What circles would one travel in where “apologist” is considered a positive? Probably circles I couldn’t understand, right?
I think the point is that it’s not supposed to be positive or negative. At some point, someone misused it, that connotation worked its way into the popular culture, and now being an apologist in internet circles means you defend things that you know deep down don’t have a good defense.
The word “literally” is another great example of something that people misused to the point that it lost its meaning.
But Jay, he literally said in his circles it’s either neutral or positive.
TV’s Frink said:
I’m sorry, I thought I was allowed to like a movie without “apologizing” for it.I tend to move in circles where “apologist” is a technical term with either a neutral or positive context
So I’d just like to know what circles this would be the case in, because I’m highly skeptical that’s the case.
Well, I grew up in and still attend Southern Baptist church. I have friends who are Methodist, Presbyterian, non-denominational, Episcopalian, etc. And apologetics/apologists are generally considered a good thing by all those groups. It’s not about defending “something you really know isn’t true” or “good” or what-have-you. It’s about educating yourself on your faith so that when it is attacked or just politely questioned you are able to explain what you believe and why you believe it. Yes it can be described as “defending” your faith but that is meant in a more courtroom sense of “defense” (i.e. logical discourse about what you think is true) and not the more negative connotation that “defending” a belief often carries with it in common usage.
When calling someone an “apologist” as an insult, the word itself is neither positive or negative. The insult comes from the insinuation that they are wasting time trying to logically explain why something is good, enjoyable, what-have-you when it is quite clearly not.