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Presuppositional Apologetics
Presuppositional apologetics, shortened to presuppositionalism, is an Epistemology, epistemological school of Christian apologetics that examines the presuppositions on which worldviews are based, and invites comparison and contrast between the results of those presuppositions. It claims that apart from presupposition (philosophy), presuppositions, one could not make sense of any human experience, and there can be no set of neutral assumptions from which to reason with a non-Christian. Presuppositionalists claim that Christians cannot consistently declare their belief in the Necessary and sufficient conditions#Necessary conditions, necessary existence of the God of the Bible and simultaneously argue on the basis of a different set of assumptions that God may not exist and Biblical revelation may not be true. Two schools of presuppositionalism exist, based on the different teachings of Cornelius Van Til and Gordon Haddon Clark. Presuppositionalism contrasts with classical apologetic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Epistemology
Epistemology is the branch of philosophy that examines the nature, origin, and limits of knowledge. Also called "the theory of knowledge", it explores different types of knowledge, such as propositional knowledge about facts, practical knowledge in the form of skills, and knowledge by acquaintance as a familiarity through experience. Epistemologists study the concepts of belief, truth, and justification to understand the nature of knowledge. To discover how knowledge arises, they investigate sources of justification, such as perception, introspection, memory, reason, and testimony. The school of skepticism questions the human ability to attain knowledge while fallibilism says that knowledge is never certain. Empiricists hold that all knowledge comes from sense experience, whereas rationalists believe that some knowledge does not depend on it. Coherentists argue that a belief is justified if it coheres with other beliefs. Foundationalists, by contrast, maintain th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reductio Ad Absurdum
In logic, (Latin for "reduction to absurdity"), also known as (Latin for "argument to absurdity") or ''apagogical argument'', is the form of argument that attempts to establish a claim by showing that the opposite scenario would lead to absurdity or contradiction. This argument form traces back to Ancient Greek philosophy and has been used throughout history in both formal mathematical and philosophical reasoning, as well as in debate. In mathematics, the technique is called ''proof by contradiction''. In formal logic, this technique is captured by an axiom for "Reductio ad Absurdum", normally given the abbreviation RAA, which is expressible in propositional logic. This axiom is the introduction rule for negation (see ''negation introduction''). Examples The "absurd" conclusion of a ''reductio ad absurdum'' argument can take a range of forms, as these examples show: * The Earth cannot be flat; otherwise, since the Earth is assumed to be finite in extent, we would find peo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Total Depravity
Total depravity (also called radical corruption or pervasive depravity) is a Protestant theological doctrine derived from the concept of original sin Original sin () in Christian theology refers to the condition of sinfulness that all humans share, which is inherited from Adam and Eve due to the Fall of man, Fall, involving the loss of original righteousness and the distortion of the Image .... It teaches that, as a consequence of the Fall, every person born into the world is enslaved to the service of sin as a result of their fallen nature and, apart from the Irresistible grace, efficacious (irresistible) or Prevenient grace, prevenient (enabling) Grace in Christianity, grace of God, is completely unable to choose by themselves to follow God in Christianity, God, refrain from evil, or accept the gift of Salvation in Christianity, salvation as it is offered. The doctrine is advocated to various degrees by many Protestant denominations, including Lutheranism and all Calv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trinity
The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, three distinct persons ('' hypostases'') sharing one essence/substance/nature ('' homoousion''). As the Fourth Lateran Council declared, it is the Father who s, the Son who is , and the Holy Spirit who proceeds. In this context, one essence/nature defines God is, while the three persons define God is. This expresses at once their distinction and their indissoluble unity. Thus, the entire process of creation and grace is viewed as a single shared action of the three divine persons, in which each person manifests the attributes unique to them in the Trinity, thereby proving that everything comes "from the Father", "through the Son", and "in the Holy Spirit". This doctrine is called Trinitarianism, and its adherents are called Trinitarians, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Epistemology
Epistemology is the branch of philosophy that examines the nature, origin, and limits of knowledge. Also called "the theory of knowledge", it explores different types of knowledge, such as propositional knowledge about facts, practical knowledge in the form of skills, and knowledge by acquaintance as a familiarity through experience. Epistemologists study the concepts of belief, truth, and justification to understand the nature of knowledge. To discover how knowledge arises, they investigate sources of justification, such as perception, introspection, memory, reason, and testimony. The school of skepticism questions the human ability to attain knowledge while fallibilism says that knowledge is never certain. Empiricists hold that all knowledge comes from sense experience, whereas rationalists believe that some knowledge does not depend on it. Coherentists argue that a belief is justified if it coheres with other beliefs. Foundationalists, by contrast, maintain th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gordon Clark
Gordon Haddon Clark (August 31, 1902 – April 9, 1985) was an American philosopher and Calvinist theologian. He was a leading figure associated with presuppositional apologetics and was chairman of the Philosophy Department at Butler University for 28 years. He was an expert in pre-Socratic and ancient philosophy and was noted for defending the idea of propositional revelation against empiricism and rationalism, in arguing that all truth is propositional. His theory of knowledge is sometimes called ''scripturalism''. Biography Clark was raised in a Christian home and studied Calvinist thought from a young age. In 1924, he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a bachelor's degree in French and earned his doctorate in Philosophy from the same institution in 1929. The following year he studied at the Sorbonne. He began teaching at the University of Pennsylvania after receiving his bachelor's degree and also taught at the Reformed Episcopal Seminary in Philad ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Presbyterian
Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Presbyterian'' is applied to churches that trace their roots to the Church of Scotland or to English Dissenter groups that were formed during the English Civil War, 1642 to 1651. Presbyterian theology typically emphasises the sovereignty of God, the authority of the Scriptures, and the necessity of grace through faith in Christ. Scotland ensured Presbyterian church government in the 1707 Acts of Union, which created the Kingdom of Great Britain. In fact, most Presbyterians in England have a Scottish connection. The Presbyterian denomination was also taken to North America, Australia, and New Zealand, mostly by Scots and Scots-Irish immigrants. Scotland's Presbyterian denominations hold to the Reformed theology of John Calvin and his ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Festschrift
In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the honoree's colleagues, former pupils, and friends. ''Festschriften'' are often titled something like ''Essays in Honour of...'' or ''Essays Presented to... .'' Terminology The term, borrowed from German, and literally meaning "celebration writing" (cognate with ''feast-script''), might be translated as "celebration publication" or "celebratory (piece of) writing". An alternative Latin term is (literally: "book of friends"). A comparable book presented posthumously is sometimes called a (, "memorial publication"), but this term is much rarer in English. A ''Festschrift'' compiled and published by electronic means on the internet is called a (pronounced either or ), a term coined by the editors of the late Boris Marshak's , ''Eran ud Ane ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Transcendental Argument For The Existence Of God
The Transcendental Argument for the existence of God (TAG) is an argument that attempts to prove the existence of God by appealing to the Necessity_and_sufficiency#Necessity, necessary conditions for the Subjunctive possibility, possibility of experience and knowledge. A version was formulated by Immanuel Kant in his 1763 work ''The Only Possible Argument in Support of a Demonstration of the Existence of God.'' C. S. Lewis's argument from reason is also a kind of transcendental argument. Most contemporary formulations of a transcendental argument for God have been developed within the logical framework, framework of Christianity, Christian presuppositional apologetics and the likes of Cornelius Van Til and Greg Bahnsen. Transcendental reasoning "Transcendental" in this case is used as an adjective specifying a specific kind of argument, and not a noun. Transcendental arguments should not be confused with arguments for the existence of something Transcendence (religion), transcend ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Frame (theologian)
John McElphatrick Frame (born April 8, 1939) is a retired American Christian philosopher and Calvinist theologian especially noted for his work in epistemology and presuppositional apologetics, systematic theology, and ethics. He is one of the foremost interpreters and critics of the thought of Cornelius Van Til. Biography Frame was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and became a Christian at the age of 13 through the ministry of Beverly Heights Presbyterian Church, a congregation of the United Presbyterian Church of North America in Pittsburgh. He graduated from Princeton University, where he was involved in the Princeton Evangelical Fellowship (PEF) and Westerly Road Church. The PEF and Westerly Road had a profound impact on forming Frame's faith and theology. He says of their impact: I owe much to PEF ... Fullerton and PEF cared deeply about people, spending hours in mutual prayer, exhortation, counseling, gospel witness. I never experienced that depth of fellowship in any ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bahnsen Theological Seminary
Bahnsen Theological Seminary was a Calvinist theological training institution, founded in 1997 and based in Placentia, California. It was most notably associated with Greg Bahnsen and Kenneth Gentry Kenneth L. Gentry Jr. (3 May 1950) is a Reformed theologian, and an ordained minister in the Reformed Presbyterian Church General Assembly. He is particularly known for his support for and publication on the topics of orthodox preterism and p .... It served as the degree granting division of the Southern California Center for Christian Studies. It offered instruction worldwide by correspondence, as well as courses presented locally. BTS offered four master's degree programs; Master of Divinity, Master of Christian Studies, Master of Apologetics, and Master of Philosophy. Faculty included: *Kenneth Gentry Jr. ThD, ordained minister in the PCA. *Roger Wagner, ordained minister and pastor of Bayview Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Chula Vista, CA. *Michael Butler, graduated magna ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Greg Bahnsen
Gregory Lyle Bahnsen (; September 17, 1948 – December 11, 1995), credited in most of his books as Greg Bahnsen, was an American Calvinist philosopher and Christian apologist. He was a minister in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and a full-time Scholar in Residence for the Southern California Center for Christian Studies (SCCCS). He is also considered a contributor to the field of Christian apologetics, as he popularized the presuppositional method of Cornelius Van Til. He is the father of David L. Bahnsen, an American portfolio manager, author, and television commentator. Early life and education He was the first born of two sons of Robert and Virginia Bahnsen in Auburn, Washington, and grew up in Pico Rivera, California. In youth he was beset by a number of medical difficulties, the most serious of which was a lifelong platelet problem that made it difficult for him to stop bleeding, a condition similar to hæmophilia. He also had heart trouble which came to light ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
