“I just hit a season of intense questioning and uncertainty,” Christian apologist Gavin Ortlund said, detailing a journey that began with deep-seated personal doubt and ultimately birthed a new digital ministry focused on complex theological inquiries.
As reported by CBN News, Ortlund faced two distinct periods where he confronted fundamental questions about how to know his faith with certainty. While he maintained a deep personal connection to Christ, external inquiries challenged his foundational beliefs and required rigorous intellectual engagement.
The Silent Struggle Behind Church Pews
According to CBN News, Ortlund observed that many believers view the church as an unwelcoming environment for wrestling with difficult questions. Consequently, individuals experiencing a crisis of faith frequently keep their struggles hidden rather than seeking communal or pastoral support. “So they just kinda keep it quiet and don’t talk about it,” he said.
Those personal trials instilled in him a specific pastoral burden for those caught in silence, alongside a parallel evangelistic desire to reach non-Christians.
Holy Spirit Must Guide Spiritual Conversations
Intellectual reasoning remains a vital instrument for presenting the Gospel, but Ortlund emphasized that the Holy Spirit must ultimately guide spiritual conversations.
Inverting the Theological Liability
The apologist admitted that he previously viewed the supernatural elements of Scripture—such as angelic activity, demonic forces, and miraculous healings—as theological liabilities that required intellectual compensation through strong arguments.
Over time, however, he inverted that perspective. He now views biblical anomalies and supernatural occurrences as distinct assets for contemporary outreach.
A God Who Intervenes Today
Rather than experiencing embarrassment over biblical miracles, believers should lean into the text’s clear depiction of a God who actively intervenes in human history, Ortlund told CBN News.
Demonstrating tangible spiritual transformation and divine intervention provides a palpable point of connection to the Christian message. Ortlund maintained that God’s historical behavior directly mirrors His contemporary actions, arguing that the compassionate character of Jesus Christ demonstrated in the Gospels remains completely unchanged today. “If we believe in the Scriptures, then we have to believe in a God who intervenes in history, and He heals people, and He supernaturally bestows His Holy Spirit in a way that none of us can understand,” he noted.
