Call a Contractor: Apologetics Needs an Overhaul
Call to action: Apologetics in the United States and the world as of November 2026 and for at least the last 10 years needs a major overhaul. Apologetics is a house with a damaged roof and siding, but thankfully the structure is intact. The property inspector determined its fixability, and the insurance will cover the damage. This call to action comes from an individual who is a self-described “apologetics nerd,” an individual who is a believer in Christ, and for who’s faith apologetics has had a major impact.
This article and its title have been inspired by two different people. These two people have met one another once; however, they have a number of common associates. The first person, is someone we jokingly call one another “our archnemesis.” Although we kid with one another, I genuinely admire his resolve to never let the social climate deter him from his position on the Gospel (I will deny writing this sentence if he reads this). The second person is a very prominent figure in the apologetics world. I was first introduced to this person through videos and books he wrote. I eventually met this person and even started attending bible studies he led. I learned an immense amount of knowledge about apologetics and biblical history from him. All this knowledge deepened my faith and reinforced my belief in the historicity of the events in the Bible. Over the last 2 years it has been disheartening — to say the least — to watch this person’s ministry lose sight of the Gospel. This person’s ministry has become focused on expressing the Gospel of the platform of the current President of the United States. Instead of being a soldier for Christ, sadly this person spends a large amount of time espousing the rhetoric of the administration, regardless of its conflict with the Word of God.
What Apologetics Has Meant to Me
Apologetics has deeply strengthened my faith in Christ. I was and am a very intellectual person. One could say I was agnostic/spiritual-but-not-religious/lost prior to the Holy Spirit dragging me back to Him. I would hear bible verses and sermons and look for reasons to not believe the Word of God. Truly, I did so to justify my own sin. Even when I went to church, I was not truly giving myself to Him because, well… I couldn’t let the sin nature within me go.
Around 2017, I began to slowly give in to the pull of the Lord, when I was attending an biblically unsound church. Then, in 2018, a sermon from Pastor John MacArthur challenged what I was hearing at my church every Sunday. The Lord ignited this deep desire to “nerd out” on him and His Word. This search led me to resources like Lee Strobel, Norm Geisler, Frank Turek, William Lane Craig, Voddie Baucham, Ravi Zacharias, Nabeel Qureshi, Stephen Meyer, John Lennox, etc… All of their content helped me dig deep into the Word in a way I would understand.
In 2019, I went to a conference in which Dr. Bob Cornuke was a presenter. Dr. Cornuke did a presentation on biblical archeology. In particular, he presented some findings on Golgotha/Calvary, Mt. Sinai, and Solomon’s Temple. I distinctly remember watching the videos and photos he took in Jerusalem and in Saudi Arabia and being overwhelmed. This Bible I believed and put my faith in was tangible. Although I had faith in the things not seen (a la Hebrews 11:1), seeing these findings corroborated the “case” for me. By this time, I was saved, but this was akin to a seven-seal on an ancient Roman letter.
Apologetics was the pathway God used to open my eyes. He used these resources to pull me out of the darkness. He foreknew I would be a “thinker,” and ensured I came across mediums I would best understand Him. He knew I needed rational ways of understanding Him.
I need to ensure what apologetics has done in my life is clear, so what comes later in this writing is not misconstrued. As stated in the introduction, I am a believer in Christ and my Lord and Savior. My hope and faith are in Christ alone.
To reiterate, I and my apologetics ministry believe in Christ the Son of God as our Savior. Again, this is in no way, shape, or form a critique on Christianity. This is not a “deconstruction” of the religion of Christ. In addition, this writer is neither a Democrat nor a Republican. This is also not a critique of the Democratic or Republican platform. For the record, in the most recent election I did not vote for either party because neither party reflects the values of the Bible. Again, neither the 2026 Republican nor the 2026 Democratic party reflect the values of the Christian Bible.
Where did Roof Damage Come From?
I noticed when the then-Presidential candidate and eventual winner was gaining steam during the 2016 US Presidential Election, the evangelical Christian community became enamored with him. He became, in a sense, their “banner.” Regardless of what he said or did, these supporters would make excuses for his behavior. This conduct and thinking began to bleed into the apologetics community. I noticed expository and biblically sound seminaries and pastors campaigning for Republican candidates. During the 2020 and 2024 US Presidential Elections, even more seminaries, pastors, and prominent apologists espoused the rhetoric of the Republican platform. During the 2024 Campaign, the prominent apologist I mentioned was involved in several events in support of former President. Much to my disappointment, this person would spend over 90% of his time condoning the words of the eventual president, and less than 10% discussing the Gospel.
Apologists and other Christian leaders sacrificed its Savior with an earthly “savior.” In no uncertain terms, the idolatry and cult of personality turned eyes, just as the people of Jacob followed idols (Jeremiah 2:5). Going back to the Presidential Elections, some Christians who publicly supported the current president would get invited to speak at Republican rallies and events. These scholars, pastors, and apologists would get invited to make guest appearances on conservative-leaning news channels and podcasts. The guests would get a large uptick in book and podcast sales. Sadly, the guests would slowly start to dilute the Gospel on their own platforms to keep the ears of their new audience. I can think of a very prominent pastor/evangelist, who transformed their entire ministry into an unofficial mouthpiece of the current president.
This shift to politics did immense damage to their ministries and to the public perception of Christianity. Think about it: When you hear “evangelical Christian,” what is the first thing you think of these days? Instead of thinking about evangelists boldly spreading the gospel, we think of someone guest appearing on a conservative media outlet or someone at a political event yelling hateful statements at the top of their lungs but ending with “praise god.”
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Now in the same vein, I would like you to think about a Christian apologist. What is the first thing you think of these days? Years ago, it may have been a Cliffe Knechtle or Ray Comfort engaging students on campus. They would have made groups laugh while making them reevaluate their perception of Christianity. Nowadays, we think of someone going to a college campus engaging in a debate. Unfortunately, it’s rarely a civil debate; it’s usually a triggered student yelling at a smug individual for their social media channel. Even the social media channels of some prominent Christian apologists and scholars have moved from apologetics content to political jargon.
Now imagine you are an individual looking for every excuse to not follow Christ. See how much easier it is for you now to reject Him? I would also like you to think of the people in habitual sin. Think of those individuals who have another excuse for them to reject Him. Many of those people associate Christianity with “hate speech” and “intolerance.” Those people’s hearts will further harden their hearts towards the Gospel. This is not to say God cannot reach whom He wants, when He wants, and how He wants. My point is to relay that the path for genuine Christians to spread the Gospel is that much more challenging.
With all of that said, Christian apologetics at this point is not beyond repair. There are a few things we can do to remedy this.
Let’s Get This House Fixed
In my humble opinion, two things are needed to complete the overhaul. These are simple in concept, yet I pray can be easily remedied with self-evaluation. First, Apologetics needs to go back to the Christ and the Bible. As stated earlier, too many apologists and evangelicals have become enamored with politics to their detriment. Their only focus should be on proclaiming the Gospel of Christ.
Focusing on the Gospel means completely abandoning the prioritization of politics and cultural shifts. If there are policies which conflict with the Bible, or audiences have questions, it is perfectly within bounds to look at them from a biblical lens. We as apologetics and believers should not put political parties ahead of the Bible. Prominent apologists should not be better known for their political ideologies rather than their exposition of the Bible.
The focus on Christ will lead to objective and honest views of the world. The same Christians who were loudly opposed to Democratic leaders as vocal for Republican leaders, and vice-versa. This will lead to the Gospel standing on its own where it belongs.
Second and almost as important, Apologists need to remember 1 Peter 3:15. This verse is the flagship verse for apologetics, which says, “but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, but with gentleness and respect (NASB)”. Everyone loves to quote the first half. Much of the time, they will leave the end which is, “but with gentleness and respect.”
Going back to the earlier example of discourse on college campuses, put yourself in the shoes of the students coming up to the microphone. Yes, there are some agitators who go to those events looking to cause trouble. However, there are a number of students who go to those events because they a genuinely curious. They may be struggling with sins or want to learn more about this “Jesus dude my parents used to talk about.” The smug individual crushed the argument, but did they help water a seed planted by the Holy Spirit?
I had to personally self-reflect on “gentleness and respect” when I was with an elder mentor of mine. We were engaged by a Jehovah’s Witness in public. I remember absolutely crushing his viewpoint. Every time he brought up something about Christ, I countered and showed him errors in his own bible. Not only did I poke holes, but I literally made this grown man cry because he was so bewildered. When we walked away, the elder turned and asked, “So what did that accomplish?” Yes, this guy was made to look foolish, but how did his heart or attitude toward Christ change? I went home and repented to the Lord because I did not properly express Him. I hope and pray the gentleman did not forever associate genuine Christianity with my behavior.
As believers we must better express the respect aspect of the Gospel. Let’s look at Paul, Peter, Timothy, Jude, Silas, Stephen, and the other early church leaders of the Bible. They all challenged the thinking of their audience. They all were firm in their beliefs. The difference between them is the heart of what they did. Their goal was to save as many souls as possible, not for their glory, but for the glory of God. Even an individual as boisterous as Paul would engage with love and respect.
The importance of this overhaul of Modern Apologetics cannot be measured. We are not dealing with minor matters. We are dealing with the most important matter of all-time: the Great Commission. The Lord Himself said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen” (Matthew 28:19–20 NKJV).
As the Apostle Paul closed his letter in 2 Corinthians 13:14, so too will I close this writing by saying, “May the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.”
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(This writing has not been written, altered, or modified by AI).
