What is the effect of the Apologetics efforts in defending the Bible?

Answer 1

I believe they are engaged in a losing battle and will only manage to delay the inevitable demise of Christianity.

Delay means the demise of Christianity will not come during my lifetime or my great-great-great-grandchildren; but the name of Jesus will definitely be added to other Mythical gods like Odin, Thor, Zeus, Adonis, Bacchus, etc

ANSWER:

It depends on if you actually intend to listen to them with an open mind. If you have no intention of taking what they say into consideration because you assume they are totally deluded, then they won't probably have much of an effect on you and you have wasted your time (and theirs) anyway. Sadly many people fall into this category not because they have actually studied the options and have decided for themselves, but because they assume Christians are wrong before hearing what they have to say.

However, good apologists have a wealth of well thought out answers deserving of at least some critical thought. Drawing from external sources, history, and proofs within The Bible itself, among other sources, they demonstrate that the Bible is very much a legitimate book worth reading, not something to be shunned and laughed at simply because one may have difficulty in understanding it.

The demise of Christianity has indeed been predicted since biblical times, including predictions from right after the death of Jesus. Christianity continues to flourish however, and the Bible continues to be the best selling book in history.

AnswerApologetics can draw a number of responses -the open minded person referred to in the previous answer may well consider what is said and look into it further -some even come to accept the Bible as God's Word and get saved, and receive a whole new outlook. People in this category I have personally heard state that a lot of thiogs they previously worried about or were arguing about suddeenyl were no longer issues for them ionce they were saved - they realised that they were just avoiding God and making excuses. Former unbelieving journalist Lee Strobel said something like this as well.

Apologetics also reveals where people stand in terms of believing the Bible -both skeptics and people claiming to be Christians. Many in the latter group will only believe what seems reasonable to them even using so-called modern science as a yardstick to judge what they will accept in the Bible. This, despite the fact that Jesus Himself clearly believed it all - including Adam and Eve, the fall, the flood etc, which many Christians today say they don't believe.