IDC16 Apologetics

 In this course recapitulation on Apologetics, I just want to discuss the following topics: Responding to the myth of neutrality and charge of circularity Understanding apologetics from four basic Reformed doctrines Use and dangers to avoid in doing apologetics Distinctive characteristics of presuppositional apologetics Introducing Cornelius Van Til The material for the first three topics are taken from the first chapter of John Frame's Apologetics to the Glory of God. As for the last two topics, the reference is    the 1st chapter of Greg Bahnsen's Van Til's Apologetics: Readings and Analysis.  Responding the the Myth of Neutrality and Charge of Circularity In explaining the role of presuppositions in Christian apologetics, Frame’s main argument focuses on demolishing the myth of neutrality. He saw this in the so-called classical or traditional apologetics. Though he argues that a neutral stance is a “sin” and a “lie,” it does not mean that classical apologetics its...

Chapter 1 – Classical Apologetics – William Lane Graig What we’re going to do is to quote paragraphs showing the position of the apologist and make brief comments on things we either disagree or in need of further elaboration. In statements that we agree, we will just quote and skip them. And then after presenting the position of each school, we will hear the response from two other schools. “As often happens in the lives of earnest students, the reading of certain books proved pivotal in my thinking and directed my life along a different route. The first was E. J. Carnell ’ s Introduction to Christian Apologetics, which convinced me that reason might be used to show the systematic consistency of Christian faith without thereby becoming the basis of that faith. The second was Stuart Hackett ’ s Resurrection of Theism, which stunned me by its demonstration that there were, after all, persuasive, cogent arguments for God ’ s existence. Hackett ’ s book was part of an incomplete pro...

Dr. Knudsen’s paper is a survey of the ups and downs in the history of apologetics. Dr. Knudsen started his survey by narrating the diminishing influence of apologetics in the Reformed circle particularly from the Dutch Reformed tradition and the goal of Cornelius Van Til to regain its influence. And then he goes on to describe the influence of both empiricism and idealism in the history of apologetics. It appears that the way he describes the relationship between idealism and presuppositionalism that the former birthed the latter. He then proceeded to identify presuppositionalist theologians and stated in detail his points of differences particularly from Van Til’s version of presuppositionalism. Listening to the ideas of both sides, the points of differences between Cornelius Van Til and Dr. Knudsen about apologetics is based on each having his own school of philosophy, the transcendental presuppositional and cosmonomic. Both of them claimed that the other school has foreign elements...