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Apologetics Topics: 5 Questions Youth Workers Need to Address

3. Can we trust the Bible?

This is a fundamental question. For Christian youth workers, the Bible forms the bulk of our teaching material. If you can’t explain where Scripture came from and why it’s trustworthy, then students won’t devote themselves to studying the Word. (Don’t merely say, “The Bible tells me so”; that is circular reasoning.)

Chris Knight wrote this great article on why we can trust the New Testament. On the reliability of the Old Testament, K.A. Kitchen’s book is a strong resource.

4. Was Jesus really God (and other related questions)?

If Jesus wasn’t who the Bible claims him to be, there’s little point in taking him seriously, let alone making him Lord of your life. So what Jesus did, especially dying for our sins and rising from the dead, is paramount. Peter Kreeft offers great insight on this topic here.

5. If God is real, why does evil exist?

In my experience, teenagers don’t always ask about the problem of evil because of news headlines. They often ask because of the evil they experience in their own lives. This isn’t just an intellectual issue. Teens need a good response to this question for key reasons. They’ve been hurt and abused, for example. They’ve lost loved ones and seen far too much evil firsthand.

This is by far the most difficult of these apologetics topics. And it’s probably closest to the hearts of teens you serve. Josh McDowell has a great introductory article on the topic here.

What apologetics topics would you add to this list? Please share them in the comments below!