Editing Apologetics

'''Apologetics''' (from [[Greek language|Greek]] Greek:ἀπολογία, ''apología'', speaking in defense) is the religious discipline of  defending [[religious doctrine]]s through systematic [[argument]]ation and discourse. [[List of early Christian writers|Early Christian writers]] (c. 120–220) who defended their beliefs against [[Criticism of Christianity|critics]] and recommended their [[faith]] to outsiders were called [[Christian apologists]]. In 21st-century usage, ''apologetics'' is often identified with debates over [[religion]] and [[theology]].

==Etymology==
The term ''apologetics'' derives from the [[Ancient Greek]] word ''apologia'' (ἀπολογία). In the Classical Greek legal system, the prosecution delivered the ''kategoria'' (κατηγορία), the accusation or charge, and the defendant replied with an ''apologia'', the [[Defence (legal)|defence]]. The ''apologia'' was a formal speech or explanation to reply to and rebut the charges. A famous example is [[Socrates]]' [[Apology (Plato)|Apologia]] defense, as chronicled in [[Apology (Plato)|Plato's ''Apology'']].

In the [[Koine Greek]] of the [[New Testament]], the [[Apostle Paul]] employs the term ''apologia'' in his trial speech to [[Porcius Festus|Festus]] and [[Agrippa I|Agrippa]] when he says "I make my defense" in [[Acts 26]]:2. A [[cognate]] form appears in Paul's [[Letter to the Philippians]] as he is "defending the gospel" in Philippians 1:7, and in "giving an answer" in 1 Peter 3:15.

Although the term ''apologetics'' has Western, primarily Christian origins and is most frequently associated with the defense of Christianity, the term is sometimes used referring to the defense of any religion in formal debate involving religion.

==See also==

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