Terminology Tuesday: Abduction

Abduction: An argument form that trades on giving the best explanation for a state of affairs, given the appropriate criteria. This is sometimes called “the inference to the best explanation.” (Some view abduction as a form of induction; others put it in a unique category of inference.) In one sense, Christian apologetics is abductive in its overall method; it attempts to give the best explanation for reality on the basis of Christian theism.1

1. Douglas Groothuis, Christian Apologetics: A Comprehensive Case for Biblical Faith  (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2011), p. 677.

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Brian Auten is the founder emeritus of Apologetics315. He is also director of Reasonable Faith Belfast. Brian holds a Masters degree in Christian Apologetics and has interviewed over 150 Christian apologists. His background is in missions, media direction, graphic design, and administration. Brian started Apologetics315 in 2007 to be an apologetics hub to equip Christians to defend the faith.

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