Apologetics Assessment Report
By Shawn Nelson
In 2020, as part of my Doctor of Ministry degree, I was required to conduct a ministry project that would make a unique contribution to the field of Christian apologetics. I thought it would be good to create an apologetics assessment. To my knowledge, this type of assessment had never been done before, so it would be the first of its kind.
Overview
My apologetics assessment allows laypeople to discover which apologetic methods have been most effective in convincing them Christianity is true. It focuses on which apologetic(s) first convinced them Christianity is true and which method(s) continue to keep them convinced after conversion.
The project forced me to define a list of apologetic methods, identify features of each, and create questions based around these features. I needed to ask the questions in a way that laypeople with no knowledge of apologetics could answer. I was able to collect 1,000 responses which then allowed me to do a cross-case analysis of the data.
Results
There were many surprising results. Here are a few:
- Reformed Epistemology and Psychological Apologetics are the two most influential apologetics at conversion.
- Classical and Psychological Apologetics are the two most influential methods for keeping a person convinced today.
- Evidence/reason-based apologetics are not that important for most people at the time of conversion. But they do play a prominent role in keeping people convinced Christianity is true.
- The majority of people change their apologetic method over time. In almost half of the cases, a high ranking apologetic at conversion was ranked in the bottom of their list for what keeps them convinced today. Hence, there is a need for a mixed approach over time.
- Psychological Apologetics has been largely unnoticed in the apologetic community but plays a prominent role and needs more attention.
- There is much more in the report!
I am releasing my project dissertation so others can be made aware of my methodology and conclusions.
You can get my entire apologetic assessment dissertation by clicking the download button.
This paper was in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the course titled Ministry Project and Defense (MP900-7) taken at Veritas International University in 2020.
Copyright © 2020 Shawn Nelson.
