If you’ve ever heard, read, or interacted with an atheist you’ll be familiar with one of their most absurd tropes: there is no evidence for the veracity of Christianity. Thus they define “faith” as a religious term that means believing without evidence, or in spite of the lack thereof. But faith, as I argue in the book, is more accurately defined as trust based on adequate evidence. As such it is not a religious term at all. We use the same faculties of assessment, for instance, to believe in the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth from the dead, as we do when we fly in an airplane. There is enough evidence for both, so we can trust the former for our salvation, and the latter our safety. Can we have absolute certainty as Descartes? No. Absolute certainty doesn’t exist in anything, but beyond a reasonable doubt does. Being finite creatures our knowledge is always limited, and so some level of trust, or faith, is required in everything we do.
I say all this to share a website with you that was instrumental for me when I rediscovered apologetics in 2009, Apologetics 315. It had been a couple decades or more since I’d done any serious study in apologetics, and I was amazed at the explosion of apologetics materials that were available, and so much of it for free. That’s when I got my first little MP3 player, and became an instant MP3/podcast junkie. The resources at Apologetics315 are almost endless, and filled my little player with many hours of listening and educational pleasure.
The name comes from I Peter 3:15 where Peter says that we should always be prepared to give an answer (apologia in Greek for defense as in a court of law, and were we get the term apologetics from) for the hope that we have. Christianity has never been about faith as atheists define it. Most Christians, unfortunately, think defending the faith is for other people to do, if they even think of it at all. Or that apologetics is for intellectual types, but Peter’s exhortation is for all Christians, which is why Apologetics315 is such a valuable resource. Especially so in a post-Christian secular culture that is positively hostile to our faith. As I argue in the book, apologetics must be central to our Christian commitment, and central to how we raise our children. That’s why I came up with the phrase, holistic apologetics parenting lifestyle. But you can’t do that if you don’t have the knowledge, which is why Apologetics315 should be a daily, or at least weekly destination.
After several years of my almost daily trek to the site, I noticed the content was growing increasingly static. So the visits, sadly, became increasingly rare. Then I noticed a year or two ago (the years all seem to meld together as I get older) that the site had come alive again. I learned that a young entrepreneurial apologist I know from when we lived in Illinois, Kurt Jaros, had bought or taken over the site, and it’s better than ever. It’s now part of his Defenders Media ministry, and a valuable resource for defending our faith, and the faith of our children.
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