Apologetics, 2ST530
Fall term, 2004, RTS/Orlando
Wednesdays, 2-4 PM
Instructor: John M. Frame
Office hours: Wed., 8-11 AM, others by appointment. I'm in my office most mornings, and if my door is ajar I'll be happy to see you. For appointments at other times, contact my assistant, Jan Brubaker. Feel free to ask questions or make comments by email, [email protected].
Teaching Assistant: Bill Fullilove
His email, [email protected]. Feel free to talk to him about any course matters. Give your papers to him, rather than Dr. Frame, by email, or in hardcopy.
Course Content
Apologetics is the study of how to give reasons for our Christian hope (1 Pet. 3:15). This course has three parts: (1) Christian theory of knowledge, (2) historic and contemporary views of apologetic method, (3) topics in apologetics. In the first part, we shall ask what Scripture says about human knowledge, particularly the process by which a non-Christian comes to know Christ. The second part will deal with the controversy over how to do apologetics, discussing representatives of different apologetic schools. The third part will discuss issues under debate between Christians and non-Christians: the existence of God, the truth of Scripture, the problem of evil, the currents of modern and postmodern thought.
Required Texts and Abbreviations
AGG: Frame, Apologetics to the Glory of God (Phillipsburg: P&R, 1994).
DOT: Phillip E. Johnson, Darwin on Trial (Washington: Regnery Gateway, 1991).
DKG: Frame, Doctrine of the Knowledge of God (Phillipsburg: P&R, 1987).
FV: Steven B.
Cowan, ed., Five Views of Apologetics
(
GESB: Peter Jones, The Gnostic Empire Strikes Back (Phillipsburg: P&R, 1992).
SD: Supplementary Documents (Available at www.reformedperspectives.org).
William Edgar, "No News is Good News"
John Frame, "Certainty"
--, "Christianity and Culture"
--, and Paul Kurtz, "Do We Need God to be Moral?"
--, "Greeks Bearing Gifts"
--, "Infinite Series."
--, "Ontological Argument"
--, "Self-Refuting Statements"
--, "Transcendental Arguments"
--, "Unregenerate Knowledge of God"
--, "Van Til Reconsidered"
--, "A Van Til Glossary"
Stephen Hays, "I'm Glad You Asked"
--, "Why I Believe"
Assignments
1. Complete the reading assignments according to the schedule below.
2. Write a paper. This assignment offers two alternatives. Please do either one or the other. The paper should be turned in before 11 AM on Wed., Dec. 8, the catalogue deadline. For late papers without excuse, I deduct 1/3 of a grade after 11 AM and for every 24 hours of lateness after that. 1/3 of a grade means, e.g., from B to B-.
(a) First alternative: Write a paper of approximately 3000 words presenting a fictional apologetic dialogue between a Christian and a non-Christian, or between a Christian having doubts or problems and another one who tries to help him resolve those. Chapter 9 of AGG provides you a model for the dialogue form, and you can find others, for example, in the books of Peter Kreeft listed in the bibliography. Your dialogue may deal with any subject that might arise in such a conversation, such as the existence of God, the problem of evil, the nature of truth, the authority of Scripture, etc. For this paper, you should do some research beyond the course assignments. The bibliography in this syllabus may help you.
(b) The second alternative: engage in an e-mail dialogue with a non-Christian (or with a Christian who is struggling with some of the difficulties of the faith). Send to me all the exchanges, totalling around 3000 words. If the actual dialogue is shorter, you may supplement it with your own analysis of the dialogue: what you did well, not so well, how you might improve your answers if you had it to do again. If your email exchange turns out to be much longer than 3000 words, then please abbreviate. Summarize the parts you have chosen to leave out.
3. Final Examination
The final will cover all the reading assignments and lectures in the course. It will be multiple choice, three hours.
Hints on Writing Dialogues
Your course paper is to be in the form of dialogue. In a dialogue, two parties are exchanging opposing views. In this assignment, I want the dialogues to be not merely an exchange of views, but an actual debate, in which each party tries (graciously, of course) to refute the other's position.
If you write a fictional dialogue, you are to master both views well enough to be able to indicate how each party would reply to the other's objections. Some examples of the dialogue form can be found in the writings of Plato, Hume's Dialogues, the Calvin Beisner's Answers For Atheists, and many books by Peter Kreeft (see apologetics bibliography), the last chapter of AGG, and CVT, 339-352. Seek "clarity, cogency, and profundity."
If you put together a real dialogue, from email exchanges, etc., it is still necessary for you to learn enough about the other person's view to deal with his arguments.
A fictional dialogue should consist mostly of short speeches in which each party interacts with the other in detail. In general, they ought to be "ideal" rather than "realistic." "Realistic" dialogues, the kind we have in real life, involve a lot of misunderstanding, arguing at cross purposes, ambiguities, fallacies, etc. To save time and clarify the real issues, avoid those things as much as possible. You should seek to have each thinker make the best possible case for his position, even when, in the final analysis, you believe that position to be false.
In a real dialogue, such as an email exchange, you won't have control over what your opponent says. But you should try nevertheless to deal with his points specifically, in detail.
I expect you to write concisely. I won't hold you to a rigid limit, but the rule is this: if you write more than the recommended length, it must be eminently worth the extra space. If you write less, it must be concise, pithy, and profound enough to be equivalent to a longer paper.
Grading
Paper, 50%
Exam, 50%
Course Outline and Reading
Part One: Biblical Theory of Knowledge
Aug. 25: No assignment
Sept. 1: DKG, 1-75
SD: Frame, "Certainty"
--, "Unregenerate Knowledge of God"
Sept. 8: DKG, 101-164
Part Two: The Controversy Over Apologetic Method
Sept. 15: FV, 25-145, 314-344 (Craig, Habermas)
Sept. 22: FV, 145-206, 265-312, 345-349, 364-373 (Feinberg, Clark)
Sept. 29: FV, 207-263, 350-363 (Frame)
Oct. 6: AGG, 1-88
SD: Frame, "A Van Til Glossary"
--, "Van Til Reconsidered"
Part Three: Topics in Apologetics
A.
Apologetics
as Proof
Oct. 13: READING WEEK: NO CLASS.
Oct. 20: AGG, 89-118 (The Existence of God)
SD: Frame, "Ontological Argument"
--, "Infinite Series"
--, "Do We Need God to Be Moral?"
--, "Self-Refuting Statements"
--, "Transcendental Argument"
Stephen Hays, "Why I Believe"
Oct: 27: AGG, 119-147 (Proving the Gospel)
B. Apologetics as Defense
Nov. 3: AGG, 149-190 (The Problem of Evil)
SD: Hays, "I'm Glad You Asked"
C. Apologetics as Offense
Nov. 10: AGG, 191-217 (Philosophy and Religion)
SD: Frame, "Greeks Bearing Gifts"
Nov. 17: DOT (all) (Science)
Nov. 24: GESB (all) (General Culture)
SD: Frame, Christianity and Culture
Edgar, "No News is Good News"
Dec. 1: Catch-up.
Abbreviations for Comments on Papers
A - awkward
Amb - ambiguous
Arg - more argument needed
C - compress
Circle (drawn around some text)
- usually refers to
misspelling or other
obvious mistake
D - define
E - expand, elaborate, explain
EA - emphasis argument
F - too figurative for context
G - grammatical error
Illus - illustrate, give example
Int - interesting
L1 - lateness penalty for one
day (similarly L2, etc.)
M - misleading in context
O - overstated, overgeneralized
R - redundant
Ref- reference (of pronoun, etc.)
Rel- irrelevant
Rep - repetitious
Resp - not responsive (In a dialogue: one party raises a good
question to which the other does not respond.)
S - summary needed
Scr - needs more scripture support
Simp - oversimplified
SM - straw man (a view nobody holds)
SS - problem in sentence structure
St - style inappropriate
T - transition needed
U - unclear
V - vague
W - questionable word-choice
Wk - weak writing (too many
passives, King James
English, etc.)
WO - word order
WV - whose view? yours?
another author?
Grading System For
Papers
A: Good grasp of basic issues, plus something really extraordinary, worthy of publication in either a technical or popular publication. That special excellence may be of various kinds: formulation, illustration, comprehensiveness, subtlety/nuance, creativity, argument, insight, correlations with other issues, historical perspective, philosophical sophistication, research beyond the requirements of the assignment. One of these will be enough!
A‑: An A paper, except that it requires some minor improvement before an editor would finally accept it for publication.
B+: Good grasp of basic issues but without the special excellences noted above. A few minor glitches.
B: The average grade for graduate study. Good grasp of basic issues, but can be significantly improved.
B‑: Shows an understanding of the issues, but marred by significant errors, unclarities (conceptual or linguistic), unpersuasive arguments, and/or shallow thinking.
C+: Raises suspicions that to some extent the student is merely manipulating terms and concepts without adequately understanding them, even though to a large extent these terms and concepts are used appropriately. Does show serious study and preparation.
C: Uses ideas with some accuracy, but without mastery or insight; thus the paper is often confused.
C‑: Problems are such that the student evidently does not understand adequately the issues he/she is writing about, but the work may nevertheless be described as barely competent.
D: I don't give D's on papers.
F: Failure to complete the assignment satisfactorily. Such performance would disqualify a candidate for ministry if it were part of a presbytery exam.
Most of my students get B's. I try to keep A's and C's to a relatively small number. F's are extremely rare, but I have given a few.
Course Bibliographies
Religious Knowledge
See also books listed in the Apologetics section below.
Calvin, John, Institutes, I, i-ii.
Clouser, Roy, Knowing With the Heart (Downers Grove: IVP, 1999). Clouser is doctrinally Reformed, Dooyeweerdian in background. Always stimulating.
Frame, Doctrine of the Knowledge of God (P&R, 1987).
Geivett, R. Douglas, and Sweetman, Brendan, ed., Contemporary
Perspectives on Religious Epistemology (NY:
Wittgensteinian fideism, Reformed epistemology
(Plantinga) natural theology, Prudential
Arguments, Religious Experience. Articles by
well-known philosophers survey the contemporary
issues.
Mavrodes, George, Belief in God (NY: Random House, 1970).
A very important philosophical work.
Meek, Esther Lightcap, Longing to Know: The Philosophy of Knowledge for
Ordinary People (
Michael Polanyi. Excellent in thought and very clear in formulation. A very
Helpful Christian epistemology.
Plantinga, Alvin, and Wolterstorff, Nicholas., ed., Faith and
Rationality
(Notre Dame,
Press, 1983) Plantinga is greatly respected even in
secular philosophical circles. His work is original, much
discussed, and not easily classified. Requires some
philosophical background. See Frame's review
of this volume in an appendix to DKG. Plantinga is
of Christian Reformed background and taught at
Dame.
Poythress, Vern, Philosophy, Science and the Sovereignty of
God (P&R, 1976).
Reymond, Robert L., The Justification of Knowledge (P&R, 1976).
Van
Tillian, but veers toward
Van Til, Cornelius, A Christian Theory of Knowledge (P&R, 1969).
--, An Introduction to Systematic Theology (P&R, 1975).
--, Survey of Christian Epistemology (early work).
Wolterstorff, Nicholas, Reason Within the Bounds of
Revelation (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1976). Also, see
under Plantinga. Wolterstorff also taught at Calvin for
many years. He recently moved on to Yale.
Apologetics (General works)
Bahnsen, Greg, Always Ready (Phillipsburg: P&R, 1996). Includes many biblical references supporting presuppositional apologetics.
--, Van
Til's Apologetic:
Beisner, Calvin, Answers For Atheists (Wheaton: Crossway, 1985).
Fairly traditional. Well-written in dialogue form.
Boa, Kenneth D., and Bowman, Robert M., 20
Compelling Evidences That God Exists (
--, Faith Has Its Reasons (Colo. Springs: NavPress, 2001. An excellent, thorough survey of apologetic approaches, weighted somewhat toward presuppositionalism.
Bush, L. Russ, ed., Classical
(Zondervan,
1983).
an essay on apologetics since that time.
Carnell, Edward J., An Introduction to Christian Apologetics
(Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1948). See the chapter on
Carnell in Frame's CVT.
Clark, Gordon H., A Christian View of Men and Things (Eerdmans,
1952).
presuppositionalist, but opposed to some of Van Til's
ideas. This is an excellent work, showing that many
human disciplines (history, politics, ethics,
etc.) require Christianity.
--, Religion, Reason, and Revelation (P&R).
Clark, Kelly James, Return to Reason (
1990). Follows Plantinga (see below).
Corduan, Winfried, Reasonable Faith (
Holman, 1993). A disciple of Geisler. Pretty good book.
Cowan,
Steven, ed., Five Views On Apologetics (
Craig, William L., Apologetics: An Introduction (
Moody Press, 1984). Traditional.
--, Reasonable Faith (Wheaton: Crossway, 1994).
DeMar,
Edgar, William, The Face of Truth (
--, Reasons of the Heart (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1996). Edgar is a presuppositionalist, very knowledgeable about culture, adept at speaking to real people.
Frame, John, Cornelius Van Til: An Analysis of His Thought
(P&R, 1995).
--, Apologetics to the Glory of God (P&R, 1994).
Geehan, E. R., ed.,
Reformed, 1971). A Festschrift: essays in honor
of Van Til. Some are critical of him and advocate
the "traditional method," among them the essays
by Pinnock and Montgomery, which sum up well the
standard criticisms. See also Van Til's "My Credo,"
which contains a four-page outline summary of his
system.
Geisler,
(Grand Rapids: Baker, 1998).
--, Christian Apologetics (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1976).
--,
Philosophy of Religion (
1974).
--, and Brooks, Ron, When Skeptics Ask: A Handbook on
Christian Evidences (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1990).
Geisler is an evangelical Thomist, follows a generally
traditional method.
Gerstner, John, with R. C. Sproul and A. Lindsley, Classical
Apologetics.
(Note Frame's review,
Theological Journal, 1985, reprinted in AGG [under
"Frame," above]).
--, Reasons For Faith (NY: Harper, 1960).
Hackett, S., The Reconstruction of the Christian Revelation
Claim (Baker, 1984). Traditional.
--, The Resurrection of Theism (Moody, 1957). An
earlier work of Hackett, sharply critical of
presuppositionalism.
Hanna, Mark, Crucial Questions in Apologetics (Baker, 1981).
Tries to establish a position called "veridicalism,"
between "presuppositionism" and "verificationism." His
concept of presuppositionism is a straw man; his
veridicalism is very close to Van Til, once you get
past the rhetoric.
Rapids: Baker, 1976).
Kreeft, Peter, The Best Things in Life (Downers Grove, IVP, 1984).
--, Between Heaven and Hell (Downers Grove, IVP, 1982).
--, Socrates Meets Jesus (Downers Grove, IVP, 1987).
Kreeft converted to Roman Catholicism from Reformed
background. He is fond of C. S. Lewis and follows
Lewis's basic apologetic. Excellent writer.
--, and Tacelli, Ronald, Handbook of Christian
Apologetics (Downers Grove: IVP, 1994). A
comprehensive overview of the field. For example,
it contains twenty arguments for God's existence.
Lewis, C. S., Mere Christianity (Macmillan)
--, Miracles. Lewis is one of the best
apologetic writers of all time. We can learn much
from his style. His content is uneven.
Lewis, Gordon, Testing Christianity's Truth Claims. A survey
of evangelical apologists, circa 1970. Gives three
chapters to Carnell, one to Van Til.
Marston, George, The Voice of Authority (Vallecito: Ross
House, 1978). This is the simplest of all the
simplifications of Van Til.
Mayers, Ronald B., Both/And: A Balanced Apologetic (
Moody Press, 1984). Like Hanna, tries to find a
middle ground that allows both presuppositions and
evidences. I think Van Til already found it. But
there are good things in the volume.
McDowell, Josh, Evidence That Demands a Verdict (San
Bernardino: Here's Life, 1979). McDowell has published
a great many books of evidences. He doesn't worry too
much about apologetic method, just sets out the facts.
Lots of quotations from others. The author is not a
profound thinker, but these books are handy summaries
of relevant data. He does sometimes amuse, as when
talking about the "swoooooooooon theory."
McGrath, Alister, Intellectuals Don't Need God and Other
Modern Myths (Zondervan, 1993).
McGrath has a great reputation as an evangelical
Miethe, T., and Flew,
Interesting dialogue between a traditional apologist
and a strongly anti-Christian philosopher.
His appendix on Van Til is not well-informed.
Montgomery, John W., ed., Evidence For Faith (
1991).
--, Faith Founded on Fact.
--, Where is History Going? Traditional. See also
his essay
in
above).
Moreland, J. P., Scaling the
Baker, 1987). Traditional, but creative.
Morris, Thomas, Making Sense of It All (
Eerdmans, 1992). Applies the ideas of Pascal to
the modern situation.
Murray, Michael J., ed., Reason For the Hope Within (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1999).
Nash, Ronald, Faith and Reason (Zondervan, 1988). Nash
is
influenced by
clearly.
--, Worldviews in Conflict (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1992).
Notaro, Thom, Van Til and the Use of Evidence (
Presbyterian and Reformed, 1980). Shows that Van Til
did have a positive view of the use of evidence in
apologetics.
Pinnock, Clark, Reason Enough (Downers Grove: IVP, 1980).
Univ. Press, 1967).
--, God, Freedom and Evil (Harper, 1973).
--, Warranted Christian Belief
(NY:
Pratt, Richard, Every Thought Captive (
Presbyterian and Reformed, 1979). A Van Tillian
apologetic directed toward young people.
Ramm, Bernard, Varieties of Christian Apologetics,
a historical survey.
Reymond, Robert L., The Justification of Knowledge (P&R, 1976).
Van
Tillian, but veers toward
critiques of a number of recent apologists.
Robbins, John, Cornelius Van Til: The Man and the Myth
(Jefferson, MD: The Trinity Foundation, 1986).
I mention this only to warn you about it. Robbins
is a fanatical follower of Gordon Clark who has
very little understanding of Van Til. This book,
as a critique of Van Til, is simply incompetent.
Rushdoony, Rousas, By What Standard? (Phila.: Presbyterian
and Reformed, 1959). A good summary of Van Til's
positions.
Sire, James, Why Should Anyone Believe Anything at All?
(Downers Grove: IVP, 1994). Good comparison of
Christianity with alternative worldviews.
Van Til, Cornelius, Christian Apologetics (
Presbyterian and Reformed, 1975). This was the basic
syllabus for Van Til's first-year apologetics course.
In many ways it remains the best introduction to his
thought.
--, A Christian Theory of Knowledge (P&R, 1969).
His best account of self-attesting scripture and a
concise survey of the history of apologetics.
--, The Defense of the Faith (P&R, 1955; second
abridged edition, 1963). This is his first
published exposition of his system.
--, Introduction to Systematic Theology (P&R, 1974).
This, together with the above three, is of major
importance to understanding Van Til's approach.
--, Why I Believe in God (OPC, undated). Pamphlet.
Van Til's only writing with a non-Christian
reader in mind. Quite fascinating.
--, The Works of Cornelius Van Til on CD-ROM. Available
from P&R. Most all his writings, a complete bibliography,
fifty one hours of audio sermons, lectures, discussions.
A very helpful tool.
The Existence of God
See also the general apologetic works above.
Allen, Diogenes, The Traces of God (Cowley, 1981).
Braine, David, The Reality of Time and the Existence of God
(Oxford: Clarendon, 1988). 383. h. Difficult.
BL200.D38 1997
arguments.
Hick, John, Arguments for the Existence of God (NY: Seabury,
1971). Historical survey and critique.
Kenny, Anthony, The
Critiques the arguments of Thomas Aquinas.
Kung, Hans, Does God Exist? (NY: Doubleday, 1980). Liberal Roman
Catholic. Huge book.
Mavrodes, George, Belief in God (NY: Random House, 1970).
A very important philosophical work.
Mackie, J. L., The Miracle of Theism (
Press, 1982). Atheist critiques the theistic arguments.
Miethe, Terry, and Flew,
Moreland, J. P., and Nielsen, K., Does God Exist? (
Nelson, 1990). Debate between a thoughtful
traditional apologist and a famous atheist philosopher.
Responses by Kreeft, Flew, Craig, Parsons, Willard.
Swinburne, Richard, The Existence of God (
1979). Swinburne is a respected philosopher of religion,
defender of theism.
Evidence For Christianity, Especially the Resurrection
See also General Works on Apologetics, above.
pamphlet.
Craig,
Servant Books, 1981).
Lapide, Pinchas, The Resurrection of Jesus: a Jewish Perspective (Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1983). Lapide is a Jewish rabbi, who concluded that Jesus was actually raised from the dead. Lapide, however, accepted Jesus only as a prophet, not as the Messiah or the Son of God.
McDowell, Josh, The Resurrection Factor (San Bernardino: Here's Life, 1981).
Miethe, Terry, ed., Did Jesus Rise From the Dead? (
1987). A dialogue between evangelical Gary Habermas and well-known
atheist philosopher Anthony Flew. Habermas wins the debate, in my
opinion.
Osborne, Grant, The Resurrection Narratives: A Redactional Study (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1984). Careful and detailed analyses of the texts, supporting their integrity and reliability.
The Problem of Evil
See also works listed under General Apologetics, above.
Adams , Jay, The Grand Demonstration: A
Biblical Study of the
So-called
Problem of Evil (
1991). I offered some criticisms of this in AGG,
which
I think this is one of the better books on the subject.
Adams, Marilyn McCord, and Adams, Robert M., ed., The Problem of
Evil (Oxford: OUP, 1990).
Feinberg, John, Theologies and Evil (Lanham: Univ. Press
of
Frame, John, Doctrine of God (
Geisler,
Gerstner, John, The Problem of Pleasure (P&R, 1983). Building
on the Reformed doctrine of the Fall, Gerstner argues
that the real problem is this: Why should God allow
fallen sinners to have any pleasure at all?
A process
philosopher,
blameless because he is not sovereign. See Frame's
review in Calvin Theological Journal 27:2 (Nov., 1992),
435-38.
Hick, John, Evil and the God of Love. Advocates Irenaean
"soul-making" theodicy.
1959). Evangelical.
Lewis, C. S., The Problem of Pain (Macmillan, 1957). Classic;
excellently written.
Mavrodes, George, Belief in God (NY: Random House, 1970).
Peterson, Michael, ed., The Problem of Evil: Selected
(Notre Dame: UND Press, 1992). Classic selections by
ancient and modern writers.
Tada, Joni Eareckson, and Estes, Steven, When God Weeps (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1997). 19.99. 254. H.
Wenham, John, The Enigma of Evil (Zondervan, 1985). Evangelical.
Whitney, Barry L., What Are They Saying About God and Evil?
(NY: Paulist Press, 1989). 5.95. 134. p.
Philosophy: see course in History of Philosophy and Christian Thought
Islam (Thanks to Bill Davis, Steve Hays, and others)
Abdul-Haqq, Abdiyah Akbar,
Sharing Your Faith with a Muslim, Bethany Fellowship Inc.,
Campbell, William, The
Qur'an and the Bible: In the light of history and science, Arab World
Ministries, Middle East Resources,
Clouse, Robert G., War: 4
Christian Views, InterVarsity Press,
Elder, John, The Biblical
Approach to the Muslim, Published by Worldwide Evangelization Crusade, Fort
Washington, PA 19034, 1978, pages 136.
Goldsmith, Martin, Islam
& Christian Witness: Sharing the Faith with Muslims, InterVarsity Press,
Ghaffari, Ebrahim,
Strategies for Sharing the Gospel with Muslim University Students in the U.S.,
Iranian Christians International, Inc., P.O. Box 25607, Colorado Springs, CO
80936.
Hamada, Louis Bahjat,
Understanding the Arab World, Thomas Nelson Publishers,
Hanna, Mark. The True Path (Int. Doorways Pub.,
1977). A biography of seven Muslim
converts to Christianity. Popular
reading level.
Livingstone, Greg,
Margoliouth, D.S. Mohammed
and the Rise of Islam (C.P. Putnam's Sons, 1931). This is my favor treatment of the subject. Margoliouth was a Messianic Jew—the son of a
rabbi. He was a great linguist and
philologist who taught Islamic studies at
McDowell, Bruce A., and
Zaka, Anees, Muslims and Christians at the Table (Phillipsburg: P&R, 1999).
McDowell, Josh, and
Gilchrist, John, The Islam Debate (San Bernardino: Here's Life, 1983). With
transcript of debate between McDowell and Ahmed Deedat.
Miller, William McElwee, Ten
Muslims Meet Christ, Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1969,
reprinted 1987, ISBN 0-8028-1304-6, pages 147.
__________, A Christian's
Response to Islam, Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company,
__________, My Persian
Pilgrimage, William Carey Library,
Morey, Robert, The Islamic
Invasion (Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 1992). Somewhat uneven, but the theology
is Reformed, and his critique packs a punch. Lots of useful material here.
Muhammad, translated and
commentary by Ali, Abdullah Yusuf, The Holy Qur'an, Published by Tahrike
Tarsile Qur'an Inc., Elmhurst, New York.
Nazir-Ali, Michael. Islam: a Christian Perspective (
Rasooli, Jay M. & Allen,
Cady H., Dr. Sa'eed of
Sheikh, Bilquis &
Schneider, Richard, I Dared to Call Him Father, Published by Chosen Books,
Revell Company, Tarrytown, New York, ISBN 0-8007-9071-5, pages 173.
Shorrosh, Anis A., Islam
Revealed: A Christian's Arab's View of Islam, Thomas Nelson Publishers,
Sweetman, J.W. Islam and Christian
Theology (
Uncle Bill, Your Muslim
Guest: A Practical Guide in Friendship and Witness of Christians who Meet
Muslims, Published by Fellowship of Faith for Muslims
Watt, W.
Wickwire, Daniel E., A
Theological Source Book for Missionaries,
www.answeringislam.org
Science
Behe, Michael
L.,
Bube, Richard, ed., The Encounter Between Christianity and
Science (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1968). 5.95. 318. h.
Clark, Gordon H., The Philosophy of Science and Belief in God
(Nutley: Craig Press, 1964). 95. p.
Davidheiser,
--, Science and the Bible (
Baker, 1971). 3.95. 121. h.
--, To Be As God: The Goals of Modern Science (Nutley: P&R, 1977). 1.50. 41. P.
Adler and Adler, 1986). 368. h.
Dooyeweerd,
Herman, The Secularization of Science (
Glymour, Clark,
Theory and Evidence (Princeton:
1980). 383. p. Critique of Kuhn.
Gutting,
Press, 1980). 7.95. 339. p. Discussions of Kuhn.
Hempel, Carl
G., Fundamentals of Concept Formation in Empirical Science (
Hooykaas, R., Religion and the Rise of Modern Science (Grand
Rapids: Eerdmans, 1972). 3.50. 162. p. Shows that Christianity had a positive impact on the development of science.
Jaki, Stanley L., Angels, Apes, and Men (La Salle, IL: Sherwood, Sugden, and Co., 1983). 128. P.
--, "Censorship in Science," in The Intercollegiate Review 21:2 (Winter, 1985-86, 41-49.
--, "Einstein and the Absolute Beneath the Relative," in The Intercollegiate Review 20:3 (Spring/Summer, 1985), 29-38. P. Roman Catholic scientist-priest has a lot of insight into Christian epistemology.
Johnson,
Phillip E., Darwin on Trial (
Gateway, 1991). 19.95. 195. h.
--, Defeating Darwinism (1997).
--, Reason in the Balance (Downers Grove: IVP, 1995).
Klotz, John W., Genes, Genesis and Evolution (St. Louis: Concordia, 1955). 575. H. Useful older work by a Lutheran.
Kuhn, Thomas,
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (
Lakatos, Imre, and Musgrave, Alan, ed., Criticism and the
Growth of Knowledge (Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1970). 282. P. Discussions of Kuhn.
Lester, Lane P., and Bohlin, Raymond G., The Natural Limits to Biological Change (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1984). 207. P.
Maatman, Russell W., The Bible, Natural Science, and Evolution (Grand Rapids: Reformed Fellowship, 1970). 3.50. 165. P.
Mill, John Stuart, John Stuart Mill's Philosophy of Scientific Method (NY: Hafner, 1950). 461. P.
Moreland, J. P., Christianity and the Nature of Science
(Grand Rapids: Baker, 1989). 263. p.
Morris, Henry M., Biblical Catastrophism and Geology (Phila.: P&R, 1963). 14. P.
--, Biblical Cosmology and Modern Science (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1970). 2.50. 146. P.
--, A Biblical Manual on Science and Creation (Nutley: Craig Press, 1972). 1.50. 80. P.
--, Evolution and the Modern Christian (Philadelphia: P&R, 1967). 1.00. 72. P. 2 copies.
--,
ed., Scientific Creationism (
--, Studies in the Bible and Science (Phila.: P&R, 1966). 3.50. 186. H.
--, The Twilight of Evolution (Phila.: P&R, 1964). 1.50. 103. P.
--, and Patten, Donald, ed., A Symposium on Creation (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1968). 4 vols., around 150 pp./vol. 1.95.
--, and Whitcomb, John C., The Genesis Flood (Phila.: P&R, 1961). Morris is the founder of the Institute for Creation Research. His books, and those of others from the institute, are vigorously criticized by many scientists, some Christians among them. There are other Christian approaches to these issues. But the work of ICR cannot be neglected.
Newman, Robert C., and Eckelmann, Herman J., Genesis One and the Age of the Earth (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1977, 1981). 4.95. 153. P.
North, Gary, Is the World Running Down? (Tyler, TX: ICE, 1988).
345. h.
Numbers, Ronald L., "‘Sciences of Satanic Origin': Adventist Attitudes Toward Evolutionary Biology and Geology," Spectrum 9:4, 17-30. P. Documents the Seventh-Day Adventist influence upon "Creation Science."
Polkinghorne, John, Reason and Reality: The Relationship Between Science and Theology (London: SPCK, 1991).
--, Quarks, Chaos, and Christianity
Poythress,
Vern, Science and Hermeneutics (
Zondervan, 1988). 184. p. 2 copies.
Ramm, Bernard, The Christian View of Science and Scripture
(Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1956). 368. 3.20. h. Useful methodological points. Argues for "progressive creationism."
1986). 6.95. 165. p. Allows for theistic evolution.
Reymond, Robert L., A Christian View of Modern Science (Nutley: P&R, 1974). 30. P.
Ross, Hugh, Beyond the Cosmos (NavPress, 1999).
--, Creation and Time (NavPress, 1994).
--, The Creator and the Cosmos (NavPress, 1995, 2001).
--, The Fingerprint of God (Whitaker House, 2000).
--, The Genesis Debate: Three Views (Crux Press, 2000).
--, The Genesis Question. Ross is an old earth creationist with a high view of Scripture and an impressive knowledge of science. He claims that every day there is a new discovery confirming the teaching of Scripture. Has some interesting ideas about multidimensionality. See his periodical, Facts for Faith, web site www.reasons.org.
Rushdoony,
Rousas J., The Mythology of Science (
Craig Press, 1967). 134. p.
Van Till, Howard, Young, Davis, Menninga, Clarence, Science Held
Hostage (Downers Grove: IVP, 1988). 187. p. Against Creation Science.
Verbrugge, Magnus, Alive (Vallecito: Ross House, 1984). 159. P. Dooyeweerd's son-in-law, a urologist, attacks the notion that life could have come from nonlife.
Wilder-Smith, A. E., The Creation of Life (Wheaton: Harold Shaw, 1970). 5.95. 269. H.
--, Man's Origin, Man's Destiny (Wheaton: Harold Shaw, 1968). 5.95. 320. H.
--, The Natural Sciences Know Nothing of Evolution (San Diego: Master Books, 1981). 166. P. Creationism.
Wilson, Clifford A., and McKeon, Donald, The Language Gap (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1984). 208. P.
--, Rocks, Relics, and Biblical Reliability (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1977). 141. P.
Young, Davis A., Creation and the Flood (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1977). 6.95. 217. H.
Culture, the Arts
Begbie, Jeremy, Voicing Creation's Praise (interesting thoughts on Christianity and music).
Billingsley,
Keith, The Seductive Image (
Crossway, 1989). 7.95. 236. p. A Christian discussion of film.
Bloom, Allan, The Closing of the American Mind (NY: Simon and Schuster,
1987).
Brunner, Emil, Christianity and Civilization (NY: 1948).
Calvin, John, Institutes of the Christian Religion, various editions. 3.6-10.
Carter, Stephen L., The Culture of Disbelief (Basic Books, 1992?).
Cochrane, Charles N., Christianity and Classical Culture.
Dawn, Marva, Reaching Out Without Dumbing Down (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995). Critique of contemporary worship as a compromise with secular culture.
Dooyeweerd,
Herman, Roots of Western Culture (
1979). 228.p.
Drew, Donald, Images of Man (Downers Grove: IVP, 1974).
2.95. 121. p. Film.
Edgar, William, Taking Note of Music (London: SPCK, 1986).
Eliot, T. S., The Idea of a Christian Society (NY: 1940).
--, Christianity and Culture (NY: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1968).
Ellul, Jacques, The Humiliation of the Word (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1985).
--, The Technological Society (NY: Knopf, 1964).
Frame, John, Contemporary Worship Music: A Biblical Defense (Phillipsburg: P&R, 1997). Defends CWM against some Christian critics of culture. Argues that CWM is not a capitulation to a debased culture.
Groothuis,
Douglas, Confronting the New Age (
IVP, 1988). 230. p.
‑‑, Unmasking the New Age (Downers Grove: IVP, 1986).
192. p.
Guinness, Os, Dining With the Devil (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1993).
113. p.
‑‑, The Dust of Death (Downers Grove: IVP, 1973).
4.95, 419. p.
‑‑, and Seel, John, ed., No God But God: Breaking
With the Idols of Our Age (
1992). 223. h.
Hart, Darryl G., "What Can Presbyterians Learn from Lutherans?" Logia 8.4
(Reformation, 1999), 3-8. Two kingdoms.
Hegeman, David Bruce, Plowing in Hope: Toward a Biblical Theology of Culture
(Moscow, ID: Canon Press, 1999).
Henry, Carl F. H., ed., Quest for Reality: Christianity and the
Counter Culture (Downers Grove: IVP, 1973). 161. p.
Horton, Michael, "Defining the Two Kingdoms: One of Luther's and Calvin's
Great Discoveries," Modern Reformation (Sept.-Oct., 2000).
--, Where in the World is the Church?
Hutchison, John A., Faith, Reason and Existence (NY: 1956).
Jellema, Roderick, Peter De Vries: A Critical Essay (Grand
Rapids: Eerdmans, 1966). 48. p.
Jones, Douglas, and Wilson, Douglas, Angels in the Architecture: a Protestant Vision for Middle Earth (Moscow, ID: Canon Press, 1998).
Jones, Peter, The Gnostic Empire Strikes Back (Phila.:
P&R, 1992). 5.55. 112. p. 2 copies.
--, Spirit Wars (Escondido: Main Entry, 1997).
Kelley, Michael, "The Modernity Monster," negative review of books by David Wells, Contra Mundum 15, 68-73.
Kennedy, D. James, and Newcombe, Jerry, What If Jesus Had Never Been Born? (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1994). Shows many of the good ways in which the gospel has affected culture.
Kuyper,
Abraham, Lectures on Calvinism (
1931). 3.00. 199. h.
Lasch, Christopher, The Culture of Narcissism (NY: Warner Books, 1979).
Lawhead, Steve, Rock Reconsidered (Downers Grove: IVP, 1981).
4.25. 156.p.
‑‑,Turn Back the Night (
1985). 5.55. 180. p.
Lewis, C. S., The Abolition of Man (NY: Macmillan, 1947).
--, An Experiment in Criticism (NY: Cambridge University Press, 1961).
--, Of Other Worlds: Essays and Stories (NY: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1966).
--, They Asked For a Paper: Papers and Addresses (London: Geoffrey Bles, 1962).
--, The Weight of Glory and Other Addresses (NY: Macmillan, 1980).
Machen, J.
Gresham, "Christianity and Culture,"
Medved,
Michael,
1992). 20.00. 386. h.
Meeter, H. Henry, The Basic Ideas of Calvinism (Grand Rapids: Guardian Press, 1939, 1956).
Murray, John, "Common Grace," in Collected Writings II (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1976).
Myers, Ken, All God's Children and Blue Suede Shoes: Christians and Popular Culture (Wheaton: Crossway, 1989). Includes extensive bibliography. Interesting, but overgeneralizes to a preposterous extent.
Niebuhr, H. Richard, Christ and Culture (NY: Harper, 1951) 1.45.
259. p.
Norland, Rory, The Heart of the Artist: A Character-Building Guide for You and Your Worship Team (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1999).
Postman, Neil, Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business (NY: Viking, 1985).
Poythress, Vern S., "Counterfeiting in the Book of Revelation as a Perspective on Non-Christian Culture," Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 40.3 (Sept., 1997), 411-418.
Romanowski, William D., Dancing in the Dark: Youth, Popular Culture, and the Christian Media
--, Eyes Wide Open: Looking for God in Popular Culture (2001)
--, Pop Culture Wars: Religion and the Role of Entertainment in American Life.
--, Risky Business: Rock in Film.
Rookmaaker,
Hans R., Art Needs No Justification (
IVP, 1978). 1.95. 61. p.
‑‑, The Creative Gift (Westchester: Cornerstone, 1981).
172. p.
‑‑, Modern Art and the Death of a Culture (Downers
Grove: IVP, 1970). 254. p.
Ryken, Leland. The Christian Imagination (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1981).
--, Culture in Christian Perspective (Portland: Multnomah Press, 1986).
Sandlin, P.
Andrew, "The ‘Two-Kingdom' Lutheran Calvinism,"
Schaeffer, Francis A., The God Who is There (Downers Grove: IVP, 1968).
--, How Shall We Then Live? (Old Tappan, NJ: Revell, 1976).
Schaeffer,
Frank, Addicted to Mediocrity (
Cornerstone, 1981). 3.95. 127. p.
Schilder, Klass, Christ and Culture (Winnipeg: Premier, 1977).
Schlossberg,
Herbert, Idols for Destruction (
1983). 8.95. 344. p.
‑‑, same (Washington: Regnery Gateway, 1990). 10.95. 344.
p.
Schultze,
Quentin J., Redeeming Television (
1992). 198. p.
Seerveld, Calvin, A Christian Critique of Art and Literature
(Toronto: AACS, 1964). 127. p.
Tillich,
Paul, The Protestant Era (
--, Theology of Culture.
Van Riessen, H., The Society of the Future (Phila.: P&R, 1957).
Van Til, Henry,
The Calvinistic Concept of Culture (
Baker, 1959, 72). 3.95. 245. p.
Veith, Gene Edward, "Christianity and Culture: God's Double Sovereignty," The Whirlpool (Jan-Feb., 1997), 1-10. At http://alliancenet.org/pub/mr/mr97/1997.01.JanFeb/mr9701.gev.christianity.html. Two Kingdoms.
Wells, David, God in the Wasteland (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1994).
--, Losing Our Virtue (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998).
--,
Wolterstorff,
Nicholas, Art in Action (
1980). 240. p.
Postmodernism
Allen, Diogenes, Christian Belief in a Postmodern World
(
1989). 238. p.
Altizer, Thomas, et al., Deconstruction and Theology (NY: Crossroad, 1982). 14.95. 178. H.
Anderson, Walter Truett, Reality Isn't What It Used to Be (San Francisco: Harper, 1990).
Burnham, Frederic B., ed., Postmodern Theology: Christian Faith in a Pluralist World (NY: Harper, 1989).
Cahoone, Lawrence, ed., From Modernism to
Postmodernism: an Anthology (
Derrida, Jacques, Writing and Difference (London and NY: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1978).
Dockery, David S., ed., The Challenge of Postmodernism
(Wheaton: Victor Books, 1995). 428. p.
Edgar, William, "No News is Good News," WTJ (Fall, 1995), 359-82. Good intro. by knowledgeable Van Tillian.
Grenz, Stanley J., A Primer on Postmodernism (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996). Probably the best general introduction to the subject, but I would be more critical of the postmodern movement.
Gunton, Colin, The One, the Three, and the Many: God, Creation, and the
Culture of Modernity (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983).
Harvey, David, The Condition of Postmodernity (Oxford: Blackwell, 1989).
Lundin, Roger, The Culture of Interpretation (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1993).
Lyotard, Jean-Francois, The Postmodern Condition (Minneapolis: Univ. of Minnesota Press, 1984).
--, The Postmodern Explained (Minneapolis and London: University of Minnesota Press, 1992).
McCallum, Dennis, ed., The Death of Truth (Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1996). Postmodernism.
McHale, Brian, Constructing Postmodernism (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1992).
Middleton, J. Richard, and Walsh, Brian J., Truth is Stranger than it Used to Be (Downers Grove: IVP, 1995). Christians who are more friendly than most toward some postmodern ideas.
Murphy, Nancey, and McClendon, James W., "Distinguishing Modern and Postmodern Theologies," in Modern Theology 5:3 (April, 1989), 191-214.
Phillips, Timothy R., and Okholm, Dennis, Christian Apologetics in the Postmodern World (Downers Grove: IVP, 1995).
Taylor, Mark, Deconstructing Theology (NY: Crossroad, 1982).
Tilley, John, Postmodern Theologies (NY: Orbis, 1994).
Web Sites
1. http://www.apologeticsresctr.org/
Craig Branch's ministry, with Steve Cowan and others.
Covenant Media Foundation. They supply writings of the late Greg Bahnsen and others, and you can read a lot of Bahnsen's articles on this site. Bahnsen was a strong Van Tillian and an impressive apologist.
3. http://iidb.org/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi
These are the "internet infidels." They have a discussion forum, and you can find non-Christians here who might be willing to dialogue with you for your paper assignment.
4. http://thirdmill.org
Rich Pratt's web site, with a world vision for Christian education. Posts articles on many different subjects. Discussion forum. See also www.reformedperspectives.org, which posts the magazine articles and hosts the "Hall of Frame." The Hall contains excellent student papers from Frame courses and also the supplementary papers for this and other Frame courses. Another sub-site of Thirdmill is www.reformedanswers.org, which posts answers to a lot of theological and apologetic questions. J. Frame and Ra McLaughlin are among the responders.
Lots of information about Van Til, articles about him from people like Bahnsen, Frame, Pratt, Hays, Welty, and others, along with Van Til himself. Includes Eric Bristley's comprehensive bibliography of Van Til's writings.
6.
www.jamesagibson.com/notes/vantilfiles/van_til_files.htm
Learned
discussions about the finer points of Van Til's apologetic.
7. http://www.apologetics.com/default.jsp
Robert Bowman's web site. He has some sympathy for presuppositionalism, but has a fairly broad reach methodologically. Lots of good stuff.
David Hall founded this site, the "Center for the Advancement of Paleo-Orthodoxy." These folks are conservative Presbyterians. Part of their site is "the Van Til Institute for Apologetics."
This is the Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry, started by my former student Matt Slick. Some good material here.
The Center for Reformed Theology and Apologetics, founded by Jon Barlow. Oriented toward Presuppositionalism.
11. http://www.reasons.org/index.shtml
This is the web site of Hugh Ross, the Christian astronomer who has written and lectured broadly on scientific matters. I think he's one of the most impressive figures writing today on Christianity/Science issues. An old-earth creationist, anti-evolution.
12. http://www.csc.twu.ca/byl/
John Byl here
analyzes a number of scientific, mathematical, and logical arguments dealing
with Christian theism. A bit abstruse to those not into these disciplines, but
he is a very sharp and edifying thinker.
James White's Apologetics Blog.
14. http://www.spirit-wars.com/
Peter Jones' CWIPP: Christian Witness to a Pagan Planet. The author of Spirit Wars argues that modern western culture is awash in pagan thinking similar to ancient Gnosticism. He has done a lot of good research on Gnosticism, modern culture, and the Scriptures.
15. http://www.faithdefenders.com/main.html
Faith Defenders, Bob Morey's ministry. He has written on cults and various theological-apologetic issues, has lately focused on Islam and has drawn death threats.
16. http://www.faithquest.com/
Contains materials from contemporary Christian philosophers, among others.
Useful articles in a number of fields including apologetics. The apologetics material includes some presuppositional resources.
The "Sola Scriptura" site. Articles on apologetics and other subjects.
20. http://www.trinityfoundation.org/reviews/last.asp
John Robbins runs the Trinity Foundation site. He is a fanatical disciple of Gordon H. Clark, and the site spends much of its space trashing people that deserve much better treatment. I have no confidence in Robbins as a writer, but this site contains a lot of information about Gordon H. Clark who was, in my judgment, one of the best apologists of the twentieth century.
21. http://triablogue.blogspot.com/
Many articles by Steve Hays, Ryan McReynolds, and others.
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