Christian Apologetics in the Second Century
The New Testament authors did a great job of laying the ground work for apologetics for Christianity. By the second century there were more accusations from pagans to dilute the Christian faith. There was also opposition from Roman authorities as the Jews and Christians began to disagree more. Due to all of this opposition, the second century required even more diligent people of the faith. Those who were willing to defend the faith during this time was people such as Tatian who composed a harmony of the four Gospels, Athenagoras who is claimed to be the most accomplished philosophical apologists, Theophilus who was also a writer, and Just Martyr who is noted to be the most important and influential figures of the second century. (1) These men of faith had to defend the faith arduously against pagans and Gnostics that did all that they could to tear it down.
The Accusations Against Christians
One of the first accusations against Christians was that Jesus's body was stolen. This was recorded in the New Testament while later Tertullian and Justin Martyr wrote about this implausible notion. (2) Jesus's deity was being attacked by Gnostics. Beilby wrote, "By the second century, Gnostic accounts of Jesus' teachings such as the Gospel of Thomas and the Gospel of Truth had to be refuted by Christians. (3) The trinity was being attacked by pagans that tried to make Christianity seem like other paganistic religions with many gods. There were several accusations that needed to be defended however, the last that needs to be mentioned is that pagans tried to make Christianity out to be a unmoralistic "religion".
How Did the Apologists Respond
Many of the Apologists defended the faith by writing wonderful works that did well in fighting against heresies in the second century. These writings were philosophical in nature and raised questions in such a way that only the Christian faith could answer. Not only those Apologists write, some like Justin taught Christian doctrine in a private school. (4) These were important ways for those Apologists to defend the faith and could be used in todays culture.
What Apologetic Principles Could be Used Today
All the methods that was used in the second century could and possibly should be used today. Apologetics has evolved quite a bit since the second century and different methods have been applied while there are various views on apologetics. Justin Martyr found analogues to Christian beliefs in Greek mythology in order to make Christian teaching understandable and acceptable to pagan readers. (5) In modern times Groothuis wrote, "The best method for this holy endeavor (apologetics) is to present Christianity as a hypothesis that passes rational testing better than rival worldviews. (6) Groothuis and Justin seem to agree for the most part by demonstrating similarities, but showing the rational of Christianity. This is by far one method that should be used in todays modern culture. Other methods that were used is writing to defend the faith such as those early Apologists did. Another method that should be used is teaching just as Justin did. This can be done in various venues such as at a university or church. Teach it to other believers so that they can go out to defend the faith in a right way.
References
1. Everett Ferguson, Church History: From Christ to the Pre-Reformation, (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2013), 71.
2. Douglas Groothuis, Christian Apologetics: A Comprehensive Case for Biblical Faith, (Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 2011), Kindle Loc. 6068.
3. James K. Beilby, Thinking About Christian Apologetics: What It Is and Why We Do It, (Downers Grove, Illinois: Intervarsity Press, 2011), 44.
4. Ferguson, Church History, 72.
5. Ibid., 72.
6. Groothuis, Christian Apologetics, Kindle Loc. 7023.
