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Study Section 2: Apologists of the Early Church

2.1 Connect.

Have you ever studied how the books of the Bible came together to form one book? The church
fathers “recognized” certain books or letters as inspired by God and they became part of the
cannon of Scripture; other books or letters were not recognized and were ignored. But as the
Word came together, the church fathers began to debate major doctrines presented in the Bible.
The church was certainly not unified. It took several men to declare the doctrinal truths of
Scripture, and to battle against heretical teachings. These “apologists” stood for truth. Let’s learn
about who they were and what they stood for….

2.2 Objectives.

1. The student should be able to describe the early church “apologists” and why they were so
important in the 2 century church.
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2. The student should be able to examine the life of Polycarp who was willing to die for Christ rather
than compromise doctrine.

3. The student should be able to describe the life of Athanasius and how he endured criticism for declaring that
Jesus was God.

4. The student should be able to describe the life of Aurelius Augustine, how he came to Christ, and how he
defended the faith.

2.3 Apologists in the Early Church

The opponents to Christianity forced the early church leaders to develop creeds and formulas as
a way to solidify “orthodox” positions relative to Scripture. This consistent criticism of the faith
gave rise to another special group of Christian writers, the Apologists. These writers argued for
the faith, and in the process allowed Christians for all ages to know what the second century
church believed. They also were instrumental in the selection of the canon of Scripture, known
today as our New Testament.

Polycarp – Bishop of Smyrna (cir. 89-168)

Excerpts from: https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/people/martyrs/polycarp.html

Polycarp lived during the most formative era of the church, at the end of the age of the original
apostles, when the church was making the critical transition to the second generation of
believers. Tradition has it that he was personally discipled by the apostle John and that he was
appointed as bishop of Smyrna (in modern Izmir in Turkey) by some of the original apostles.

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