Many Christians think apologetics is only for the intellectually gifted. Comments like, ‘I can’t argue like you’ or ‘I don’t understand philosophy or logic’ reveal how many Christians feel excluded from the conversation. Christian academics may have similar sentiments, especially when philosophy and logic are not their areas of expertise. While some have recently called for more creativity and imagination in apologetics, it still remains largely rational and verbal—creating barriers for many.
On Thursday, 21 August 2025 at 1400 UTC, Revd Dr Seidel Abel Boanerges, Associate Professor in the Abner J. Langley and Harold L. Mitton Chair of Church Leadership and Director of Mentored Ministry at Acadia Divinity College, Acadia University, Nova Scotia, Canada, will discuss, based on his 2025 book Holistic Apologetics, how apologetics might be reimagined through the lenses of the kingdom of God and the missio Dei. He argues that it must move beyond intellectualism and highlights the value of spiritual apologetics (healing, miracles, prophecy), artistic apologetics (literature, drama, film), and action-based apologetics (justice, compassion, solidarity). In the end, he seeks to make apologetics accessible to all, encouraging every believer, regardless of intellectual ability, that they too can be an apologist.
