Apologetics, the defense of the Christian faith, was my least favorite subject at Seminary. Its philosophical and scientific approach left me bored and cold.

Is there a Christian apologetic that's relevant, beautiful, and compelling?

Josh Chatrow, a practicing apologist in Raleigh, NC, has answered with Telling a Better Story: How to Talk about God in a Skeptical Age. Here’s a summary what I learned from the introduction and the first chapter.

Christianity was the old story. The Christian story used to be part of our national story with daily life assuming God created the world, gave us a purpose, imposed morals, promised judgment, and offered salvation. This was the background story to every other story.

Other stories have replaced the Christian story. That story is not only rejected, but critiqued as false and oppressive, and other rival cultural narratives have taken its place. Despite the new anti-story gods of science, rationalism, and technology, as Netflix proves, there is still a deep human longing for life-explaining stories. Therefore, stories are the way into people’s lives and a bridge to sharing God’s story.

Christians need to be better storytellers. Given the changed circumstances, we need better story-telling skills to persuade people that the best location for their story is inside God’s Story.

Christians and non-Christians need this. Apologetics does not just persuade unbelievers but also assures doubting believers by engaging their stories respectfully and inviting them to consider a better story.

Is there a Christian apologetic that's relevant, beautiful, and compelling? Josh Chatrow answers: Yes, story-based apologetics can be relevant, beautiful, and compelling.