The term “apologetics” comes from the Greek word apologia, which means “defense” or “answer.” It is seen in a few places in the New Testament: Acts 22:1; 25:16; 1 Cor. 9:3; Phil. 1:7; 2 Tim. 4:16, and 1 Pet. 3:15. This principle is also seen in 2 Cor. 10:5-6, although the word apologia does not appear there. Christians have been largely responsible for the rise in popular-level philosophy of religion today, most likely due to the ever-increasing secular culture in America. However, alternative worldviews have also risen to the apologetics field for a number of reasons. The advancements in scientific knowledge, for example, brought about a growing number of atheists and Islam has been able to offer a more simplistic conception of God for unchurched theists. Hence, apologetics has become a field of study in its own right.
For the advocate of a worldview, apologetics has become a way of defending its truth. Apologetics can entail using arguments from various fields of knowledge such as philosophy, biology, history, logic, and so forth.
Although the current team at Real Clear Apologetics is comprised of Christians, our goal is to foster civil dialogue between various worldviews.