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What budding apologists can learn from Charlie.

Let me offer a ten-second overview to this piece: If I were asked what the best books or resources are available for the eager young Christian apologist, I would simply point them to any number of excellent videos of the late Charlie Kirk interacting with often hostile and pugilistic critics, atheists and others.

Before proceeding with this, there is a slight possibility that some of you are not familiar with the late Charlie Kirk (1993-2025). So here is a brief intro. He, of course, was gunned down for daring to share truth with others. I wrote a number of articles when he was assassinated back in September of last year. In one of them, I said this:

The left and the mainstream media have been demonising and dehumanising Kirk for years now – just as they have Trump. Thus they are in good measure responsible for the horrific assassination of Kirk and the attempted assassinations of Trump.

The odd thing is, Kirk was killed on a university campus. College campuses are supposed to be places where free speech and an open exchange of ideas take place. But our schools are now hotbeds of leftist activism and ideology. Indoctrination had replaced education, and these campuses have now become very unsafe places indeed.

But Charlie was bravely involved in challenging the progressive hegemony at these campuses. He thrived on discussing ideas, even with angry and nasty opponents. He knew that truth-speaking, and not violence, hate and intimidation, was the way to go in changing the views of others.

Kirk was an incredible patriot with a deep love for God and especially for America’s God. But the radical left hates America, and it especially hates God. So it has long hated Kirk. This is especially the case since he could easily win one debate after another with these folks.

He simply wanted to engage with others and have discussions. He was largely self-educated, with no college education, but he could readily best these college kids and grad students in discussions and debates. And that really upset the left. As I wrote in my piece yesterday about his death:

“Kirk enraged the radical left because he was a happy Christian with a wonderful family, and he dealt with his intellectual and ideological opponents with facts and good cheer. He invited his most ardent detractors to come and debate him. His mastery of the facts and his debating skills meant he constantly was getting the best of his countless debating partners. No wonder so many leftists hated him so much.”

And one other brief prefatory word: a Christian apologist is someone who defends the faith and answers objections to it. As 1 Peter 3:15 -16 says of the believer: “always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.”

The word “defence” comes from the Greek word apologia, from which we get our word apologetics. So being an apologist is something that all believers must aspire to. We may not be as active in this as Kirk was, but we are all called to stand up for our faith, including on the intellectual level.

Kirk the Evangelist and Apologist

Charlie Kirk was similar in some ways to another Christian apologist, Francis Schaeffer (1912-1984). Schaeffer would deliver important lectures on philosophy, theology, history, art and culture to young people at his ministry in the Swiss Alps called L’Abri.

Yet he would tell these young people that at heart he was just a plain old evangelist. That would produce laughter from his audience, but it was true. Yes, he read and studied like mad so that he could reach people who were searching, but despite all his learning and erudition, his real passion was to see people come to Jesus Christ. See more on him here.

It was the same with Kirk. He read widely and carefully, and studied quite intensely, so that when he engaged with college kids and others, he could give them sound answers to their many questions and objections. But he, too, had as his ultimate aim the desire to present people with the truth claims of biblical Christianity.

Some 50 years ago, when I became a Christian, I was introduced to the works of C. S. Lewis and Francis Schaeffer. Since then, I have amassed many hundreds of volumes on Christian apologetics. But if I had to provide a quick and easy resource to help young Christians learn how to share their faith and answer the tough questions, I would simply point them to some video clips of Charlie Kirk doing just this.

There are now so very many terrific videos of Kirk in action, politely and powerfully dealing with his many critics, haters and opponents. I could offer dozens of them here, but I will restrict myself to just four of them.

Consider this 14-minute video clip where Kirk calmly, respectfully and intelligently gives an irate and rabid pro-choice heckler a biology reality check:

Also, here is a 7-minute collection of some of his key moments in debating with his many outspoken critics and enemies:

And this 14-minute collection of his ‘greatest hits’ is well worth a watch:

Lastly, here is a 23-minute compilation of Kirk in action, dealing with the ‘college scam’ and other topics:

Let me say a few words about his ability to so expertly deal with one and all in such a hostile environment as modern leftist university campuses. First, he had a good memory. Most of us have just an average memory, and if you get into public debates, a good memory is quite helpful. But Kirk would have worked at this.

Second, he was very well-read, and he spent so much of his free time reading or listening to audiobooks and the like. He knew that if he was to successfully engage with others on all sorts of topics, he really had to do his homework. And that he did.

Third, he kept his mind as clear and sharp as possible. As such, he often told people to stay off drugs and alcohol. They needed to be able to think clearly if they were to have any sort of impactful ministry for Christ.

Fourth, and related to all this, he was disciplined. Saying no to trivial pursuits and too much drink, for example, was just part of his very disciplined life. Having a regular and heavy reading schedule was also something that required plenty of discipline.

Fifth, and most important of all, he put God first in everything. So he had an active prayer life, and he would spend plenty of time daily studying Scripture and seeking God in quiet places. Yes, he had a wife and two children, but he knew that if he wanted to have any sort of effective ministry, he needed to be prayed up and have other Christians praying and interceding for him.

In sum, he gave his life over fully to God and asked him to use him. Sure, both he and I could give you the titles of hundreds of great books or list plenty of important authors to run with. And that would include secular authors. Both he and I, for example, would recommend over and over again the many vital works of the great Black American economist and commentator Thomas Sowell.

See just one of my many articles on him.

As to key works on Christian apologetics, I have listed and reviewed many volumes over the years. Here is just one of them.

And I have also offered various reading lists on Christian apologetics, such as the following general listing.

More specific bibliographies would include how we might view philosophy, Islam, or the New Age Movement.

I close by repeating my main advice here: if you want to be an apologist for Christianity or even just conservative beliefs and values, my best advice is simply to watch and rewatch the many excellent Charlie Kirk videos that are out there.

They will inspire you, educate you, and motivate you to go and do similar great work for Christ and the Kingdom. That is something we all should aspire to.

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Republished with thanks to CultureWatch. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.