Christianity Today Article on Apologetics

sastark · #1 (**permalink**) 07-02-2008, 12:54 PM

A New Day for Apologetics | Christianity Today | A Magazine of Evangelical Conviction

Several Biola professors are mentioned, including the director of my grad program, Dr. John Bloom.

Leslie · #2 (**permalink**) 07-03-2008, 12:02 PM

Are these new apologists evidential, presuppositional, or some other breed with which I'm not familiar? Also, is John Warwick Montgomery involved in this? He's rather old by now but if his mind is still clear, I can't envision his not jumping into the fray.

sastark · #3 (**permalink**) 07-03-2008, 12:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leslie

Are these new apologists evidential, presuppositional, or some other breed with which I'm not familiar? Also, is John Warwick Montgomery involved in this? He's rather old by now but if his mind is still clear, I can't envision his not jumping into the fray.

They are evidentialists - classical apologists. I, being a presuppositionalist, find this to be a major shortfall in the apologetics being taught here at Biola. W. L. Craig's Kalam Argument for the existence of God is very popular right now (at least, at Biola).

Oh, and I'm unfamiliar with John Warwick Montgomery. Sorry.

toddpedlar · #4 (**permalink**) 07-03-2008, 12:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sastark

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leslie

Are these new apologists evidential, presuppositional, or some other breed with which I'm not familiar? Also, is John Warwick Montgomery involved in this? He's rather old by now but if his mind is still clear, I can't envision his not jumping into the fray.

They are evidentialists - classical apologists. I, being a presuppositionalist, find this to be a major shortfall in the apologetics being taught here at Biola. W. L. Craig's Kalam Argument for the existence of God is very popular right now (at least, at Biola).

Oh, and I'm unfamiliar with John Warwick Montgomery. Sorry.

He's also an evidentialist..

DMcFadden · #5 (**permalink**) 07-04-2008, 12:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sastark

Oh, and I'm unfamiliar with John Warwick Montgomery. Sorry.

He was a spiritual mentor to Rod Rosenblatt of the White Horse Inn. Montgomery was the influence that got Rosenblatt to take his PhD in France.

Montgomery (still living I believe) is the author of more than fifty books in five languages. He holds ten earned degrees, Including a Master of Philosophy in Law from the University of Essex, England, a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago, and a Doctorate of the University in Protestant Theology from the University of Strasbourg, France, and the higher doctorate in law (LL.D.) from the University of Cardiff, Wales. He is an ordained Lutheran clergyman (LCMS), an English barrister, and is admitted to practise as a lawyer before the Supreme Court of the United States and inscrit au Barreau de Paris, France.

Montgomery is a mercurial Citroën-loving francophile, who was considered probably the foremost apologist of his kind in the 60s and 70s. He taught for a decade at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (back when Clark Pinnock was orthodox). He was a big gun who helped found Simon Greenleaf law school when it was a free-standing institution (also where Kim Riddlebarger picked up one of his masters degrees under Montgomery). Montgomery and Mike Horton (WSCal and White Horse Inn) both contributed essays to a festscrift for Rosenblatt.

So, from a Reformed point of view, he was a big influence on the people on the White Horse Inn and was the teacher of some of the teachers who now are the big guns in the fields of theology and apologetics (via TEDS and Simon Greenleaf).

Montgomery is the kind of evidentialist who sniffs at both classical apologetics and presuppositionalism. During the 70s, he was Van Til’s most notable critic who contributed a satirical essay to Jerusalem and Athens entitled “Once upon an A Priori” that characterized Van Til’s position as "abandoning all reasoned argument for the Christian faith." His famous temper, inability to suffer a fool gladly, and lawsuits may have tarnished his reputation in some circles. However, among apologists, several of Montgomery's works are considered classics (e.g., History and Christianity, God's Inerrant Word, The Suicide of Christian Theology, Christianity for the Toughminded, etc.).

If your field of apologetics was history or law rather than science, you would be quite well familiar with Montgomery, even today. Sadly, he has dropped off the map a bit in the last couple decades.

cih1355 · #6 (**permalink**) 07-04-2008, 12:48 PM

That was an interesting article. I enjoyed reading it.

What do the professors at Biola think of presuppositional apologetics?

BlackCalvinist · #7 (**permalink**) 07-05-2008, 12:54 PM

Evel Knievel became a believer ? Wow.

john_Mark · #8 (**permalink**) 07-10-2008, 05:41 PM

I went through the 3 modules through Biola for their certificate program. I did it for the SBC/NAMB program I am enrolled in. Those courses were certainly lacking in the presuppositional area.

A few of the folks like Strobel, for example, comes across as if you would just be open to the evidence that you too would believe like he did. It seems as if there is a sort of proclamation of the evidence rather than the Gospel. Not that this is the intent.