One of my clients made it all the way through committee and they were supposedly putting the deal points together when it suddenly got nixed from somewhere upstairs. "We haven't had much luck with apologetics," was given as the reason.
The client's response was that the book was NOT apologetics, but I told him they had read it and if they thought that was what it was, then arguing with them about it would be futile.
But it did cause me to think. I know what apologetics are, defending a position (usually our faith) with logic and reason, a rational explanation against objections and alternate views. But I don't like the word, never have. It sounds too much like apology or apologizing to me and I never have and never will apologize to anyone about my faith.
I wish there were another title we could get the genre label switched to. It's a lot like evangelism, but that word has a little different connotation. Maybe some word that had iron to it and didn't sound like passive defense but more like strong offense. I don't know what the word would be, do you?
Of course it will never happen and I will just have to continue to live with it, but...
I don't have to like it.
4 comments:
Boy, do I agree with you--there are so many "-isms" and "-ics" in the world of Christianity that sometimes I wonder how much room there is for God's love as expressed through Christ!
I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who doesn't like that word. Apologizing, rationalizing--that's what the world WANTS us to do. It's their box they stick us in. I prefer to think of it as PROCLAMATION. :) But I suppose that also would be too strong a word for some folks as well.
I've never liked the word either, for the same reason. It just doesn't make sense to me--why does it have to be so close to apologize? grrrr.
From Wikipedia:
"The term apologetics derives from the Classical Greek word apologia. In the Classical Greek legal system the prosecution delivered the kategoria and the defendant replied with an apologia. To deliver an apologia meant making a formal speech or giving an explanation to reply and rebut the charges."
Guess something got lost in the translation 2,000 years later! :-)
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