Editing Christianity (section)

=== Apologetics ===

[[File:SummaTheologiae.jpg|upright=0.9|thumb|right|A copy of the ''[[Summa Theologica]]'' by [[Thomas Aquinas]]]]
Christian apologetics aims to present a [[reason|rational]] basis for Christianity. The word "apologetic" (Greek: ἀπολογητικός ''apologētikos'') comes from the Greek verb ἀπολογέομαι ''apologeomai'', meaning "(I) speak in defense of".<ref>{{LSJ|a)pologhtiko/s|ἀπολογητικός}}, {{LSJ|a)pologe/omai|ἀπολογέομαι|shortref}}.</ref> Christian apologetics has taken many forms over the centuries, starting with Paul the Apostle. The philosopher [[Thomas Aquinas]] presented five arguments for God's existence in the ''[[Summa Theologica]]'', while his ''[[Summa contra Gentiles]]'' was a major apologetic work.<ref>{{cite book|last=Dulles|first=Avery Robert Cardinal|title=A History of Apologetics |year=2005 |publisher=Ignatius |location=San Francisco|isbn=978-0-89870-933-9|page=120}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Classical Readings in Christian Apologetics |year=1983 |publisher=Zondervan |location=Grand Rapids |isbn=978-0-310-45641-4 |editor-first=L. Russ |editor-last=Bush|page=275}}</ref> Another famous apologist, [[G. K. Chesterton]], wrote in the early twentieth century about the benefits of religion and, specifically, Christianity. Famous for his use of paradox, Chesterton explained that while Christianity had the most mysteries, it was the most practical religion.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.chesterton.org/why-i-believe-in-christianity/|title=Why I Believe in Christianity – Society of Gilbert Keith Chesterton|date=6 December 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author=Hauser, Chris (History major, Dartmouth College class of 2014)|date=Fall 2011|title=Faith and Paradox: G.K. Chesterton's Philosophy of Christian Paradox|journal=[[Dartmouth College publications#The Dartmouth Apologia|The Dartmouth Apologia: A Journal of Christian Thought]]|volume=6|issue=1|pages=16–20|url=https://issuu.com/apologia/docs/apol11sv25|access-date=29 March 2015|archive-date=14 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150714080437/http://issuu.com/apologia/docs/apol11sv25|url-status=dead}}</ref> He pointed to the [[Role of the Christian Church in civilization|advance of Christian civilizations]] as proof of its practicality.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.chesterton.org/why-i-believe-in-christianity/|title=Christianity|date=6 December 2010}}</ref> The physicist and priest [[John Polkinghorne]], in his ''[[Questions of Truth]]'', discusses the subject of [[religion and science]], a topic that other Christian apologists such as [[Ravi Zacharias]], [[John Lennox]], and [[William Lane Craig]] have engaged, with the latter two men opining that the [[Religious interpretations of the Big Bang theory|inflationary Big Bang model]] is evidence for the [[existence of God]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Howson|first=Colin|title=Objecting to God|url=https://archive.org/details/objectingtogod00hows|url-access=limited|year=2011|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-139-49856-2|page=[https://archive.org/details/objectingtogod00hows/page/n104 92]|quote=Nor is the agreement coincidental, according to a substantial constituency of religious apologists, who regard the inflationary Big Bang model as direct evidence for God. John Lennox, a mathematician at the University of Oxford, tells us that 'even if the non-believers don't like it, the Big Bang fits in exactly with the Christian narrative of creation'. ... William Lane Craig is another who claims that the Biblical account is corroborated by Big Bang cosmology. Lane Craig also claims that there is a prior ''proof'' that there is a God who created this universe.}}</ref> [[Creationist apologetics]] is apologetics that aims to defend [[creationism]].