Dcopymope said:
Why call it "apologetics"? Am I "apologizing" for my faith as if my belief is in error? I don't like the term itself at all when referring to the defense of the faith.
We are all given different gifts according to 1 Corinthians 12. Some people have only one gift. Some people have multiple gifts. There are those who do mission work. There are those that run charities to help the poor and needy. There are those who interpret languages. There are those who preach. And there are those who give rational explanations of why we as Christians believe what we believe. All these different gifts go towards edifying the Body of Christ as a whole. You may be great at mission work and be a terrible apologist. Likewise, you may be a great apologist and be terrible at mission work. And there are some that are good at both. Those are the gifts God has given us.
The English word "apologetics" comes from 1 Peter 3:15:
3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asks you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:
Strongs #627
627
apologia
ap-ol-og-ee'-ah
from the same as apologeomai - apologeomai
626; a plea ("apology"):--answer (for self), clearing of self, defence.
In other words, it is a rational explanation.
So if someone comes up to you searching for spiritual truth and asks you why you believe in God, specifically Jesus Christ, you can give them a rational explanation, a defense of your faith an "apologetic", as to why you believe what you do. That's what Peter is saying.
I have a number of arguments I have maintained over the years why I believe that Jesus Christ is God and why Christianity is the only true belief system:
God is the best explanation why anything exists rather than nothing.
God is the best explanation for the possibility of God's existence.
God is the best explanation for the origin of the universe.
God is the best explanation for the fine tuning of the universe in order for intelligent life to exist.
God is the best explanation for a universe with laws.
God is the best explanation for a universe that is rationally intelligible or comprehensible.
God is the best explanation for an objective moral reality within humanity.
God is the best explanation for existential choice or freedom to choose.
God is the best explanation for the emotion called love.
God is the best explanation for humans asking questions of ultimate purpose.
God is the best explanation for humans asking questions of ultimate justice.
God is the best explanation for the problem of evil.
God is the best explanation of the applicability of mathematics to the physical world.
God is the best explanation for the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
I would probably read some of Dr. William Lane Craig's work or Professor John Lennox or Ravi Zacharias, if you want to know more about apologetics or rational explanations for our faith.
Frankly, (going back to the OP), I think the best argument, would be the last one: the historical argument for Jesus Christ.
I have to agree with Angelina, that we need not move far from the source, which is is the Bible. It tells us who Jesus is, what Jesus did and what Jesus said. And all arguments for God's existence go from that foundational point of history.