Apologetics

From BrethrenPedia

Apologetics is the field of study concerned with the systematic defense of a position. Someone who engages in apologetics is called an apologist or an "apologete". The term comes from the Greek word apologia (απολογια), meaning defense of a position against an attack.

[edit] Technical usages

The term apologetics etymologically derives from the Classical Greek word "apologia". In Classical Greek legal system two key technical terms were employed: the prosecution delivered the "kategoria", and the defendant replied with an "apologia". To deliver an "apologia" then meant making a formal speech to reply and rebut the charges. Plato's book The Apology was an account of Socrates' defence in court against his accusers.

This Classical Greek term appears in the Koine (i.e. common) Greek of the New Testament. The Apostle Paul employs the term "apologia" in his trial speech to Festus and Agrippa when he says "I make my defence" (Acts 26:2). A cognate term appears in Paul's letter to the Philippians as he is "defending the gospel" (1:7 & 17), and in 1 Peter 3:15 believers must be ready to give an "answer" for their faith.

The legal nuance of apologetics was reframed in a more specific sense to refer to the study of the defence of a doctrine or belief. In this context it most commonly refers to philosophical reconciliation. Religious apologetics is the effort to show that the preferred faith is not irrational, that believing in it is not against human reason, and that in fact the religion contains values and promotes ways of life more in accord with human nature than other faiths or beliefs.

In the English language, the word apology is derived from the Greek word "apologia", but its use has changed; its primary sense now refers to a defensive plea for forgiveness for an action that is open to blame. It is occasionally used to refer to a speech or writing that defends the author's position.