To Convince or Constrain? A Discussion on the Nature of Apologetics in the 21st Century from apologetics.com on Vimeo.

Panelists exploring the future of apologetics in the 21st Century:

• Greg Koukl, Founder and President of Stand to Reason, author and radio host
• Sean McDowell, Worldview Ministries, founder and president
• Dr. Todd Bates, Associate Professor of Philosophy at California Baptist University
• Sam Welbaum, Apologist and Radio Host with Apologetics.com

Throughout Christian history there have been varying responses to the use of philosophy within theology. Tertullian is famous for decrying philosophy while the Medieval Schoolmen took its use to academic heights, believing that it is impossible to fulfill the mandate in 1 Peter 3:15 “unless we inquire rationally into what we hold on faith.” The church’s stance on the relationship between philosophy and theology has swayed between these two poles for centuries. Traditionally, when theologians have elected to make use of philosophy, it has often taken the form of apologetics, i.e. philosophy as a defense for theology. Thomas Aquinas is famous for pointing out that one must appeal to some common authority in order to defend against objections to the Christian faith. In Thomas’s time, the appeal inevitably was to Aristotle.