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Norman Leo Geisler (July 21, 1932 – July 1, 2019) was an American
Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
systematic theologian,
philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...
, and apologist. He was the co-founder of two non-denominational
evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...
seminaries ( Veritas International University and Southern Evangelical Seminary). He held a Ph.D. in
philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...
from Loyola University and made scholarly contributions to the subjects of classical Christian apologetics, systematic theology, the
history of philosophy The history of philosophy is the systematic study of the development of philosophical thought. It focuses on philosophy as rational inquiry based on argumentation, but some theorists also include myth, religious traditions, and proverbial lor ...
,
philosophy of religion Philosophy of religion is "the philosophical examination of the central themes and concepts involved in religious traditions". Philosophical discussions on such topics date from ancient times, and appear in the earliest known Text (literary theo ...
,
Calvinism Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Christian, Presbyteri ...
,
Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
, Biblical inerrancy, Bible difficulties, ethics, and more. He was the author, coauthor, or editor of over 90 books and hundreds of articles. One of the primary architects of the Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy, Geisler was well noted within the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
evangelical community for his stalwart defense of Biblical inerrancy.


Education

Geisler's education included a Th.B. (1964) from William Tyndale College, B.A. in philosophy (1958) and M.A. in theology (1960) from Wheaton College, and a Ph.D. in philosophy from Loyola University. He had additional graduate work at
Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public university, public research university in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 375 programs. It is Michigan's third-l ...
, the University of Detroit, and
Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...
in
Evanston, Illinois Evanston is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States, situated on the North Shore (Chicago), North Shore along Lake Michigan. A suburb of Chicago, Evanston is north of Chicago Loop, downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skok ...
.


Biography

Norman Leo Geisler was born on July 21, 1932, in Warren, Michigan, a suburb of
Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...
. He attended a
nondenominational A non-denominational person or organization is one that does not follow (or is not restricted to) any particular or specific religious denomination. The term has been used in the context of various faiths, including Jainism, Baháʼí Faith, Zoro ...
,
evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...
church from age nine; and converted into Christianity at age of eighteen. He immediately began attempting to share his faith with others in various evangelistic endeavors— door-to-door, street meetings, and jail service, rescue missions, and Youth for Christ venues. Some of his conversations forced him to realize that he needed to find better answers to the objections he was hearing. He subsequently earned two bachelor's degrees, two master's degrees, and a Doctorate. Geisler's decades of degree work overlap a professorial career begun at Detroit Bible College (1963–66) and continued at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (1969–70) and Trinity College (1970–71). He was later Chairman of Philosophy of Religion at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (1970–79) and Professor of
Systematic Theology Systematic theology, or systematics, is a discipline of Christian theology that formulates an orderly, rational, and coherent account of the doctrines of the Christian faith. It addresses issues such as what the Bible teaches about certain topics ...
at Dallas Theological Seminary (1979–88). In 1981, Geisler testified in "the Scopes II trial" ('' McLean v. Arkansas Board of Education''). Duane Gish, a creationist, remarked: "Geisler was... the lead witness for the creationist side and one of its most brilliant witnesses. His testimony, in my view (I was present during the entire trial), effectively demolished the most important thrust of the case by the ACLU. Unfortunately, in my opinion, no testimony, and no effort by any team of lawyers, no matter how brilliant, could have won the case for the creationist side." Geisler was formerly a president of the Evangelical Theological Society but left the ETS in 2003, after it did not expel Clark Pinnock, who advocated open theism. Geisler also was a key figure in founding the Evangelical Philosophical Society. He served as its first president as well as the first editor of its journal, which was then called the Bulletin of the Evangelical Philosophical Society. Additionally, he was the founder and first president of the International Society of Christian Apologetics. In 1997, Geisler co-authored ''When Cultists Ask: A Popular Handbook on Cultic Misinterpretation''. He contributed to ''The Counterfeit Gospel of Mormonism''. In 2008, Geisler co-founded the Veritas Evangelical Seminary (now Veritas International University) in
Santa Ana, California Santa Ana (Spanish language, Spanish for ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, California, United States. Located in the Greater Los Angeles region of Southern California, the city's population was 310,227 at the 2020 census. As ...
. The seminary offers master's degrees in theological studies, apologetics,
biblical studies Biblical studies is the academic application of a set of diverse disciplines to the study of the Bible, with ''Bible'' referring to the books of the canonical Hebrew Bible in mainstream Jewish usage and the Christian Bible including the can ...
, and
Divinity Divinity (from Latin ) refers to the quality, presence, or nature of that which is divine—a term that, before the rise of monotheism, evoked a broad and dynamic field of sacred power. In the ancient world, divinity was not limited to a single ...
. Geisler served as Chancellor, Distinguished Professor of Apologetics and Theology, and occupant of the Norman L. Geisler Chair of Christian Apologetics. He retired from this post in May 2019.


Personal

Geisler was married to Barbara Jean Cate for 64 years, and together they had six children: Ruth, David, Daniel, Rhoda, Paul, and Rachel. He died of cerebral thrombosis at a hospital in
Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...
on July 1, 2019, 20 days before his 87th birthday. Geisler's funeral was held at Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina. Ravi Zacharias gave the eulogy.


Apologetics

Geisler is known first and foremost as a classical Christian apologist. Between 1970 and 1990 he participated in dozens of public debates and gained a reputation as a defender of theism, biblical miracles, the
resurrection of Jesus The resurrection of Jesus () is Christianity, Christian belief that God in Christianity, God Resurrection, raised Jesus in Christianity, Jesus from the dead on the third day after Crucifixion of Jesus, his crucifixion, starting—or Preexis ...
, and the reliability of the Bible.


Outline of Geisler's Apologetic Method

The first attempt to publish an outline of his apologetic method showed up in an appendix of his 1990 book ''When Skeptics Ask''. The appendix is titled "Reasoning to Christianity from Ground Zero" and in it we see a high-level view of the holistic system of classical apologetics he had been developing over the years. The first outline contained fourteen points of argument: # There are self-evident truths (e.g., "I exist," "Logic applies to reality"). # Truth corresponds to reality. # Truth is knowable (all other views are self-defeating). # One can proceed from self-evident truths to the existence of
God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...
. ## The argument from Creation (proceeds from "I exist") ## The argument from morals (proceeds from "Values are undeniable") ## The argument from design (proceeds from "Design implies a designer") # God is a necessary Being (argument from being). # My existence is not necessary (evident from the definition of a necessary Being). # Therefore, theism is true (there is a necessary Being beyond the world who has created the contingent things in the world and intervenes in the world). ## The objection from the
problem of evil The problem of evil is the philosophical question of how to reconcile the existence of evil and suffering with an Omnipotence, omnipotent, Omnibenevolence, omnibenevolent, and Omniscience, omniscient God.The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, ...
can be solved. ## The objection to miracles can be solved. # The Bible is a historically reliable document. ##
History History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...
is an objective study of the past. ## There is great historical,
archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...
, and scientific evidence to confirm the reliability of the Bible. (Corollary: The Bible gives a reliable record of the teaching of
Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...
.) # Jesus claimed to be both fully human and fully God. # He gave evidence to support this claim. ## The fulfillment of prophecy ## His miraculous and sinless life ## His resurrection # Therefore, Jesus is both fully human and fully God. # Whatever God teaches is true. # Jesus (God) taught that the
Old Testament The Old Testament (OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Isr ...
was the inspired Word of God and He promised the
New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...
. # Therefore, both the Old and New Testaments are the inspired Word of God. The overview of his system was later streamlined slightly into a 12-point schema. As of 1999, it could be summarized as follows: # Truth about reality is knowable. # Opposites cannot both be true (The Law of Noncontradiction). # It is true the theistic God exists. # If God exists, then miracles are possible. # Miracles performed in connection with a truth claim are acts of God to confirm the truth of God through a messenger of God. # The New Testament is historically reliable. # As witnessed in the New Testament, Jesus claimed to be God. # Jesus's claim to divinity was proven by miracles, especially the Resurrection. # Therefore, Jesus is God. # Because Jesus is God, whatever Jesus affirmed as true, is true. # Jesus affirmed that the Bible is the Word of God. # Therefore, it is true that the Bible is the Word of God and whatever is opposed to any biblical truth is false. These same twelve steps served as the framework for the chapters of the highly popular book ''I Don't Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist'' in 2004 and in his 2012 book ''Twelve Points that Show Christianity is True''.


Geisler's Philosophical Argument for the Existence of God (Theism)

As an
evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...
Thomist, Norman Geisler contributed the following Thomistic argument for God's existence, which was described as "his own unique contribution to the cosmological class of argument for the existence of God," and which "he developed and refined over sixty years (1956 to 2015)."


The Argument Outlined in Seven Points

Source: # Something exists (e.g., I do). # Nothing cannot produce something. # Therefore, something exists eternally and necessarily. # It exists eternally because if ever there was absolutely nothing, then there would always be absolutely nothing because nothing cannot produce something. # It exists necessarily because everything cannot be a contingent being because all contingent beings need a cause of their existence. # I am not a necessary and eternal being (since I change). # Therefore, both God (a Necessary Being) and I (a contingent being) exist (= theism).


The Argument in Eighteen Points

The longer form of the argument in eighteen points is as follows: # Being is. That is, something exists. # Being is being. A thing is identical to itself. # Being is not non-being. # Either being or non-being. Something cannot both exist and not exist at the same time. # Non-being cannot cause being. Nothing cannot cause something. # A caused being is similar to its Cause. # A being is either necessary or contingent but not both. # A necessary being cannot cause another necessary being to come to be. # A contingent being cannot be the efficient cause of another contingent being. # A necessary being is a being of Pure Actuality with no potentiality. # A Being of Pure Actuality cannot cause another being with Pure Actuality to exist. # A being that is caused by a Being of Pure Actuality must have both actuality and potentiality. # Every being that is caused by a being of Pure Actuality must be both like and dislike its Cause. # I am a contingent being. # But only a necessary being can cause a contingent being to exist. # Therefore, a Necessary Being (of Pure Actuality) exists who caused me (and every other contingent being there may be) to exist. # This Necessary Being of Pure Actuality (with no potentiality) has certain necessary attributes: ## It cannot change (= is ''immutable'') ## It cannot be temporal (= is ''eternal'') ## It cannot be material (= ''immaterial'') ## It cannot be finite (= ''infinite'') ## It cannot be divided or divisible (= ''simple'') ## It must be an ''uncaused'' being since it is a necessary being ## It must be only ''One'' being ## It must be infinitely knowing (= ''omniscient'') Being ## It must be all-powerful (''omnipotent'') Being ## It must be an absolutely ''morally perfect'' Being ## It must be a ''personal'' Being ## This being is appropriately called "God." # Therefore, one infinite, uncaused, personal, morally perfect, all-knowing, all-powerful Being who caused all finite being(s) to exist exists. This is what is meant by a theistic God. Hence, a theistic God exists.


Geisler's Argument for Biblical Miracles

Geisler addressed the debate over biblical miracles in multiple works, including ''Miracles and the Modern Mind'', ''Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics'', and ''Twelve Points Which Show Christianity is True''. In ''I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be An Atheist'', Geisler along with his student Frank Turek claim "since we know that God exists, miracles are possible. Any argument against miracles that can be concocted, including that of
David Hume David Hume (; born David Home; – 25 August 1776) was a Scottish philosopher, historian, economist, and essayist who was best known for his highly influential system of empiricism, philosophical scepticism and metaphysical naturalism. Beg ...
, is destroyed by that one fact. For if there is a God who can act, there can be acts of God (miracles)." This claim is reiterated in Geisler's work ''Miracles and the Modern Mind'', where he claims "If a theistic God exists, then there is no reason to rule out the possibility of miracles." Geisler argues in ''Miracles and the Modern Mind'' that miracles are possible, credible, rational, not unscientific, identifiable, not mythological, historical, not antinatural, distinguishable, and actual. Geisler further argues miracles are essential to Christianity and are definable. Concerning whether miracles are actual, Geisler makes the claim that " e very cosmological argument, by which we know God exists, also proves that a supernatural event has occurred. For if the universe had a beginning and, therefore, a Beginner ..then God brought the universe into existence out of nothing ..But ex nihilo creation out of nothing is the greatest supernatural event of all. ..So, the surprising conclusion is that, if the Creator exists, then the miraculous is not only possible but actual." In ''Twelve Points That Show Christianity is True'', Geisler presents the following criteria for a valid miracle which confirms a truth claim is genuinely from God: # The events must be truly supernatural. # There must be multiple miracles. # The miraculous events must be connected with some truth claim in the name of God. # The miraculous events must be unique. # A predictive element is helpful in confirming a divine claim. In ''Miracles and the Modern Mind'', Geisler takes the above criteria and presents the following argument: # Only Christianity has unique miracle claims confirmed by sufficient testimony. # What has unique miraculous confirmation of its claims is true (as opposed to contrary views). # Therefore, Christianity is true (as opposed to contrary views).


Criticism of C. S. Lewis

Geisler was a critic of
C. S. Lewis Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer, literary scholar and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Magdalen College, Oxford (1925–1954), and Magdalen ...
' higher critical view of the miracles recorded in the Old Testament, claiming Lewis " elegatedmany Old Testament miracles to the realm of myth." In ''Is Man the Measure?'' Geisler provides C. S. Lewis' writings as an example of Christian humanism, in which Lewis' views on the Old Testament and its miracles are also subject to criticism.


Theology

Geisler was a
conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...
scholar who wrote a four-volume
systematic theology Systematic theology, or systematics, is a discipline of Christian theology that formulates an orderly, rational, and coherent account of the doctrines of the Christian faith. It addresses issues such as what the Bible teaches about certain topics ...
which was later condensed into a 1,660 pag
one-volume tome


Biblical Inerrancy

He defended the full inerrancy of the Bible, being one of the co-founders and framers of the " Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy" (1978) and editor of the book ''Inerrancy'' ( Zondervan, 1978). Hi
notoriety as a defender of the Bible
started to grow after co-authoring (with William Nix) ''General Introduction to the Bible'' ( Moody Press, 1968, 1986) and ''From God to Us'', revised (Moody, 1974, 2012). He co-authored ''Defending Inerrancy'' with William Roach ( Baker, 2013) and proceeded to start the blogsite https://defendinginerrancy.com with William Roach and others. He wrote the foreword to the boo
''Explaining Biblical Inerrancy'' (Bastion Books, 2013)
a compilation of all of the Chicago Statements on Biblical Inerrancy, Biblical Hermeneutics, and Biblical Application, the official ICBI commentary on the first statement by R. C. Sproul, and the official ICBI commentary on the second statement by Norm Geisler. The last book Norm wrote was ''Preserving Orthodoxy'' (Bastion Books 2017), which explains how to "maintain continuity with the historic Christian faith on Scripture" and gives Norm's perspective on the inerrancy-related controversies he had been engaged in with Robert Gundry, Clark Pinnock, and Michael Licona.


Calvinism

Geisler considered himself a "moderate
Calvinist Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Protestantism, Continenta ...
", as expressed in his book ''Chosen but Free'' ( Harvest House, 2001) and ''Systematic Theology, in One Volume'' (Harvest House, 2012). Geisler in his book ''Chosen but Free'' distinguishes his moderate Calvinism in many ways from more extreme views of Calvinism, he summarises his view of the five points of Calvinism thus: This form of moderate Calvinism has been taught by multiple Dispensational Calvinists such as Lewis Sperry Chafer, John Walvoord and Charles Ryrie. Norman Geisler argued that his view of election strongly resembles also that of
Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas ( ; ; – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican Order, Dominican friar and Catholic priest, priest, the foremost Scholasticism, Scholastic thinker, as well as one of the most influential philosophers and theologians in the W ...
.


Election

Norman Geisler spoke of election being "in according with" God's foreknowledge instead of being "based on" his foreknowledge, along with being unconditional for God, but conditional for man. To explain how he understood his doctrine of election, Geisler used the illustration of a young man contemplating on if he would propose to one of two ladies. This man then chooses to propose to the first one because he knew that she would respond to the action, while he does not propose to the second woman because he knew that she would not respond. Geisler thus believed that God effectually calls those whom he knows will respond to this call.


Perseverance of the Saints

Geisler also distinguished his view of the perseverance of the saints from the extreme Calvinist view. Geisler believed that an elect person would not be lost even if they die in sin, he strongly protested against the view that one cannot be sure that he is one of the elect until he gets to heaven. Unlike some Calvinists, Geisler understood warnings in the New Testament such as that in Hebrews 10 as pertaining to a loss of eternal rewards, instead of speaking of false believers.


Dispensationalism

Norman Geisler believed in dispensational premillennialism, however he criticized progressive dispensationalism, ultradispensationalism and hyperdispensationalism. Geisler disagreed with the rejection of the human author's meaning in biblical exegesis taught by progressive dispensationalists, saying that although God knows more about the topic and sees more implications in any given text, the text cannot mean more than the human author intended.


Philosophy

Geisler was a self-described evangelical Thomist as it pertained to his philosophical commitments. In the first volume of his ''Systematic Theology'', Geisler affirms Thomism as superior to
atomism Atomism () is a natural philosophy proposing that the physical universe is composed of fundamental indivisible components known as atoms. References to the concept of atomism and its Atom, atoms appeared in both Ancient Greek philosophy, ancien ...
,
Platonism Platonism is the philosophy of Plato and philosophical systems closely derived from it, though contemporary Platonists do not necessarily accept all doctrines of Plato. Platonism has had a profound effect on Western thought. At the most fundam ...
, and
Aristotelianism Aristotelianism ( ) is a philosophical tradition inspired by the work of Aristotle, usually characterized by Prior Analytics, deductive logic and an Posterior Analytics, analytic inductive method in the study of natural philosophy and metaphysics ...
as it pertains to their respective responses to the Parmenidean dilemma of the one and the many. Geisler further evaluated Thomism in light of evangelical Christianity as well as the compatibility between the two in his work, ''Thomas Aquinas: An Evangelical Appraisal''. When interviewed by ''Christianity Today'' in 2002, Geisler gave his evaluation of Thomas Aquinas which was juxtaposed by ''Christianity Today'' against Ronald Nash's previous 1974 article wherein Nash described Aquinas as "unsuitable for a biblically centered Christian philosophy." Geisler also held that a consistent Thomist need not be a Roman Catholic, and that Thomism did not necessarily lead to Catholicism, a claim which Geisler's contemporaries, (such as R. C. Sproul), also held.


Ethics

Geisler wrote two significant books on
ethics Ethics is the philosophy, philosophical study of Morality, moral phenomena. Also called moral philosophy, it investigates Normativity, normative questions about what people ought to do or which behavior is morally right. Its main branches inclu ...
: ''Christian Ethics'' and ''The Christian Love Ethic''. He provided his perspective on ethical options,
abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...
,
infanticide Infanticide (or infant homicide) is the intentional killing of infants or offspring. Infanticide was a widespread practice throughout human history that was mainly used to dispose of unwanted children, its main purpose being the prevention of re ...
,
euthanasia Euthanasia (from : + ) is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering. Different countries have different Legality of euthanasia, euthanasia laws. The British House of Lords Select committee (United Kingdom), se ...
, biomedical issues,
capital punishment Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence (law), sentence ordering that an offender b ...
, war, civil disobedience, sexual issues,
homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexu ...
, marriage and
divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganising of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the M ...
,
ecology Ecology () is the natural science of the relationships among living organisms and their Natural environment, environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community (ecology), community, ecosystem, and biosphere lev ...
,
animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all Animal consciousness, sentient animals have Moral patienthood, moral worth independent of their Utilitarianism, utility to humans, and that their most basic interests—such as ...
,
drug A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via insufflation (medicine), inhalation, drug i ...
s,
gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of Value (economics), value ("the stakes") on a Event (probability theory), random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy (ga ...
,
pornography Pornography (colloquially called porn or porno) is Sexual suggestiveness, sexually suggestive material, such as a picture, video, text, or audio, intended for sexual arousal. Made for consumption by adults, pornographic depictions have evolv ...
,
birth control Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth control only be ...
, and more. Of the six major ethical systems ( antinomianism, situationalism, generalism, unqualified absolutism, conflicting absolutism, and
graded absolutism Graded absolutism is a theory of moral absolutism (in Christian ethics) which resolves the objection to absolutism (i.e., in moral conflicts, we are obligated to opposites). Moral absolutism is the Ethics, ethical view that certain actions are a ...
), Geisler advocated graded absolutism, which is a theory of
moral absolutism Moral absolutism is a metaethics, metaethical view that some or even all action (philosophy), actions are intrinsically right or wrong, regardless of context or consequence. Comparison with other ethical theories Moral absolutism is not the same ...
which affirms that in moral conflicts we are obligated to perform the higher moral duty. Moral absolutism is the ethical view that certain actions are absolutely right or wrong regardless of other contexts such as their consequences or the intentions behind them. Graded absolutism is moral absolutism but clarifies that a moral absolute, like "Do not kill", can be greater or lesser than another moral absolute, like "Do not lie". Graded absolutism is also called "contextual absolutism" but is not to be confused with situational ethics. The conflict is resolved in acting according to the greater absolute. That is why graded absolutism is also called the "greater good view", but is not to be confused with
utilitarianism In ethical philosophy, utilitarianism is a family of normative ethical theories that prescribe actions that maximize happiness and well-being for the affected individuals. In other words, utilitarian ideas encourage actions that lead to the ...
(see also ''prima facie'' right). Geisler believed the
American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...
was not justified by the standards of either the Bible or
just war theory The just war theory () is a doctrine, also referred to as a tradition, of military ethics that aims to ensure that a war is morally justifiable through a series of #Criteria, criteria, all of which must be met for a war to be considered just. I ...
. However, he was not a pacifist, believing that defensive wars are justified but
revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...
s are not.


Works

The following is a list of books authored, co-authored or edited by Norman Geisler. * ''A General Introduction to the Bible''  (Moody, 1968) * ''Christ the Theme of the Bible''  (Moody, 1968 , Bastion Books, 2012) * ''Ethics: Alternatives and Issues''  (Zondervan, 1971) * ''The Christian Ethic of Love'' (Zondervan, 1973) * ''Philosophy of Religion'' (Zondervan, 1974) * ''From God to Us''  (Moody, 1974) * ''* To Understand the Bible Look for Jesus'' (1975, reprint and retitle of ''Christ: The Theme of the Bible'') * ''Christian Apologetics''  (Baker, 1976) * ''A Popular Survey of the Old Testament'' (Baker, 1977) * ''The Roots of Evil '' (Zondervan, 1978) (Second edition, Zondervan, 1981) * ''Inerrancy'' (Zondervan, 1979) * ''Introduction to Philosophy: A Christian Perspective '' (Baker, 1980) * ''Options in Contemporary Christian Ethics''  (Baker, 1981) * ''Biblical Errancy: Its Philosophical Roots'' (Zondervan, 1981 , Bastion Books, 2013) * ''Decide for Yourself: How History Views the Bible''  (Zondervan, 1982) * ''The Creator in the Courtroom “Scopes II'' “: The 1981 Arkansas Creation-Evolution Trial (Baker, 1982) * ''What Augustine Says'' (Baker, 1982 , Bastion Books, 2013) * ''Is Man the Measure?''  ''An Evaluation of Contemporary Humanism'' (Baker, 1983) * ''Cosmos: Carl Sagan's Religion for the Scientific Mind'' (Quest, 1983) * ''Religion of the Force '' (Quest, 1983) * ''To Drink or Not to Drink: A Sober Look at the Problem'' (Quest, 1984) * ''Perspectives: Understanding and Evaluating Today's World Views''  (Here's Life, 1984) * ''Christianity Under Attack'' (Quest, 1985) * ''False Gods of Our Time : A Defense of the Christian Faith '' (Harvest House, 1985) * ''A General Introduction to the Bible'', Second Edition, Revised and Expanded (Moody, 1986)(Third Edition with revisions and expansion underway as of 2019 with projected publish date in 2021.) * ''Reincarnation Sensation'' (Tyndale, 1986) * ''Origin Science'' (Baker, 1987) * ''Philosophy of Religion''  (Expansion and Revision of #5. Baker, 1988, Bastion Books, 2021?) * ''Signs and Wonders'' (Tyndale, 1988 , Bastion Books, 2019) * * ''Worlds Apart'' : ''A Handbook on World Views''  (Baker. Reprint and retitle of #22) * ''Knowing the Truth About Creation'' (Servant, 1989 , Bastion Books, 2013) * ''The Infiltration of the New Age''  (Tyndale, 1989) * ''The Battle for the Resurrection'' (Thomas Nelson, 1989 , Bastion Books, 2013) * ''Apologetics in the New Age''  (Baker, 1990) * ''Come Let Us Reason: An Introduction to Logical Thinking''  (Baker, 1990) * ''When Skeptics Ask: A Handbook on Christian Evidences''  (Baker, 1990, 2013) * ''Gambling: A Bad Bet'' (Fleming H. Revel, 1990 , Bastion Books, 2013) * ''The Life and Death Debate''  (Greenwood, 1990) * ''In Defense of the Resurrection''  (Quest, 1991 , Bastion Books, 2015) * ''Thomas Aquinas: An Evangelical Appraisal''  (Baker, 1991) * ''Matters of Life and Death: Calm Answers to Tough Questions''  (Baker, 1991) * ''Miracles and the Modern Mind: A Defense of Biblical Miracles'' (Baker, 1992 , Bastion Books, 2012) * ''When Critics Ask: A Handbook on Bible Difficulties'' (Victor, 1992) * ''Answering Islam'' (Baker, 1993) * ''Roman Catholics and Evangelicals: Agreements and Differences'' (Baker, 1995) * ''Love is Always Right''  (Word, 1996) * ''Creating God in the Image of Man?''  (Bethany, 1997) * ''When Cultists Ask '' (Baker, 1997) * ''The Counterfeit Gospel of Mormonism''  (Harvest House, 1998) * ''Legislating Morality''  (Bethany, 1998) * ''Baker's Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics'' (Baker, 1999) * ''Chosen But Free : A Balanced view of God's Sovereignty and Free Will '' (Bethany, 1999) * ''Unshakable Foundations'' (Bethany, 2001) * ''Why I Am a Christian'' : ''Leading Thinkers Explain Why they Believe''  (Baker, 2001) * ''The Battle for God: Responding to the Challenge of Neotheism''  (Kregel, 2001) * ''Living Loud: Defending Your Faith'' (Broadman & Holman, 2002) * ''Answering Islam'', Updated and Revised (Bethany, 2002) * ''Who Made God?''  (Zondervan, 2003) * ''Is Your Church Ready?  Motivating Leaders to Live an Apologetic Life''  (Zondervan, 2003) * ''I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist''  (Crossway, 2004) * ''Systematic Theology, Vol. 1''  (Bethany, 2002) * ''Systematic Theology, Vol. 2''  (Bethany, 2003) * ''Systematic Theology, Vol. 3''  (Bethany, 2004) * ''Systematic Theology, Vol. 4''  (Bethany, 2005) * ''Bringing Your Faith to Work: Answers for Break-Room Skeptics''  (Baker, 2005) * * ''Correcting the Cults: Expert Responses to Their Scripture Twisting  '' (Baker, 2005, reprint of #….) * ''* Why I Am a Christian'' : ''Leading Thinkers Explain why They Believe'' (revised for Baker, 2006) * ''Integrity at Work'' : ''Finding Your Ethical Compass in a Post-Enron World '' (Baker, 2007) * ''Creation  and the Courts: Eighty Years of Conflict in the Classroom and the Courtroom '' (Crossway, 2007) * ''A Popular Survey of the New Testament'' (Baker, 2007) * ''Love Your Neighbor: Thinking Wisely about Right and Wrong '' (Crossway, 2007) * ''Reasons for Faith: Making a Case for the Christian Faith '' (Crossway, 2007) * ''Conviction Without Compromise: Standing Strong in the Core Beliefs of the Christian Faith''  (Harvest House, 2008) * ''The Apologetics of Jesus: A Caring Approach to Dealing with Doubters  '' (Baker, 2008) * ''Conversational Evangelism'' (Harvest House, 2008) * ''Is Rome the True Church?'' (Crossway, 2008) * * ''The Big Book of Bible Difficulties'' (Baker 2008, reprint of #43) * * ''Making Sense of Bible Difficulties'' (Baker, 2009, abridgement of #43) * ''Chosen But Free: A Balanced View of God's Sovereignty and Free Will '' (third edition, revised and expanded, Bethany, 2010) * ''Christian Ethics'', Second Edition (Baker, 2010) * ''If God, Why Evil?''  (Bethany, 2011) * ''Systematic Theology in One Volume''  (Bethany, 2011) * ''Defending Inerrancy: Affirming the Accuracy of Scriptures for a New Generation''   (Baker, 2012)(Revision and expansion underway as of 2019 by Bill Roach will include much of Norm's thought and writings on the defense of inerrancy between 2011 and 2019.) * ''Reasons for Belief : Easy-to-Understand Answers to 10 Essential Questions '' (Bethany, 2012) * ''Reasons for Belief Study Guide'' (Bastion Books, 2014) * ''A Popular Handbook of Biblical Archaeology: Discoveries that Confirm the Reliability of Scripture  '' (Bethany, 2012) * ''The Big Book of Christian Apologetics''   (Baker, 2012) (Minor revision of ''The Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics'') * ''* Christian Apologetics''  (revised, Baker, 2012) * ''Twelve Points that Show Christianity is True '' (NGIM, 2012) * ''Explaining Biblical Inerrancy: The Chicago Statements on Biblical Inerrancy, Hermeneutics, and Application with Official ICBI Commentary'' (Bastion Books, 2013) * * ''The Christian Ethic of Love'' (2012, a minor revision of #4) * ''From God to Us'' (Moody, 2012) (a major revision and update of #6 with some additions from #25.) * ''Is the Pope Infallible: A Look at the Evidence''  (Bastion Books, 2012) * * ''The Roots of Evil'', Third Edition (Bastion Books, 2013. A Minor revision of #4) * ''Should Believers Make Ashes of Themselves? Cremation, the Burning Question '' (Bastion, 2013) * * ''Should Old Aquinas Be Forgotten?''  (Bastion Books, 2013. Revision and expansion of #37) * ''The Atheist's Fatal Flaw '' (Baker, 2014) * ''The Jesus Quest: the Danger from Within''  (Xulon, 2014) * ''The Bible's Answer to 100 of Life's Biggest Questions '' (Baker, 2015) * ''The Shack: Helpful or Hurtful?''  (Bastion Books, 2011) * ''Teacher's Guide to Twelve Points That Show Christianity is True'' (NGIM, 2012). * ''Beware of Philosophy''  (Bastion Books, 2012) * ''A History of Western Philosophy: Vol 1: Ancient and Medieval''  (Bastion Books, 2012) * ''A History of Western Philosophy: Vol 2: Modern and Contemporary''  (Bastion Books, 2012) * * ''A Handbook on World Views: A Catalogue for Worldview Shoppers''  (Bastion Books, 2013) (A minor revision of ''Worlds Apart'') * * ''Biblical Inerrancy: The Historical Evidence''  (Bastion Books, 2013)(A minor Revision of #15) * * ''What in Cremation is Going On?'' (Bastion Books, 2014) (Abridgement of # 86) * ''The Official Study Guide to I Don't Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist'' (Xulon Press, 2014) * ''The Religion of the Force''  (Bastion Books, 2015) (Update and expansion of #19) * ''God: A Philosophical Argument '' (Bastion Books, 2015) * ''Evidence of an Early New Testament Canon''  (Bastion Books, 2015) * ''Romans in Logical Form'' (Bastion Books, 2015) * ''Vital Issues in the Inerrancy Debate'' (Wipf & Stock, 2016) (review) * ''How to Know God '' (Bastion Books, 2016)(In English and Spanish) * ''A Prolegomena to Evangelical Theology''  (Bastion Books, 2016) * ''A Popular Survey of Bible Doctrine'' (Bastion Books, 2015) * ''A Prolegomena to Evangelical Theology'' (Bastion Books, 2016) * ''The Bible: Its Origin, Nature and Collection: NGIM Guide to Bible Doctrine, Book 1'' (NGIM.org, 2015) * ''The Doctrine of God: NGIM Guide to Bible Doctrine, Book 2''  (NGIM.org, 2015) * ''The Doctrine of Christ: NGIM Guide to Bible Doctrine, Book 3''  (NGIM.org, 2016) * ''The Doctrine of Creation: NGIM Guide to Bible Doctrine, Book 4''  (NGIM.org, 2016) * ''The Doctrine of Angels & Demons: NGIM Guide to Bible Doctrine, Book 5''  (NGIM.org, 2016) * ''Preserving Orthodoxy: Maintaining Continuity with the Historic Christian Faith on Scripture''  (Bastion Books, 2017) * ''Somewhere Under the Rainbow: A Christian look at Same-Sex “Marriage”'' (Bastion Books, 2017) * ''Having Fun Under the Sun: A Study of Ecclesiastes'' (Bastion Books, 2018) * ''The Collected Work of Norm Geisler'', Volumes 1-5 (Bastion Books, 2019) Vol. 1 (1964-1979) , Vol. 2 (19xx-19xx), Vol. 3 (19xx-19xx), Vol. 4 (19xx-19xx), Vol. 5 (19xx-19xx) * ''*Conviction without Compromise: Standing Strong in the Core Beliefs of the Christian Faith'' (NGIM.org, 2021)(An unrevised republishing of #73) * ''Is Man the Measure? An Evaluation of Contemporary Humanism and Transhumanism'' (Bastion Books, 2021? – Forthcoming)(A major update to and expansion of #18)


Notes


Publications

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External links

*
Bastion Books
is the book publishing wing of Geisler Enterprises, LLC. Created by Norm Geisler and Christopher Haun in 2014 to republish Norm's out-of-print books and publish some of his newest books.
Norman Geisler International Ministries
is a non-profit ministry founded by Norm Geisler and David Geisler in 2014.
Defending Inerrancy
is a blogsite started by Norm Geisler and Shawn Nelson (with William Roach, F. David Farnell, Joe Holden and others) in 2014 to defend the standards of inerrancy in the ICBI's Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy and the Chicago Statement on Biblical Hermeneutics. * . * . * . * . * .


Course Christian Apologetics by Norman Geisler
{{DEFAULTSORT:Geisler, Norman 1932 births 2019 deaths 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American theologians 20th-century evangelicals 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American theologians 21st-century evangelicals American anti-same-sex-marriage activists American Christian creationists American critics of atheism American critics of Islam American Evangelical writers American male non-fiction writers American philosophers of religion American religious writers Christian apologists Christian critics of Islam Christian Old Earth creationists Critics of new religious movements Deaths from cerebral thrombosis Evangelical theologians Loyola University Chicago alumni People from Warren, Michigan Philosophers from Michigan Trinity International University faculty University and college founders Wheaton College (Illinois) alumni William Tyndale College alumni Presidents of the Evangelical Theological Society Presidents of the Evangelical Philosophical Society