Thursday, February 12, 2009

24th anniversary of the Stein-Bahnsen debate

When I began studying apologetics, I began with the Creation/Evolution issue. In fact, I studied that issue into the ground. But I always felt like something was missing. My primary sources for arguments and information were Creationist organizations like Institute for Creation Research, who were primarily evidentialists. Eventually, I came across Answers in Genesis, who took a different approach, but I just couldn't figure out what it was. But whatever they did, it made more sense. Eventually, I figured out that they were Presuppositionalists. And after a few years, I started to really grasp this apologetic methodology.

However, it wasn't until I encountered Greg Bahnsen where that light bulb in my head really lit up. And it was his famous debate with Gordon Stein that really got me thinking more deeply about how I engage in apologetics. Recently, Answers in Genesis, has begun a series of apologetic articles describing this methodology in rememberance of the late Dr. Bahnsen. I would very much recommend checking it out. Also, if you aren't familiar with Dr. Bahnsen, go to YouTube and just type "Bahnsen debate" and there are two debates available where you can really see how this brilliant man engaged unbelievers.

2 comments:

Brian said...

Mike,
Good post. It's such a classic debate.
Even for those who do not embrace the presuppositional approach, I think there is much to be gained from seeking to understand it properly. This debate offers a great demonstration of the approach.

Brian said...

By the way, the audio of the debate can be found here.