It's usually not designed to persuade skeptics, it's designed to persuade people who are on the fence about their faith, both the author and those who, like them, need an intellectual justification.
Nah, not even that. The only people who consume apologetics sincerely nowadays is Christians. They're not meant to convince anyone, they're meant to keep the crises of faith at bay.
I think you and I are saying the same thing. Apologetics are directed at current Christians who are on the fence and need an intellectual justification to stay.
"On the fence" is too strong a phrase for this situation, I think. They don't consume apologetics to push themselves back in, but rather to keep themselves completely immersed in the religion.
