Learning More About Apologetics Ministry

By Brenda Wood


It is often tempting to try to look for a quick and easy answer to complicated questions, but these little shortcuts often yield incomplete results. The truth is that it's just impossible to learn everything there is to know about something as nuanced as Apologetics Ministry without really taking the time to learn some of the history and the many defining features. Otherwise, the simple answer of it being a defense of Christianity might mislead the person into thinking it is something that it's not.

In order to fully understand these ministries, one must take a look at where the word "apologetics" really comes from. In ancient Greek times, an apologia was a term used to refer to a defense made in a courtroom. This obviously differs from the way we think of an apology today.

The Greek word "apologia" originally comes from two words, "speak" and "away." This means that the person making the defense or apologia was trying to speak away their alleged crimes. Knowing this helps a lot in trying to understand ministries like these and what exactly their teachings focus on.

One of the ways that many people have heard this term in the traditional sense is in Plato's book called The Apology. In this work, Plato records how his teacher Socrates had to defend himself against an accusation that was very serious at the time. This was the crime of preaching about gods that were considered strange to the ancient Greeks.

The New Testament is a great place to find apologies in the form of defending oneself. There are instances when people are trying to prevent themselves from being incriminated, and others when they are trying to save their own lives. In general, the person is trying to make others see that what they did was justified.

In the New Testament, Luke tells the story of a Jewish man named Alexander, and how he had to defend himself. There was a mob of angry people, which was incited by idol makers. These makers of idols were threatened to be put out of business as a result of Paul's preachings.

It is common knowledge that anyone who proclaimed their belief in Jesus as the Christ and Savior in the time of Jesus' life faced very serious persecution. It is fair to say that not many people endured more persecution than the apostle Paul. There is a case of apology being used to mean defense in the Bible when Paul had to defend his proclamation of faith in Christ.

With all of the historical examples of the use of this word, it is easier to understand what exactly these ministries stand for. People who practice this branch of faith focus on defending their beliefs. This involves seeing their faith in terms of science, history, philosophy, and many other disciplines and reasoning how it all fits together.




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