Victor R. Claveau, MJ
Apologetics is the theological science concerned with the defense of the Christian religion. Apologetics means, broadly speaking, a form of apology. The term is derived from the Latin, apologeticus, which in turn has its origin in the Greek “àπολογία,” or “defense.” Hence, the expression “Catholic Apologetics” implies a defense of Catholic belief. Apologetics leads to the credibility and the credentials of the Christian religion. Thus, it is the entrance to faith
During the second century, Christians were meeting an ever-increasing hostility in every area of public life due to misinformation about their beliefs and system of worship. In order to counter this negative attitude on the part of pagans, apologists wrote more or less extensive explanations, providing a more accurate picture of Christianity in the hope they would receive equitable treatment. Such writing was called “apologia,” or speech for the defense.
The object of modern-day apologetics is to give a reasonable scientific answer to the question: Why should I be a Christian? This question involves two others.
The first is: Why should I be a Catholic Christian rather than a Protestant, Mormon, Jehovah’s Witness or an adherent to any other religious system?
The other question is: Why should I profess any religion at all?
While the science of apologetics falls into these two divisions, we will concern ourselves with the scope of the first question only.
The history of apologetic literature involves the review of the many and varied attacks that have been made against the foundations of Catholic belief. This history may be divided into four primary divisions.
The first division is the period marking the beginning of the Christian era to the downfall of the Roman Empire, AD 476. That period was chiefly concerned with the struggle against paganism and Judaism. Letters of apology were written to the Roman Emperors during the times of persecution, endeavoring to explain the fundamentals of Christ’s teaching and to prove Christians were not a threat to the Empire.
The second division is from AD 476 to the Protestant[i] Reformation, usually described as the Middle Ages.
The third division includes the period beginning with the Protestant Reformation to the rise of rationalism in the middle of the seventeenth century. It is the period of struggle between Protestantism and Catholicism.
The fourth and final division is from the period of rationalism to the present day.
We will focus primarily on the periods of the second century apologists and the Protestant Reformation.
The need for apologetics arises from the fact that people of every age question almost everything. This is a natural part of human existence. Scripture reminds us to test everything because “testing of your faith produces steadfastness.” (Jas. 1:3)
Every thoughtful Christian should strive to be able to give a reasonable explanation as to what he or she believes concerning salvation. St. Peter exhorted the Christians of his day to “always be prepared to make a defense to anyone who calls you to account for the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and reverence” (1 Pet. 3:15).
In addition, it is incumbent upon all Catholics to be able to confront the errors of the Modernist heresies which have plagued the Church for the past century.
[i] A Protestant is an adherent of any one of the religious bodies detached from the Catholic Church at the time of the Reformation or of any sect deriving from them; one who professes the doctrines of those reformers. The name was first applied to those who rejected the decree of the second Diet of Speyer (April 25, 1529) which ordained that Catholic doctrine should not be attacked nor the celebration of Mass interfered with, pending the decisions of a council of the Empire. Its use afterwards spread to all reformers and is now generally interpreted as a “protest against the errors of the Church of Rome.” It is a gross and misleading mistake to apply the name to members of the dissident Eastern Churches who repudiate Protestantism equally with Catholicism. The primary forms of heresy from which Protestantism derives are Lutheranism, Calvinism, Zwinglianism and Anglicanism.