Christians Face Skepticism Like Never Before: Apologist – ‘Always Be Ready to Give an Answer’
The host of a popular apologetics podcast says the need for Christians to be able to defend their faith is greater than ever.
Justin Brierley, the host of the Unbelievable? podcase and the theology and apologetics editor for Premier Christian Radio told Christian Headlines it’s nearly impossible to “live in a Christian bubble in today’s world” due to the influence of social media and the Internet.
“Everyone’s only a Google click away from radical skepticism these days,” Brierley told Christian Headlines. “And so I think it’s really important in today’s age for Christians, to as 1 Peter 3:15 says, always be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks about the reason for your hope.”
With the cultural rise of the “nones” – a category that includes atheists and agnostics – Christians are increasingly “being forced” to “answer tough questions and objections,” he said.
The Unbelievable? podcast tackles the great questions of life – Is there evidence for God? Can the Bible be trusted? – by getting Christians and skeptics talking to one another, he said.
“What we’ve been aiming to do with the show is modeling dialogues and conversations between believers and unbelievers [and] to be ready to give an answer, but also to do as the end of [1 Peter 3:15] says – doing it with gentleness and respect, which is often lacking in a lot of discourse, especially on social media,” Brierley said.
Kindness and gentleness, Brierley said, are essential in conversations about faith. It’s not just “what we say” but “how we say it,” he added.
“People only will receive something in the right spirit when we do it in a way that the Bible encourages us to,” Brierley said. “So for me, it’s definitely something Christians need to learn to be more proactive in their faith, to be responsive, to be able to defend their faith, but also to do it with gentleness and respect.”
The podcast, he said, is for anyone on the Christian journey.
“[It helps] Christians think through” tough questions, he said. “[It] also helps people who are on that journey, perhaps they’ve lost confidence in Christianity, or perhaps they’re reacting to a particular cultural version of Christianity.”
Publication date: December 28, 2022
Photo courtesy: ©Sparrowstock
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
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