ApologeticsApologetica · The Reasoned Defense of the Faith
Apologetics is not argument for argument's sake. It is an act of charity — a willingness to give an honest account of what we believe and why. Each entry below is offered in that spirit, in the manner of the old disputations: the objection stated fairly, the answer given, and the witness of Scripture and Tradition set alongside it.
All Scripture quotations are from the Douay-Rheims Bible unless otherwise noted. Where this site treats a topic at greater length, cross-references are provided.
"But sanctify the Lord Christ in your hearts, being ready always to satisfy every one that asketh you a reason of that hope which is in you."
— 1 S. Peter 3:15, Douay-Rheims
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Sources & Further Reading
Fontes
Magisterial
Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd ed.
Vatican I, Dei Filius (1870) — faith and reason
Vatican I, Pastor Aeternus (1870) — papal infallibility
Vatican II, Dei Verbum (1965) — divine revelation
Bl. Pius IX, Ineffabilis Deus (1854) — the Immaculate Conception
Council of Trent — justification; indulgences
Second Council of Nicaea (787) — veneration of images
Patristic
St. Clement of Rome, Letter to the Corinthians (c. 96)
St. Ignatius of Antioch, Letters (c. 107–110)
St. Justin Martyr, First Apology (c. 155)
St. Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies (c. 180)
Tertullian, On the Crown (c. 211) — prayers for the dead
Origen, Commentary on Romans (c. 233)
St. Basil the Great, On the Holy Spirit (c. 375)
St. Jerome, Against Helvidius (383)
St. Augustine, Confessions; De Genesi ad Litteram
St. John Damascene, On the Divine Images (c. 730)
Philosophical & Scriptural
St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae — the Five Ways
