Apologetics

"I apologize."  We often say this when we realize that we have committed an offense, hurt someone's feelings, or sometimes, we say it, more sorry for being caught than for what we did.  This is a modern usage but it has little to do with the ancient meaning of the word.  The connection is that both senses of the word carry the idea of offering a defense,


"Apology" comes from the Greek word απολογία, ("speaking in defense").  The root words are "logos" ("λόγος"; "word," "reason") and "apo" (απο) a prefix which carries the idea of "separation from" and "of the place where something originates."  So, apologetics means reasoning from the origins of an idea.  Aπολογία was a legal term. The prosecution delivered the kategoria (κατηγορία), and the defendant replied with an apologia (απολογία), a formal legal response to a charge.  The intent was to reply to and to refute the charges.  The modern discipline of Christian Apologetics comes from this background.  Other religions also have their apologists .

There are multitudes of books available in the field of Christian Apologetics.  Two of my personal favorites are Mere Christianity, by C.S. Lewis, and Simply Christian. Why Christianity Makes Sense, by N.T. Wright.  Both men exhibit intellects of the first order. Bishop Wright comes across like a beloved pastor, or like your grandfather.  Lewis was an academic (he occupied the Chair of Medieval and Renaissance English at Cambridge University) and he might have come across to others as a little bit cranky.  Personally, I think he's hilarious with his ultra-dry British humor.  I'll talk about both of these books at a later time.


A modern apologetics group, The Fixed Point Foundation, attempted to place an advertisement during the recent National Football League Super Bowl but were rejected because the advertisement was "offensive."  This is just the sort of charge which Christian Apologetics attempts to refute.