circle of friends who would alert him about such writings. He should then get a copy of that article as fast as possible, read it, and be ready with answers.
Ideas have consequences, and more so with anti-christian ideas because the whole world is in rebellion against God from the Edenic fall onwards. Many of the young Christians read such articles eagerly and end up puzzled about the reliability of the Christian faith. Given the right atmosphere, they are sure to ask these doubts to the sympathetic apologist. Even if they fail to do so, the perceptive apologist should make it a point to elicit the questions that trouble them. Of course, a clear and satisfactory answer can be given only if the Christian apologist understands the nature of attack in a given article or story and thinks through the answer beforehand.
A good example is a survey which an Indian magazine carried out a few years ago. It claimed to the effect that one-third of all Indian men had one or more extra-marital liaisons. It then went on to claim that permissiveness is the norm and that people who advocate a conservative lifestyle were a minority in India. So persuasive was this article that numerous other Indian magazines quoted it and the slogan that "Morality is Dead" became the talk of the day among Urban Indians. Everywhere that I went to speak in camps, conferences and seminars people had this to ask: Is morality dead in India, and are we abnormal because of our conservative outlook about the sanctity of sex.
Most people think that only a topic like the scientific accuracy of the Bible comes under the purview of Christian Apologetics. This is an erroneous and ridiculous position. When the Scripture in I Peter 3:15 says "Be ye ready always to give an answer to every man who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you" we should realize that the hope that is in us touches every aspect of our Christian life, including the Biblical principles of sexual purity. Consequently I felt a need to address the subject in an objective manner, and searched everywhere till I was able to get the original article from which they all were quoting, and it turned out to be a big surprise.
The magazine that conducted the survey was a pornographic one. Out of its 100,000 or so many readers, less than 2000 had (reportedly) participated, and one-third of them had confessed that they were people of easy virtues. All of this totally negated the tall claims made by the magazine. First, the survey was conducted among a group of lecherous people who read pornographic magazines, and not among the typical urban Indian males. Second, even among such an avowedly lecherous crowd, two-thirds of the males refused to have extra-marital liaisons and were strictly monogamous. Clearly, the results of this survey gave no indication that conservative morality was dead. On the contrary, it only showed that even the Peeping Tom's of India go by the conservative morality in their family lives, a deduction totally opposite to what they were proclaiming. Once I discovered this, it became easy to diffuse the bomb they were dropping all around. Every Christian Apologist should prepare himself in a similar manner to face the distortions of the media whether it touches morality or canonicity.
Periodicals are not the only offenders against whom the Apologist needs to watch. Countless books come out every year, both fiction as well as non-fiction, that directly or indirectly attack the Christian faith. One of the recurring themes is that the Lord Jesus did not die on the cross but that He eventually came out of the swoon or stupor, and fled to the more tolerant and hospitable India where He lived up to the age of 130. They then pile up all kinds of "proofs" including the presumed grave of Jesus in the Kashmir state of India. On the other extreme are books that totally deny that Jesus was a historical person. In between them there is a whole range of books that attack various aspects of the Christian faith either through fiction or through nonfiction books.
Christian young people are often more fascinated by such destructive books than wholesome ones. Even many older believers who are fence-sitters are fascinated by such books and invest a fortune buying such books. Unfortunately, once such books enter a Christian homes, many believers (including some very young ones) are enticed into reading them. Others are trapped when some rebellious soul passes such books to unsuspecting people, claiming that it is a "great" book. Ideas have consequences, and all of them end up with various levels of doubt. The Christian Apologist should come to their rescue.
The apologist should regularly read book-reviews and book-summaries, which appear in newspapers, magazines, and journals. He should even subscribe to book-review magazines which are now becoming common worldwide. The Internet provides numerous book-review and book-summary resources and most of them are free. Once he spots books that can create serious problem to his potential audience, he should look for everything he can find that exposes the fallacy propounded by that book. If he feels he needs to know the book first-hand, he should read it critically and analytically as soon as possible.
There are a very large number of websites devoted to Apologetics and Polemics. Some of them contain thousands of pages of resource material, and one can access all of them free of cost. The Christian Apologist should regularly visit these sites to get an idea of the breadth of the field. He will never be able to read it all, but even an exposure to the titles and summaries would be an education in itself. Once he is acquainted with the wider field, he can pick and choose articles in areas of his special interest. On would find articles on almost every subject, popular to technical in depth and one page to 200 pages in length. Downloading and printing these articles for personal use is allowed under the "Fair Use" provision of the Copyright Laws. Doing so is often an option cheaper than buying books. What's more, on larger apologetics websites one can frequently get analytical articles on current issues which take some time to appear in the print media.
Many of the larger apologetics ministries offer email bulletins, some of which are loaded with apologetic articles and late-breaking news of interest to the Apologist. It is essential and useful to subscribe to at least half a dozen selected ones. They will keep the Apologist updated with current information, and also save him the labour of wading through countless sites to gather the same information himself. Some of these bulletins are so rich with information that I print and file them to help me in my ongoing ministry, and once you discover the bulletins useful to your ministry, you will also do the same. Some of the bulletins offer materials of such lasting value that the websites archive them and the interested Apologist can easily download all the older issues.
Discussion forums are a special feature of the Internet. Here one can participate in answering, discussing, or debating on any conceivable subject under the sun. There are fora exclusively dedicated to apologetics, whereas there are others where apologetics is one part of it. Try to visit them as often as possible to discover hot topics and also some of the common problems people face. Read the responses and you will discover much. Go to as many fora as possible, but resist the temptation to post, unless it is a "moderated" forum. People can be unruly in unmoderated fora, and would stoop down to name-calling if they are discredited. Worse, if your identity is known to them, then many of the radical and baser contributors will launch a character-attack crusade against you, causing much loss to your mental peace. Use the Internet fora only to learn, and post only in moderated ones.
Keep doing all this. Make it a life-long passion. Keep sharpening and polishing your armor, lest you be caught unawares and with a rusted armory.
Professional And Formal Preparation: Up to a few centuries ago one could learn almost any profession or trade without formal training in a college or technical institution. However, each field of study has grown with such leaps and bounds in the last two to three centuries, that none can become an expert today in any field without formal training.
True, even today some people learn traditional arts and crafts through apprenticeship in a totally informal way, but such people would not be able to rise beyond a certain level. For example, India has had native medical systems for thousands of years. People often learn these systems in non-formal ways. But when they get into medical practice, they are never able to interpret a blood, urine, or stool test. X Rays, ECGs, EEGs, or CAT scans that deliver diagnostic information are totally alien to them. Consequently, their medical-practice is always handicapped, and they are in danger of messing up the health of people due to lack of proper training in diagnostics. The same is the situation in Christian Apologetics. Unless the Apologist gets trained, he will not be able to diagnose problems accurately and in time.
People opposed to the Christian faith have been sharpening their arsenal in the last two to three centuries. What's more, based upon researches in Social Sciences these people have also been introducing new methods of attack against the Christian faith. For example, formal Propaganda and Mind Manipulation Techniques were discovered in the early twentieth century, and they were harnessed by the radicals in the second half of the twentieth century, so advanced and sophisticated is their arsenal today that only a formal study can help the Apologist to fight with efficiency.
Though Biblical Apologetics is several millennia old, formal training in it became available only in the last quarter of the twentieth century. Only few institutions offer such courses, and therefore the Christian Apologist will have to do some searching before he can find a course suitable for him.
There are three methods for getting formally trained today: through introductory distance courses, through short-term classroom training, and through full-fledged courses; Most people would find it useful to go through all three of these in the order given above.
A search for Apologetics courses and Creationism courses on the Internet is the best method for discovering introductory courses. Even a search of Biblical Archeology courses might yield some result. Join these courses and study them formally. Even if they allow you to cover the course through self-study, prefer the formal approach. No amount of self-study can be as good as an instructor-guided study. Do not restrict yourself to just one or two courses or institutions. Join all possible courses, and do not worry about repetition. You can never study Apologetics too much.
Meanwhile keep looking for camps, conferences, seminars, and short-term residential courses in Apologetics and Creationism. Attend as many as possible. You will soon realize that the correspondence courses and the short-term courses greatly compliment and reinforce each other. This is also the time to grapple with the more serious books and articles in these subjects. Read them as much as you can, but leave that are not yet accessible lest you become discouraged.
Once these stages are over, see if you can join a seminary known for apologetic emphasis, or which offers full courses and specialization in Christian Apologetics and Creationism. If it is impossible to join a residential course, then try a distance course. See if you can get at least an MTh level course with emphasis on Christian Apologetics.
Full-fledged courses in Apologetics are not yet common, but a few seminaries do offer some courses. There are at least two or three seminaries that offer courses worldwide through distance education. Keep looking and you will discover something that's suitable for you.
Summary: Christian life is a battle, and more so with Christians Apologetics. A systematic approach to learning and keeping oneself fit will go a long way to ensure effectiveness and success in your ministry.
Original article contributed by Dr. Johnson C. Philip & Dr. Saneesh Cherian. Revised by:
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