Apologists: Justin Martyr

The first generation of church fathers after the apostles were known as the post-apostolic fathers. In our last two articles, we noticed three of them: Clement (died AD 101), Ignatius (died AD 107), and Polycarp (died AD 155).  After the post-apostolic fathers came the apologists. This name “apologists” comes from the Greek word apologia, meaning “a defense.” These men defended Christian doctrine against the teachings of Judaism and paganism. They also defended the Christian religion itself...