Theological Term of the Week

classical apologetics
An approach to apologetics that first uses rational arguments to make the case for the existence of one God, and then uses evidence for the reliability of Scripture, the deity of Christ, etc. to show that Christianity is better than all other forms of theism.

• An example of a classical argument for the existence of God:

  II. Teleological or Design Argument

  A. Explained

  Argues that the presence of order in the universe requires the existence of an orderer.

  A typical formulation of the argument.

  1. The universe manifests evidence of design.
  2. All design demands a designer (which entails x,y,and z characteristics).
  3. Therefore, the universe must have a designer.
  4. This designer is the God of the Bible.

• From Apologetics and the Limits of Reason:

  Classical apologetics has the most positive view of philosophy in general, and even of non-Christian philosophy, of the four approaches to apologetics. The classical apologist views the apologetic task as articulating the Christian position in a way that communicates that position clearly and faithfully in terms that people of non-Christian worldviews and religions can understand. This does not mean that non-Christian philosophies are accepted without qualification, but that the Christian thinker uses the categories and insights of non-Christian systems of thought in order to make Christian thought intelligible to the non-Christian. Classical apologists tend to see a great deal of overlap in subject matter and method between apologetics and philosophy.

Learn more:

1. GotQuestions.org: What is classical apologetics?
2. Christian Apologetics and Research Ministries: Classical Apologetics
3. Bible.org: Classical Apologetics: It Stands to Reason, Classical Apologetics: A Reasonable Faith, The Rationality of the Christian Worldview, Apologetics and the Limits of Reason.

Related terms:

• presuppositional apologetics
• evidential apologetics
• cosmological argument
• moral argument
• ontological argument
• teleological argument

Do you have a a theological term you’d like to see featured here as a Theological Term of the Week? If you email it to me, I’ll seriously consider using it.

I’m also interested in any suggestions you have for tweaking my definitions or for additional (or better) articles or sermons/lectures for linking. I’ll give you credit and a link back to your blog if I use your suggestion.

Clicking on the Theological Term graphic at the top of this post will take you to a list of all the previous theological terms organized in alphabetical order or by topic.

Round the Sphere Again: Presuppositionalism Once More

Act 17 Twice

1. A concise outline for the transcendental argument for the existence of God, and an example from scripture:

   Paul … in his entire speech in Acts 17, assumes God’s existence from his first sentence and builds upon that transcendental foundation. Whether it’s the fact that God is Creator (v. 24), that he is self-sufficient and all men depend on him (v. 25), that all men come from a common ancestor and God is the Lord of history (v. 26), that God demands repentance (v. 30), and has appointed a final day of judgment (v. 31), or that Christ was raised from the dead, Paul argues for his worldview from his worldview…. (RealApologetics Blog)

2. A discussion of “the problem of the criterion.”

   To avoid a subjectivist guessing game and/or utter skepticism, we must appeal to an ultimate locus of authority that is comprehensive in knowledge. This is what Christians call the Triune God, and I proclaim to you in Pauline fashion (Acts 17:23) that He is the only actual Criterion that humans can appeal to in order to justify knowledge. (Triablogue)

Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy 21

What do Christians mean when they say the Bible is inerrant? The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy tells us what leading inerrantist mean by inerrancy. I’ll be posting a section of this statement each week until I’ve posted the whole thing.

You can read previously posted sections of this statement in by clicking here. After a preface and a short statement, the Chicago Statement contains a section called Articles of Affirmation and Denial.

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Article XIX.

We affirm that a confession of the full authority, infallibility, and inerrancy of Scripture is vital to a sound understanding of the whole of the Christian faith. We further affirm that such confession should lead to increasing conformity to the image of Christ.

We deny that such confession is necessary for salvation. However, we further deny that inerrancy can be rejected without grave consequences, both to the individual and to the Church.