They're rejecting something they don't know that much about. But apologetics then and now has a limited role. We must speak what is true, but finally the appeal must be made to the heart, not the mind. We're really leading people to change their love. To love something different.
Love is what draws and holds people.
The early church didn't try to transform its culture by getting into arguments about whether the government should do this or that. Instead it focused on building its own sense of community, and it let these communities be the leaven that would gradually transform culture. It built a way of life. There were appointed times when the community came together. There was a distinctive calendar, and each year the community rehearsed key Christian beliefs at certain times.