What is Christian apologetics?
In Ancient Greece, an apologia was a formal speech given as a defense in a court of law. Plato’s Apology is an example of a popular apologetic discourse.
In theology, the discipline of apologetics is used by those who wish to offer a reasoned defense for their belief system. Christians use apologetics inside the church as a way to grow in their faith (internal apologetics) as well as outside the church as a complement to evangelism (external apologetics).
There are various categories of Christian apologetics.
Classical apologetics focuses on defending a theistic universe before offering explanations for supernatural events such as the resurrection. Modern classical apologists include William Lane Craig, J.P. Moreland, and Norman Geisler.
Evidential apologetics supports Christian claims with evidence such as historical, scientific, or archaeological findings. Modern evidential apologists include Gary Habermas, Mike Licona, and Josh McDowell.
Presuppositional apologetics presupposes the truth of the Christian worldview. The Christian faith is viewed as the only coherent source for rightly interpreting the world. Appeals to reason and logic are used to demonstrate the irrationality of non-Christian worldviews.