A History of Apologetics

Cardinal Avery Dulles, S.J.

Making the case for the Christian faith - apologetics - has always been part of the Church's mission. Yet Christians sometimes have had different approaches to defending the faith, responding to the needs of their respective times and framing their arguments to address the particular issues of their day.

Cardinal Avery Dulles' A History of Apologetics provides a masterful overview of Christian apologetics, from its beginning in the New Testament through the Middle Ages and on the present resurgence of apologetics among Catholics and Protestants. Dulles shows how Christian apologists have at times both criticized and drawn from their intellectual surroundings to present the reasonableness of Christian belief.

Written by America's leading theologian, A History of Apologetics also examines apologetics in the 20th and the early 21st centuries including its decline among Catholics following Vatican II and its recent revival, as well as the contributions of contemporary Evangelical Protestant apologists. Dulles also considers the growing Catholic-Protestant convergence in apologetics. No student of this branch of teaching should be without this superb and masterful work.
420 pages. Sewn Softcover
ISBN: 9780898709339