Catholic apologetics is a defense of the Catholic faith. The word, apology, signifies a statement that takes responsibility for something and is intended to obtain forgiveness from the one offended. Catholic apologetics certainly accepts responsibility for holding a belief, but attaches to that acceptance no apology for holding that belief. Quite to the contrary, Catholic apologetics asserts reasonable justification for holding a belief and would expect assent rather than dissent, honor rather than blame, for knowing the reason why a belief is held. Rather than a list of excuses for holding a belief, apologetics tends to convince non-Catholics of the soundness and reasonable of these beliefs through philosophical and theological arguments. By these arguments, Catholics aim to convert.
Catholic apologetics are arguments that aim to prove the truth of any statement of belief. The most typical reason given for a belief is that some authority has made the statement. ?God is creator of heaven and earth? may be believed because the Holy scriptures claim such. For example, that Jesus’ birth was immaculate is true because Matthew 1:23 says it is. If the statement of a belief appears in the scriptures, then for some, that is justification enough to believe that statement is true. Even to this day, many Catholics maintain that the statement of the belief in scripture is all that is required to make the belief a reasonable one. Since scripture is essentially God communicating His will to man, those who appeal to the authority of scripture for justification in holding the belief are relying on the honesty and trustworthiness of God and the scriptures. Biblical apologetics still remains the bulwark of defense in the Catholic church.
One branch of biblical apologetics is prophecy apologetics, which cites prophesies contained in the scriptures to justify holding the belief. A prophecy provides descriptions of what is to come. When a subject appears to match the prophecies, the believer is justified in believing that the subject has been identified and the belief substantiated.
Besides scripture, Catholic apologetics uses other grounds to justify held beliefs. For example, Evidentialist apologetics uses other material besides scripture to support their beliefs, such as histories of the times, reports, stories and support found in other Holy books, such as the Mishna and the Talmud, as well as cultural artifacts, such as a Christian country’s legal system or political organization, to support the truth and accuracy of a belief about God the Father, his Holy Spirit, or his Son, Jesus Christ.
Catholic apologetics covers all the major beliefs of the Catholic faith and gives special attention to the question, ?Why do you believe in the existence of God?? This is probably the apologetics’ greatest and most important question. Arguments range from the cosmological argument that proposes that God is the necessary first cause in a world governed by cause and effect, to the presupposed argument that if there is to be an argument at all, whether pro or con, the existence of God must be presupposed. The transcendental argument is similar to the presupposed argument, putting forth that, without God, we are not even able to reason and think. The theological argument purports that everything in the universe serves a function and so, presupposes a master mind, an intentional God, who sets the purposes of all things and the universe. In each effort, the answer attempts to ground the belief in the reasonable, in the logical, or in the immediate or transcendental consciousness of the object of faith.
Catholic apologetics is the Catholic’s effort to explain his beliefs, not only to himself, but to the world as well. These arguments will be as effective as they are sound in reasoning and evidence. By such arguments, many souls have been converted to Catholicism and, according to the Catholic faith, saved to God. Sure, proud and studied, Catholic apologetics is less of an apology and more of a boastful attitude in the reasonableness of a faith in God.
