Be sober and watch: because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, goeth about seeking whom he may devour. Whom resist ye, strong in faith.
– 1 Peter 5:8-9a DRB
St. Peter closes his first epistle to the Catholic Church with this warning: be alert and watchful, strong in faith, in order to resist the snares of Satan. This passage is prayed as part of Compline of the Divine Office prior to the 1975 reforms, and reads this way in Latin:
Fratres: Sóbrii estóte, et vigiláte: quia adversárius vester diábolus, tamquam leo rúgiens círcuit, quaerens quem dévoret: cui resístite fortes in fide.
St. Peter is telling us in this passage to be fortes in fide, strong in faith. Only those who are strong in faith have the capacity to resist the temptations of the devil. We must fortify ourselves in the Sacraments, in prayer, in fasting, in doing the works of mercy, and in living a good Catholic life in order to overcome the works of the demons whose sole goal is to drag our souls into the pit prepared for them from all eternity. One of the many ways that we can be strong in faith, especially in the field of evangelization, is through the utilization of apologetics.
What is Apologetics?
Apologetics is a term which means "to make a defense," taken from the Greek word απολογια, which was the Greek term for a legal defense in court. To be an apologist for something simply means to argue in favor of a position. If you are arguing for the claims of Catholicism, you're a Catholic apologist. If you argue for the claims of Islam, you're an Islamic apologist. If you argue for the claims of atheism, you're an atheistic apologist. If you argue that Ford trucks are the best type of truck, you're a Ford apologist.
Why do we do Apologetics?
Some may ask the question, why should Catholic Christians do apologetics? Is apologetics really all that necessary to living a Christian life? Does it really make you strong in faith? Isn't it just a dry, intellectual exercise at best, and cheap used-car salesmen tactics at worst?
The reasons that Catholic Christians should engage in apologetics is threefold: first, it is an ancient practice of the Church dating back not only to the earliest Fathers but to the Apostles themselves; second, it is a tool for evangelization and catechesis, and; third, it is a way of practicing the spiritual works of mercy.
The practice of apologetics within the Christian tradition goes all the way back to the earliest days of the Church. By this, I do not merely mean that it goes back to the Apostolic Fathers and other early Patristics (although it certainly does), I mean it goes back to the first century during the Apostolic Age. We see examples of this in St. Paul's preachings at the Aeropagus in Athens, where he appeals to the Athenian's sense of logic and reason and shows Christian doctrine true by appealing to Greek poets and writings:
So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for ‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are indeed his offspring.’ Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”
– Acts 17:22-31 ESV
From this tradition of taking Christian doctrine and demonstrating that reason, logic, and philosophy attest to its truth, we see many other great Christian thinkers and authors come forward in the first, second, third, and fourth centuries to demonstrate through the use of reason that Christianity is true. St. Justin Martyr says in his First Apology:
Reason directs those who are truly pious and philosophical to honour and love only what is true, declining to follow traditional opinions, if these be worthless. For not only does sound reason direct us to refuse the guidance of those who did or taught anything wrong, but it is incumbent on the lover of truth, by all means, and if death be threatened, even before his own life, to choose to do and say what is right. Do you, then, since you are called pious and philosophers, guardians of justice and lovers of learning, give good heed, and hearken to my address; and if you are indeed such, it will be manifested.
– First Apology 2
St. Justin Martyr is addressing this not to Christians and not even to non-Christians in general but is directing these specifically at the Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius. Apologetics for the early Church did not simply mean showing Christianity true: it meant defending the Church from persecution.
It is not hard to see why the Apostles believed in engaging in apologetics. The last message that Christ gave before His glorious Ascension, was to "make disciples of all nations," meaning that the final marching orders were to go and convert all peoples. People will not change their way of life unless they are given good reasons to, and for a good many people, part of having good reasons is being able to show that a position is reasonable and true.
We see an example of apologetics being used in evangelization in Acts 2. St. Peter preaches his first sermon to the Jews gathered for Pentecost, and expounds on the Jewish Scriptures, giving arguments from them that the Messiah had to die and be resurrected:
“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. For David says concerning him,
“‘I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken; therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; my flesh also will dwell in hope. For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption. You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’
“Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried... Being therefore a prophet... he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says,
“‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.”’
Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”
– Acts 2:22-36 ESV
It's important to remember that the Jewish understanding of the Messiah, or the Christ, did not include the belief that Christ would die and resurrect. The idea was nowhere near their minds because to them Christ was to be a conqueror and liberator of Israel from the Romans. The idea of the Romans killing this liberator was insane. St. Peter, therefore, had to challenge this misconception of the Christ, and he did that by appealing to Jewish sources and making reasoned arguments (e.g., David is dead, so he can't be the subject of these Psalms), to show that the witness of Scripture is that Christ had to die and rise. This example of apologetics was very effective and moved the Jews at the time, who Scripture says were "cut to the heart," "received his words," and were baptized into the Church that day.
However, apologetics is not merely for the benefit of those being evangelized, but also for the benefit of those already within the faith. Apologetics is also a tool to use in catechesis because apologetics gives the believer reasons for why the faith is true. When a catechumen raises his hand in RCIA and asks the catechist why the Catholic Church believes and teaches what she does, the answer that the catechist gives will ultimately be engagement in apologetics, be it good apologetics or bad apologetics.
We see examples of apologetics being used for catechesis within Holy Writ as well, and this time not from a mere Apostle, but from our Lord Himself. Near the end of the Gospel of St. Luke, two disciples walk to the village of Emmaus and run into the glorified Christ on the road there, although He is unrecognizable to them. Christ asks them what they are talking about with each other, and they answer Him:
"Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see."
– Luke 24:19-24
Notice here that the disciples did not know that Christ was to die and resurrect: they had hoped that our Lord was the Messiah, but He had been killed. Christ responds by instructing them in the prophecies of the Old Testament:
And he said to them, "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?" And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.
– Luke 24:25-27
Christ here engages in the same type of apologetics as St. Peter: He is taking Scripture and explaining through proper interpretation why their preconceptions of the Christ were wrong. We later see the effects of this apologetics when Christ is revealed to these men:
When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, ‘Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?’”
– Luke 24:30-32
Far from being a dry, intellectual exercise, the apologetics of Christ and the Prince of Apostles had profound effects on the will and emotions of the people. The hearts of the Emmaus disciples "burned within them," and the Jews at Pentecost were "cut to the heart." Apologetics was the chosen mode in both of these instances to deliver the truth to these souls, and that encounter with truth was moving in some way in both of these instances: moving in an uplifting and hopeful way in the case of the Emmaus disciples, and moving to contrition in the case of the Pentecost Jews.
Apologetics is not only a tool for evangelization and catechesis, but it is a way of practicing the spiritual works of mercy. The seven spiritual works of mercy are to instruct the ignorant, counsel the doubtful, admonish the sinner, comfort the sorrowful, bear wrongs patiently, and forgive all injuries. The works of mercy are acts that, by providing for the bodily and spiritual needs of others, please God and dispose us to receive His grace more readily. Apologetics allows us to practice four of the seven works.
First, we instruct the ignorant. In evangelization and catechesis, apologetics brings the truth of Catholicism to those who are ignorant of it and gives them the reasons for why the Church is true. It aims to enlighten people to the truth of the faith and take away this ignorance of God and His Truth.
Second, we counsel the doubtful. If someone doubts because he is unsure if the faith is true because he doesn't know the reasons for certain teachings, apologetics provides us a means by which we can help alleviate and remove this doubt from our brother.
Third, we can comfort the sorrowful. This is heavily related to the last point because doubt is a scary thing. The idea that what we know to be true is wrong is terrifying. By relieving that doubt, we relieve that sorrow.
Finally, and most controversially, we admonish the sinner. Heresy and faithlessness are sins that keep you from entering into relationship with God and entering into His Kingdom. To persist in error is not only sinful, but gravely so. Apologetics helps us to reach out to people and correct errors about God, Christ, the Church, and other revealed truths.
How should we do Apologetics?
We now know the what and why of apologetics, but we have to answer the question of how as well. After all, what good are apologetics if you're an ineffective apologist?
Like the why of apologetics, the how is also threefold. To do apologetics, the first thing that a Catholic must have is a true sense of charity for the people he is and will be engaging with. Charity and love for our fellow man are imperative in the devout life. It is the Second Great command to love your neighbor as yourself because they, like you, are made in the image and likeness of Almighty God. As such, we must remember that the people we engage with are not our opponents, or potential numbers for the Church, or anything else. They are a wonderfully made creature of God that the Father is calling to sonship through the blood of His only begotten Son, our Blessed Lord.
If we do not cultivate a strong sense of charity toward the other person, we risk becoming hate-filled towards them. To clarify, it is not only ok to hate error, but it is justified and holy to hate error. If someone is in a false belief that separates them from God, we should hate that false belief. However, we should never let hatred of sin justify hatred of the person. Our motivator can never be a sense of needing to be proven correct or a sense of odious loathing. Our motivator must always be, as Christ commands, the love of God first, and the love of neighbor second.
It should go without saying that another thing you must have to be an effective apologist is knowledge of the teachings of the Church and the arguments for them. If you're going to argue for something, you need to know what that thing is and the reasons for it. You have to know the official teachings, where those teachings can be found, and the reasoned arguments for them. This means opening up your Bible, opening up your Catechism, reading the Fathers, reading the Councils, reading other official Church documents, and learning them and memorizing them as best as you can.
It also stands to reason that you should be willing to know about what the person you're engaging believes in. Think about how you would feel if you were engaging with someone on any issue and they completely misrepresented and misunderstood your position. At best you'd be irritated and at worst you would find it offensive. We need to keep this in mind when engaging people of different beliefs. We need to have a willingness to engage in their canonical and well-respected documents. We need to ask good and genuine questions to come to a better understanding of their position. We need to examine other beliefs fairly and honestly, without looking for reasons that they are wrong. We believe as Catholics that Catholicism is true, period. If we are confident, we can engage with other beliefs without fear.
Finally, we need to have wisdom when we engage with other people. We need to be as cunning as snakes and harmless as doves. That may, at first, sound a bit harsh if not flat-out unchristian, but this is the advice that Christ Himself gives the disciples when He sends them out to evangelize:
“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.”
– Matthew 10:16
When Christ says this, He is telling the disciples to be good tacticians. In this specific scenario, it is probable that He means for the disciples to avoid persecutions, but it has wider applications as well. If you want to be a wise apologist, you need to know what arguments are most compelling to a person, how to frame the argument in a way that will resonate with the person, what personality type is most effective at engaging with that person, and how you can relate the Gospel to the person in a way that they will appreciate and even venerate. Different arguments, framing devices, personality types, and so on are more effective depending on the individual. We must present the Gospel to men in a way which will convict each of them individuals and not degrade the Gospel or allow it to be degraded, lest we allow the Gospel to be trampled underfoot and attacked.
Regula Apologetica: Practice Your Faith
We must, above all, remember that apologetics is not an end in itself, but rather is a means to an end, our Final End, which is God. If your apologetic is not oriented towards bringing others and yourself to that Final End, your apologetic will not be effective. You must, therefore, orient your life towards God if your approach to defending the faith is to be strong. An apologist cannot just be knowledgeable and wise, but he must also develop a strong prayer life, practice the virtues, dive deep into spiritual reading like the Scriptures, the Catechism, the writings of the Church Fathers and the saints, and other devotional practices. He should make frequent examinations of conscience and frequently receive the Sacraments of penance and the Eucharist. This ultimately, is what it means to be a practicing, faithful Catholic: living a life devoted to and in active relationship with God through the Sacraments, prayer, engaging with revelation, and joining in communion with our fellow Christians here on earth as well as in heaven. We always hear that practice makes perfect, and Catholicism is no different. We must keep practicing it until we become perfect.
A Ready Defense
In St. Peter's first epistle, he commands the universal flock to do the following:
In your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect…
– 1 Peter 3:15 DRB
St. Peter commands us to give a gentle and respectful defense, or απολογια, for the hope that is in us. We as Catholics have an obligation to fulfill this command and be willing to engage in the ancient practice of apologetics to bring glory to God and to bring others to the glory of God. Let us fulfill this obligation in all charity and virtue.
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