The nature of faith, and specifically Christian faith, is such that it is not simply an accessory to life, casually picked up or set aside as one’s whims dictate. It is a fundamental structure, a foundation upon which life’s decisions, choices, and worldviews are established. Yet, our children are growing up in a world that is increasingly secular, a world where faith, particularly Christian faith, is confronted by relentless challenges and lured by alluring, yet damning ideologies—from evolution to radical feminism to the LGBTQ movement.

Such ideologies have a natural appeal to fallen man in a fallen world—these ideologies seek to gratify the flesh of a fallen mind. For the sake of our children, we must arm them with robust tools to navigate these treacherous waters, to withstand the seductive whispers of secularism and materialism, and to remain firmly rooted in their Christian convictions. We must teach them apologetics.

Apologetics, derived from the Greek “apologia,” signifies a reasoned defense, an articulate vindication of a position. In Christian parlance, it refers to the reasoned arguments or writings in justification of the Christian faith and worldview. To quote the renowned presuppositional apologist, Cornelius Van Til, “Apologetics is the vindication of Christian philosophy of life against the various forms of the non-Christian philosophy of life.”

As Christian parents, we need to instill in our children a solid theological foundation, grounded not just in faith, but also reason. A faith that cannot withstand intellectual examination is weak and wavering, susceptible to the slightest winds of doubt or deceit. Apologetics fortifies faith, providing the rational buttresses to support and defend our belief in a world that constantly questions and undermines it.

We should start early. As Proverbs 22:6 instructs, “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” In line with this Biblical directive, the task of teaching apologetics to our children should begin as soon as they are capable of asking the deeper questions about life, about God, about right and wrong. We have to guide them into understanding why they believe what they believe, bolstering their faith with the bricks and mortar of rational argument, logic, and consistency.

Take for instance, a child asking why God allows suffering. We should not shy away from these questions or pacify them with simplified answers. Rather, we should engage them in understanding the nature of the fallen will, the fallenness of the world, and God’s redemptive plan. This is an opportunity to reveal the coherence and depth of the Christian worldview.

Or, if a child is confronted with secular claims about the non-existence of God, we should guide them in understanding and applying the Transcendental Argument for the existence of God—a profound theological argument taught by the likes of apologists Cornelius Van Til and Greg Bahnsen. This argument essentially posits that all reasoning, all logic, all claims to truth presuppose the existence of God. For, if God did not exist, there would be no absolute standard by which truth could be measured or rationality upheld.

There are many resources to help in this endeavor and I’m not being paid to promote these. But I have personally found that books like “Apologetics for Kids” by Mike Robinson are great tools to introduce children to the basic tenets of apologetics, while “Always Ready” by Greg Bahnsen provides more in-depth arguments for older children. Answers in Genesis, while it has a focus on science and history from a biblical worldview, still does a great job of grounding its worldview squarely in the Scriptures and helping provide answers to many of these challenges.

Teaching children apologetics also means equipping them to refute secular ideologies and assertions that appeal to the mind “set on the flesh” (Romans 8:7). When confronted with the naturalistic claims of materialism, our children should be equipped to challenge these assertions or refute challenges to their own beliefs. They should understand, as the presuppositional apologetic method teaches, the best and only possible proof for the existence of God is that unless you assume the existence of God, you function on the basis of a contradiction. This line of reasoning is an appeal to a biblical, revelational epistemology that affirms that all truth, wisdom, and knowledge are fundamentally rooted in God.

In simpler terms, presuppositional apologetics is a way of explaining and defending our Christian beliefs. It starts with the idea that God exists. This isn’t something we try to prove, it’s what we believe right from the start. This approach makes sense because when we try to figure out anything – whether it’s right from wrong, or truth from falsehood – we need a set of rules or standards. As Christians, we believe these standards come from God.

So, imagine if someone says, “Prove God exists,” but doesn’t believe in God themselves. They’re asking us to use their rules of what’s true and false, not ours—or more importantly, God’s. But if their rules don’t include God, how can we use them to prove God’s existence? It’s a bit like trying to win a game of chess using the rules of checkers. It just doesn’t work.

To put it differently, we’re saying that without God, we can’t make sense of the world or our experiences. We believe that everything we know about truth, wisdom, and life comes from God. So if we try to understand the world without assuming God’s existence, we’re going to end up in a mess of irreconcilable contradictions.

Apologetics, then, is not merely a supplemental aspect of our children’s Christian education, but an integral part of it. It enables them to engage with the world confidently, standing firm in their convictions even when they are challenged. It equips them to be not just passive consumers of their faith, but active defenders and ambassadors of it.

As we prepare our children for the complex, often hostile world they will encounter, let us remember Paul’s words in Ephesians 6:13, “Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.” May we, as Christian parents, equip our children with the armor of apologetics, grounded in sound, biblical theology, so that they, too, may stand their ground in faith and truth.