ISWA Poll Results: What draws Christian women to Apologetics?

Apologetics Poll taken by ISWA asking Christian women to rank their study interests - 

These are the results from almost 300 women:

1. Most important - basic, general apologetics knowledge; basically being able to defend their faith. This is why ISWA started with the basics in our new curriculum. It is a broad overview giving the average Christian answers to those who challenge them on their faith.

2. Second most important - training their own children. This includes little kids, homeschoolers, and youth ministry.

3. Next, scientific topics, such as creation/evolution. This is probably due to the fact that many are moms dealing with public school educated kids that come home with questions as to why their teacher says that science and faith are incompatible. This is why science is sprinkled throughout the ISWA U curriculum, so the moms have answers for their kids. 

4. Next, Evangelism ties with women’s ministry. Christian woman want to be able to evangelize more successfully and also be able to teach other women to do the same. Many are yearning for more from their women’s ministry than tea parties and craft fairs. 

5. After that comes cults and world religions. Specifically named: Atheism and Islam. Women know these are huge challenges in the culture that we live in today. New Atheism and Islam (as it is stated in the Qur'an) are hostile to Christianity in many parts of the world.

6. Tied with cults and world religions is the pro-life movement. Many women feel called to stand up for those who cannot speak for themselves and minister to young women facing confusing choices in light of an unplanned pregnancy. 

7. Next comes an interest in archaeology and history, specifically that which lends external evidence for the reliability of the Bible. 

8. Lastly comes other random issues like universalism, eschatology, and societal issues.

What is your opinion on these results? Do they surprise you? Give you hope? They certainly did for me and reminded me why I do what I do… Hopefully this gives you some direction for your own apologetics ministry as well... don't forget that half the Christian population is eager to be equipped to be able to defend their faith as well... 

Even Through Autism

My son is one of the cutest kids I have ever seen. I know what you are thinking: Of course you say that; he is your kid. But it’s not just me. Every person I know and run into says the same thing.  The first thing people always notice about him is his eyelashes. They seriously go on for miles, (Isn't that the way it is with boys? What the heck is that about anyways?). My son’s are so long that when he was a baby I used to pray that they would stop growing because I was afraid that people would mistake him for a girl with a Bieber-haircut and a penchant for the color blue. Everyone says I should get him into modeling or acting, but what most people don’t know is that Lochlann has Autism, ADD, and speech delays. He is five now but developmentally is around 31/2 or 4. This not to say that he is not as smart as the average five-year-old, because he is, but like most autistic kids, there are many factors that keep him from being able to express that intelligence in his speech. Also, he rarely listens or takes orders. That doesn’t bode well for a successful career in show biz.

When I was pregnant, my biggest fear was that I would have a child with Autism. I prayed that God would be merciful and make my child perfect because I didn’t think I could handle a special-needs child. I thought I was in the clear until Lochlann was about a year and a half old. I couldn’t tell you what it was, but something inside me told me that something was wrong. I was so new at the whole mothering thing I thought maybe I was worrying too much. I voiced my concerns to others and was told that because he was a boy, he was just taking longer to mature than the girls my friends had. I accepted that for a bit, but then saw boys a year younger than him, surpassing him developmentally. Because it was tight financially, I contacted the county about getting aid to get him tested. It took almost a year and a half for them to get a speech therapist to come to the house. They ended up coming one month before he turned three, at which point he was to be turned over to the school system anyways.

That year and a half was probably the most difficult of my life. I was not working so I was with my son every day, all day, and was completely unable to communicate with him. I bought every flashcard and instructional DVD that was out and attempted to teach him on my own. I reached a point of breaking down many times. His ADD made it difficult for him to sit still for any length of time but in those rare moments when he would sit there I would try to teach him things and had no idea if he understood a word I was saying to him. He would just stare at me or past me vacantly sometimes, with those beautiful eyes, and I would just start to sob and beg the Lord to wake him up. I loved my son more than my own life, but I wanted to meet him as well. To know this little person, this miracle that I had almost lost at birth, (I had been in labor almost 24 hours before the doctor couldn’t hear his heartbeat anymore and decided to do an emergency c-section).

On the first night Lochlann was born, I sat in the hospital bed with him in my arms and dedicated him to the Lord. No matter what, I told God that Lochlann was his now and that I would train him in the ways of the Lord and make sure that he knew his Scripture and proper doctrine, and that whatever God willed for his life I would accept it. Having been a pretty advanced kid myself, I pictured us sitting around the kitchen table when he turned three, learning Greek and English side by side and going through children's bible studies. I did not picture Autism. I had done a research paper on it as a college student and had read difficult stories about various kids and families dealing with Autism. My greatest fear was to have a child locked inside his own mind. And yet, for a time in Lochlann’s toddlerhood, that was exactly a fear God allowed to come to fruition in order that I might turn to the Lord and realize that nothing is impossible with Him.....

Read the rest of this post at Down By Abby: Thoughts on God, church, family, autism and whatever else comes to mind...

ISWA University!

Hey y'all! Check out our brand new ISWA U curriculum designed specifically for the busy Christian who wants to be equipped to give answers for the hope that lies within! ISWA U will equip and train you in basic Apologetics and provide you with the resources to go even deeper in your study of why you believe what you believe. In the world we live in today, it is crucial for us as Christians to engage in Apologetics, not just for the strength of our own faith, but that of our kids and others around us who are in desperate need of the truth.

We have six new, short, and concise textbooks entitled: 

Why Apologetics? - Giving the definition of apologetics and the reasons for why apologetics is important.

Truth - Is truth absolute? How can we know that?

The Existence of God- What reasons do we have for believing that the God of the Bible exists?

The Case for Miracles - Is the supernatural possible? Could those miracles in the Bible actually have happened?

The Reliability of the Bible - Can we trust the Bible? Is it authentic and accurate? Is it really God's Word?

Rethroning Jesus - The Case for the Existence, Deity, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Was He really who He said He was? Did He do all the Bible says He did?

ISWA U's goal is to bridge the gap between the seminary and the home. We get it. You don't have a lot of time. That's why each of the textbooks are smaller than the average magazine, FREE, and downloadable 24/7 from the ISWA website, from anywhere in the world! Check out our promo video for more info:

ISWA U Promo Video from Sarah Ankenman on Vimeo.


The textbooks can be downloaded in PDF format HERE!

I Am.....

You remember those "I Am" poems we had to do in school? Well, they inspired this random poetic blogpost...

I Am

I am............... saved by grace
I wonder.........what God's plan is for me
I hear............. the Word being taught
I see...............God's light shining through people
I want..............to be worthy of the gift of grace.

I am ...............a work in progress.

I know........... my sins put Jesus on the cross
I pretend........to be the perfect Christian
I feel............. the spiritual battle waging around me
I touch...........the soft leather of my Bible
I worry......... when I see unsaved family and friends
I cry............. when I think of Jesus on the cross

I am............. The passion of the Christ

I understand ...that it is by grace I am saved through faith
I say.............. that you should know Christ
I dream......... about Heaven
I hope............to be counted a faithful servant
I live.............. each day by faith

I am...............a Christian


2 Chronicles 2:6 “But who is able to build Him a temple, since heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain Him? Who am I then, that I should build Him a temple, except to burn sacrifice before Him?”

Why I am Pro-Life

Many people assume that I am only pro-life because I am conservative and usually vote Republican. Or that my religious upbringing and personal beliefs tell me I am supposed to be. While both those things are true, I have other reasons for being pro-life (six to be exact): my mom, my sister, my brother, myself, my son, and my aborted sibling that I never met but will when I get to heaven. It wasn't until I was an adult myself that my mom told me her entire testimony. She had an abortion at fifteen years old and said that when she went to get the procedure done, they told her that it was just some tissue that needed to be removed, and she said that as a fifteen-year-old that didn't know any better, she believed them.

What they didn't tell her was that she would have permanent scar tissue that would make her unable to have any more children. The serious side-effects are one thing they will never tell you at a Planned Parenthood clinic. She found out when she went to a doctor at age eighteen (three years later) and the doctor said there was nothing he could do but give her a hysterectomy and said that they might as well finish the job that she started at 15. She refused and went to a prayer meeting where they prayed that she would be healed. She wasn't sure if she was healed but trusted God with her future, no matter what. Miraculously, she ended up getting pregnant again at age 23, but again, was not married and was not in a position to keep the baby. She knew, however, that she could not and would not have another abortion. She was able to carry the baby to term, and ended up giving her up for adoption. That baby grew up to be my awesome sister Kristina.

Kristina and I grew up in different homes with different families, but miraculously stayed in the same state. I found her on Myspace a few years ago, and showed my mom, who reached out to her. Kristina grew up to have an amazing life, and her adoptive family was totally blessed to have her. She works at Kaiser Permanente, helping kids and their families with counseling and therapy. I am so completely grateful my mom chose life for her because I always wanted a sister and now I have one. When people have abortions, they don't even consider the affect it will have on future siblings who might benefit from their presence in their lives. My mom went back to the doctor who recommended her hysterectomy later on and told him that she was healed by God and able to have kids because she walked out of the clinic trusting God instead of man. That doctor stopped performing abortions and "fixing" them with hysterectomies because of my mom's story. Turns out he was a former Catholic who was already feeling guilty about his work...

My mom met my dad a few years later, got married and had my brother. My brother was also a "mistake" conceived while my mom was on the Pill. She chose to keep him and ended up having me a few years later. When my mom found out she was pregnant with me she ended up  having to go to the doctor to get her IUD removed but was told that she would probably have to terminate the pregnancy because I wouldn't survive since I had been in there with the IUD so long. She chose to keep me anyways and I was born eight months later. God obviously wanted us to be born because in the midst of slim chances, we were all born healthy. We could have been aborted and my mom, according to current pro-choicers, had every “right” to do so.

But God. 

He reached down and touched my mom to heal her (otherwise me and my siblings, and our kids, would not exist at all) and then he reached down and convinced her to choose life for us. He gave me life and so I can do nothing less than live it fully for Him.

The last reason I am pro-life is because of my own son. Lochlann was an unplanned pregnancy and I didn't necessarily want kids yet but I was a staunch believer in God having a purpose in everything. I didn't realize how much I loved him until I was in labor, and they lost Lochlann's heartbeat. Immediately they wheeled me into get an emergency c-section because they couldn't hear the baby anymore. I was more scared in that moment than I have ever been in my life. After what felt like a million years later, I heard my son cry for the first time and I bawled all over everyone I was so happy. Everything was great until Lochlann was about 18 months old. Something was off. I had this feeling that I should get him checked out but everyone kept telling me that it was normal for boys to mature slower. When he turned three, he was barely talking at all. He was put into preschool and the district tested him and he came out positive for Autism. I was devastated. That was my biggest fear. I had done a project for college on Autism when I was younger and I remembered saying to a classmate, "I seriously don't know what I would do if my child has Autism someday." When I got that diagnosis from the school district, I realized that I was about to find out.

I had days where I thought I would go insane as a stay at home mom. Not because I wanted to work, but because I was completely out of my depth with my own child. I didn't know how to teach him or understand him. It was like talking to a brick wall. He would just stare past me and rarely ever acknowledge me. I remember crying and pleading with God to wake him up out of this Autistic fog he seemed to be in. I wanted to meet my son. I also felt horrible disciplining him because he didn't know that what he was doing was wrong. On those days I would wonder why I ever wanted kids...

THE LIGHT DAWNS

After he was in speech therapy for a few months, I remember handing him a juice box one day and him saying "Thank you Mommy." I almost fell over I was so surprised. He had only said Mommy like once before and he was three and a half. Slowly but surely, the longer he was in therapy the easier things got. He started to listen and behave better, and I was finally able to communicate with my son. Today he is a happy, healthy almost five-year-old that wants a dog for his birthday, (we'll see...). He is the most beautiful kid I have ever seen and he brings so much joy and love to my life I don't think I could live without him now. When he says "I love you Mommy" I literally have to fight tears every time because I waited so long to hear those words and they are so awesome to hear.

Would I have had an abortion if I had known how difficult it would be to have a child with Autism? No. Even though I didn't want kids should I have had an abortion? No. Would I have had an abortion if I knew I would be a single parent one day? No. Would my life be easier without a kid? Maybe. Would it be worth the pain and suffering I would go through post-abortion? No way. My mom still struggles with the decision that she made over 40 years ago. The pain and regret of abortion NEVER goes away, no matter what they tell you.

 Throughout my whole life, and especially after hearing my mom's own story, I know that God has a purpose and a plan for everything He does. My pro-life stance does not come from me being brainwashed or preconditioned to believe a certain way. It comes from a healthy place of medical facts, Biblical truth (Jer. 1:5, 29:11-14; Psalm 139:13-16), and personal experience. God has a plan, and he chose my mom, my siblings, my son, and myself to be a part of it and given the choice I wouldn't miss it for the world. Shouldn't every life have the chance to be lived? Shouldn't everyone, even the unborn, be given the choice to be a part of God's great plan? I say yes and so should you....

Doing Apologetics = Love

Why do I, personally, do apologetics? My whole life I have felt this inescapable call to ministry. I never knew why or what it was going to be ultimately, but I knew that every time I would try to escape it, God would do whatever it took in my life to bring me back onto the right course. And let me tell you, there were times where that process of bringing me back to ministry was painful and not fun, but God had a plan, and so whatever He did was necessary. I don't do apologetics because I enjoy studying (I really don't) or getting attacked by Atheists or Muslims (which is scary sometimes). I also don't do apologetics for the prestige or "smart person" status that may come with the title sometimes. I only recently figured out why God called me to and made me so attracted to this discipline: it is because of my penchant for caring too much.

It may not be always incredibly obvious that I have a big heart, since one of my weaknesses is allowing my external circumstances (which are often extremely hard to deal with - see my blog entitled "Unfortunately Sure" for more info) to determine how I treat people, and I am not always the best witness for Christ, but I really do have a huge heart. I genuinely love people and want the best for them. There are nights where I can't sleep because I lay awake sobbing about all the babies whose lives have been taken through abortion (a topic that completely grieves me, being a mother), and after disasters such as 9/11, I literally sit there and dwell on the fact that people are suffering and I can't do anything for them but pray.

Throughout my years of study, I have come to a confident belief that Christianity is indeed the truth and the answer to the fallen world in which we presently find ourselves in. It is a turning away from Christianity and an embracing of sin that has caused much of the turmoil that grieves me so much today. Evil and suffering are privations, or a lack, of good, and that good is Jesus Christ. This is why I do apologetics: because I realize that Christianity (a belief in Jesus as God and an obedience to the Holy Scriptures) is the only way these things will cease to be part of our culture. However, because our culture (Post-Darwin/Scopes Trial/Skepticism) is so far gone into materialism, postmodernism, and pluralism, the only way to successfully introduce the world to Jesus Christ and the Bible is through apologetics. You can't start with the gospel most times nowadays, you must give the case for the gospel before being able to give the actual gospel.

Another reason I believe so strongly in apologetics is because apologetics is literally a defense of the gospel, and Christianity is literally under attack today. Don't believe me? Go sit in a first-year college classroom at a secular university, and you will see what I mean. The fact that parents send their kids into those classrooms unequipped to deal with the attacks that are coming grieves me to no end. The idea that kids are walking away from Christianity in droves for the so-called "reason" the world offers is why I do apologetics. Christianity is the truth, and we need to teach our kids why. When you become a mother to one kid, you become mama-bear to the entire world of kids. When I realized that kids were walking away because their parents had failed to equip them properly, I transitioned from my ministry goal of training high-school students to training parents. That is why I still work so hard on ISWA, and trust me, ISWA is hard work. I constantly have to defend the reasons we exist. Yes, I do want to reach out to women specifically with apologetics, but my ultimate goal is to teach them how to equip their kids because I am no longer willing to sit on the sidelines while Christian parents let their kids get snatched away by a secular worldview. I care too much about those kids to let their parents remain apathetic Christians.

All this to say that, if I get a little passionate or I get a little in-your-face about apologetics, know that I am doing it because of the fact that I care and that I have a big heart for the things that matter in this world.  I don't always do it in the most eloquent or polished manner (being a Valley Girl), and sometimes I am abrasive (being a redhead and a mother), but I do love you, your family, and your friends and neighbors, and want the best for everyone. And there is nothing better than the truth of Jesus Christ. There is nothing more loving that I can do for you than to equip you to train your kids to be life-long believers.

Love is our greatest apologetic, not only in the sense that people will see Christ in how we love and serve and care for one another*, but also in the sense that anything we do within the realm of the discipline of apologetics should completely and only be motivated by love...


*Side note: I am going to quote my friend Scott Rachui here because I think he gave  really good statement on how practically loving and serving is an apologetic and I didn't touch on that because I didn't want to just restate what he said, but I agree wholeheartedly -

"Yes, we know how to craft an argument. Yes, we know how to make the case for why God exists, why Jesus rose from the dead, etc. But how much love do we have for those around us, both in the body and outside? How often do we stop debating and go out to help people who are hurting? Maybe someone needs help repairing their house, or needs their lawn mowed. Maybe they need a ride to the doctor, or maybe they just need someone to buy them lunch and genuinely listen to them.

I hope and pray that all of you are doing this regularly. But for me, I know that I wasn't. Since recognizing this problem in my life, I have begun to pray earnestly for God to give me a love for others, and to show me the open doors where I can serve. Maybe it's something as simple as buying a homeless man lunch and giving him a ride to the train station. Maybe it's spending time with someone who is hurting. Maybe it's taking a year off and going on a mission. The point is that if we focus on loving and serving others (which is certainly an act of gratitude toward God for the kindness He has shown us), then God will open those doors. And when our primary purpose is to love and serve others, everything else seems to fall into place.

Yes, we'll have a chance to give the reasons for our faith. But when we do so, we'll be sharing with people that already trust us because we've been serving and loving them..."

Moulin Rouge

    In the movie Moulin Rouge, we follow Christian, a noble, aspiring writer in his quest to win the love of Satine, a courtesan with an unscrupulous lifestyle. Now, as the viewer, we cheer for Christian, even though we don't quite understand how he could love a woman who sells herself and makes men believe she loves them for a price. Surely, we think, he could do better. (Even though it is Nicole Kidman!) We also cheer for Satine, feeling as though we could relate to her somehow. She seems, like, most of us, to have the desire for something better, but is not quite sure how to obtain it, being that it is a lofty goal for someone of her status as, well, a sinner. Her ambition is reflected in her disappointment that Christian is just a poor writer and not a wealthy duke. But Christian sings his beautifully simple love song to her and her disappointment fades as his love for her overpowers his financial status. Now, if this was how the story concluded, it would have been the perfect fairy-tale ending. But, like all tragic love stories, this one has an adversary, known as the Duke.

    The Duke is a wealthy man of the world who also wants Satine, and tempts her with all the fame and fortune there is to be had in the world. We wonder yet again, why this duke, a man of wealth and high stature, would want Satine, when he could have a duchess. Now, this isn't to say that Satine is not attractive by any means, she is a beautiful and talented woman, but she's not the type you bring home to mom. Satine, even though she doesn't love the Duke, feels that this could be her last chance at obtaining the answer to her problems. She goes back and forth the whole movie deciding between the Duke's selfish, temporal love or Christian's everlasting, unconditional love. She would like to have both, but neither of the men will stand for it. She gets forced into the decision because she knows time is running out for her. She decides to take the Duke up on his offer and send Christian packing even though he would be taking her heart with him. For a little while she is satisfied, until she gets too close to the flame and realizes how evil the Duke really is and that she is not happy without Christian's love. Christian on the other hand never left, of course, because if he had, it wouldn't have been true love. He still wants her back even after how badly she rejected him.

    The Duke strikes again, out of jealousy, but because love is greater than evil, it truly conquers all. It is a story that shows how amazing love truly is. As a Christian, I know how amazing love is. I have felt the love of God which abundantly outweighs any love we might have here on this earth. As I watched Moulin Rouge, I realized how amazingly this story could be a modern-day parable of Christ's love for us. Let's start with Christian, who name means "Christ-like". He is a noble young man who just wants to pour his Christ-like love into this beautiful courtesan, which brings us to Satine.

    Satine, who doesn't know why this man loves her, a prostitute, is a picture of us. We flirt with the world, and compared with the holiness of the Lord, we are unclean and not worthy. Yet the Lord still loves us. We have this innate desire for something better, a relationship with the Lord, but we feel we have to clean ourselves up first. Then, we hear it. The love song. Jesus Christ, God manifest in the flesh, came to this earth to die for us as the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. We are no longer unclean. Isaiah 1:18 says "though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow."

    And, yet again, if this was the end, it would be wonderful, but we have an adversary as well. His name also starts with a "D". 1 Peter 5:8 says "be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, walks about, as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." The devil, Satan, is also a wealthy man of the world who wants us, and tempts us everyday, all day. He is the prince of the power of the air, and the earth is his dominion. He used it to tempt Jesus and he will use it to tempt us. He offered Jesus all the kingdoms of the world in their glory, if he would only bow down and worship him, (Matthew 4:8-9). Satan, like the Duke, wants us because misery loves company, and he will do anything he can to distract us from our calling which is to preach the gospel to every nation. He doesn't love us with a pure love. His passion is to cripple us, and render us ineffective. He only wants us because God wants us more. The less people we evangelize to, the more opportunities Satan has to lead them down the rosy path to hell, using wealth and temporal love as his bait. We are, like Satine, a beautiful creation, and made in the image of God, (Genesis 1:26-27), yet we have been tainted by this fallen world. Satan is jealous that God loves us so much (for we have what the angels desire to look into), but now he wants us as well. Like Satine, we spend our whole lives trying to decide between God's everlasting unconditional love and Satan's selfish and temporal love.

    We should feel the same haste Satine does when making her decision because the Bible states that the Lord is coming back soon. If we are lukewarm, the Bible makes it clear what will happen. Just like in the movie, we can't have both. She, like most of us, makes the wrong decision, and goes for fame and fortune. She then sends Christian away. Isn't that how we are? We store God on a shelf somewhere and push him away, until, like Satine, we get too close to the fire and come running back to Him. And, surprise, like Christian, he never left. As we look up from our position on our face, He is walking up the aisle toward us, singing His beautifully simple love song (See The Singer, by Calvin Miller). We were the ones to leave. And likewise, His arms are wide open and ready to take us back no matter what we have done. God's agape love is a many splendid thing, it lifts us up where we belong, and it's all we need. Like the movie, out of truth, freedom, beauty, and love, love is the greatest of them all. It sounds an awful lot like 1 Corinthians 13:13 where Paul writes that "we should abide in faith, hope, love, these three, but the greatest of these is LOVE."