Experiencing the Old and the New in Apologetics
In his essay, “On the Reading of Old Books,” C. S. Lewis wrote, “If you join at eleven o’clock a conversation which began at eight o’clock you will often not see the real bearing of what is said. . . . It is a good rule, after reading a new book, never to allow yourself another new one till you have read an old one in between. If that is too much for you, you should at least read one old one to every three new ones.” (Note: the preceding words from Lewis were written in 1944).
It has been nearly fifty years since I was introduced to some old apologetics books, which were among the earliest volumes of the Bampton Lectures that began in 1780 in Oxford, England. The Bampton Lectures were founded at the bequest of John Bampton to be a series delivered annually by a qualified lecturer addressing a theological issue. Traditionally, the lectures were published in book form. Many of the Bampton Lectures, especially during the 17th and 18th centuries, addressed matters that are directly related to Christian apologetics. They are rich literary treasures. Rawlinson’s Historic Evidence for the Truth of the Christian Records (1859) and Liddon’s The Divinity of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ (1866) are great examples of the apologetics value of the books from the early Bampton lectures.
In the aforementioned essay, C. S. Lewis observed that the “mistaken preference for the modern books and this shyness of the old ones is nowhere more rampant than in theology,” and one could add, more particularly, in apologetics. Lewis clarified his position saying, “Naturally, since I myself am a writer, I do not wish the ordinary reader to read no modern books.” Good students will recognize the value of both the older classical apologetics volumes in conjunction also with appreciation for more recent material done well.
Warren Apologetics is a informational resource center that publishes both the old and the new in Christian apologetics. As the Center’s name implies, the primary base undergirding this information is set in the context of the apologetic work of the late Thomas B. Warren (1920-2000). Warren was truly a pioneer in the field of apologetics, influencing much of what is being done today in this field. His remarkable work is manifested in his debates with high level 20th century philosophers which, along with his books, lectures, and other writings, witness to the logically sound and powerful theistic, biblical, and Christological argumentation of this gifted thinker. The Warren Center publishes Dr. Warren’s work, reprinting his books (i.e., Warren-Flew Debate; Have Atheists Proved There Is No God?, et al.), but also individual articles from Warren’s pen are included regularly in the Center’s bi-annual journal, Sufficient Evidence: A Journal of Christian Apologetics. Additionally, Warren writings are regularly posted and archived at warrenapologetics.org.
As a remarkable example of blending the old with the new, the recent book on the Bible’s divine origin published by Warren Apologetics in 2021, The Utterance of God: An Extended Treatment of Thomas B. Warren’s Argument with the Proof that Assures Man the Bible is the Word of God, is a one of a kind volume. A beautifully bound hard cover book of more than 550 pages, it includes some of the best apologetics writers of today. This book addresses the crucial topic of the inspiration of the Bible, with Warren’s historic argument for inspiration providing the logical framework for the absolute proof that the Bible is the Word of God. To our knowledge, there is nothing like this book for making the logical case for the inspiration and authority of the Book of books!
Warren Apologetics also has its own annual lecture series similar to the Bampton Lectures. On the second Thursday of May, since 2011, the Spring Apologetics Lectures (SAL) have occurred. (the disruptions caused by COVID prevented this series being held in 2020 and 2021). These lectures have highlighted many areas of interest with an underlying apologetic value. Themes throughout the years have included: Early Apologists Speak to the 21st Century (Everett Ferguson, 2011); Engaging Moral Philosophy for Contemporary Apologetics (Rolland Pack, 2012); An Adversarial Dialogue on the Existence of Jesus Christ (Ralph Gilmore, Robert Price, and Roy Abraham Varghese, 2013); Genesis 1 and Lessons from Space (Nobie Stone, 2014); Archaeology and Apologetics (Dale Manor, 2015); Is Worldview only a Buzzword? (Dick Sztanyo, 2016); Once Delivered Forever Established (Doug Burleson, 2017); A Lawyer Looks at the Trials of Jesus (Matt Vega, 2018); C. S. Lewis and the Moral Argument (Devin Brown, 2019). These excellent books and others to follow will result in a veritable apologetics library. Serious students of apologetics need this collection of books.
On Thursday, May 12, 2022, at the McDonough Auditorium of Marietta College (Marietta, OH). Warren Apologetics Center will hosted its 10th such SAL series. Biblical Roots of the American Order was the theme for this year’s event, and Dr. Daniel Dreisbach, professor at American University, Washington D. C., was the guest speaker. Driesbach’s principal research interests include American constitutional law and history, First Amendment law, church-state relations, and criminal procedure. Among the courses he teaches at American University are American Legal Culture, Issues in Civil Justice, Law and Religion, and the Constitution and Criminal Procedure. He is the author of ten books including Reading the Bible with the American Founders, and is a contributor to the Warren Center’s aforementioned publication, The Utterance of God.
From the historic campus of Marietta College, Dr. Dreisbach delivered the following:
Lecture 1: “From Protestant Reformation to Political Self-Government” which will outline the basic thesis of the series. In cultures shaped by the Protestant Reformation, including Britain’s North American colonies, there was a chain of links connecting Reformation theology to the vernacular Bible, the vernacular Bible to literacy education, literacy education to a broader pursuit of education, and education to political self-government.
Lecture 2: “The Constitutional Legacy of New England’s Bible Commonwealth” which examines the biblical roots of the American constitutional tradition laid in Plymouth Colony’s “Mayflower Compact” (1602) and in the founding legal documents of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the early 1640s. These documents defined an American national identity and established the foundations for an American political tradition committed to the rule of law, due process of law, and constitutionalism.
Lecture 3: “The Bible and the American Founding” will consider the Bible’s vital contributions to the American founding project in the last third of the eighteenth century. It will briefly examine the Bible’s influence on the political and constitutional thought of the American founders.
This Fall, the Warren Center will publish these lectures. In addition to the content from the lectures delivered May 12, this new book will provide additional material not presented during the lectures. This book will be a rich study in old and new apologetics material. Do not miss it!
Charles C. Pugh III
Executive Director