Apologetics is defined by Merriam-Webster as, "A branch of theology devoted to the defense of the divine origin and authority of Christianity." It comes from the Greek word for a legal defense which is used in 1 Peter 3:15, "But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect." (ESV). The word translated "defense" is the word where we get the word 'apologetics' from. You may also want to think about apologetics as knowing and examining what you believe and why you believe it. It is always best to examine your own beliefs first before someone else challenges them. There are many common questions that you may be asked and that is where something like at catechism may help you. You an find a link to the New City Catechism video series under "What We Believe." The videos are state a question, a short answer to memorize, and then they explain the Scripture passages that support this answer in case someone challenges you to show them where the Bible says this. You may also be interested in the 99 Essential Doctrines. A link to the text of these Essential Doctrines is also in the What We Believe section, and you can find videos for each of the 99 Essential Doctrines (usually 99 seconds or less in length) on The Gospel Project's YouTube channel (I have added these playlists on my YouTube channel for your convenience).
For me Apologetics deals more broadly with the issue of worldviews and knowing what one believes about the core questions of Origin, Meaning, Morality, Destiny, and Identity. That is, your worldview will answer the questions of "Where did I come from?," "Why am I here?," "How should I live?," "Where am I going?"/"Is there life after death?," and "Who am I?." At its core, a worldview must address the issues of God, Man, and Nature, and then it must also deal with questions related to Philosophy, Psychology, Sociology, Law, Ethics, Science (Biology, Chemistry, Physics), History, Economics, Politics, Theology, Below, you'll find an image that helps describe what a worldview is and the questions it has to answer.
Worldviews fall into several big categories. They can first be Atheistic, in which case they will either be Naturalistic or Humanistic in nature, or they can be Theistic. Theistic worldviews are further classified as being Monotheistic (one God), Polytheistic (many gods), Pantheistic (everything is a piece of God--God and the universe are the same thing) and Panentheism (God is in everything, but God transcends the physical universe and the universe is only a part of what god is). Even the Agnostic or Skeptic falls into one of these views if they answer these questions honestly. Hopefully these articles as well as those in the Faith and Culture blogs help you to examine your own beliefs and better understand how others with differing worldviews can start with the same facts but come to a different conclusion because they are looking at those facts through a different worldview. Hopefully these articles also help you understand that not all worldviews and belief systems are equally valid (the idea of Relativism that expresses itself as "you have your truth, I have my truth" is quite popular, but violates the fundamental laws of logic for instance). It is possible for everyone's belief systems to be wrong (something could be true that is beyond our ability to consider it and it is an answer that none of us have come up with), but it is impossible for everyone to be right because various worldviews believe contradictory things about God, Man, Nature and the ten disciples listed on the outer edge of the image of the worldview pictured below.
I'll post some articles here from other websites and I'll write some of my own blog articles in the Faith and Culture blog that is connected to Publications section of the site.. Hopefully you find all these resources helpful. There are also great Capital Hill Baptist Church Core Seminars on many of these topics that you can find in the What We Believe area, and all of these topics are addressed directly in the Baptist Faith and Message, our Statement of Faith, our Church Covenant, the 99 Essential Doctrines, and the New City Catechism. If you have questions about any of the items in the What We Believe area or the website or the articles posted here in the Apologetics portion of he website, please use the contact form under the Links and Resources tab to ask a question.
For me Apologetics deals more broadly with the issue of worldviews and knowing what one believes about the core questions of Origin, Meaning, Morality, Destiny, and Identity. That is, your worldview will answer the questions of "Where did I come from?," "Why am I here?," "How should I live?," "Where am I going?"/"Is there life after death?," and "Who am I?." At its core, a worldview must address the issues of God, Man, and Nature, and then it must also deal with questions related to Philosophy, Psychology, Sociology, Law, Ethics, Science (Biology, Chemistry, Physics), History, Economics, Politics, Theology, Below, you'll find an image that helps describe what a worldview is and the questions it has to answer.
Worldviews fall into several big categories. They can first be Atheistic, in which case they will either be Naturalistic or Humanistic in nature, or they can be Theistic. Theistic worldviews are further classified as being Monotheistic (one God), Polytheistic (many gods), Pantheistic (everything is a piece of God--God and the universe are the same thing) and Panentheism (God is in everything, but God transcends the physical universe and the universe is only a part of what god is). Even the Agnostic or Skeptic falls into one of these views if they answer these questions honestly. Hopefully these articles as well as those in the Faith and Culture blogs help you to examine your own beliefs and better understand how others with differing worldviews can start with the same facts but come to a different conclusion because they are looking at those facts through a different worldview. Hopefully these articles also help you understand that not all worldviews and belief systems are equally valid (the idea of Relativism that expresses itself as "you have your truth, I have my truth" is quite popular, but violates the fundamental laws of logic for instance). It is possible for everyone's belief systems to be wrong (something could be true that is beyond our ability to consider it and it is an answer that none of us have come up with), but it is impossible for everyone to be right because various worldviews believe contradictory things about God, Man, Nature and the ten disciples listed on the outer edge of the image of the worldview pictured below.
I'll post some articles here from other websites and I'll write some of my own blog articles in the Faith and Culture blog that is connected to Publications section of the site.. Hopefully you find all these resources helpful. There are also great Capital Hill Baptist Church Core Seminars on many of these topics that you can find in the What We Believe area, and all of these topics are addressed directly in the Baptist Faith and Message, our Statement of Faith, our Church Covenant, the 99 Essential Doctrines, and the New City Catechism. If you have questions about any of the items in the What We Believe area or the website or the articles posted here in the Apologetics portion of he website, please use the contact form under the Links and Resources tab to ask a question.
Math In Apologetics
As a mathematics major, I am always keeping an eye out for articles and videos that connect mathematics and apologetics. These are a few that I have found I would like to recommend for your reading and viewing, and they may help you understand why I love mathematics and I don't believe it is at all in conflict with my biblical worldview.
God and Math
Mathematics
Without God, Math Doesn't Make Sense
Is Math Just a Tool?
Is Improbability the Best Argument Against Evolution?
The Golden Ratio: Curious Connections in Creation
Semi-Technical and Technical Articles:
The Purpose of Mathematics
The Nature of Mathematics
The Universal Language
Mathematics and the Natural Sciences
Unity
God and Math
Mathematics
Without God, Math Doesn't Make Sense
Is Math Just a Tool?
Is Improbability the Best Argument Against Evolution?
The Golden Ratio: Curious Connections in Creation
Semi-Technical and Technical Articles:
The Purpose of Mathematics
The Nature of Mathematics
The Universal Language
Mathematics and the Natural Sciences
Unity