ABSTRACT
The apologists who defended the Christian faith in the second Christian centuryhave general importance and individual interest. They wrote in response to challenges from a pagan state, critical philosophers and Jewish hostility. In general, they joined Athens, Rome and Jerusalem in what became the culture of the Christian West.1 Individually they present a variety of thinkers who demand patient analysis. Tatian, once dismissed by theologians, has been shown to be profound. Justin, long considered to be obtusely simple, has exploded in complex interest over the last 30 years.
