CLASSICAL APOLOGETICS A Rational Defense of the Christian Faith and a Critique of Presuppositional Apologetics

Abstract

Christianity is rational. But because it provokes passion, devotion, prayer, worship, and aspirations to obedience, its purely rational element can easily be submerged or concealed from view. It has been called variously a “religion,” a “way of life,” an “experience,” a “faith,” and an “ideology.” That Christianity involves more, much more than rationality, is evident. That it is eminently rational is not always evident. Throughout this work, the authors, John Gerstner, Arthur Lindsley, and R. C. Sproul, affirm the primacy of the mind in the Christian faith. To suggest the primacy of the mind is outrageous to some, particularly to those who equate rationality with rationalism. We also affirm the primacy of the heart. The scope of this volume focuses primarily on the rational aspect of Christianity. Our emphasis on this part, however, must not be misconstrued as a summary of the whole.