Q/A with K. Scott Oliphint on “Christian Apologetics”

K. Scott Oliphint and William Edgar have compiled several apologetic primary sources into one reader that was published with Crossway in 2009 entitled Christian Apologetics Past and Present: A Primary Source Reader.

Dr. Oliphint was kind enough to answer a few questions about the new volume.

1. Why did you feel there was a need to provide a primary source reader, like this one, for apologetics?

Dr. Edgar and I noticed, as we were teaching courses on the history of apologetics, that there were not texts available for us. The motive was fairly selfish; we needed a text.

2. What is unique about what you are trying to accomplish with this series?

See #1. But also we are trying to show that and how a defense of Christianity has been a significant aspect of church life from the beginning.
3. Is there a quality to each of these works that caused you to choose them over others?  Is there a certain figure or work that you wished you could have included?

We tried to choose, for the most part, people who were known to be apologists in church history. In one sense that could include almost everyone, but we had to narrow it down to just some of the key figures. Perhaps the major frustration of the project was the number of people we could not include. However, given that there is nothing else out there, it’s at least a good start.

4. Is this sort of work helpful for pastors in their efforts in preaching and evangelizing?

We certainly hope that it is. Apologetics is meant for the church; it is a task both within and without its walls. Most of the apologists saw themselves as encouraging the church in its tasks. Some of the early apologists were actually trying to save the lives of those who were being killed for their testimony. Noting the respective situations, concerns and teachings of these men should be a great encouragement to pastors and others in the constant fight against unbelief.
5. For those of us looking forward to volume 2, can you give us a sneak peak as to whose works will be included? Any date set for the release of volume 2?

Volume 2 will be a good bit bigger than v. 1. Because it covers the periods from 1500 to the present, and because there has been so much written in that time period, the frustrations we felt from v. 1 were magnified here. We had to leave so many people out, and even the ones we included might not have been included by other editors. Nevertheless, we do think it gives a fair, even if truncated, assessment of the state of apologetics through these latter centuries. We’ve included “the usuals,” such as Luther, Calvin, Owen, Butler, Paley, and into the current discussion with Plantinga, Westphal, Marion and others. I am assuming it will be out sometime late next year

6. In your previous writings you unashamedly confess to be a presuppositional apologist.  What apologist from your first volume do you find most helpful and biblical?

I’m not sure about “most helpful and biblical,” but I am constantly struck with the courage and approach of Justin Martyr. He is laying his own life on the line; he is confronting the emperor and showing him the inconsistency of his own position. In that way, he uses a legitimate ad hominem approach to challenge him. He does not simply come with demands, but he reasons with the emperor on the basis of what the emperor himself claims to believe. If you read Justin’s Apology and put yourself in his place, you can’t help but realize his enormous tenacity and strength, that could only be a product of the power of the Holy Spirit within him.

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We are grateful for Dr. Oliphint’s help.

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