"What Can I Do to Start Studying Apologetics?"
The question which provides the title for this post comes from Quora, as has the material for a lot of my posts recently. Sometimes they are questions specifically asked of me, but most times they are open questions with multiple answers from various responders (although I think others are free to provide their responses even to questions directed specifically to me). This particular question was the latter. When I answered, I was one of eight offering my opinion; there may be even more opinions by now. Regardless, here is what I said.
I assume you mean Christian apologetics and will answer accordingly. And the answer depends on your goal. Do you simply want to be able to positively promote and defend your faith? Do you want to become more of a subject matter expert in order to speak, write or teach on the subject?
Here too is perhaps a good place to add the caveat that you also need to distinguish between Roman Catholic and Protestant apologetics for your particular purposes. While there is vast overlap between the two, there are enough distinctions between them that they deserve their own particular treatment in some areas. For example, I go to Peter Kreeft, who is Roman Catholic, on the subject of pain and suffering. His treatment of pain and suffering is respected throughout Christendom, by Roman Catholics and Protestants alike. But because I disagree with particular doctrines of Roman Catholicism, I will probably not seek him out in areas that are distinctively Roman Catholic and that do not agree with Protestantism.
That being said, here's a little background on how I came to first discover this thing called apologetics in the first place. Years ago, in the Air Force, I borrowed a book from a friend when we were both deployed. It was Lee Strobel’s The Case for Christ. I was blown away to learn that there is real evidence for the Christian faith, that Christian philosophy and the Christian worldview are very robust and stand up to intense scrutiny.
For those who don’t know, Lee Strobel was an atheist whose wife became a Christian after they’d been married for several years. In his own words, he felt like the victim of the old “bait and switch,” that his previously “fun” wife would become decidedly less so. And being an investigative journalist (with a law degree from Yale no less), he decided to investigate the claims of Christianity in an effort to disprove the Christian faith. He spent nearly two years investigating the person of Christ only to become a Christian himself in the end. He has since become one of Christianity’s greatest apologists and has written many books. His first book was about that investigation and his subsequent conversion.
Why do I tell you all this? Because I recommend you start with four of his books as the cornerstone of your apologetic knowledge - The Case for Christ, The Case for Faith, The Case for the Real Jesus, and The Case for a Creator. This is my go-to answer to anyone who asks about learning apologetics. Start here first. In these you will find an abundance of scientific, historical, and philosophical support and evidence for the Christian faith. They are written for the lay Christian in a very easy-to-read format. As a matter of fact, I have used them to write many of my posts here because of this. In them, Strobel interviews the “rockstars" of Christian apologetics as it were. These books will make the average Christian very formidable in any discussion of faith.
If that is your goal, to buttress your own faith while simultaneously being able to provide answers and evidence to those who would ask, then you need look no further. If these stoke your hunger for more, then I suggest you seek out the work of the experts that Strobel interviews in his books. For instance, Dr. Gary Habermas is the globally recognized expert on the resurrection of Christ. Find out what he has written and said in speeches, interviews and debates about the Resurrection to become even more knowledgeable. Paul Copan is another of the experts interviewed by Strobel. His book Is God a Moral Monster is a staple of Christian apologetics.
If you’d like to add videos to your reading, then I suggest simply searching YouTube for Frank Turek, Sean McDowell, Ravi Zacharias, Alvin Plantinga and William Lane Craig to start. Some of these can be very philosophically and intellectually demand-ing, but they are well worth it in my opinion, even though some of them make my brain hurt. Turek and McDowell are the most digestible if you will. And all of them have written books as well, so as you expand your knowledge and desire you can read their work too.
In addition to this site, you can also find good information at bethinking.org, seanmcdowell.org, and carm.org.
If you find these merely whet your appetite for more, then there are masters programs in Christian apologetics at various universities/seminaries. And beyond that, there are related doctoral programs that can definitely make you the recognized expert in an apologetic field, enabling you to write, teach at the university level, speak all over the world and/or publicly debate leading skeptics if you should so desire.
BUT, and I may be remiss for not making this point much sooner, you have to know what you believe, your theology must be solid. Sure, there are areas of debate/discussion regarding secondary and tertiary issues of faith, but you cannot be uncertain about essential Christian doctrine. Essential Christian doctrine is what makes Christianity Christian. It is the “whatness” or the quiddity of a thing, thus the saying “In essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty, in all things charity.” We cannot be double-minded or vacillating concerning the essentials because getting one of them wrong potentially allows heresy a foot in the door. For instance, that Jesus Christ is both fully God and fully man cannot be up for debate or compromise. It is vital to a proper understanding of the Atonement at a minimum, but it is also important to other theological concerns as well.
Knowing what you believe, why you believe it, and being able to support and articulate it well are important. You may not agree with everything you read or hear in the books or on the websites I have mentioned, including this one. That's okay, knowing exactly what you believe and knowing what is vitally important versus what is not will help you navigate the immense amount of information you will encounter. There's a great deal of bad info and bad theology out there depending on where you look. Being able to spot it quickly and discard it is just as important as being able to identify sound doctrinal and philosophical arguments.
But I digress (and so often do). Returning to the subject of apologetics, I will close with two quotes that I believe summarize just how important Christian apologetics can be. They may not speak to how to get started in apologetics, but they certainly speak to why it can be important, and they may just prompt you to take that first step:
"For me, apologetics proved to be the turning point of my life and eternity. I’m thankful for the scholars who so passionately and effectively defend the truth of Christianity—and today my life’s goal is to do my part in helping others get answers to the questions that are blocking them in their spiritual journey toward Christ.” - Lee Strobel
"If Christians could be trained to provide solid evidence for what they believe and good answers to unbelievers’ questions and objections, then the perception of Christians would slowly change. Christians would be seen as thoughtful people to be taken seriously rather than as emotional fanatics or buffoons. The gospel would be a real alternative for people to embrace.” - William Lane Craig