INTRODUCTION TO THE PRESUPPOSITIONALIST METHODOLOGY
There are many forms and methods of practicing apologetics. The method that will be examined is the presuppositionalist method. This form of apologetics is most common associated in Calvinism. The summary, critique, and adherents to presuppositionalism will be addressed.
SUMMARY OF PRESUPPOSITIONALIST METHODOLOGY
Calvinism is the basic thought process of a presuppositionalist. The Calvinist believes in the depravity of man and the predestination of the elect. These two concepts help lead to the conclusion of presuppositionalism. They state that the traditional evidentialists have not fully grasped the depravity of man. The presuppositionalist believes that this has led to the overvalued loss of man’s capacity to take hold of the rationality of biblical instruction. “They urge Christian apologists to presuppose the truth of Christianity and not to think that they can or must arrive at Christian convictions at the end of a chain of secular reasoning.”[1] This has led to the conclusion that there cannot be any form of apologetics unless the individual is a believer,
A CRITIQUE OF THE PRESUPPOSITIONALIST METHODOLOGY
This method of apologetics leads to the conclusion that there is no basis for evangelism. It is a form of apologetics that can be unbiblical in its approach. We are called as believers to engage the world and spread the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In Matthew 28:19-20 it gives the believer a mandate to go to into the world and spread the good news of Jesus Christ. The believer is called to engage the world, not to stay stagnate in our evangelism. This method can lead to a form of Hyper Calvinism, which is a radical form of Calvinism. It helps to formulate an excuse for not evangelizing the lost. This of course is against teaching of Scripture. In reality, this is a form of theism, but not the Christian theism that is expressed throughout all of God’s Word.[2] In contrast, it has helped to address others presuppositions when evangelizing.
ADHERENTS TO THE PRESUPPOSITIONALIST METHODOLOGY
As this view is very connected with Calvinism, one can easily see that John Calvin held to this method. He saw the depravity of man as a barrier in opposition to any substantiation. In conjunction, Calvin believed that the natural world may scream that God exists, but because of man’s depravity, he cannot see God. Man cannot be drawn unless illuminated by God. He believes that the only ones that will be able to drawn to the Gospel are the elect.[3] Cornelius Van Til also contributed to this view. His vantage point was looked at as radical in many ways. Van Til believed that all unbelievers could not know anything considerable at all. When one reads the works of Van Til, it is easy to conclude that Cornelius Van Til rarely attempted to increase evidences of Christian theism.[4]
CONCLUSION
The Presuppositionalist view comes to the logical conclusion that there is no reason for evangelism because the lost cannot comprehend the message of the Gospel because of man’s depravity. One benefit of Presuppositionalism is that it has helped believers to understand that a person’s presuppositions can hinder a non-believer from accepting the Gospel of Jesus Christ. One thing that should be examined are the presuppositions that help block an unbeliever to not accept Jesus Christ. Once there is a grasp of the presuppositions than there is a greater opportunity of exposing them and reaching through them.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Coppernger, Mark. “Presuppositionalism.” In The Popular Encyclopedia of Apologetics, eds. Ed Hindson and Eurgan Caner, 401-402. Eugene: Harvest House Publishers, 2008.
Habermas, Gary R. “Greg Bahnsen, John Warwick Montgomery, and Evidential Apologetics.” http://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1108&context=lts_fac_pus
Frame, John and Steve Hays. “Johnson on Van Til: A Rejoinder.” Evangelical Quarterly 76:3 (2004): 227.
[1] Mark Coppernger, “Presuppositionalism,” In The Popular Encyclopedia of Apologetics, eds. Ed Hindson and Eurgan Caner (Eugene: Harvest House Publishers, 2008), 401-402.
[2] John Frame and Steve Hays, “Johnson on Van Til: A Rejoinder,” Evangelical Quarterly 76:3 (2004): 227.
[3] Lecture Four: “The Major Methodologies Of Apologetics: Three Major Models," 2010, Unpublished Manuscript (Down-Loadable Photocopy), P.82, Apol 500 Introduction To Apologetics, Liberty University, Lynchburg, Virginia.
[4] Gary R. Habermas, “Greg Bahnsen, John Warwick Montgomery, and Evidential Apologetics,” http://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1108&context=lts_fac_pubs
No comments:
Post a Comment