Quite so, and we are made with differing gifts. Being able to conduct a debate is not a more noble talent then being able to fix a car and certainly not more noble then being able to raise a family.

"The majority of people are not made to intelligently explain and defend anything."

Made by whom, Jason?

Myself, I believe Christians are fearfully and wonderfully made. The problem is a simply a result of low expectations.

What we need is more places like the Breakpoint Blog, where sophisticated theology can be transformed into easily consumable theology, one blog post and one comment at a time. From there, a stable of extremely talented writers can broadcast it via social media, bypassing the traditional church setting.

And I'll note that this problem isn't new; back in the 1980s Dr. Walter Martin (original host of "The Bible Answer Man") said a novice Jehovah's Witness could turn the average Christian into a doctrinal pretzel in a matter of minutes.

I find my answer to Dana's question in my mirror. I need to study theology, simplify it in my own mind, confirm that my simplification is correct, and then broadcast it by any means possible - particularly this forum. It's my second reason for commenting here so much. (My first reason is to encourage that stable of writers, whether by outright praise, dumb jokes and ribbing, or whatever I can imagine. My third reason is to relieve on-the-job stress, which is why sometimes I'm commenting here a lot.)

I haven't seen many mass education movements succeed very well. (Chuck and PFM keep trying, God bless them. May they surprise me mightily.) I think greater success will come when each Christian sharpens another one or two, by gently and respectfully refusing to tolerate nonsensical and slothful thinking.

And personally, I'd be very interested to hear history taught from a Christian worldview perspective. We all know that the Gospel spread faster than it might have because the Romans built roads. Imagine discussing all world events on the basis of what sped or slowed Christianity's advance. We could even clear up false memes like "Galileo was persecuted by the Inquisition for his scientific views." (He wasn't.)

Of course, we'd need a lot more commenters to really pull this off expeditiously...

"But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame." 1 Peter 3:14-16

God's Word says we all should be prepared to give an answer for the hope we have within us. Whether or not the hearer accepts our answer is for them to decide.

Doesn't "how can we educate Christians to be able to intelligently explain and defend their faith" carry the implication,"How can we make people other then what they are"? The majority of people are not made to intelligently explain and defend anything. They are made to effectively bolster the community they grow up in and provide useful if unnoticed services. What you are talking about is making infantry into cavalry.

Furthermore most education doesn't work that way simply because most education whatever it's intellectual aspirations is in fact conducted by teachers who are themselves more attuned personality-wise, to "carrying on" then to "arguing and defending".

The Kiersey psychological system classifies personalities into Guardians(who hunger after stability), Artisans(who hunger after achievement), Rationals(who hunger after knowledge), and Idealists(who hunger after ideals). Most people are Guardians and that is how it should be, for having too many of the other kinds makes for disruption.

Furthermore, teaching people how to argue and defend their faith carries a hidden self-destruct mechanism. It is difficult to teach them how to argue and defend THEIR FAITH specifically without teaching in a form which encourages intellectual dishonesty. For instance I was annoyed when someone in my Church wanted to have a course on "history from a Christian perspective".

A good way to solve this problem is to teach sophisticated theology courses. However we already have those.

I agree with Dennis: In most cases, the media is not looking for a fair exchange. That being said, perhaps the question is not so much "how can we make sure the press calls the right Christians?" Perhaps the question is, "How can we educate Christians to be ready to intelligently explain and defend their faith?"

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Dennis, I agree with you entirely. But I also think Kim’s onto something. This is another “extra mile” love has to go to a) give skeptics every benefit of the doubt and every opportunity to see the light, and/or b) to render their contrariness exhaustively inexcusable.

A lot of the Christian Right is uneducated and easy to command. But a lot of almost anybody is uneducated and easy to command. And "easy to command" is an ambiguous quality. Roman legions were easy to command too. As are professional football teams.

Still sometimes living in such an atmosphere can feel alienating to someone who is wired differently.

Beckwith and you are assuming that the media wants a fair exchange. If they did, then they would invite the right person. Don't kid yourself they know who the experts are. What they really have is an agenda.