By Tom Griffin. My main focus in apologetics over the last 20 years has been for our youth. When I began, it was over concerns for Christian youth and nonbelievers entering the primarily secular, liberal world of college. The statistic that drove concern was from decades of research by LifeWay and Barna that 70% of Christian youth dropped out of the church by age 22. The reasons were primarily due to intellectual doubt, unanswered questions and a belief that the Bible was not relevant in their lives. Apologetics is a solution to address this problem. Ratio Christi, www.ratiochristi.org is an international apologetics organization with 200 apologetics clubs on campuses worldwide. I have been associated with them in various roles since 2011. It has been a great blessing for me and for those on the campuses we serve: students and professors who are believers and nonbelievers. Wonderful testimonies are recorded for how God is moving in this arena.

After about five years of working with students on college campuses, we discovered that college was often too late to address doubt and concerns. It turns out that they are formed at a much earlier age. 84% of Christian youth have doubts by the time they graduate from high school. That means we have to teach them at a much younger age than previously contemplated. My own experience teaching 5^th graders primarily, but also middle school, proves this out. We have to catch them before doubt creeps in. By fifth grade, the questions are there. If unanswered, the questions can become doubt. Doubts become skepticism and then faith is shaken when secular answers from intellectual professors and friends are discovered for their questions.

That brings me to today’s topic: Gen Z. Gen Z is typically defined as those born in 1999 to 2005; primarily this means 18 and younger. In a recent Barna study in cooperation with Impact360, www.impact360institute.org , another Christian apologetics organization, the following five alarming statistics arose for this age group:

1. Gen Z identify as atheist at double the rate of the general population. This means about 13% of them. Who is teaching or not teaching them that there is no God? I’m sure the church is not teaching them this so their information comes from the internet and social media, friends and some parents. Is it not proof that we need to teach them that God exists? There is substantial evidence that points to this, including:
   • The creation of the universe requires a transcendent, all-powerful Cause
   • The creation of first life requires an intelligent Source to account for DNA
   • The amazing fine-tuning of the universe specifically to support life on earth is acknowledged even by many scientists as a good argument for theism. These are not ‘God of the gaps’ answers but rather the evidence itself points to a creator God.

2. Only 4% of Gen Z have a biblical worldview. What is the church teaching if not a biblical worldview? Well, I believe the church is not teaching about worldviews at all in fact. The kids know all the details of all the Bible stories by heart. But how many can explain how we know the Bible can be trusted and is reliable? Very few. If our kids do not know the primary worldview alternatives and why Christianity is the best explanation for reality, how will they deal with it when faced with one of the alternative worldviews that may sound appealing? The answer is we MUST teach them about worldviews and how we know Christianity is true, the Bible is reliable, and Jesus is God.

3. 51% of Gen Z believe happiness is the ultimate goal in life. This is a recipe for depression and explains why so many of our youth experience such. Happiness is fleeting; it is momentary and will not last. If this is the goal for life, it is one that will be elusive and cause great pain because we will all suffer just as Jesus did. There is only hope in Him. A life filled with intermittent depression because a goal cannot be achieved and maintained is a self-fulling end that leads away from happiness.

4. Only 34% of Gen Z believe lying is morally wrong. This is a denial of truth as an important virtue or even as a virtue at all. It is not surprising though as other studies have shown that 70% of 16-25 year olds do not believe in absolute truth. If truth is merely opinion, then anything goes and lying is of no significance. But truth is actually undeniable. You cannot claim “there is no truth” without making a truth claim. When it comes to morality, if there is no ground for absolute morality then, again, anything goes. Without God there is no such ground. Only with God as the moral standard of goodness can we recognize evil and immorality.

5. Only 25% of Gen Z believe science and the Bible are complementary. So 75% believe that the Bible and science conflict or contradict apparently. Do they conflict? No, not if God exists. Nature is God’s expression of truth in the physical world. The Bible is God’s expression of truth through His word. They do not and cannot contradict. Where there is an apparent contradiction, either science is wrong or our interpretation of scripture is wrong or some of both. All the controversy over the age of the earth, evolution, the flood and miracles is due to one or both of those issues just mentioned. In fact, the more we learn about science the more it provides evidence that point to the truth of Christianity. We have in today’s age more evidence for Christianity than at any point in the history of our world since the resurrection. It was only about 25 years ago that science confirmed the universe had a beginning. That has been a huge problem for atheists and evolutionists ever since because it proves the cause of the universe is transcendent and a beginning cuts short the trillions of years needed for evolution to theoretically and mathematically be feasible.

How many of our Christian youth know these strong pieces of evidence for Christianity? How many of our churches teach these principles? If our youth are not taught this critical information by the church, who will teach it to them?

My best answer to this critical question is homeschool teachers. You are the last line of defense against the secular world. It is up to you to take a major role and save our youth. I am sorry to put this burden on your shoulders but there is no denying you are in the best position to do so. How can you accomplish this task? Where will you get the tools and knowledge? I submit that my 5th, 6^th, 7^th, and 8^th grade curriculum, Apologetics for Tweens, is a great place to start. The knowledge, materials, format and implementation tactics are all there for you. And it is packaged affordably at about $75 per year or a little over $200 for the complete set. Contact me for any questions at tjgconsult@aol.com . The time to start is now because more of our Christian youth are choosing the wrong path every day.

Happy New Year to everyone!

This month there are a number of impactful results to discuss from our apologetics efforts along with an upcoming opportunity in March.

5^th Grade Sunday School

During our first teaching Sunday of the new year recently, two parent couples of students in my fifth grade church Sunday School class walked in to share information. They did not know each other so it was quite coincidental and exciting. One couple waited patiently while the other couple spoke to me. First they expressed how much their two kids in my class enjoyed the apologetics lessons. Remarkably, they said that they were constantly talking about the lessons at home. These types of feedback are so heartwarming and rewarding to know my efforts are meaningful.

The first group of parents also mentioned they are homeschool teachers and wanted to arrange to review and purchase the full curriculum of materials for Apologetics for Tweens so they can implement it during their ongoing homeschool program. Also, the mother asked if I would be teaching any lessons on Revelation because one of her sons was obsessed with it and asks questions about Revelation almost every night. Ironically, that son had begged me to teach a Revelation lesson the first week of class and I promised I would. As it turned out, he was sick that week and missed the lesson. Anyway, I took down their email and forwarded four prior Revelation lessons for them to review with their son. I typically teach one or two Revelation lessons each year and coincidentally, that very week taught a Revelation lesson to go along with one of the adult bible study groups where I participate. They were ecstatic and then committed to purchase the complete curriculum set next Sunday.

Then the second parent couple stepped up after hearing all the prior conversation and said they confirm all the same input. They have a daughter in my class who loves apologetics and talks about it and asks questions all the time. Previously I had also taught their son a couple years back who still asks about learning more about apologetics. So they also wanted to let me know how much the teaching means to their family. They are also homeschool teachers and went off with the other parents to compare ideas and notes and spend time discussing homeschool challenges.

Afterwards, our Children’s Pastor mentioned to me after class that she is constantly getting positive feedback about our teaching lessons and she wanted to also purchase the complete curriculum set the next Sunday as well for her grandkids. God is moving in mighty ways in our Sunday School class!

Adult Bible Study Class

I also write a weekly apologetics addendum to support the bible study lesson each week for an adult class where I attend for my own learning and devotion. This week the teacher mentioned about my lessons that he receives many favorable comments about how valuable it is to clarify important topics about Christianity and related worldly issues. Often times during class when an apologetics-related question comes up, he asks my input so apologetics is alive and well in our class. He said he would recommend that all the adult classes receive my weekly lesson.

After the class that Sunday, we had a group lunch. The teacher’s wife and another couple both came to me and commented that the apologetics addendum is the very first thing they read each week before doing anything else related to that week’s lesson. The teacher’s wife said she always thought apologetics went over her head before and was too deep. She said that because my writing was geared to fifth graders that it was perfect for her to understand. She laughed and we both thought that was pretty funny. I guess we are not smarter than fifth graders all the time. The other class member expressed similarly that he reads the apologetics addendum first and that he absorbs the material better than the regular lesson content. Praise God!

Great Homeschool Convention

In March I will attend the Southeast Great Homeschool Convention as well as present as one of their speakers to support my Apologetics for Tweens curriculum. A couple thousand homeschool teachers typically attend so this should be a wonderful opportunity to gauge the interest for apologetics for tweens.

Social Media and Apologetics

Facebook has many, many discussion groups on innumerable topics. One in particular where I am a member is called Religion Discussion Group. It touts 23,000 members. Naturally, when I joined I soon discovered that most of the people who make original posts are atheists, Muslims, Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses, with only occasional posts by Christians. So I decided to engage and represent Christian apologists with refutations of the false doctrine and misinformation that many spew out to innocents. Realize that many members are interested in discussing and learning and may not have formal training and knowledge to understand all the issues. When posters take advantage of this ignorance and naiveté, I feel obligated to correct dishonest information so that thousands each day are not deceived. This really irritates the posters and they often resort to animus and name calling and mean talk when they run out of arguments and cannot address logical refutations and evidence.

Here are some of the typical original posts that require apologetics answers. My short answer follows each:

• There is no evidence for God (or science has disproven God)
  • Creation of the universe and first life point to a transcendent Creator
• An atheist has no belief (not that they believe there is no God)
  • No, an atheist has always been the belief there is no God. Some wish to change the definition to avoid defending a belief which they cannot
• Jesus never existed. He is a myth.
  • All major Bible scholars agree He existed, including the famous non-Christian New Testament scholar Bart Ehrman
• Christianity was started by the Roman Emperor Constantine in AD 300’s
  • No Christianity began immediately following Christ as thousands each day became Christians (Antioch in Acts is when the name Christian was given)
• Jesus was only a man not God
  • He claimed to be God and was arrested because of it (John 10:33). He did miracles, predicted and fulfilled His resurrection, forgave sins and accepted worship, all of which only God can do.
• If you do not believe in a young earth you must believe in evolution and deny the Bible
  • No the Bible does not give the age of the earth. The Hebrew word for day is yom and has many definitions that are all used in Genesis Chap 1 and one of them is a long period of time. Evolution has nothing to do with the age of the earth.
• The Book of Mormon has the latest Revelation from God
  • No Rev. 22:18-19 says scripture cannot be added to or taken away. Gal. 1:8 and 1 Tim. 6:3 say that even if an angel preaches a different gospel than the apostles, it is false and they are cursed.
• Muslims and Christians worship the same God because the name Allah means God
  • No Islam denies Jesus is God so they cannot be worshiping the same God
• The Trinity is never mentioned in the Bible and was made up hundreds of years later
  • The word Bible is never mentioned either. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit all have the nature and attributes of God so they are all God
• The other gospels prove there are contradictions with the Bible
  • There are no other gospels. The supposed ones of Thomas, Barnabas, Judas, etc. were evaluated and unapproved as part of the scriptural Canon because they were not written by the apostles and contradicted the actual gospels
• The Bible is corrupt because of all the different versions
  • No the 5700 Greek partial and full manuscripts we have over centuries compare to 99% accuracy using textual criticism Different versions merely translate based on word for word, thought for thought, or a balanced combination, all of which say the same thing but make it easier to understand for different purposes.

If you were unable to answer these unfortunate postings above, perhaps you should consider some apologetics training. We already know that Apologetics for Tweens is understandable for fifth graders so it can be a great introduction for anyone of any age as well.

Recently an attendee I met at a conference ordered the complete set of curriculum for Apologetics for Tweens. He has worked diligently at a local university to provide apologetics training and discussion for college students for nearly a decade. At the same time, he has been persistently reaching out in his own church to develop some apologetics programs for the youth.

Unfortunately, as I have personally experienced at my own church for over a decade, it is hard sledding to gain traction and implement apologetics. After all that time I have coordinated an apologetics conference with 150 attendees from our church and now provide a weekly apologetics addendum for the 22 adult Sunday School classes in our church. The feedback has been tremendous. At least that is some progress for a decade of efforts.

But back to the story. Our new curriculum recipient has had similar challenges. Here’s what he said: “I am in the midst of promoting the idea of training up our youth to my church. I am surprised at the tacit resistance which I suspect is the unspoken, ‘We’ve always done it this way’ thing; this response vs. the mountain of evidence supporting training up our youth as given in the Bible.”

Then he asked for Biblical reference instructions about apologetics. I forwarded him 1 Pet. 3:15 “…always be prepared to give an answer…for the reason… of your hope in Christ.” And Jude 1:3 – “…contend for the faith…” and Paul in 2 Cor. 10:5– “…demolish arguments…against the knowledge of God….” In Acts 17:2 Paul “reasoned” with the Jews in the synagogues. In Matt. 22:37 Jesus updated the command about loving the Lord and added “with our mind”.

He then asked for church references that use the curriculum which is hard to do since it is so new. I explained that I was the best reference since I had been teaching fifth graders in our church for 13 years using my curriculum. And there are a couple early testimonials on my web site home page but the one that is a church is just getting started.

Next he asked for suggestions on how to persuade the church leaders of the need for apologetics. I provided this lengthy list of suggestions below:

Lifeway and Barna studies show that 70% of Christian youth drop out of the church by age 22 due mainly to intellectual doubt, science concerns and feelings that the Bible is not relevant to their lives. Ask the church leader, “What are we doing about this issue?” Certainly, doing things the same way will only yield the same results.

Also, Josh McDowell, in one of his comprehensive studies, showed the following:

– 70% of youth aged 18-26 do not believe there is such a thing as objective truth. This opens the gate to relativism and belief in whatever works for you, and the possibility that all beliefs could be true.

– By high school, 84% of Christian youth have developed doubts about Christianity (40% of middle school and 44% of high school students).

– After age 12, only 7-10% will accept Christ. So we need to teach as early as possible.

What is the church doing to address these important issues?

Another idea is to go to various parents and grandparents in the congregation and present the same evidence and ask if they see it as a problem and would support a solution. Then take that support to the pastor and elders as congregational concerns and you are the messenger and potential solution provider. That way it makes it congregational desires and not so much yours.

Also, take the same stats to the youth pastor and see if you can get their similar support, then go to the senior pastor.

Another key area is missions. Many churches including my own have made missions a major priority. But how can you evangelize when you do not understand the key questions, criticisms and concerns about Christianity and appropriate reasonable answers? I do not believe we can be successful in missions without a basic understanding of apologetics fundamentals for nonbelievers, atheists and those of other key religions.

Here are a couple other things that I have done that have had some measure of success at my church:

– convince the pastor and elders to host a one day conference on apologetics and get SES TEAM to come in for presentations. Usually the only cost is expense reimbursement and optional honorarium.

– convince the pastor to allow you to write an apologetics addendum for each weekly scriptural lesson that the adult bible study groups teach (this assumes they all are on the same program of lessons). I am currently doing this now and have very positive reviews from the teachers and the congregation class members.

– volunteer yourself to be a Sunday School teacher for juniors or seniors, or find an apologetics colleague to help you and begin teaching whatever grades are available (looks like he is working on that). Be sure to get email addresses of the parents, write up your scripture lessons each week then email them to the parents and ask for feedback and questions, and print hard copies for handouts to the youth. Then ask them to talk with their parents about each lesson. If you get feedback from the parents, it will help your case to present to the pastor and elders.

– Get my curriculum into the church for 5-8th graders

Well, he began by purchasing my curriculum and has two churches in mind to discuss it with and try to gain interest. Let us all pray for God’s guidance and support in these important initiatives and thank him for his heart for Christ and desire to impact minds and hearts for Christ similarly.

Last weekend I traveled to Murfreesboro, TN to attend a one day apologetics conference sponsored by NRBTV called “Defending Truth”. It featured notable Christian apologists Ravi Zacharias, Frank Turek and J. Warner Wallace. There were about 1100 attendees who waited patiently in a two block line to pass police security scanning on a drizzly Saturday morning.

Myself and a colleague facilitated a Ratio Christi table and spoke with at least a hundred attendees in meaningful conversations while handing out loads of brochures and answering questions. The conference attendee profile was primarily parents and grandparents and some of their youth. There was clear consistency about the reasons they were there. They were concerned that their sons and daughters were developing or might develop doubts about Christianity and they didn’t know how to deal with it. They heard that Christian apologetics might be the answer.

The interest at our table periodically could only be described as a furor. There was a near feverish pitch about the demeanor and behavior of attendees and an air of desperation. They wanted answers and solutions to help their children cope with the secular attacks and criticisms on Christianity and the parents and grandparents were frustrated about what to do. We added several college students as new members to our Ratio Christi Tennessee apologetics club and two new faculty advisors who are professors at UT-Knoxville.

Indeed Christian apologetics can help address doubt in many cases. It is a long stated fact that apologetics does not win people to Christ. The Holy Spirit does that. But if the issues relate to intellectual doubt and unanswered questions, skepticism and concerns about science and the Bible, apologetics is the answer.

One ongoing conversation of interest was with a lady named Shannon. Her parents convinced her to come because she was raised Christian but has a lot of issues with Christianity. She was all over the map with a dozen different questions: why is Christianity so exclusive, she looked at all the evidence and is not convinced, what about the age of the earth and science, why are we so against LGBTQ (she thought she heard a speaker say some offensive things about it), she considered belief an involuntary action, and so on. She came back to our table at least half a dozen times, usually after every speaker. Cumulatively I’m sure we spoke with her over an hour. But she listened a lot and seemed to really think our answers were special. She called us the “island in the middle of a river” compared to others she interacted with. One time she was asking a question and her parents stepped in to answer. She said, “No, go away. I only want to talk to these people.” She had enough of standard “have faith” answers and wanted a real answer. I’m not sure where that is all going but I assured her that God will provide enough knowledge for her salvation if she continues to seek but that she would have to make a decision because belief is not involuntary.

On another note, several Tweens curriculum were sold right off the table displays and perhaps half of all conversations we had were regarding how to help youth in the tweens age group. It was very common for attendees to say nothing was available until they found “Apologetics for Tweens”. In fact, my heart melted when one attendee reviewed the material then immediately purchased and was so excited she was holding the book pressed close to her chest as though it was her Bible. She said she was very happy she found this material and was excited to use it and help her home school students. She literally walked away with a bounce in her step and air of excitement. I found out later when I met her husband that they were just married recently and still on their honeymoon. Imagine that! They invested time on their honeymoon to go to a weekend apologetics conference at a church. That says it all about the perceived importance of these issues. Other Tweens sales were made to a Sunday school teacher and youth pastor. Many, many more took about a hundred business cards and all 50 of my brochures.

Does this sound like nothing more than mild interest and gathering information from a couple vendors while at a conference? Or is it something deeper and urgent and critical? Do you really want to take the risk that your kids will be fine and never develop doubts about Christianity? Download some of our free samples and email or phone me with your questions at tjgconsult@aol.com or 770-597-2654.

Last week I attended the National Conference for Christian Apologetics. Our organization, Ratio Christi, had a prominent table for interactions with attendees and partners.

In addition to the usual traffic, it amazed and excited me to see the requests for apologetics material to help teach middle school and even younger age youth. I hung out by our table several times for about 20 minutes each over a two day period. At least two dozen people came directly up to the table and picked up one of my sample Apologetics for Tweens curriculum and said, “This is exactly what I have been looking for but there is nothing available.” I kid you not. Senior pastors of small churches, youth pastors, Sunday School teachers, parents and grandparents and home school teachers. They were either looking for curriculum to use themselves or to recommend to their church.

Why all the fuss? As I have experienced myself during thirteen years teaching apologetics and scripture to fifth graders and presenting to middle school and high school groups, the need for apologetics teaching has moved downstream to even elementary school. The kids are smarter now than ever before and with the pervasive influence of the internet and accelerating secular attacks, questions about Christianity and other religions form far earlier than ever before.

Now I would not go so far as to say that many 10-11 year old Christian youth have serious doubts about Christianity yet. But they definitely have volumes of questions. If we do not give them good Christian answers to their questions, the secular world will. Then by high school the answers given turn into serious doubts. At that point it is necessary to turn their opinions and doubts around and that is much harder than providing foundational Christian answers earlier.

Research shows that by high school 84% of Christian youth have doubts. Most doubts have to do with intellectual issues like apparent conflicts between science and the Bible, such as with evolution, creation, the Big Bang, truth and other religions. Frequently the doubts become stronger and lead to 70% of Christian youth dropping out of the church by age 22.

Apologetics for Tweens is not the comprehensive answer to this problem. But it is the only curriculum available for 10-14 year olds that provides weekly scriptural and apologetics lessons in brief, straightforward language suitable for teaching use by even those who lack apologetics training. It is designed specifically for Sunday School teachers, home school teachers, youth pastors, parents and grandparents.

Do you really want to take the risk that your kids will be fine and never develop doubts about Christianity? Download some of our free samples and email or phone me with your questions at tjgconsult@aol.com or 770-597-2654.

After years of hard work, the Apologetics for Tweens curriculum is nearly ready for purchase and download!

Check out the covers, here:

More details to come!