How to find information in Apologetics Index
Since Apologetics Index first went online, in September, 1996, this website — along with sister website Religion News Blog — has grown to include over 47,830 pages. Yet, relevant information is easy to find.
- First check the A-Z index
- Topics and subjects are listed alphabetically (see above)
- Personal names are indexed as follows: Last, First
- Use the search engine (powered by Google)
- There is no need to include the word ‘and‘ between terms
- Surround a phrase in quotes, “like this”
- You may use boolean searches
- Results from both Apologetics Index and Religion News Blog are included. Select the links next to ‘All results‘ to find information at either site.
Note: On your trips through the Apologetics Index website you’re likely to encounter lots of older style pages — dating back as far as 1996, and complete with funky color-schemes and odd layouts. Rest assured… as long as it says ‘apologeticsindex.org’ in your address bar, you’re still within our website. (And yes, we will update those pages…)
Perspectives / Color Key
The publishers of Apologetics Index operate from an orthodox, evangelical Christian point of view, but the intent of this site is to provide research resources from a variety of perspectives.
We employ a simple color-coding system, which is used to help you identify the general background of sites, articles and other listings.
Put another way: we don’t see ourselves as ‘the last word’ on the topics addressed. While we certainly have (and share) our opinions we purposely encourage you to do your own research.
We also encourage you to suggest additional research resources for possible inclusion.
Quoted Material
Throughout this site we quote material from various resources. Some of it, quoted inline, “looks like this; navy-colored text between quotation marks.”
However…
…most quoted material looks looks this; an indented block of text with a vertical, blue-colored bar to the left.
More of than not you’ll find the citation directly underneath the quote.
Broken Links
Apologetics Index includes an incredible amount of links, collected over a period of 25+ years.
Therefore it is normal that you will encounter many broken links — especially on the older entries.
Links break for various reasons: websites are closed, or are moved to a different address. Some website owners rearrange their collection of articles and forget to redirect browsers from the old links to the new ones. Articles are also taken off-line — either because they are no longer deemed relevant, have been removed due to legal challenges, or because they are now included in printed books.
Many online newspapers and magazines make articles available for free for a limited amount of time before moving them behind pay-walls.
Whatever the reason a link is broken, researchers can often — though certainly not always — retrieve a version of the material by visiting the Internet Archive.
If you encounter a broken link, copy that link and paste it in the Internet Archive’s search box.
If the link has been archived, you will see a timeline and details on how often the information at that link has been captured.
On the calendar that is included, click on a date inside a blue circle, and you will see the article or website you were looking for.
Stubs — Work In Progress
A website like Apologetics Index is never quite complete. There will always be entries to update and new topics to add.
Throughout the site you’ll find both extensive and brief entries. Some entries include pointers to a wide variety of resources, usually from various perspectives, while other entries are – for the time being – briefer and/or more one-sided.
As always, we encourage you to fully research subjects and issues from a variety of perspectives and sources.
One way we approach newer entries is by creating so-called stubs.
A ‘stub‘ is an entry which, when first added to Apologetics Index, we considered too short and/or too incomplete to highlight on the front page (and in the articles RSS feed).
While not (yet) complete, these stubs nevertheless provide researchers with useful information — and you will therefore find links to them within the A-Z index.
Suggest Additional Research Resources
We always welcome suggestions for additional resources.
FAQ
Some frequently-asked questions — and our answers.
We hope you enjoy your visit to Apologetics Index. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us.