Defending and Defining the Faith: An Introduction to Early Christian Apologetic Literature

by Daniel H. Williams

In Early Christian Apologetics, D.H. Williams offers a comprehensive presentation of Christian apologetic literature from the second to the fifth century, considering each writer within the intellectual context of the day. Williams argues that most apologies were not directed at a pagan readership. In most cases, he says, ancient apologetics had a double object: to instruct the Christian and to persuade weak Christians or non-Christians who were sympathetic to Christian claims. Traditionally, scholars of apologetics have focused on the context of persecution in the pre-Constantinian period. By following the links in the intellectual trajectory up though the early fifth century, Williams prompts deeper reflection on the process of Christian self-definition in late antiquity. Taken cumulatively, he finds, apologetic literature was in fact integral to the formation of the Christian identity in the Roman world.

482 pages, Hardcover

Published April 1, 2020

Reviews

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

The content of the book is useful, but it is so poorly edited (or not at all?) that it can be hard to follow — at least the garbled language and execrable typesetting makes it so distracting it is hard to follow. Oxford University Press, are you just mailing it in these days?