“Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give a reason for the hope you have.” – 1 Peter 3:15
I think this verse is taken out of context a lot. Actually, forget context. I think this verse is just plain misread a lot. People take it as meaning, be ready to give an answer to any question or problem a non-Christian might have. But that’s not what it says at all. It says be ready to give a reason for the hope you have. And that’s about Christ, not about arcane details. It’s about your testimony, not the answers to everything.
I dunno, I posted a Rich Mullins quote about this before, and I agree. Just, pursuing this too much focuses “on a wisdom that is not a virtue but a vanity.”
That said, again, I urge you to read Christianity Today. It had an interesting article about some philosophy professor at Notre Dame who they boldly say has conquered some critical arguments against Christianity. One such argument deals with the problem of evil. This professor doesn’t necessarily solve the problem of evil, but he shows how it’s logically consistent with the basic tenets of Christianity, and that’s all that’s needed. All you need is to show there is a logically consistent defense, and that proves it’s not necessarily logically inconsistent.
Interesting note. His argument (sketched out very roughly) relies heavily on the concept of man’s free will. I found that interesting because he’s a Calvinist.
Anyway, yeah, read Christianity Today. This month also features the second half of a debate involving Openness Theology, something I’ve written about a couple times in the past, that’s pretty interesting.