The word apologetics is a confusing term to some people. We will examine the definition of the word apologetics, where it came from and some examples of its use in sentences.
Apologetics is a body of arguments defending a certain doctrine. These arguments belong to a body of work that scholars or even the average person may call upon for use in debate. Most often, apologetics is used to mean a body of work consisting of logical arguments that justify Christian doctrine or other theological doctrines. Apologetics is both the plural and singular form of the word. People who practice apologetics are apologists. The word apologetics is derived from the Greek word apologia, a term meaning to make a formal statement rebutting charges against oneself.
Examples
Although many folk may write it off as street apologetics, the fundamental question remains, did Nino Brown lie? (The News & Observer)
Dan DeWitt, associate professor of Apologetics & Applied Theology at Cedarville University, discussed the moral underpinnings of Christianity and how they can be applied in the workplace. (The Dayton Business Journal)
Author and social critic Os Guinness describes mentioning apologetics to his tutor at Oxford, whom he described as an extraordinarily genial scholar. (Christianity Today)
It’s ironic that as I crossed the Walt Whitman Bridge to attend an urban apologetics conference in Philadelphia I encountered the very religious pluralism that makes conferences such as these a necessity. (The Indianapolis Recorder)
It’s a response to an increasingly secular society as well as an effort to keep young people from leaving the church, said J. Warner Wallace, an apologetics professor at Biola University in California. (The Tennessean)
“I think for one thing, just in terms of what this does for the country, we’ve got to have two strong, functioning parties, and right now our party has simply become — it seems — an apologist for certain actions of the president when we shouldn’t be,” Mr. Flake, Arizona Republican, said on MSNBC. (The Washington Times)