What is classical apologetics?

Answer

Classical apologetics is a method of apologetics that begins by employing various theistic arguments to establish the existence of God. Classical apologists often use forms of the cosmological, teleological (Design), ontological, and moral arguments to prove God’s existence. Once God’s existence is established, the classical apologist will then present evidence from fulfilled prophecy, the historical reliability of Scripture, and the bodily resurrection of Jesus to differentiate Christianity from other forms of theism.

Classical apologetics, also known as traditional apologetics, features a two-step approach to establishing a Christian worldview. Classical apologists are cautious about arguing directly from miracles to the biblical God. Instead, they prefer to refer to miracles after establishing a theistic context. Modern advocates of classical apologetics include R.C. Sproul, William Lane Craig, and Norman Geisler.

Christian philosopher Norman Geisler summarized the difference between classical and evidential apologetics as follows: “The classical apologists and the evidentialists differ in their use of historical evidence in that the classical approach emphasizes the need to first establish this as a theistic universe…The fundamental argument of the classical apologist is that discussing the resurrection as an act of God only makes sense if, as a logical prerequisite, it is first proven that there is a God capable of acting” (Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics).