How Apologetics Aids Our Spiritual Formation

"My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you…" - Galatians 4:19.

Apologetics is the discipline of defending the Christian faith as objectively true, rational, and applicable to life (1 Peter 3:15; Jude 3). This ministry requires a life attuned to the Spirit of God. Apologetics is a spiritual discipline of study that requires the fruit of the Holy Spirit for its integrity and effectiveness. The apologist thus needs humility and studiousness in his or her efforts to explain, commend, and defend the Christian worldview.   

Reading

1. Jacques Barzun, The House of the Intellect. Harper, 2002 reprint.
2. Harry Blamires, The Christian Mind. Servant, 1963.
3. Os Guinness, Fit Bodies, Fat Minds. Baker, 1994.
4. Douglas Groothuis, Christian Apologetics, 2nd InterVarsity Pres, 2022,
5. Richard Lovelace, Dynamics of Spiritual Life. InterVarsity Press, 1979.
6. George Marsden, The Outrageous Idea of Christian Scholarship. Eerdmans, 1998.
7. P. Moreland, Love Your God With all Your Mind, 2nd ed. NavPress, 2013.
8. P. Moreland, Finding Quiet. Zondervan, 2019.
9. I. Packer, Knowing God. InterVarsity Press, 1973.
10. Eugene Peterson, Eat This Book. Eerdmans, 2008.
11. John Piper, Think. Crossway, 2011.

• Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality. Tyndale, 1972
• Francis Schaeffer, The God Who is There. InterVarsity, 1968.
• James Sire, Habits of the Mind. InterVarsity Press, 2000.

1. Dallas Willard, Renovation of the Heart. NavPress, 2002.

• Dallas Willard, Knowing Christ Today. HarperOne, 2014.

For more from Douglas Groothuis, visit  DouglasGroothuis.com.

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