- Greg Bahnsen
Greg L. Bahnsen (
September 17 ,1948 –December 11 ,1995 ) was an influential Christianphilosopher , apologist, and debater. He was anordained minister in theOrthodox Presbyterian Church and a full time Scholar in Residence for the Southern California Center for Christian Studies.Early life and education
He was the first born of two sons of Robert and Virginia Bahnsen in
Auburn, Washington , and grew up inPico Rivera, California . In youth he was beset by a number of medical difficulties, the most serious of which was a lifelongblood platelet problem that made it difficult for him to stop bleeding. He also had heart trouble — a fact that came to light only during his first college admissions medical exam.Raised in the
Orthodox Presbyterian Church , he actively participated in religious activities. He first began reading the apologetics ofCornelius Van Til when in high school, and his absorption of these works influenced his later career. While attendingWestmont College he began writing for theChalcedon Foundation of Rousas J. Rushdoony and soon came to admire the latter's strong Calvinistic convictions.In 1969 Bahnsen married Cathie Wade. The two went on to have three sons of their own as well as an adopted Korean daughter, but the marriage ended in divorce in 1990 after his wife left him for a former church member.
In 1970 Bahnsen graduated "
magna cum laude " from Westmont College, receiving hisB.A. in philosophy as well as the John Bunyan Smith Award for his overallgrade point average . From there he went on toWestminster Theological Seminary inPhiladelphia , where he studied under Van Til. The two became close friends. When he graduated in May 1973, he simultaneously received two degrees,Master of Divinity andMaster of Theology , as well as the William Benton Greene Prize in apologetics and aRichard Weaver Fellowship from theIntercollegiate Studies Institute . His next academic stop was theUniversity of Southern California (USC), where he studiedphilosophy , specializing in the theory of knowledge. In 1975, after receiving ordination in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, he became an associate professor of Apologetics and Ethics atReformed Theological Seminary inJackson, Mississippi . While there, he completed his studies at USC, receiving hisPh.D. in 1978.Later life
One of the original pillars of Christian Reconstruction, Bahnsen was a leading proponent of
theonomy ,postmillennialism , andpresuppositional apologetics . He lectured to a broad range ofevangelical Christian groups at many colleges and conferences, not only throughout theUnited States but inScotland andRussia . [https://host186.ipowerweb.com/~kenneth1/appointed.htm] He published numerous articles and has over 1700 audio tapes, videos, articles, and books to his name.Greg Bahnsen's vocal advocacy of Christian Reconstructionism and theonomy was highly controversial during his lifetime, and a public disputation pertaining to theonomy led to his dismissal from the
Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, Mississippi.In addition, he was known for his public debates on
apologetics , theonomy,religion (such asRoman Catholicism ,Islam , andJudaism ), and a variety of socio-political issues (such asgun control andhomosexuality ). He is perhaps best known for his debates with such leading atheists asGeorge H. Smith ,Gordon Stein , andEdward Tabash . The debate with Stein marked one of the earliest uses of atranscendental argument for the existence of God (TAG), which Stein later conceded he had been unprepared for but to which he subsequently developed a reply. [http://www.infidels.org/infidels/newsletter/1996/may.html]Bahnsen was once described as "the man atheists fear most"Fact|date=May 2008 because of the controversy surrounding the Bahnsen-Martin debate, which was canceled by Michael Martin, who explained, "I refused to allow the debate to be taped and sold to support a Christian organization." [http://www.serve.com/thibodep/cr/press.htm] [http://www.infidels.org/infidels/newsletter/1996/may.html] Atheists maintain that Martin has since adequately responded to Bahnsen's use of TAG in that debate, doing so in his own debates with Michael Butler,
John Frame , and Douglas Jones as well as in papers posted on theSecular Web . [http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/michael_martin/induction.html] [http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/michael_martin/logic.html]Bahnsen was known to his friends for his personal side. Douglas Jones wrote in Vol. 8, No. 1 of "Credenda/Agenda" magazine following Bahnsen’s death that "some of us also remember him for his love of adventure movies, his fondness for Chinese food, his love of laughter, his lightning fast typing skills, and his encyclopedic knowledge of the history of
rock and roll . No one could even come close to beating him on the details of rock history."Due to his lifelong medical problems, Bahnsen had to undergo a third
aortic valve implant surgery on December 5, 1995. After the completion of the operation, serious complications developed within twenty-four hours. He then became comatose for several days and died on December 11, 1995 at the age of forty-seven.Books authored
:"See references at
Christian Reconstructionism for links to free online versions of some of these (and related) books".* "Always Ready: Directions for Defending the Faith" (ISBN 0-915815-28-1)
* "Van Til's Apologetic: Readings and Analysis" (ISBN 0-87552-098-7)
* "Theonomy in Christian Ethics" (ISBN 0-9678317-3-3)
* "By This Standard: The Authority Of God's Law Today" (ISBN 0-930464-06-0; Available [http://freebooks.commentary.net/freebooks/docs/2c6a_47e.htm online for free] .)
* "No Other Standard: Theonomy and Its Critics" (ISBN 0-930464-56-7; Available [http://freebooks.commentary.net/freebooks/docs/219e_47e.htm online for free] )
* "House Divided: The Breakup of Dispensational Theology" with Kenneth Gentry. (ISBN 0-930464-27-3; Available [http://freebooks.entrewave.com/freebooks/docs/21fe_47e.htm online for free] )
* "Homosexuality: A Biblical View" (ISBN 0-8010-0744-5)
* "Five Views on Law and Gospel" (Chapter contribution) (ISBN 0-310-21271-5)
* "Foundations of Christian Scholarship" (2 Chapter Contributions) (ISBN 1-879998-25-4)
* "God and Politics: Four Views on the Reformation of Civil Government" (Chapter contribution) (ISBN 0-87552-448-6)
* "Theonomy: An Informed Response" (2 Chapter contributions) (ISBN 0-930464-59-1)
* "Victory in Jesus: The Bright Hope of Postmillennialism" (ISBN 0-9678317-1-7)Books about
* "The Standard Bearer: A Festschrift for Greg L. Bahnsen" (ISBN 0-9678317-4-1)
References
External links
* [http://www.cmfnow.com/index.asp?PageAction=Custom&ID=8 Essays by Greg Bahnsen and other writers]
* [https://host186.ipowerweb.com/~kenneth1/appointed.htm Appointed for the Defense of the Gospel: The Life and Ministry of Greg L. Bahnsen] byKenneth Gentry
* [http://www.bellevuechristian.org/faculty/dribera/htdocs/PDFs/Apol_Bahnsen_Stein_Debate_Transcript.pdf Bahnsen vs. Stein Audio Debate transcribed]
* [http://www.frame-poythress.org/frame_articles/Bahnsen.htm "Bahnsen at the Stein Debate"] by John Frame
* [http://www.scccs.org/scccs/word/PenpointArticle.asp?id=30 Review of "The Standard Bearer: A Festschrift for Greg L. Bahnsen"] by Steve M. Schlissel
* [http://www.frame-poythress.org/frame_articles/1977Bahnsen.htm Review of "Theonomy in Christian Ethics"] by John Frame
* [http://www.reformed.org/apologetics/index.html?mainframe=/apologetics/index_apol.html Reformed Apologetics] includes several articles written by Bahnsen
* [http://www.youtube.com/user/gregbahnsen Videos of Bahnsen] onYouTube
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