John Stearns
Vol. 1, No. 1 2012
When the Christian faith began in 33 A.D. it was not immediately assimilated into the Roman Empire and instead was persecuted and often very strongly so. It was immediately evident that a defense of the faith had to be formed if it was going to stand up to its persecutors. As St. Peter writes in his first letter: “Always be prepared to make a defense to anyone who calls you to account for the hope that is in you” (1 Pet 3:15, RSV). And so the beginning of Catholic apologetics was formed out of a need to respond to persecution. Early Christians, like Justin Martyr, went about mounting just such a defense. These defenses were called ‘apologies’ from the Greek word απολογια meaning “speaking in defense.” ...
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