The History of Apologetics: A Biographical and Methodological Introduction

Explore Apologetics through the Lives of History's Great Apologists

The History of Apologetics follows the great apologists in the history of the church to understand how they approached the task of apologetics in their own cultural and theological context. Each chapter looks at the life of a well-known apologist from history, unpacks their methodology, and details how they approached the task of defending the faith.

By better understanding how apologetics has been done, readers will be better able to grasp the contextualized nature of apologetics and apply those insights to today's context. The History of Apologetics covers forty-four apologists including:

Part One: Patristic Apologists

• Justin Martyr by Gerald Bray
• Irenaeus of Lyons by Stephen O. Presley
• Athenagoras of Athens by W. Brian Shelton
• Tertullian of Carthage by Bryan M. Litfin
• Origen by A. Chadwick Thornhill
• Athanasius of Alexandria by Jonathan Morgan
• Augustine of Hippo by Chad Meister

Part Two: Medieval Apologists

• John of Damascus by Daniel J. Janosik
• Theodore Abu Qurrah by Byard Bennett
• Timothy I of Baghdad by Edward L. Smither and Trevor Castor
• Anselm of Canterbury by Edward N. Martin and Steven B. Cowan
• Saint Thomas Aquinas by Francis J. Beckwith and Shawn Floyd
• Ramon Lull by Greg Peters
• Gregory Palamas by Byard Bennett

Part Three: Early Modern Apologists

• Hugo Grotius by Bryan Baise
• Blaise Pascal by Tyler Dalton McNabb and Michael R. DeVito
• Jonathan Edwards by Michael McClymond
• William Paley by Charles Taliaferro
• Joseph Butler by David McNaughton

Part Four: 19th C. Apologists

• Simon Greenleaf by Craig A. Parton
• John Henry Newman by Corneliu C. Simut
• Søren Kierkegaard by Sean A. Turchin and Christian Kettering
• James Orr by Ronnie Campbell
• B. B. Warfield by Kim Riddlebarger

Part Five: 20th C. American Apologists

• J. Gresham Machen by D. G. Hart
• Cornelius Van Til by K. Scott Oliphint
• Gordon Haddon Clark by Robert A. Weathers
• Francis A. Schaeffer by William Edgar
• Edward John Carnell by Steven A. Hein

Part Six: 20th C. European Apologists

• A. E. Taylor by Michael O. Obanla and David Baggett
• G. K. Chesterton by Ralph Wood
• Dorothy Sayers by Amy Orr-Ewing
• C. S. Lewis by Alister McGrath
• Dietrich Bonhoeffer by Matthew D. Kirkpatrick
• Lesslie Newbigin by Krish Kandiah

Part Seven: Contemporary Apologists

• John Warwick Montgomery by Craig A. Parton
• Charles Taylor by Bruce Riley Ashford and Matthew Ng
• Alvin Plantinga by James Beilby
• Richard Swinburne by Greg Welty
• Ravi Zacharias by Jo Vitale and Vince Vitale
• William Lane Craig by R. Keith Loftin
• Gary R. Habermas by W. David Beck and Benjamin C. F. Shaw
• Alister E. McGrath by James K. Dew and Jordan Steffaniak
• Timothy Keller by Joshua D. Chatraw

Benjamin K. Forrest (EdD, Liberty University) is professor of Christian education and associate dean at Liberty University. He is coauthor of Surviving and Thriving in Seminary (w/ H. D. Zacharias, Lexham, 2017), Good Arguments: Making Your Case in Writing and Public Speaking (w/ R. A. Holland, Baker Academic, 2017), and coeditor of Biblical Leadership: Theology for the Everyday Leader (w/ Chet Roden, Kregel, 2017).

Joshua Chatraw (PhD, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary) serves as the director for New City Fellows and the Resident Theologian at Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Raleigh, North Carolina. His books include Apologetics at the Cross, Cultural Engagement, Truth in a Culture of Doubt, and Truth Matters. He is a fellow with the Center for Pastor Theologians and has served in both pastoral and academic posts during his ministry. 

Alister E. McGrath is a historian, biochemist, and Christian theologian born in Belfast, Northern Ireland. McGrath, a longtime professor at Oxford University, now holds the Chair in Science and Religion at Oxford. He is the author of several books on theology and apologetics, including Christianity's Dangerous Idea and Mere Apologetics. He lives in Oxford, England and lectures regularly in the United States.