Elias Ayala

By Elias Ayala (MDiv & M.A.T.) Christian apologetics is the defense of the faith. While it is often associated popularly with defending the faith against atheists and other skeptics, it also involves interaction with false religious systems. This can include Mormonism, Islam, Jehovah’s Witnesses and others. However, in this article I want to focus on the topic of Wicca. Wicca is a religious belief system centered upon gods, goddesses, and the worship of nature. It is very much an earth-based religion and its proponents engage in the attempt to manipulate … Read More »

By Elias Ayala (MDiv & M.A.T.) A simple hand grenade has nothing on an atomic bomb. Atomic bombs completely decimate everything within its all-encompassing scope and causes its target to completely disintegrate. While apologetic hand grenades can be helpful and useful in keeping the opponent at bay answering their tit-for tat objections, they can never fully defeat the foe since all he need do is regroup, place bandages on his intellectual wounds and plan his next attack. However, if the nature of our apologetic is that of an atomic bomb, … Read More »

By Elias Ayala (MDiv & M.A.T.) The Bible is a revelation of God. It intends to convey divine truth to man so that the will of God is understood and the actions of God are made known throughout redemptive history. The Bible is not a book of enigmatic riddles and secret codes. As a divine revelation, the Bible seeks to unveil many things of which were hidden in times past and to illuminate that which God has already made known. However, it is important to recognize that the revelation of … Read More »

By Elias Ayala (MDiv & M.A.T.) Some have the understanding that the concept of God is so grand and incomprehensible, that even if God did exist, we couldn’t know anything about him. The very moment we try to conceptualize the infinite, every time we try to put into words some truth with regards to God, we have lost the concept of the infinite, since we have limited the infinite by either linguistic constructs or conceptual analysis. So, the person will suggest that even if God existed he is unknowable and … Read More »

By Elias Ayala (MDiv & M.A.T.) Apologetics should be practical and useful for everyday life situations and not confined simply to academia and the discussions/debates between the scholars. If we are reminded of the primary context of the New Testament, much of its content is aimed at the average joe of the first century of which we as modern readers can glean great practical application. The New Testament itself presents to us a narrative in which God used normal people to proclaim and defend his truth. Indeed however, this is … Read More »

By Elias Ayala (MDiv & M.A.T.) For those who are interested in getting into apologetics but are having difficulty finding good learning resources, I want to share some helpful content here to send you on your way. Often times there is great zeal to engage in the defense of the faith but little knowledge as to what sites to visit or what books to read to get started. Hopefully I can provide some helpful guidance. Books: Bible All joking aside, I just want to get the obvious out of the … Read More »

By Elias Ayala (MDiv & M.A.T.) As is the case with a variety of theological issues, this is a hotly debated topic. I can do nothing more than share my opinion on the matter with the hopes that folks find it useful. To be simple, there is a sort of yes and no answer to this question. Let us consider first that when we speak of the “Law” we are not speaking of simply one “Law”. In the Old Testament there are 613 commandments that the Jews were to follow. … Read More »

By Elias Ayala (MDiv & M.A.T.) When a person experiences spiritual rebirth (regeneration) and they are hence united with Christ by faith and are justified (declared righteous) by faith in Christ alone, the Christian life has just begun. The believer then begins his/her journey in being conformed into the image of Christ. This is called “sanctification.” Sanctification is a progressive work of God and man that makes us more and more free from sin and like Christ in our actual lives.”1 Before progressing then, it will become important to distinguish … Read More »

By Elias Ayala (MDiv & M.A.T.) The role of the Bible in apologetics is of utmost importance. Indeed, what we as Christian apologists are defending is the veracity of the Christian worldview which is itself grounded in the Bible. While it is true that in apologetics, the discussion may not always be about any particular part of the Bible directly, everything we defend will be either directly or indirectly related to the Biblical witness. Our apologetic discussions can range from debates about biology, anthropology, mathematics, and science but for the … Read More »

By Elias Ayala (MDiv & M.A.T.) We live in an interesting time in which many seem to reject the notion of absolute and objective truth. In fact, many consider it an arrogant thing to acknowledge both that there is an absolute truth and that we are capable of accessing it. We will be told by many that “there is no absolute truth!” Or, people will say that “truth is relative”, “what is true for you is true for you but not true for me.” The truth about truth however, is … Read More »