The History of Christian Apologetics
Introduction
Christian apologetics is a branch of Christian theology that is designed at defending and
justifying the Christianity principles, doctrines and beliefs. The word ‘apologetics’ in Greek
means ‘a speech in defense’, which is the reason why this word was given to this kind of practice
of Christian thought Most of the time, this practice arose in defending Christianity from external
critics and for responding to various internal theological issues. Christian apologetics: Is the
discipline that is involved in the clarification of the reason why faith should be believed and
defended against the atheist.
Concerning its function, I think apologetical work is very significant in the life of the Church, as
well as in general culture. It serves the purpose of an apologetic in presenting the Christian faith
by enabling the believers to justify their faith rationally. Over the years, apologetics has also
changed with respect to the ever transforming philosophical, cultural and scientific civilizations
that Christianity has encountered for centuries. The history of Christian apologetics is complex, a
story that has unfolded over nearly twenty centuries and which now presents an impressive
gallery of luminaries and arguments.
Early Christian Apologetics (1st to 4th Century)
Indeed, Christian apologetics can be traced back to the earliest period of Church history when
Christians were opposing the Roman Empire that wanted to eradicate them from the face of the
earth and from Jews and Pagans who were rejecting their message. Thus the Apostolic Fathers,
Clement, Ignatius, and others prepared later apologetics in their replies to the internal and
external problems of early Christianity.
1.1 Apostolic Fathers
The Apostolic Fathers were the early Christian leaders, and their works contain material of the
earliest attempts to state and justify the Christian views. In stating the doctrines that existed in
the Roman church, Clement of Rome, in his epistle to the Corinthians, insisted that the teachings
of Christ were the fulfillment of the Jewish scriptures. Ignatius of Antioch in the letters he wrote
and en route for his death, was a champion of the historical perspective of Jesus’ incarnation and
His physical resurrection against the docetism heresy which held that Jesus was a phantom.
1.2 Early Christian Apologists
Thus as Christianity gains advices ground throughout the Roman Empire it comes face to face
with opposition both from Jews and pagans. In response, the early group of the Christian
apologists arose in the 2nd and 3rd century to speak for the faith. Among other apologists, the
most famous was Justin Martyr, a philosopher who became a Christian and tried to explain the
teaching of the Church to the Greek minds. Justin in his First Apology wrote the Roman
Emperor Antoninus Pius arguing and explaining that Christianity should be embraced as a
religion and that the Christians were not guilty of offenses leveled against them which included
atheism and cannibalism.
Tertullian, yet another early apologist was named as the one who used the word ‘Trinitas’ in
respect to the Christian concept of God being three persons in one substance. Tertullian’s
Apologeticus was a written response to these allegations especially on immorality and an
assertion of the Christian Faith by laying a contention that the Roman gods are but the creations
of human beings. He also created a clearly Christian legal theory that argued that religion liberty
was self evident.
Origen of Alexandria, the greatest theologian of the early Church also engaged himself in the
field of apologetics. Origen wrote Contra Celsum in order to counter the criticism of Celsus,
who, along with several other pagan philosophers, had written a systematically argued anti-
Christianity book. An SE is significant by its structure: ordo contemplationis as systematic work
tackles most of the philosophical, theological, and ethical issues that might be raised against
Christianity.
1.3 Defense against Paganism and Judaism
The early Christian apologists were primarily concerned with defending the faith against two
major opponents: Paganism and Judaism are the religions that is in interface in the book of Acts.
The heathen critics, like Celsus and the Roman philosopher Porphyry, accused the Christians of
giving birth to a new, absurd and superstitious religion. As a result, the apologists tried to prove
that Christianity contained reason and logic and that it satisfied the best thoughts of Greek
enlightenment.
To the Jews, the apologists pointed to Jesus that he was indeed the promised Messiah, and the
church was the rightful inheritor of the covenant with Israel. One of the early Christian writings
called The Epistle of Barnabas gives a Jewish interpretation of the Old Testament scriptures but
in the light of the so-called ‘Christianity’ it aims at proving the reality of the Christian claim that
the Jewish law and sacrifices were only types and figures of the truth in Christ.
They put the groundwork for the emerging of Christianity doctrines and furnished the Church
with intelligent answers to the accusations levelled against it. Their work was in making
Christianity accepted fully as a religion of the Romans and as a religion that can be practiced
through reason.
Medieval Apologetics (5th to 15th Century)
The middle Ages were a period of high growth for Christian apologetics since the church wanted
to develop the means of consistently explaining and defending its positions with the aid of new
philosophical and theological concepts. Scholasticism became popular during this period as a
way of studying the theological and philosophical Christian matter since it deployed the reason
in expounding faith. It may involve major thinkers of the historical period such as Augustine of
Hippo, Anselm of Canterbury or Thomas Aquinas whose ideas are still significant for the
contemporary Christian theology.
2.1 Augustine of Hippo and the Development of Christian Doctrine
Augustine of Hippo (354–430) is, without doubt, one of the primary apologists within
Christianity. Some of the literature that has been authored by acasta include The confessions and
The city of God and on this literature, one can classify in theology and philosophy. Augustine
wrote the apologetic work mainly due to the purposes of the intellectual and moral conflicts of
those one, pagan philosophies, Manichaeanism and the Pelagian heresy.
The work otherwise known as the Confessions is a juridical and existential apology for the
Christian religion which Augustine composes as a reflection of his own experience — from
apostasy to skepticism, from skepticism to the Manichaean faith, and to Christianity. He blow
the horn of grace in the process of conversion and also pointed that reason is not adequate in the
discovery of God.
City of God is the great work of Augustine in which the author gives the detailed description of
the Roman pagan society and reveals the Christian perspective. He then paints the picture of the
‘‘City of Man’’ which has the tinge of pride and self- love as opposed to the ‘‘City of God’’,
which is the one that bows to the extent of loving God. Augustine scolds the people of Rome and
their eagerness to switch from the pagan deities to the Christian God not because the latter
caused the ruin of Rome but bec of the Romans’ wickedness. He also sets forth the doctrine of
original sin and the demand for prevenient grace for salvation, which later becomes the
foundation of many other aspect in the later Western Christian culture.
2.2 Anselm of Canterbury and the Ontological Argument
St Anselm of Canterbury (1033-1109) has made a lot of input to the growth of theology his well-
known work being Proslogion where he expounded the ontological proof for the existence of
God. The first argument, the ontological argument, was brought forward by St Anselm, and it is
a priori in nature: Nonetheless, this implies that it does not bend its argument on sensory
experience and the world as observed but employs reason to establish the existence of God; St
Anselm begins with the definition of God as ‘that than which nothing greater can be conceived’.
Like every other argument that Anselm has presented, it can be highly criticized, but as a
development of argumentation in the Christian apologetic tradition cannot be easily dismissed. It
reflects the medieval scholarly interest in the theoretical attitude toward faith, as well as the
promotion of faith. Another work of Anselm’s is Cur Deus Homo, in which the author argues for
the Incarnation and atonement by showing that only God incarnate could make compensation for
sin.
2.3 Thomas Aquinas and Scholastic Apologetics
Thomas Aquinas or (1225-1274) is regarded as one of the most outstanding figures of the
Christian theological thought in the middle ages. The Summa Theologica done by Aquinas is
probably the greatest work which is a combination of Christianity and Aristotle thoughts.
Aquinas put forward five proofs for the existence of God of which the cosmological proof –
referring to the existence of an initial cause – and the teleological proof – pointing at the
apparent design in the world – are two.
In general, it is possible to admit that Aquinas developed a set of certain peculiarities in his
apologetics, but it is much more informative to turn to a more detailed examination of his
Apologetics. One of the most crucial peculiarities would be that, unlike many other early
apologists, Aquinas paid much attention to the use of reason and natural theology, which could
be considered as the major distinctive feature of his work. He said that there are principles for
which rationalistic thinking is sufficient and there are principles for which it is insufficient – the
matter on the Trinity and the Incarnation for example. Aquinas was also able to have contact
with other developments in Aristotelian philosophy, which were beginning to be translated in the
West through such lights as Avicenna and Averroes. On the side of the Western thought process,
it is not an overstatement to say that the work of Aquinas, who undertook to combine
Aristotelianism with christianity.
2.4 The Role of Apologetics during the Crusades and Inquisition
The medieval age was also marked by the crusades and the inquisition and both had important
apologetic aspects. The Crusades, which were a series of holy wars launched by the Christians to
wrest the Holy Land from the Muslims, were also believed to be the Christian’s own 2 Just cause
to defend Christianity on the pretext that the Islamic world posed a grave danger to it. They
largely aimed at the dissemination of Christianity through the encounter with the major scholars
of the Islamic faith which were common in this period as we see from Raymond Lull.
Thus the Inquisition, especially the Spanish Inquisition was the attempt to eliminate heresy and
to safeguard the integrity of Christian faith. Some of the procedures used by the Inquisition are
known to have elicited a lot of criticism today but its theological principles were a direct product
of the medieval Church’s aim at maintaining the true doctrine and standards of faith from
heretics and apostates.
Reformation and Post-Reformation Apologetics (16th to 17th Century)
The period of Reformation and Counter Reformation is recognized as a stage of massive
theological discussion and apologetical production. Each of the Protestant Reformers, including
Martin Luther and John Calvin, aimed at the improvement of the Church, as well as at the
refutation of the opponents, both Catholic and extreme Reformists. In kind response, the Catholic
Church rallied its own apologetical campaigning against the Reformation and in favor of the
orthodox tenets and issues of the Church.
3.1 Martin Luther, John Calvin, and the Defense of Protestant Doctrine
Two of the most famous reformers of Protestant Reformation movement where Martin Luther
(1483-1546) and John Calvin (1509-1564). Luther writing of his ninety-five theses in 1517
protested against the sale of indulgence by the roman catholic church which in turn led to
formation of groups of protestantism. Luther’s books, including The Babylonian Captivity of the
Church and On the Bondage of the Will, stand for the basic Protestantism and the Reformation.
In adverting to options of the German Reformer’s apology, Luther’s apologetic strategy was
chiefly based on two dogmatic pillars: the principle of sola scriptura and the doctrine of sola fide.
He claimed that the ‘‘Catholic church’ had polluted the word of God with man-made code and
that pure Christianity was only possible through adherence to the Holy Scriptures.
John Calvin was one of the second-generation Reformers and a systematic theologian; his
Institutes of the Christian Religion in the Systematic Theology of the Reformed Church. Calvin’s
apologetics were framed by his theology of the absolute control of God or predestination, and the
total sinfulness of man. He stated that everyone possesses the knowledge of God but it is lost due
to sin or the fall. It is important to note that Calvin knew the philosophy of his time, first of all
the philosophy of the Renaissance humanists, and tried to prove the possibility of the
combination of faith and rationality.
3.2 Counter-Reformation Apologetics (Council of Trent, Jesuit Apologists)
In an attempt to tackle the problems brought by the Protestant Reformation, the Catholic Church
launched the Counter-Reformation or the Catholic Reformation, this was a process of reform of
the Church and the Catholic faith and the defense against attack from the Protestant movement.
The Council of Trent (1545-1563) was at the center of this exercise because it sought to define
the doctrines of the Church with regard to such issues as authority of the Church, the sacraments
as well as salvation. The canons of the Council of Trent can be considered as one of the main
texts to which Catholics referred to as an answer to the reformation.
Other writers were responding to Protestantism; Robert Bellarmine and Francisco Suárez where
the first Catholic apologists. Controversies is probably the most complete work of Bellarmine as
a Catholic apologist; the work tackles matters like Papal authority, the role of tradition, and
justification. Subtle, influential Jesuit thinker active within the Spanish Golden Age, Suárez
worked on the philosophical themes of his age and an effort of putting forward, correcting, or
reinterpreting Thomism to meet the posed by the Reformation.
3.3 Rationalist and Empirical Challenges
This period was also marked with ingenious intellectual attacks on Christianity with the coming
of the rationalist and empirical viewpoints. Some of the philosophers that contributed to this
were René Descartes, Baruch Spinoza and Thomas Hobbes, some of the things they
contemplated on include the nature and reality of knowledge, God, and faith and reason.
Consequently, Christian apologists endeavoured to participate in these innovations and to prove
that the Christian faith was rational. René Descartes’s Meditations on First Philosophy features
an argument to prove the existence of God by the idea of a perfect being, and Blaise Pascal’s
Pensées is a combination of apologetical and existentialistic approach; moreover, most popular is
Pascal’s “wager” argument.
Enlightenment and Modern Apologetics (18th to 19th Century)
The Enlightenment brought reason, science and individualism and was in itself an era that
challenged a lot of Christian doctrines. The new forms of apologetical thinking emerging from
rationalism, deism and skepticism ascribe new ways of defending Christian faith in secular-
scientific age.
4.1 The Rise of Rationalism and Deism
Renaissance, a philosophical movement that insisted that reason is the only way to secure
knowledge, subverted the tradition of revelation and dogma of the Church. This specifically
concerns such personalities as David Hume and Voltaire, who were Skeptics of Christianity that
used to openly argue against the Miracles, the authority of the Bible text as well as the existence
of God.
Deism, a related movement, denied divine providence, seeing God as the intelligent designer
who started the cosmic clock but did not tamper with it. Deists claimed that religion should draw
from reasons and the ideas of natural law and not revelation or the traditions of the Bible.
4.2 Responses from Christian Apologists
As a result of those difficulties, Christians tried to explain that faith is rational and attempted to
show that there is evidence in support of the Christian faith. William Paley’s online book Natural
Theology, published in 1802, is one of the best-known illustration of this approach. The
“watchmaker analogy” at Paley’s has carried the view that the fact of the sophisticated structure
and order of the natural environment was an indication of the existence of a designer.
French mathematician and renowned philosopher Blaise Pascal had his method of apologetics in
his work, Pensées. Pascal’s “wager” said that rational people should believe in God because it is
the only way to win in case that turns out to be true while being saved is, is significantly better
than losing. He also talked of the reason of infinity and the shortcomings of Man’s rationality
and the necessity of believing in God as regards anything beyond this world.
4.3 Theological Liberalism and Evangelical Responses
The 19th century witnessed the emergence of a theological liberalism as a school of thought that
aimed to rediscover there in new key the Gospel messages of the modern age with the help of the
achievements of the natural sciences, historical criticism and critical ethic. Taking figures like
Friedrich Schleiermacher and Adolf von Harnack who opposed dogmatism and brought out the
ethical and experiential aspect of Christianity where practices like virgin birth and resurrection
were put imply.
In response, evangelical apologists looked for ways to explain and defend traditional Church
doctrine, and the authority of scripture. Another earlier theologian was Charles Hodge,
representing American evangelicalism who similarly to Warfield paid much attention to the
inerrancy of the Bible and to the relationship between faith and reason. The Fundamentalist
movement in the early 20th century was similarly a reaction against theological liberalism and
the fight for the defence of the “fundamentals” of the Christian faith.
Contemporary Apologetics (20th Century to Present)
Christian apologetics has remained very topical in the twentieth century as well a the twenty-first
century due to emerging new cultural, philosophical and scientific concerns. It also carries on
trends of such luminaries as C. S Lewis, Francis Schaeffer, Alvin plantinga and others as well as
the emergence of new trends in apologia such as presuppositionalism and evidentialism.
5.1 The Influence of C.S. Lewis, Francis Schaeffer, and Alvin Plantinga
The most well-known Christian apologist of the twentieth century was British writer and scholar
C. S. Lewis (1898-1963). Some of his books such as Mere Christianity, The Problem with Pain
and the Screwtape Letters have been received widely within the Christian community and
outside. Thus to the traditional method of appeasing controversy, Lewis combines logic and
creativity with an appeal to the sophisticated storytelling of the romanticism, not to mention the
ethology of realism.
Another great apologist was Schaeffer (1912-1984) though his specialty area of emphasis was,
the whole matter of Christianity and the Arts. In the books The God Who Is There, and How
Should We Then Live? Schaeffer subscribed to the opinion that the western civilization has been
in a process of decline since enlightenment and all this was due to rejection of the Christian
world view. He carefully underlined the need for the Christian perspective of the world to which,
using Christian vision, a Christian can adapt in art, politics and philosophy.
Alvin Plantinga was born in 1932 and is still just as active today as a philosopher who has
concentrated on the defence of Christianity, especially in the field of epistemology. According to
warranted Christian belief theory developed by Alvin Plantinga, it is reasonable to believe in
God without any evidence because such a belief is properly basi Aquinas has written one of the
representative works in Reformed epistemology and Plantinga has provided a fair amount of
support for the rationality of believing in the religious system.
5.2 The Challenge of Secularism, Atheism, and New Age Thought
The modernity of the 20th and 21st centuries has brought many difficulties for Christian
apologists, for example because of secularism, atheism, and New Age movement. The decline of
Christianity in the modern western society has been greatly attributed by secularity where people
are being allowed to practice religion in private and not in the state institutions. Atheism in its
‘New Atheism’ variety has recently stepped up criticism of religion, asserting that faith in God is
not only illogical but also toxic.
Hence there has emerged a Christian apologetics to reply to these negative criticisms and to
defend the truth of Christianity positively. William Lane Craig, John Lennox, Ravi Zacharias are
few of the names which have been very active in debates and discussions with atheists
particularly on topics including why there is a God, why Holy Bible is trustworthy and the Lord
Jesus really rose from dead?
Contemporary paganism in its New Age expression that has borrowed from Oriental wisdom,
paranormal experiences, and holistic health is, therefore, another different type of challenge to
Christian apologetics. There are critics like Douglas Groothuis who have taken time to analyze
New Age ideas and activities, and he has concluded that they are incompatible with Christianity,
and are devoid of proper structure.
5.3 The Role of Apologetics in Interfaith Dialogue
Even more so, in the context of globalization and diversity and also with the growing role of new
religions or cults, Christian apologetics have assumed the task of interreligious dialogue. William
Lane Craig, Ravi Zacharias, Reza Saidi and others have debated with Muslims for the existence
of God, the divinity of Jesus and the truth of Christianity while doing so with love and respect.
Dialogical apologetics mostly entails dealing with misconceptions, points of similarity and/or
difference, and reasoning as between two or more religious systems. This approach gives a social
aspect to the apologetical task where the act of apologizing is not just about winning an argument
but it is all about witness bearing.
Major Themes and Methods in Christian Apologetics
In the history of Christian apologetics, there has been the use of different themes, methods and
approaches of defending Christianity. These are philosophical, historical and archaeological
arguments, scientific apologetics, and cultural and existential apologetics.
6.1 Philosophical Arguments (Cosmological, Teleological, Moral)
As it has been pointed earlier, there are philosophical nuances at the core of Christianity’s
defense since its inception. Some of the most well-known arguments include:There are several
famous arguments which can be described as such:
The Cosmological Argument: This argument postulates that all things that exist have a
cause and since universe exists, there is a cause and that is God. This argument has been
presented in somewhat different ways, the so-called kalam-cosmological argument
focuses on the impossibility of an actual infinite.
The Teleological Argument: Otherwise known as the ontological argument, it
essentially states that there is much order and rationality within the universe and thus
there be must a planner. One of the popular forms of this argument is William Paley’s
watchmaker analogy.
The Moral Argument: It is also known as the Pacifist argument. This argument argues
that the fact that we do have objective moral values and duties means that there is a moral
Law giver and that is God. C. Now, this argument can be best illustrated by the famous
work of C. S Lewis, Mere Christianity.
6.2 Historical and Archaeological Evidence
Historical and archaeological data has also been used in this regard with respect to Christian
apologetics, especially as it concerns the trustworthiness of the scripture and the reality of the
Christian gospel, including the physical coming back to life of the Lord Jesus Christ. Some have
noted that, Groten & Scheeres, engaged apologists like Gary Habermas and N. T. Wright have
given considerable attention to the fact that the resurrection is an historical fact on which
Christian faith or the religion of Christianity is anchored.
Other arguments that some scholars have offered in defence of the historical trustworthiness of
the biblical text is the expertise of archaeology, for instance, the Dead Sea Scrolls and the
inscriptions of Pontius Pilate. These accounts outside the bible correlate with events and
individuals with the biblical account and thus supports the bible history.
6.3 The Use of Science in Apologetics (Creationism, Intelligent Design)
Science and religion has been another important area of concern in contemporary/apologetics.
There are other apologists who have tried to grapple with various discoveries or theories in
science and show that they have no antithetical relationship with Christianity; Hugh Ross,
Stephen Meyer and John Polkinghorne are perfect examples.
Two strategies that have been especially visible in this respect are Creationism and Intelligent
Design. Creationism believes firmly in the Bible especially the book of Genesis to be truth and
regards the creation of man and everything else as a divine event while intelligent design hold
the believe that some things in the universe and life forms are best explained by input from an
intelligent being that is other than the object under consideration.
These approaches have given rise to some sharp controversies, both in the circle of Christians
and in the scientific and academic environment. Although some Christians have adopted these
views, other Christians have endeavored to reconcile evolutionary hypothesis with the book of
creation on the ground that the two are incompatible.
6.4 Cultural and Existential Apologetics
Cultural and existential apologetics are related to the problems of human’s existence, of their
creation, and their nature. It concerns itself with Christianity relevance in today’s society, and
issues regarding existentialism of soul and spirit.
Schaeffer and Tim Keller for instance attempted to push the Church into confronting arts,
literature and popular culture so as to demonstrate that Christianity is a complete and coherent
system which gives the answer. This approach typically has a critique of postmodern secular
culture, asserting that it is unable to provide an adequate account of people’s being.
Critiques and Challenges to Christian Apologetics
The apologetic task has been at times criticized and challenged by insiders and outsiders of the
Christian faith. The following critiques have stimulated the emergence of innovative methods of
apologetics as well as dictated the acceleration of the processes of refining the arguments and
techniques that are to be applied in apologetics.
7.1 Internal Critiques within Christianity
In the Christian community, therefore, controversy has arisen over the right techniques and aims
of apologetics. Still some critics seem to suggest that issues to do with apologetics often lead to
more of a tension between the Head and the Heart of Christians. Some critique specific
apologetic approaches, presuppositionalism for example, as being overly contentious and
aggressive, and hence unproductive in dialogue.
The coming of postmodernism era has also affected the way that apologetics is done, where
some have claimed that the traditional apologetics arguments are ineffective because of the
postmodern society’s disdain for metanarratives and the concept of absolute truth. As a result,
newer apologists like James K. A. Smith have called for a ‘narrative and incarnational’ form of
apologetics which focuses more on the experiences of the Christian fellowship as an offering of
real life proof of the truthfulness of the gospel.
7.2 External Critiques from Other Religions and Secular Thought
Christian apologetics like other systems of thought has also received criticism from other
religions and secularism. From the point of ecumenical interaction, apologists have to respond to
the claims of other faiths and to reveal the supremacy of Christianity. The nature of this task is
challenging because of the differences in religious beliefs and the modern and pluralistic world.
There have been a lot of secular attacks against Christianity which have been pegged on
scientific, ethical, and historical analysis. With New Atheism emerging with Richard Dawkins,
Sam Harris and Christopher Hitchens among others, the intellectual battle that the Christianity in
particular has faced has now come into the public domain again. There are those critics who
consider that religion is silly, primitive, and damaging, and that it is necessary to substitute the
religious outlook with that of secularism and scholars.
Thus, there has emerged over time the need for Christians to address such criticisms and to make
a strong case for Christianity. This has required not only providing objections to the atheists’
arguments but having positive arguments as to why Christianity is true and why it ought to be
believed.
7.3 The Evolution of Apologetic Methods in Response to Criticism
This was evident from the various difficulties which the Christian apologetics encountered which
saw the introduction of new techniques and strategies. An example is presuppositional
apologetics which hold that every system of thought operates from presuppositions and that only
the Christian commitment is both logically consistent and epistemologically sound.
Another development is the emergence of apologetics focused on culture: a culturally-sensitive
apologetics that challenges both the mind and appeals to the contemporary trends. It frequently
entails a polemic against secularism and post-modernism and a consideration of how the gospel
is relevant to the quintessential issues of life.
Conclusion
We can see that the history of Christian apologetics is vast, complicated and carries the
interdependent relations between Revelation and culture, church and world, and faith and reason.
For the Church Fathers, for modern apologists, Christians have always strived to reply to the
skeptics and to reason persuasively about Christian faith within the framework of reason, the
context of secular culture.
In these endless fights the Church still goes through new difficulties in the XXI century, the
practice of apologetics does not lose its relevance. In their encounter with atheism, secularism, or
other religions, Christians are to bear witness of the truth of the Christian gospel and to present
their reasoned conviction as to the truth of the gospel that is in them. What the future of Christian
apologetics will look like in its confrontation with philosophical, cultural, and existential
questions of the contemporary world can be marked by a few key things.
Thus the ever-changing world continues to challenge and yet sustain the belief in Christianity
and the history of Christian apologetics indicates this. It is a reminder that the mission of the
Church is not a mere accumulation of rationalistic apologies, though rationalistic apologia is one
of the most important aspects of the Church’s mission and its work. Contemporary Church faces
many challenges all over the world and hence the reasons the insights and contributions of the
past apologists will remain relevant in the future in the general Christian apologetical endeavors.
