What is Transformed Apologetics?

"Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."

- Romans 12:2

If you have been following Transformed Apologetics or are just visiting the website to explore, you may have some questions regarding the purpose of this ministry. Before we explore the reasons behind the purpose of Transformed Apologetics, let me share some of my personal testimony. My interest in Christian apologetics began at the age of 13 after my faith had received a revival after a church summer camp during the summer of 2014. Receiving a renewed passion for following Jesus, my journey of faith took a turn toward apologetics after discovering the Case For... series of books by Lee Strobel at a local Christian bookstore. Devouring the wealth of parchment knowledge found in the pages of those books, my newfound interest in apologetics fostered a confidence in my faith in Jesus that I had not previously known.

The Lord continued to move my faith toward apologetics when I joined a youth group in the fall of the same year that featured a heavy focus on knowing the reasons for our faith in Jesus. I was not initially vocal about my interest in apologetics, only sharing it with those close to me. This all changed during a night at youth group when we were asked to share our background as Christians and what lead us to follow Jesus. At first, I wanted to keep it simple and merely explain how my family had been Christian and raised me up in a Christian household. As it came closer to my turn to speak, I felt compelled by the Holy Spirit to share more. Once the youth pastor turned the floor over to me to answer, the apologetics knowledge that I had been learning over the past several months poured forth from my lips. Suddenly, I found myself explaining the Kalam cosmological argument, the approximately 300 prophecies that Jesus had fulfilled, and many other pieces of evidence for the existence of the Christian God manifested in the incarnate Jesus Christ. Finishing my testimony, the room of around 30 individuals fell completely silent. Then suddenly, one of fellow brothers in Christ slowly rose and began to chant "SPEECH, SPEECH, SPEECH!" Others began to rise to their feet and round of applause of erupted all around. It was certainly overwhelming for someone who does not enjoy speaking publicly. After the youth group concluded and I made my way toward the pool tables for a round of billiards, one of the youth leaders came up to me and thanked me for sharing my testimony and said it had inspired him. That moment still motivates me to pursue apologetics to this day.

Now I do not recall these moments to act as those this was me who was capable of this or that this was done to boost my own social status. Rather, this recollection serves to demonstrate how my interest in apologetics began and how the Lord has used it for His glory. It is God that has given the interest in apologetics, fostered it in me, and used it for His glory. It is all God’s work, and it is all for His glory. The apostle Paul describes the proper attitude of the apologist in the letter of Colossians where he says that “whatever you do, do it from the heart, as something done for the Lord and not for people, knowing that you will receive the reward of an inheritance from the Lord. You serve the Lord Christ” (Colossians 3:23-24, CSB). Therefore, my testimony is not my own but the Lord’s, an account how He has redeemed me and used the gifts He has given me for His glory.

Having shared the testimony the Lord has carried out in me, it is time to share the reasons for the purpose of Transformed Apologetics. The purpose of Transformed Apologetics is to…

1. Fulfill our call as Christians to “always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that we have” (1 Peter 3:15, CSB). The Greek word apologia, which means “offer an appeal or defense,” is used by the apostle Peter in the previous verse from his first epistle [1]. Christian apologetics is not about apologizing for being a Christian. Furthermore, the Christian is not a blind faith but a belief that encompasses our entire reality and is based on evidence. Therefore, Transformed Apologetics was started to give “answers [for] both why a person can believe (defense) and why a person should believe (appeal)” [1].

2. As a Christian apologetics ministry, Transformed Apologetics was started to fulfill The Great Commission which is to 'Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20, CSB) As Transformed Apologetics shares evidence for the Christian faith and offers arguments that support it our goal is “not to win arguments but to win people” [1]. Just as Jesus called the disciples to be “fishers of men” and declared that “the kingdom of heaven is like a large net thrown into the sea. It collected every kind of fish,” Transformed Apologetics realizes that there are many people who come to faith through intellectual appeals. (Matthew 4:19; 13:47, CSB). Therefore, the goal of Transformed Apologetics is to appeal to those who respond to the Christian faith intellectually “with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15, CSB). Relying on the Holy Spirit to do the convicting, the goal of Transformed Apologetics is to allow minds to be transformed by the renewing work of the Holy Spirit (Roman 12:2, CSB).

3. I began Transformed Apologetics to serve as an outlet for my interest in Christian apologetics. The Transformed Apologetics website and Instagram were started to act as a template for writing down the apologetics information I have learned. The Lord has led me start Transformed Apologetics to help make me a better apologist for Him so that He may be glorified.

As Tim Keller says, Christian apologetics is about “the ‘whys’ of Christianity, the answers to the question, ‘Why should I believe this?’” [1]. Transformed Apologetics goal is to address the reasons for why we can confidently believe that Christianity is true and to convey them in a way that is clear and glorifying to the Lord. Whether you are a Christian, an agnostic, or an atheist, I hope you will join me on this apologetics journey! C.S. Lewis stated that “Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance, the only thing it cannot be is moderately important” [2]. Therefore, the evidence surrounding the legitimacy of the Christian faith must be examines by everyone. Just as Jesus asked Thomas to “reach out” and touch His wounds from His crucifixion, so too are we asked to reach out with our minds and explore the evidence for the Christian God of the Bible and the faith that we have in Him [3]. The Bible says to “taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalms 34:8, CSB). The evidence is out there! The Lord says you “will find Him when we seek with all you all your heart and all your soul” (Deuteronomy 4:29, CSB). So, let’s seek Him!

References:

1. Apologetics at the Cross: An Introduction to Christian Witness by Joshua D. Chatraw & Mark D. Allen

2. Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

3. Reinventing Jesus by J. Ed Kowoszewski, M. James Sawyer, and Daniel B. Wallace