A Question I Wasn’t Ready For
After a long workday in downtown Chicago, I boarded the Metra train at Union Station like I had done countless times before. Rush hour was in full swing. The cars were crowded, and the only available seat was on the upper deck — close quarters, not exactly ideal for conversation.
A young woman sat down next to me. We exchanged the usual commuter pleasantries. I pulled out my phone, ready to mentally check out for the ride home.
Then she tapped me on the shoulder.
“Are you a theist?”
It wasn’t the kind of question you expect from a stranger on a train.
I paused, processed the word, and answered honestly.
“Yes. I am.”
I didn’t hesitate to admit that I believed in God. But what happened next exposed something I hadn’t realized about myself.
When she asked me why, I struggled.
Belief Without Understanding
The conversation that followed wasn’t hostile. It wasn’t combative. It was thoughtful and engaging. She was an atheist and clearly understood why she believed what she believed.
As the discussion moved into science, morality, meaning, and God, I found myself searching for words. I leaned on feelings. On upbringing. On assumptions.
And I realized something deeply uncomfortable:
I had a faith I had never really examined.
I believed — but I couldn’t clearly articulate why.
When her stop arrived and she stepped off the train, another passenger leaned over and said, “You handled that really well.”
But I knew better.
I hadn’t.
That night, I told my wife about the conversation. I replayed it almost word for word and said something that would shape the next several years of my life:
“I never want to be caught in that situation again unprepared.”
When Faith Meets Pressure
That train ride stayed with me.
Not because I lost an argument.
But because I realized my faith had never truly been tested.
If Christianity is true, it should be able to withstand honest questions. It shouldn’t collapse under scrutiny. But I began to see how easily belief can falter when it’s inherited but never examined.
Around that same time, I came across a story that reinforced this realization.
A father had raised his daughter in church. She attended services regularly and was active in youth group. Her faith seemed solid. Then she went off to college.
After her first semester, she came home and told her parents she was now an atheist.
When her father asked why, she responded simply:
“My professors could explain why Christianity wasn’t true. No one at church ever explained why it was.”
That statement struck me deeply.
Too many believers grow up surrounded by faith, but never equipped to understand it. When belief meets intellectual pressure — in a classroom, a workplace, or culture at large — it often collapses.
I knew that because I had experienced it myself.
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Conversations That Changed Me
There was a third moment that confirmed this growing conviction.
While working as a financial advisor in downtown Chicago, one of my colleagues was an Orthodox Jew. We developed a friendship and often went to lunch together. Our conversations ranged from hiking and exercise to religion.
I asked him many questions about Judaism. He was thoughtful, sincere, and deeply committed to his faith.
Then one day, the topic of Jesus came up.
He casually described Jesus as “a good man” and “a good teacher.”
Something stirred inside me. I wanted to explain why Jesus is more than that — why Christians believe He is the Messiah, the Son of God.
But again, I struggled.
Not because I didn’t believe it.
But because I didn’t understand the theological distinctions well enough to articulate them clearly.
That was the moment it clicked:
Defending your faith isn’t just about talking to skeptics.
It’s about understanding your beliefs deeply enough to explain them across worldviews.
Faith Needs a Foundation
Looking back, those moments weren’t random.
The train conversation.
The story of the college student.
The lunchroom discussions.
They were invitations.
Invitations to stop coasting on inherited belief and start pursuing an understood faith.
That realization sent me on a journey into Christian apologetics — reading, studying, listening, learning. I began exploring history, philosophy, theology, and evidence.
And along the way, I discovered something transformative:
Reason and faith are not enemies.
Evidence doesn’t weaken belief. It strengthens it.
And doubt isn’t the enemy of faith. Often, it’s the doorway to deeper understanding.
Faith that’s never questioned isn’t strong — it’s simply untested. But faith that wrestles with truth and emerges refined can stand anywhere.
Why Apollos Answers Exists
That journey is the reason Apollos Answers was born.
This podcast exists for:
Believers who want more than surface-level faith
Seekers who are asking honest questions
Skeptics willing to examine their conclusions
It’s not about winning arguments. It’s about pursuing truth with clarity, humility, and confidence.
The name “Apollos” comes from the book of Acts. Apollos was described as eloquent and mighty in the Scriptures — yet humble enough to learn. That combination of conviction and teachability is the heart behind this project.
If truth is real, it doesn’t fear examination.
And if faith is grounded in truth, it will stand up under honest scrutiny.
An Invitation
If you’ve ever struggled to answer a hard question about your faith…
If you’ve ever wrestled with doubt…
If you’ve ever wanted something deeper than inherited belief…
You’re not alone.
And you’re in the right place.
Apollos Answers is an invitation to explore the questions that matter — thoughtfully, respectfully, and courageously.
Because if truth is really true, it will always hold up under honest examination.
Welcome to the journey.