Posts tagged ‘Apologetics’

January 1, 2019

Man Asks, God Answers

Man Asks God Answers CoverBook Description

What Questions Would You Ask God?

Through the centuries, human beings have wrestled with many difficult questions. Some call these the “ultimate questions,” for they defy easy answers, even for those who search diligently. Some of these questions include: “Is there a God?” “Is God in Control?” “Where did evil come from?” and “Why do bad things happen to good people?” It is possible to find answers to these questions?

Craig R. Brown affirms that there are answers to the ultimate questions, but it is impossible for man to find them through his own reasoning. Instead, he must set aside his self-reliance and look to God with an openness to accept the answers He provides.

In Man Asks, God Answers, Brown presents God’s answers to seven of life’s toughest questions. In straightforward, direct language, he tells his readers what the Bible has to say regarding the above questions and others. These thought-provoking answers will set the open-minded reader on a path toward a new way of investigating truth – one that relies on the source of truth itself – and toward answers that bring satisfaction and joy.

Table of Contents:

Preface: The Answers to Seven of Life’s Toughest Questions

Is There a God and Is He in Control?
How Do I Get to Heaven?
How Should I Live My Life on the Earth?
What is the Purpose of Prayer and Evangelism?
Where Did Evil Come From?
Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People?
What Happens to Babies Who Die?
Conclusion: What Ties All This Together?

About the Author

Craig R. Brown holds a degree in business administration from Geneva College and is the president and CEO of Renaissance Nutrition, Inc. He has served as a ruling elder in both the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and the Presbyterian Church in America.

Source: Reformation Heritage Books

 

January 23, 2017

The Book of Job and “The Problem of Evil” (Job 1:12)

20170101-acts-02_23-24-memeOn Sunday, January 1, 2017, Pastor Joe Troutman preached “The Book of Job and the Problem of Evil” from Job 1:12.

God is in sovereign control of all that happens, and all that happens brings glory to his name and good to his people.

1. The Problem of Pain—Pain is often the thing that brings us to the end of ourselves and drives us to Christ.

2. Not By A Bare Permission—Your present suffering God will use for his glory and your good if you trust in him, although you may never be freed from your suffering in this life.

3. God’s Solution to the Problem—Jesus Christ came to suffer so that you would not have to endure eternal suffering.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN to “The Book of Job and the Problem of Evil” (Job 1:12)

November 9, 2016

An Introduction to Systematic Theology

intro-to-systematic-theology-coverStatus: Available

Book Description

The theological foundations of Van Til’s defense of the faith are set forth here as the unified system of truth to which believers are committed and with which nonbelievers need to be confronted.

Writes Van Til: “The Christian faith as a whole, as a unit, must be set over against the non-Christian faith as a whole. Piecemeal apologetics is inadequate, especially for out time. A Christian totality picture requires a Christian view of the methodology of science and philosophy, as well as a Christian view of theology.”

Thus Van Til explores the implications of Christian theology, particularly for philosophy, as he discusses epistemology, general and special revelation, and the knowledge and attributes of God.

Cornelius Van Til taught apologetics for more than forty-five years at Westminster Theological Seminary. This newly edited and typeset edition features an introduction and explanatory notes by William Edgar.

Cornelius Van Til

Cornelius Van Til

About the Author

Obituary: Cornelius Van Til–April 18, 1987

Dr. Cornelius Van Til, for 43 years professor of apologetics at Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, and emeritus professor there since his retirement in 1972, died at the age of 91 on April 17, 1987. After an illness of several months, death came peacefully at his long-time residence near the campus. A memorial service will be held at Calvary Orthodox Presbyterian Church, Glenside, PA (where he worshipped for the last 40 years) on Wednesday, April 29, 8:00 pm.

Van Til was born on May 3, 1895, in Grootegast, The Netherlands. He was the sixth son of Ite and Klazina Van Til, who emigrated to the United States when “Kees,” as he was known to friends, was 10. He grew up helping on the family farm in Highland, Indiana. He went on to receive an advanced education when he saw the need to meet unbelief on its own ground and in the most thorough terms. Years later he said, “Study was not easy for me. Having grown up on the farm I was used to weeding onions and carrots and cabbages. It was hard to adjust to classroom work; I had labored physically and my body was aching for that.” He was married to Rena Klooster in 1925 and they had one son, Earl, who died in 1983. Van Til is survived by a grand-daughter, Sharon Reed of Valencia, PA.

He was graduated from Calvin College (A.B., 1922), Princeton Theological Seminary (Th.B., 1924; Th.M., 1925) and Princeton University (Ph.D. 1927). He served as the pastor of the Christian Reformed Church in Spring Lake, MI, 1927-28 and was instructor of apologetics at Princeton Theological Seminary, 1928-29. He was professor of apologetics at Westminster, 1929-72. He held an honorary professorship at the University of Debrecen, Hungary, in 1938; the Th.D. (honoris causa) from the University of Potchefstroom, South Africa; and the D.D. from Reformed Episcopal Seminary, Philadelphia.

He was a minister in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church from 1936 until his death. Van Til was also instrumental in the founding of Philadelphia-Montgomery Christian Academy, serving as the president of the board. Begun in September 1942, the school now has over 700 students, K-12, on campuses in three Philadelphia communities: Roxborough, Dresher and Erdenheim.

Van Til’s published writings include The New Modernism (Presbyterian & Reformed, 1946), The Defense of the Faith (P&R, 1955) and Christianity and Barthianism (P&R, 1962), plus several syallabi and numerous reviews and articles. He was joint editor of Philosophia Reformata, a quarterly devoted to Calvinistic philosophy. A festschrift, Jerusalem and Athens, edited by E. R. Geehan with contributions by Hendrik G. Stoker, Herman Dooyeweerd, J. I. Packer, Paul K. Jewett, Arthur Holmes and others, was published on his 75th birthday (P&R, 1971).

He is perhaps best known for the development of a fresh approach to the task of defending the Christian faith. Although trained in traditional methods he drew on the insights of fellow Calvinistic philosophers Vollenhoven and Dooyeweerd to formulate a more consistently Christian methodology. His apologetic focused on the role of presuppositions, the point of contact between believers and unbelievers, and the antithesis between Christian and non-Christian worldviews.

In an interview with Christianity Today (December 30, 1977) he said, “There are two ways of defending the faith. One of these begins from man as self-sufficient and works up to God, while the other begins from the triune God of the Scriptures and relates all things to him. . . . The traditional ideas of trying to find some neutral, common ground on which the believer and unbeliever can stand are based on the notion that man is autonomous . . . [yet] Paul says, all men, knowing God, hold down this knowledge in unrighteousness. . . . [This knowledge] is the only basis man has on which he can stand, to know himself, to find the facts of his world and learn how to relate them to one another. Without the Creator-God-Redeemer of Scripture the universe would resemble an infinite number of beads with no holes in any of them, yet which must all be strung by an infinitely long string.”

One of Van Til’s students, T. Grady Spires, now professor of philosophy at Gordon College, Wenham MA, says of him, “Every student of Van Til can instantly recall the characteristic Van Tillian blackboard graffiti: the foremost symbols being two circles, a big one for the creator, the other for creation with no ontological bridge between. The entire history of philosophy or Christian thought, including most heresy, would be strewn in names and phrases across the board. . . . The consumption of chalk and the whir of ideas were symptomatic of an excitement generated not from brilliant eruditions, though some of his skyrocketing digressions could be called that, but from the strong and systematic emphasis on the antithesis between a biblical world and life view and the several intellectual scientific versions of the carnal mind. Students began to see how far-reaching were the differences between believer and non-believer.”

Source: The Works of Cornelius Van Til, 1895-1987 (electronic ed.).
Copyright © Eric H. Sigward 1997

410 Pages
Publisher: P&R Publishing Company
Publication Date: 2007
ISBN 10: 0875527892
ISBN 13: 9780875527895

Library patrons who have read this book are invited to share their comments, reviews, questions or criticisms for discussion in the comments below this post.

November 8, 2016

Paul’s Two-Age Construction and Apologetics

pauls-two-age-construction-coverStatus: Available

Book Description

“A revised version of Dennison’s TM. M. thesis in Apologetics directed by Harvie Conn and presented to the faculty of Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia (1985). The volume, which is dedicated to Cornelius Van Til, argues that Paul (incorporating the Vos-Ridderbos-Gaffin model of interpreting the Apostle) used the eschatological two-age construction as the framework for a Christian apologetic. After surveying Plato’s writings and Jewish apocalyptic literature as background to discussing the topic, it analyzes Paul’s formulation of the two-age construction, considers antithetical wisdom in I Corinthians 1-3, and reflects upon the apologetic significance of the two ages in the context of the writings of the Apostle Paul, Vos, and Van Til.”

img_3245

Dr. William D. Dennison

About the Author

William D. Dennison is presently Associate Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies at Covenant College on Lookout Mountain, GA. He received his Ph.D. from Michigan State University in Interdisciplinary Studies (Theology, Philosophy, History) in 1992. He received both a Masters of Theology (1980) and Masters of Divinity (1976) degree from Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, PA. He received his undergraduate degree in Bible and Philosophy from Geneva College in 1973. Dr. Dennison is also a teaching elder in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church.

130 Pages
Publisher: Wipf & Stock
Publication Date: 1985
ISBN: 1579104355

Library patrons who have read this book are invited to share their comments, reviews, questions or criticisms for discussion in the comments below this post.

October 13, 2016

Proof Positive (John 20:11-18)

Podcast Art JohnOn Sunday, October 2, 2016, Pastor Joe Troutman preached “Proof Positive” from John 20:11-18.

Just as Mary testified to the resurrection of Jesus, we the church must also testify, and God will use us as he used her and others in the early church, to draw sinners to himself.

1. Messengers of Hope—The presence of the angels hints at the fact that Jesus’s tomb is empty because he rose from death and walked out.

2. Whom Are You Seeking?—Do you seek one to take away your earthly problems, or a Savior and Lord who saves you from the wrath of his Father for your sins?

3. I Have Seen the Lord—If God can use Mary and the early church to testify to Christ’s resurrection and ascension, then he can use you, too.

Listen to “Proof Positive” (John 20:11-18) at mcopc.org.

June 16, 2016

Through Their Word (John 17:20-26)

Sermons JohnOn Sunday, June 12, 2016, Pastor Joe Troutman preached “Through Their Word” from John 17:20-26.

“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”
Jesus Christ unifies us, he secures us, he sanctifies us, and he sends us out by his word.

You and all members of Christ’s church must diligently preserve and pass along the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.

1. Those Who Will Believe
2. That the World May Believe
3. I Made Known to Them

Listen to “Through Their Word” (John 17:20-26) at mcopc.org.

February 1, 2016

The Battle Belongs to the Lord:The Power of Scripture for Defending Our Faith

Battle Belongs to the Lord CoverStatus: Available

Publisher’s Description

Apologetics is not just for philosophers. We all need wisdom for defending our faith. This book equips us to answer unbelief by means of our most powerful weapon.

Hoping “to get us to open our Bibles again when we think about apologetics,” K. Scott Oliphint probes six Scripture texts on the subject. He summarizes their message as follows:

Since Christ is Lord, and the battle is his, we are always ready to contend for the faith once for all delivered to the saints.

We are to use the weapons, not of this world, but of the Lord.

We are to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ as we demolish the arguments, with gentleness and reverence, of those who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, exchanging the truth of God for a lie, worshipping created things, rather than the Creator.

Includes study questions for each chapter.

Oliphint K Scott

Dr. K. Scott Oliphint

About the Author

 

K. Scott Oliphint is Professor of Apologetics at Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia. He is the leading authority on Van Tillian Apologetics. He is author of Reasons for Faith: Philosophyin the Service of Theology, The Consistency of Van Til’s Methodology,Cornelius Van Til and the Reformation of Christian Apologetics; coauthorof Christian Apologetics Past and Present: A Primary Source Reader, If I Should Die Before I Wake: Help for Those Who Hope for Heaven, Things That Cannot Be Shaken: Holding Fast to Your Faith in a Relativistic World, and editor of Justified in Christ: God’s Plan for Us in Justification, and The Defense of the Faith, 4th Edition.

208 Pages

Publisher: P&R Publishing Company
Publication Date: December 2003

ISBN 10: 087552561X
ISBN 13: 9780875525617

Source: WTS Books

January 27, 2016

In Defense of the Eschaton: Essays in Reformed Apologetics

Status: Checked Out

In Defense of the Eschaton CoverBook Description

In Defense of the Eschaton is an anthology of William D. Dennison’s essays on the Reformed apologetics of Cornelius Van Til. Written over the course of Dennison’s many years of study, the chapters in this volume investigate Van Til’s theory of knowledge, revelation, common grace, antithesis, Christian education, and the history of ideas, as well as examine key Scriptures to identify the redemptive-historical structure of a biblical apologetic method.

In the end, Dennison finds that Reformed apologetics must take eschatology seriously. According to the New Testament, the believer has been transferred by faith in Christ into the final stage of history. As a citizen of heaven, the Christian apologist must defend the eschaton of the age to come against the satanic attacks of this present world.

About the Author

William Dennison

Dr. William Dennison

William D. Dennison (MDiv, ThM, Westminster Theological Seminary; PhD, Michigan State University) is Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies at Covenant College and Visiting Professor of Apologetics and Systematic Theology at Northwest Theological Seminary. He is the author of Paul’s Two-Age Construction and Apologetics (Wipf and Stock, 2000), A Christian Approach to Interdisciplinary Studies (Wipf and Stock, 2007), The Young Bultmann (Peter Lang, 2008), and Karl Marx (P&R, forthcoming).

About the Editor

James Douglas Baird (BA, Covenant College) is Content Strategist at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. He was the founding Head Editor of the online philosophy journal, Mountaintop Thoughts, and is a contributor to Reformed Forum.

Paperback, 238
Publisher: Wipf and Stock
Publication Date: October 2015

ISBN 10: 1498226337
ISBN 13: 9781498226332

November 5, 2015

B.B. Warfield Memorial Lecture Series (Anthology CD)

Warfield Lectures CDStatus: Available

CD Description

Throughout the history of the Church, the great doctrines of the faith were forged in the fires of debate as in Pelagius & Augustine, Luther & Erasmus, Calvin & Eck, and Whitefield & Wesley. The goal of this debate and lecture series is to promote the exchange and examination of the great historic doctrines of the Church; foster a corporate sense of the relevance of the Christian faith and Reformed theology to our culture; and challenge the individual believer to connect with the historic Christian faith and the Church.

Messages from the B.B. Warfield Memorial Lecture series feature the following topics:

Pentecost and the Work of the Holy Spirit Today by Richard Gaffin
Spurgeon, Lloyd-Jones, and Edwards by Iain Murray
Revival and Revivalism by Iain Murray
A Biblical Theology of Worship by Daniel Block
Unsought Gifts: Christian Suffering by Mark Talbot
Will the Church go through the End-Time Tribulation? by Gregory Beale
John Calvin and the Protestant Reformation by Carl Trueman
The Christian, His Witness, and Defending the Faith by Scott Oliphint

33 MP3 messages on 1 CD

CD Details:

SKU: M-BBWA
Publisher: Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals
Publish Date: 2015
33 MP3 messages on 1 CDs

Source: Reformed Resources

Library patrons who listen to this CD are invited to share their comments, reviews, questions or criticisms for discussion in the comments below this post.