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For the various schools or theories of Christian Apologetics, click "Theory" (also on the menu to the left).
Apologetics, technically, is the defense of the faith against attacks by those who are outside the church. The term sometimes refers to attempts to
evangelize the unsympathetic. It is a discipline that can be learned and improved over time. Polemics is a related discipline. It is the defense of the faith against those inside the church, who would undermine its core doctrines. But we often conflate the two.
Apologetics is defending a church's current beliefs or doctrines (its orthodoxy) against any detractors. Because all men are fallible, a church's doctrines may or may not align with the doctrines of Scripture. Yet, whoever disagrees with a church's orthodoxy is labelled a heretic by that church, and will be excluded from fellowship.
Under Roman Catholic orthodoxy, Protestant reformers were heretics; and under Protestant orthodoxy, Roman Catholics were heretics. Some say heresy is damnable error. I disagree. I say apostasy is damnable error. Heresy is any challenge to orthodoxy; its alternative may or may not be damnable (Mat 12.31).
Some see apologetics as divisive; others would argue that it unites. Confessions and Creeds are products of apologetics. They unite their subscribers under a banner of biblical truth -- at least as they perceive it.
The arguments of Polemics (i.e., arguments in support of Protestant orthodoxy) will be found on the Doctrine
page (and sub-pages). Check out the Heresies and Cults
pages too. Please, don't confuse the essentials of the faith (which
must be defended) with matters of indifference (matters of Christian
liberty). Of course, you may disagree with which category a particular
doctrine belongs to.
That's OK. "May God be true and every man a liar" (Rom 3:4).See the Ecclesiology Page for more about that.
Here's a useful
apologetics website: "Coffee Cup Apologetics" at http://ccapologetics.wordpress.com/
Apologetics requires a broad knowledge of the world, and a
keen sense of the dividing line between that knowledge and
the knowledge of God. Remember, Christianity is a reasonable
belief system that can be argued and articulated in a rational fashion.
But it is also revelation, and not merely an intellectual conclusion. Apologetics therefore has its limits. See the Eight Cannots.
Nonsense Challenges to Inerrancy:
Maybe
you've heard that domesticated camels didn't exist in the Near East
until the 9th century BC. So when camels are mentioned in Gen 12 and
24, it's supposed to invalidate the reliability of Scripture. The Greek
word for such nonsense is thppppffftt! The claim is based on that
always reliable method of carbon-dating. The problem is... well, click here
to read how such renowned "scientists" can be so patently wrong: they
tend to leave behind common sense and contradictory evidence.
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