Resources For Those New To Apologetics

This post is for the purpose of giving people who are new to apologetics resources for developing their skill in apologetics. I'll probably add to this list as I have time.

In general, I don't like giving people popular level books. Part of it is because if people aren't willing to read the more scholarly articles, I think they probably need to not be doing apologetics. The other part is that many popular level books / articles on apologetics can be confusing. Here are some articles / sites / books that I recommend to get started in apologetics. I am including resources that are not specifically apologetics books because the task of apologetics requires you to have knowledge of a variety of topics.

Here are some apologists to avoid:

Alex McFarland
Josh McDowell
Ken Ham
Kent Hovind
Hank Hanegraaff
Ray Comfort

Books

Developing the Christian Mind

Love Your God with All Your Mind - Introduction to the Christian life of the mind. I recommend if this if you don't know how the life of the mind fits into your Christian life.

The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind - Exploration of the roots of evangelical anti-intellectualism and response.

You’re Just Being Judgmental

I am not entirely sure what most people, especially liberals, are thinking when they say that you are being judgmental.  Perhaps they mean that you are looking upon another human being with disdain.  Or perhaps they mean that you are calling someone’s actions morally reprehensible.  That kind of a claim is often accompanied by a negative emotion aimed at the person you are condemning.

The most puzzling use of the term “judgmental” is when it is used to describe a person who is simply affirming something as true.  For example, if I simply say “I think Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven” I find it mind boggling that I would be called judgmental for simply stating my position.  In these cases, “judgmental” simply means, “you disagree with me, thus you are judgmental”.  If that was a legitimate use of the term “judgmental” then everyone is judgmental about something as we all disagree about lots of things.