Types of Apologetics

Apologetics is a discipline which is involved in the intellectual defense of the faith. It primarily utilizes reason, although in some circumstances appeals are made to individual experiences so- called Experiential apologetics, such as miracles, personal revelation, mystical experiences and the like, which are limited to the purvue of specific persons.

Christian Apologists look to the New Testament passage 1 Peter 3: 15 for direction and inspiration in that the Apostle Peter directed all believers to be ready to "give and explanation to anyone who asks for a reason for your hope". Classically, there are "3" basic types of apologetics or areas of concern; historical, philosophical, and science,  from the perspective of the theme(s) which with they deal.  Other classification systems exist with respect to the discipline of apologetics such as the nature of certain a priori assumptions which are made.  Specifically, Presuppositional and Non-Presuppositional, and Evidential vs. Non-Evidential apologetics. These differences are complicated,  yet important distinctions exist in terms of the underlying fundamental assumptions which are made.  It is important to be aware of these as the aspiring apologist evaluates the strength of the various apologetic arguments.

Science apologetics is concerned with general revelation, that is, the components of the natural world as they provide a revelation of God and Jesus Christ. It has become a very active area of scholarship in the late 20th century and early 21st century in light of recent discoveries in astrophysics, molecular biology, geology, and paleontology. This area of Christian Apologetics relies heavily on variations of the classical Cosmological and Design arguments which have been available for centuries, but appropriately updated in light of contemporary science scholarship.

Historical apologetics relies primarily on the demonstration that Jesus Christ was in fact an actual (historical) human person. He was born in Bethlehem between roughly 6 BC and 3 AD, conducted a verifiable "3" year ministry ending in death on a Roman Cross on a mound of dirt just outside the walls of Jerusalem. This type of apologetic is concerned with demonstrating the high historical likelyhood or plausibility that Jesus Christ actually rose from the dead, appeared to hundreds of people on many occasions, and then roughly 40 days later ascended into heaven (disappeared without evidence of a corpse). Historical evidence is considered paramount in this type of apologetic and has been extremely well developed in the past quarter century, particularly in light of modern methods of archeology, and document review employing radioactive isotopic dating techniques etc.

Philosophical, often referred to as Classical apologetics appeals primarily to arguments which attempt to establish the reasonableness of a belief in a supreme being. Classical arguments including the Moral, Ontological, and the argument from Being etc. are utilized to establish this defense of the faith. These arguments have existed in various forms for several millenia, many of which were accepted by the pillars of the Church including St. Augustine, St. Anselm, St. Thomas Aquinas and others. Ideally, arguments from all "3" types of apologetic are combined in order to provide the most persuasive Christian defense of the faith.

This brief overview is an attempt to highlight the "universe" as it were in terms of  the areas which are included under the discipline of "Christian Apologetics". The practioner/believer is encouraged to investigate them in detail and incorporate them carefully as they attempt to better live and promulgate the gospel message.