BY THE NUMBERS

Click the picture below or the link “By the Numbers” to download a PDF version of the book. Also, note that the “list of recommended apologists” is a live link, and will enable you to download that list as well.

I wrote By the Numbers sometime back. It is a distillation of teachings from my Christian Apologetics class that I teach at Summit Bible College in Bakersfield, California. While we have made the book available for purchase on Apple iBooks in times past, it seemed like a good idea to me to make this book available at no charge to those who are hungry for answers to the objections that are often levied against the Christian faith – particularly from the realm of science.

Obviously, a brief book such as this (really an extended essay) cannot be comprehensive, but it is a good starting place. For more information, I strongly encourage the reader to see my list of recommended apologists. It is crucial that every believer become conversant in basic biblical apologetics in order that we might demonstrate the coherence and credibility of the Christian Worldview.

Peter tells us clearly that we are to “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have” (1 Peter 3:15 NIV). He then goes on to tell us, “But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander” (1 Peter 3:15b-16). In other words, the authenticity of our Christian life is in one sense our strongest “apologetic” and serves to build the necessary platform of credibility on which our testimony or defense can stand. This is why you see the statement I authored some years ago repeated often on our website and materials:

“Now, perhaps more than ever, the Church must rise to the challenge of communicating the gospel to a nation adrift, without moorings or moral compass. This cannot be done through argument alone, but through a demonstration of the life and love of God lived out through the Church as a witness to the world.”

It is our sincere hope that this small book will serve at least two purposes: 1) to give you as a believer greater confidence in the scientific evidence that corroborates the biblical narrative, and 2) help you communicate such truths effectively with those sincerely seeking for answers. I always tell those to whom I minister, “We are giving food to feed, and not fuel to fight.” If Christian apologetics has had a weakness it has been that it sometimes becomes an intellectual slugfest rather than a loving and compassionate response to those with genuine questions. May the Lord richly bless you in your walk with Him and in your service to the Lord Jesus Christ.