It is an unfortunate fact of history that the term “apologetics” is associated in particular with something that Christians do. The common assumption seems to be that apologetics is this unique Christian pastime as others look on in indignation and fascination from their decidedly non-apologetic perch. Needless to say it is not a noble pastime since it is driven by the ideological drive to vindicate Christian beliefs and thus make the evidence fit as required, even if it involves knocking a few round doctrinal pegs into evidentially square holes.
The problem with this characterization is simple: every single person who shares their reasons for holding any belief at all with another person with the intent of persuading that person to adopt that belief is de facto an apologist for that belief. Apologetics is thus an exercise that any person who wants to persuade anybody else of anything at all is engaged in.
So are you an apologist? If you believe the following two things you should be.
(Question 1): Do you think truth is important?
(Question 2): Do you think you know anything true?
If you answered yes to both questions, then you should be keen to persuade others of the things you claim to know. And that means you’re an apologist for those beliefs. If you answered no to Q2 then I say too bad for you: ignorance ain’t fun (though humility and realism have their merits). If you answered no to Q1 then I say shame on you, for truth is important. But if you purport to know anything at all and you agree that truth is important then you should be interested to defend those beliefs to others. And that means that you too are (or ought to be) an apologist.
