Outthinking the World for Christ

May 12, 2003 by Doug Groothuis

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The Mission of Denver Seminary’s Philosophy of Religion Program

What does philosophy have to do with Christianity? Paul warned us not to be taken captive by “hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ” (Colossians 2:8). Yet, Paul spoke knowledgeably with the philosophers on Mars Hill. He understood their worldview, what common ground they shared with Christianity, and how their “hollow and deceptive philosophy” should be lovingly corrected by God’s truth (Acts 17:16-31). Peter commanded us always to “be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that we have” (1 Peter 3:15). This is a key biblical text for Christian apologetics: the discipline of defending Christianity as true, rational, and compelling. Throughout history, great Christian thinkers such as Augustine, Aquinas, Jonathan Edwards, Blaise Pascal, and C. S. Lewis have grappled with the intellectual issues of their times in order to defend Christian truth.

Reading Francis Schaeffer’s classic book, The God Who is There, shortly after my conversion in 1976 sparked in me a vision for apologetics and philosophy. He argued that Christianity is objectively true and rational, and that it uniquely provides hope and meaning for our increasingly non-Christian culture. Christians should outthink the world for Christ!

An important chapter of my calling began when I was invited to teach at Denver Seminary in 1993. Dr. Gordon Lewis and Dr. Vernon Grounds had established Denver Seminary as one of the few evangelical seminaries known for its engagement of philosophical thought, and had been teaching here for decades. Building on this strong foundation, I teach and mentor students in the philosophy M. A. program, as well as many others who take my courses. It is a challenging and rewarding endeavor to contribute to the lives and future ministries of my students. Our philosophy graduates have gone on to study in doctoral programs, teach in colleges, publish articles, and serve in church and parachurch ministries around the country and the world.

In addition to their usual school work, Denver Seminary philosophy students engage in hands-on ministry preparation. Their assignments include interviewing and evangelizing non-Christians and observing and critiquing a non-Christian religious event. We seek to acquaint them with our pluralistic and postmodern culture, so they may better minister to people who hold a variety of worldviews (see 1 Corinthians 8:4-6). It is essential to train Christian leaders to master and communicate Christian truth. Postmodernists claim that objective truth does not exist and that there is no overarching worldview that compels belief. In contrast, Jesus commanded us to disciple the nations according to his objective, universal, and absolute truth (Matthew 28:18-20; John 14:1-6; Acts 4:12). We need to communicate this to our culture intelligently.

I attempt to speak on a secular college campus at least once per term. (I need to do apologetics, not just teach it!) In November of 2000, I spoke to about five hundred students at the University of Colorado at Boulder as part of a campus-wide outreach. The talk was well received by Christians and non-Christians. Several Denver Seminary students from my apologetics course attended the event and were encouraged to cultivate their skills in doing this kind of outreach.

Two new developments in the philosophy department are heartening. First, in the fall of 2001, Dr. Stanley Obitts will join Dr. Grounds and Dr. Lewis on our senior faculty. Professor Obitts recently retired as professor of philosophy at Westmont College, where for over thirty years he had tremendous experience and success in teaching and guiding students in the challenging field of philosophy. Many of his students have received doctorates and are now teaching philosophy in various institutions.

Second, we are now offering an option in place of a Master’s thesis. Although students may still write a thesis if they wish, we expect that many will chose to take a new class designed to equip them to write philosophy papers for publication in journals and thoughtful periodicals. This course will be a significant professional boost to our students and will encourage them to inject a Christian perspective into the culture at large.

We will continue to offer academically rigorous courses in the history of philosophy, contemporary philosophy, philosophical ethics, metaphysics, epistemology, religious pluralism, Christian apologetics, new religious (or New Age) movements, Christian ethics and modern culture, and the philosophies of Blaise Pascal and C. S. Lewis.

Please pray for our philosophy of religion program and tell others about it so that Denver Seminary may continue to equip Christians to outthink the world for Christ.