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Apologetics (fromGreekἀπολογία,apología, 'speaking in defense') is the religious discipline of defendingreligious doctrines through systematicargumentation and discourse.[1][2][3]Early Christian writers (c. 120–220) who defended their beliefs againstcritics and recommended theirfaith to outsiders were calledChristian apologists.[4] In 21st-century usage,apologetics is often identified with debates overreligion andtheology.
The termapologetics derives from theAncient Greek wordapologia (ἀπολογία).[1] In the Classical Greek legal system, the prosecution delivered thekategoria (κατηγορία), the accusation or charge, and the defendant replied with anapologia, thedefence.[5] Theapologia was a formal speech or explanation to reply to and rebut the charges. A famous example isSocrates'Apologia defense, as chronicled inPlato'sApology.
In theKoine Greek of theNew Testament, theApostle Paul employs the termapologia in his trial speech toFestus andAgrippa when he says "I make my defense" inActs 26:2.[6] Acognate form appears in Paul'sLetter to the Philippians as he is "defending the gospel" in Philippians 1:7,[7] and in "giving an answer" in 1 Peter 3:15.[8]
Although the termapologetics has Western, primarily Christian origins and is most frequently associated with the defense of Christianity, the term is sometimes used referring to the defense of any religion in formal debate involving religion.
Manyapologetic books have been written in defence of the history or teachings of theBaháʼí Faith. The religion's founders wrote several books presenting proofs of their religion; among them are theBáb'sSeven Proofs andBahá'u'lláh'sKitáb-i-Íqán.[9] Later Baháʼí authors wrote prominent apologetic texts, such asMírzá Abu'l-Fadl'sThe Brilliant Proof andUdo Schaefer et al.'sMaking the Crooked Straight.[10]
One of the earliest Buddhist apologetic texts isThe Questions of King Milinda, which deals with the Buddhist metaphysics such asthe "no-self" nature of the individual and characteristics such as wisdom, perception, volition, feeling, consciousness and the soul. In theMeiji Era (1868-1912), encounters between Buddhists and Christians inJapan as a result of increasing contact betweenJapan and other nations may have prompted the formation ofJapanese New Buddhism,[11] including the apologetic Shin Bukkyō (新仏教) magazine.[12] In recent times, A. L. De Silva, an Australian convert toBuddhism, has written a book,Beyond Belief, providing Buddhist apologetic responses and a critique of Christian Fundamentalist doctrine.[13] Gunapala Dharmasiri wrote an apologetic critique of theChristian concept of God from aTheravadin Buddhist perspective.[14]
Christian apologetics combinesChristian theology,natural theology,[15] andphilosophy in an attempt to present a rational basis for the Christian faith, to defend the faith against objections and misrepresentation, and to show that the Christian doctrine is the only world-view that is faultless and consistent with all fundamental knowledge and questions.
Christian apologetics has taken many forms over the centuries. In theRoman Empire, Christians were severely persecuted, and many charges were brought against them. Examples in the Bible include the Apostle Paul's address to the Athenians in theAreopagus (Acts 17: 22-34). J. David Cassel[16] gives several examples:Tacitus wrote thatNero fabricated charges that Christians started theburning of Rome.[17] Other charges includedcannibalism (due to a literal interpretation of theEucharist) andincest (due to early Christians' practice of addressing each other as "brother" and "sister").Paul the Apostle,Justin Martyr,Irenaeus, and others often defended Christianity against charges that were brought to justify persecution.[18]
Later apologists have focused on providing reasons to accept various aspects of Christian belief. Christian apologists of many traditions, in common with Jews, Muslims, and some others, argue for the existence of a unique and personal God.Theodicy is one important aspect of such arguments, andAlvin Plantinga's arguments have been highly influential in this area. Many prominent Christian apologists are scholarly philosophers or theologians, frequently with additional doctoral work inphysics,cosmology,comparative religions, and other fields. Others take a more popular or pastoral approach. Some prominent modern apologists areDouglas Groothuis,Frederick Copleston,John Lennox,Walter R. Martin,Dinesh D'Souza,Douglas Wilson,Cornelius Van Til,Gordon Clark,Francis Schaeffer,Greg Bahnsen,Edward John Carnell,James White,R. C. Sproul,Hank Hanegraaff,Alister McGrath,Lee Strobel,Josh McDowell,Peter Kreeft,G. K. Chesterton,William Lane Craig,J. P. Moreland,Hugh Ross,David Bentley Hart,Gary Habermas,Norman Geisler,Scott Hahn, RC Kunst,Trent Horn, andJimmy Akin.[19]
Apologists in theCatholic Church includeBishop Robert Barron,[20]G. K. Chesterton,[21]Dr. Scott Hahn, Trent Horn,Jimmy Akin,Patrick Madrid, Kenneth Hensley,[22]Karl Keating,Ronald Knox, andPeter Kreeft.
John Henry Newman (1801–1890) was an English convert toRoman Catholicism, later made acardinal, andbeatified in 2010. In early life he was a major figure in theOxford Movement to bring theChurch of England back to its Catholic roots. Eventually his studies in history persuaded him to become a Roman Catholic. When John Henry Newman entitled his spiritual autobiographyApologia Pro Vita Sua, in 1864, he was playing upon both this connotation, and the more commonly understood meaning of an expression of contrition or regret.
Christian apologists employ a variety of philosophical and formal approaches, includingontological,cosmological, andteleological arguments.[23] The Christian presuppositionalist approach to apologetics uses thetranscendental argument for the existence of God.[24]
Tertullian was an earlyChristian apologist. He was born, lived, and died inCarthage. He is sometimes known as the "Father of theLatin Church". He introduced the termTrinity (Latin:trinitas) to the Christian vocabulary[25] and probably[citation needed] the formula "three Persons, one Substance" as the Latin "tresPersonae,una Substantia" (from theKoine Greek "treisHypostaseis,Homoousios"), and the termsVetus Testamentum (Old Testament) andNovum Testamentum (New Testament).
There are Latter-day Saint apologists who focus on the defense ofMormonism, including early church leaders, such asParley P. Pratt,John Taylor,B. H. Roberts, andJames E. Talmage, and modern figures, such asHugh Nibley,Daniel C. Peterson,John L. Sorenson,John Gee,Orson Scott Card, and Jeff Lindsay.
Several well known apologetic organizations of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, such as theFoundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies (a group of scholars atBrigham Young University) andFairMormon (an independent, not-for-profit group run by Latter Day Saints), have been formed to defend the doctrines and history of theLatter Day Saint movement in general and theChurch of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in particular.
Deism is a form oftheism in which God created the universe and established rationally comprehensible moral and natural laws but no longer intervenes in human affairs. Deism is anatural religion where belief in God is based on application of reason and evidence observed in the designs and laws found in nature. The World Order of Deists maintains a web site presenting deist apologetics that demonstrate the existence of God based on evidence and reason, absent divine revelation.
Hindu apologetics began developing during the British colonial period. A number of Indian intellectuals had become critical of the British tendency to devalue the Hindu religious tradition. As a result, these Indian intellectuals, as well as a handful of BritishIndologists, were galvanized to examine the roots of the religion as well as to study its vast arcana and corpus in an analytical fashion. This endeavor drove the deciphering and preservation ofSanskrit. Many translations of Hindu texts were produced which made them accessible to a broader reading audience.
In the early 18th century, Christian missionaryBartholomäus Ziegenbalg engaged in dialogues with severalTamil-speakingMalabarian Hindu priests, and recorded arguments of these Hindu apologists. These records include German-language reports submitted to the Lutheran headquarters inHalle, and 99 letters written by the Hindu priests to him (later translated into German under the titleMalabarische Korrespondenz from 1718 onwards).[26]
During 1830–1831, missionaryJohn Wilson engaged in debates with Hindu apologists inBombay.[27] In 1830, his protege Ram Chandra, a Hindu convert to Christianity, debated with several HinduBrahmin apologists in public. HindupanditMorobhatt Dandekar summarized his arguments from his 1831 debate with Wilson in a Marathi-language work titledShri-Hindu-dharma-sthapana.[28] Narayana Rao, another Hindu apologist, wroteSvadesha-dharma-abhimani in response to Wilson.[29]
In the mid-19th century, several Hindu apologist works were written in response toJohn Muir'sMataparīkṣā. These includeMata-parīkṣā-śikṣā (1839) bySomanatha ofCentral India,Mataparīkṣottara (1840) by Harachandra Tarkapanchanan ofCalcutta,Śāstra-tattva-vinirṇaya (1844-1845) byNilakantha Gore ofBenares,[30] and a critique (published later in 1861 as part ofDharmādharma-parīkṣā-patra) by an unknownVaishnava writer.[31]
A range of Indian philosophers, includingSwami Vivekananda andAurobindo Ghose, have written rational explanations regarding the values of the Hindu religious tradition. More modern proponents such as theMaharishi Mahesh Yogi have also tried to correlate recent developments fromquantum physics andconsciousness research with Hindu concepts. The late ReverendPandurang Shastri Athavale has given a plethora of discourses regarding the symbolism and rational basis for many principles in theVedic tradition. In his bookThe Cradle of Civilization, David Frawley, an American who has embraced the Vedic tradition, has characterized the ancient texts of the Hindu heritage as being like "pyramids of the spirit".
'Ilm al-Kalām, literally "science of discourse",[32] usually foreshortened tokalam and sometimes calledIslamic scholastic theology, is an Islamic undertaking born out of the need to establish and defend the tenets of Islamic faith against skeptics and detractors.[33] A scholar ofkalam is referred to as amutakallim (pluralmutakallimūn) as distinguished from philosophers, jurists, and scientists.[34]
Jewish apologetic literature can be traced back as far asAristobulus of Paneas, though some discern it in the works ofDemetrius the chronographer (3rd century BCE) traces of the style of "questions" and "solutions" typical of the genre. Aristobulus was a Jewish philosopher ofAlexandria and the author of an apologetic work addressed toPtolemy VI Philometor.Josephus'sContra Apion is a wide-ranging defense ofJudaism against many charges laid against Judaism at that time, as too are some of the works ofPhilo of Alexandria.[35][36]
In response to modern Christian missionaries, and congregations that "are designed to appear Jewish, but are actually fundamentalist Christian churches, which use traditional Jewish symbols to lure the most vulnerable of our Jewish people into their ranks",[37]Jews for Judaism is the largest counter-missionary organization in existence, today.Kiruv Organization (Mizrachi), founded by Rabbi Yosef Mizrachi, and Outreach Judaism, founded by RabbiTovia Singer, are other prominent international organizations that respond "directly to the issues raised by missionaries and cults, by exploring Judaism in contradistinction to fundamentalist Christianity."[38][39]
Some pantheists have formed organizations such as the World Pantheist Movement and theUniversal Pantheist Society to promote and defend the belief inpantheism.[40]
In a famous speech called "Red Jacket on Religion for the White Man and the Red" in 1805,Seneca chiefRed Jacket gave an apologetic forNative American religion.[41]
Plato'sApology may be read as both a religious and literary apology; however, more specifically literary examples may be found in theprefaces anddedications, which proceed manyEarly Modern plays, novels, and poems. Eighteenth century authors such asColley Cibber,Frances Burney, andWilliam Congreve, to name but a few, prefaced the majority of their poetic work with such apologies. In addition to the desire to defend their work, the apologetic preface often suggests the author's attempt to humble his- or herself before the audience.[42]
Media related toApologetics at Wikimedia Commons
