I've known many people (and this includes myself) who have thought that apologetics (defending the faith) was just "not for them" so they didn't spend time seeking out knowledge for defending the claims of the Bible to others. That is, until they had a close friend, co-worker, or family member challenge them with a question they couldn't answer. Then apologetics quickly become something they were very interested in. And rightfully so.
Situations like these have a way of allowing us to see the practical and very important reasons that apologetics are vitally important. When someone poses a tough question that we can't answer it makes us wonder why anyone believes it the way we do. It helps us to understand that atheists, Buddhists, Mormons, Muslims, and others won't be attracted to the Bible unless we can give them strong reasons to be.
Recently I read a blog post titled What If Richard Dawkins Showed Up To Sunday School? [Richard Dawkins is a renowned atheist known for vehemently opposing Christianity, and a very intelligent man in many respects.] In the article the author gave numerous examples of common questions Dawkins poses to Christians to try and disprove the Bible. While the author noted that all of the questions are answerable if only we take the time to study up, I must admit reading some of them made me feel quite nervous.
What if someone asked me that question and I couldn't answer? This is a very real and valid concern. But the solution is not to throw our hands up in the air and simply say, "Oh we just have faith." God never asks us to have faith without giving us valid reasons to put our trust in him. And this kind of answer surely won't convince the intellectual atheist questioning our faith. The solution is to do the leg-work, study our Bibles, do some research, and find the answers to the tough questions. Then we will "be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give a reason for the hope that you have." (1 Peter 3:15)
So as a Christian, don't wait until that situation arises where someone stumps you with a question. Don't put off learning about apologetics until you're forced to. Study now. Read the whole Bible. Wrestle with the hard parts. Search out answers to your lingering questions. Read good books by people like William Lane Craig, Lee Strobel, and Josh McDowell. Start getting prepared now so that when the time comes you will be able to give an answer (1 Peter 3:15). After all, that verse is a commandment from God, isn't it?
Like - double like! :)
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