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Dave Abell
The Lord got my attention twelve years ago, when He pulled me from a listless, in name only Christianity. My new walk began with much joy, but that joy was stifled when I became burdened by doubt a...view moreThe Lord got my attention twelve years ago, when He pulled me from a listless, in name only Christianity. My new walk began with much joy, but that joy was stifled when I became burdened by doubt about the truth of my beliefs. However, this was a loving work of the Lord because it led me to an endeavor that has been a constant in my life for these past years, and that has been the study of Christian Apologetics. God has blessed us with great teachers—experts in their field—who have done seminal work in responding to skeptics, equipping Christians to defend the faith, and elucidating the wonderful evidence God has given us concerning His existence and the truth of His Word. Yet it seems that Christians fear that the task of Apologetics is too daunting. However, I’m living proof that a formal education is not a necessary pre-requisite to become a stronger defender of Christian truth. Understanding what we believe-- and why we believe it-- is not beyond our reach. Again, God has mightily used the experts and we can draw off of their knowledge. This does not mean, however, that we all need to be Seminary graduates to be effective witnesses for Christ. My contribution is to illustrate that; indeed, God can take an ordinary Christian and infuse great perspective and learning. Additionally, I learned that the Holy Spirit is the greatest Teacher. God has never let me down when I have come to Him with questions concerning any aspect of Christian Apologetics. Additionally, the answers God provided to me were ideas that I hadn’t previously come across in other resources. Since I’ve been able to successfully implement these fresh ideas in my own walk— as well as teaching and witnessing to others—I was inspired to offer these thoughts to a wider audience. Finally, I have a close friend who is an atheist. Mindful of what his objections to Christianity were in the past, and in anticipation of what he would raise in the future, I studied every possible angle. So that I would be prepared for any question, I took the objections far beyond what I’ve even heard the most hard-hearted atheist bring up. As to the Bible itself, I exhausted the accusations and doubts of the so-called “Higher Critics”. I envisioned scenarios of human concoction and hoaxes concerning the Gospels that even the most ardent skeptics haven’t broached. Perhaps this was overkill, and it was definitely painful at times. However, when I jettisoned the exclusive use of my own mind, and did these exercises in conjunction with prayer, that is when things really began to fire, and the fresh perspective and ideas came rolling in. Praise be to God that He not only has saved us through Jesus Christ, but has also not left us in the dark about the truth of that salvation. Currently, I am a member of the Elim Evangelical Free Church in Oak Lawn, IL, where I serve as the Deacon Board Chairman, as well as service in the Church’s Oversight Board. I’m 48 years old and am a native Illinoisan. Kristy and I have been married for almost 22 years, and we have three boys: Michael, age 13; Samuel, age 10; and Daniel, age 8.view less