Apologetics to the Glory of God

Tag: philosophy

  • Calvin’s Commentary on 1 Cor 1:18-21

    For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

    In this first clause a concession is made. For as it might very readily be objected, that the gospel is commonly held in contempt, if it be presented in so bare and abject a form, Paul of his own accord concedes this, but when he adds, that it is so in the estimation of them that perish, he intimates that no regard must be paid to their judgment. For who would choose to despise …

  • Introduction to Covenantal Apologetics

    Here’s one of our archived series you may find helpful:

    Introduction to Covenantal Apologetics by C.L. Bolt

    …

  • Review: Interpreting Old Testament Wisdom Literature edited by David G. Firth and Lindsay Wilson (Part 1)

    (Thanks to InterVarsity Press for providing a review copy of this book!)

    The following is the first part of a review in three parts. These three parts follow the divisions provided in the book. My comments are interspersed throughout the summary, especially when various content more directly applies to apologetics.…

  • Van Tilian Turf Wars (Part 2)

    Presuppositionalists are sticklers for sound apologetic methodology. But how is sound apologetic methodology discerned? Presuppositional proclivities preclude the vast majority of classical or evidentialist approaches to apologetics. That much is clear. But how does one determine who is right and who is wrong when presuppositionalists argue about methodology amongst themselves? Perhaps we all agree that presuppositional apologetic methodology is the way to go, but who is to say what presuppositional apologetic method is? Is there some standard of presuppositional orthodoxy?

    Fundamentalist presuppositionalists tend to respond to these questions by citing the Bible as their ultimate authority for apologetics. The …

  • Van Tilian Turf Wars (Part 1)

    At least three types of Van Tilian presuppositionalists have emerged from the recent surge in popularity of presuppositionalism.

    Fundamentalist

    The first group are the fundamentalists. Fundamentalists are not necessarily to be identified with fundamentalism in general, but rather with fundamentalist tendencies when it comes to discerning apologetic methodology. This brand of presuppositionalism takes a more biblicist approach to apologetic questions and disputes. Though arguments may be offered in the context of apologetic discussion, these arguments are typically less philosophically precise and more explicitly biblical or dogmatic. Examples of those in the fundamentalist strain of presuppositionalism include Answers in Genesis, Sye …

  • Introduction to Apologetics Seminary Course

    Lord willing, I will be teaching AP8521 Introduction to Apologetics at the Huntsville, Alabama extension center for Birmingham Theological Seminary on Monday nights from 7:30-9:30pm starting in September. Please find more details at http://birminghamseminary.org/ and pass this information along to anyone you know who is interested and lives in the area!…

  • [F]utilitarianism

    There is a school of thought to which many ethicists subscribe, whose students never seem willing to move on from the lambda-omega-lambdas, and whose parties are always unusually loud and long even after the music has been stopped for years and all the drink has dried up. This troupe of tautological idealogues loves to insist upon its own opinions and swears so should you. In doing so they both establish and undercut their point. These are the Utilitarians.

    Utilitarianism is a philosophy of ethics that is summarily defined to say, “the morally right action is the action that produces …

  • The Atheist’s Guide to Reality

    Christian philosophers have been developing and refining arguments for the existence of God since the earliest times, but it’s not often one comes across a convinced atheist making a powerful philosophical case for the existence of God. Yet that’s precisely what we find—quite contrary to the author’s intent—in Alex Rosenberg’s book The Atheist’s Guide to Reality.

    Check out this review of Alex Rosenberg’s book The Atheist’s Guide to Reality. Enjoy!…

  • Dr Scott Oliphint Fields Questions on Unbelievable?

    That’s right, it was an inquisition! Ok, not quite that bad. Dr. Oliphint was on Unbelievable? to talk about Presuppositional/Covenantal Apologetics. He ended up having to spend the entire time defending it from Kurt Jaros who clearly doesn’t understand the Theological underpinnings of the method, or their implications. However, because of this, there are some very good explanations that Dr. Oliphint gives that I think are very helpful. One that stands out in my mind is confusion between the fact that non believers are irrational yet we can also reason with them. Listen carefully for these great answers Dr. Oliphint …

  • For the Love of God and Philosophy

    One of the biggest roadblocks to accepting the Bible as the Word of God is putting biblical theology in terms of philosophy (and by this I mean modern philosophy, or the formulation of thought in the tradition of the popular philosophers), rather than putting philosophy in terms of biblical theology. The philosophical categories, which have largely been fabricated in ignorance of the Bible, are often insufficient to expound the doctrines of the Bible. At the same time, many of the modern philosophical categories are created with intent to circumvent the implications of biblical theology. This same deference to man’s philosophy …