Historical Apologist: Origen

Origen (c. 185-254) was a church father in the Alexandrian church whose writings show the influence of Plato. One of the first apologists for Christianity, Origen held some views later considered unorthodox, including a belief in the preexistence of human souls (though not reincarnation). He also taught a doctrine of eventual universal salvation and developed a theory of the allegorical interpretation of Scripture.1

1. C.Stephen Evans, Pocket Dictionary of Apologetics & Philosophy of Religion (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2002), p. 86.