Apologetics
Southwestern Journal of Theology
Volume 60, No. 2 – Spring 2018
Managing Editor: W. Madison Grace II
In Peter’s first epistle, he states, “but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, ready at any time to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you” (1 Pet 3:15, CSB). From the earliest time of the history of Christianity, there has been an active work in offering an apologia, a defense, for the faith. We not only find this with Peter and other New Testament authors, but we also find this defending the faith a practice of the church. From the second-century Apologists to the Medieval thinkers like Thomas Aquinas and even to the twentieth century’s C.S. Lewis, Christians have been offering reasoned responses for the beliefs that they hold to be true. Sometimes this is within the community of believers and sometimes this is presented externally to those outside of the church. Either way, there is a great tradition of apologetics in church history. Today we can find apologetics being practiced from local church youth Bible studies to church pulpits and to academic lectures. On a variety of levels of thought, Christians are engaging in providing reasoned thoughts for their faith—or doing apologetics.
At Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and Scarborough College, we are greatly interested in the work of apologetics. Not only do we offer a variety of graduate degrees in philosophy and apologetics, but we also have built a strong philosophy department that is interested in the field of Christian apologetics. This present volume of the Southwestern Journal of Theology is in response to the growing interest in these programs and the exceptional work of our faculty. Highlighted within this issue are some of our philosophy faculty as well as work from other scholars who are in this field of study.
In the articles that follow, one will find works that address a variety of ideas and questions. We begin with Paul Gould addressing the question of the origin of the universe and argues that “God is the best explanation.” We proceed to Ross Inman’s engagement with the argument for atheism utilizing the concept of divine hiddenness. Following this article is a work on the history of apologetics by Timothy McGrew of Western Michigan University illustrating that the work of apologetics has continued through Christian history. Keith Loftin’s article next addresses the argument that human persons are only physical beings and argues against the belief called “physicalism.” Finally, Travis Dickinson addresses the role and use of evidence in regard to Christian belief.
These articles are diverse in subject matter but are unified in addressing a variety of important questions pertaining to the field of apologetics as well as the nature of Christian belief. As always, following our articles are a variety of book reviews pertaining to a variety of fields, from biblical studies to philosophy and apologetics.
