Hi
@TruthSeek3r
While I've spent some time in the study of 'christian' apologetics, I don't think it's any kind of requirement that we do so outside of the Scriptures. First of all, a lot of apologists may not get it either. So one needs to be careful as to 'who' they are going to trust in studying extrabiblical apologists. However, the study of the Scriptures is an endeavor that has been exampled and instructed for us for many, many centuries, even millennia. Many, many of the old covenant prophets speak of reading or 'being in' God's word. Daniel claims to have understood that the Jewish captivity in Babylon would be 70 years based on the writings that he read of Jeremiah. Daniel was in Babylon and Jeremiah was in the still remaining remnant in Jerusalem before the total wipe out of Israel.
Daniel also mentions that he had a regular time of day that he would study the Scriptures that were gathered in his day. Paul writes to Timothy that he should study the Scriptures to show himself approved of God. But I'm fairly confident that all of these examples are of men who had only the Scriptures to study. They didn't have Dr. so-and-so some great theologian or the plethora of authors that write books claiming to make us better understand the Scriptures and thus, the things of God. As I said earlier, we really don't have any idea whether any of these men are or are not correct in their understanding of the things of God.
As an example, in the Left Behind series, we are given a picture of the rapture coming upon the earth in the very first book of the series. The rest of the 10 or so books in the series detail all that continues to happen upon the earth
after the rapture. I don't believe that's a correct chronology of the rapture and what happens after it. In it's day many, many, many christians read the Left Behind series and many, many teachers taught a similar understanding of the chronology of the rapture. So, it's a pretty wide held belief these days that the rapture is going to come and then there's going to be a fairly long time in which more people will be saved.
According to the writings of the Revelation of Jesus, in chapter 14 beginning in vs. 14, we find the account of the rapture. There are two beings. One comes first, who looks like the son of man with a crown of gold on his head and has a sickle in his hand. He swings his sickle and harvests part of the earth's inhabitants. We are not told exactly what happens to those people, but we are told exactly what happens to those who are then 'left behind' and harvested by the second being. They are thrown into the winepress of God's wrath! So, this is the picture that I get from this passage of the Scriptures. There will be a rapture of those who believe in Jesus, but pretty shortly after that, everyone who was left is harvested and sent to the place of God's wrath. The Scriptures tell us that none of us, who are believers, will ever face God's wrath. So the point here is that there won't be anyone who chooses Jesus and is saved, after the rapture of the faithful ones who belong to Jesus. Despite the fact that a couple of supposedly very godly men wrote a book series that says there will be.
So, study the Scriptures as a believer, and if you like read some extra biblical commentary. But in the later choice, be very, very careful what you believe and make sure that it conforms with the Scriptures. There are fairly regular warnings found in the writings of just about every writer of the new covenant that warn us of false teachers and false doctrines. They are all around us and many of them stand in pulpits or write books.
As far as using such study to prove to oneself that christianity is true, I'd suggest researching the prophecies of the Scriptures. God has said to us that we will know He is the one true and living God in that all that He foretells will come to pass.
God bless,
Ted
