New dictionary of Christian apologetics

NEW DICTIONARY OF CHRISTIAN APOLOGETICS
Eds. Campbell Campbell-Jack and Gavin J. McGrath
IVP. 780 pages. £32.99
ISBN 1 84474 093 5

This is the latest in the series of IVP reference dictionaries. It is a fascinating volume, covering apologetics in the widest possible sense.

It begins with six foundational essays of about eight pages each: Christian apologetics for a new century, Approaches to apologetics, Legitimacy of apologetics, Viability of apologetics, Theology and apologetics, and Apologetics and the non-Western world.

400 articles

Then comes the main section of the book, made up of 400 articles averaging two pages each from over 200 contributors representing conservative evangelicalism in the English-speaking world. The articles cover individuals, past and present, Christian and non-Christian (e.g. Anselm, Barth, Carnell, T.S. Eliot, Foucault, Gandhi), biblical topics (e.g. Heaven, Hell, Jesus, Marriage, Miracles), philosophical and theological issues (e.g. Materialism, Monism, Music, Natural Law, Ontological argument, Postmodernity), and just about anything else related to apologetics. Virtually all the articles include a bibliography.

There are a number of key articles by well-known heavyweights: I.H. Marshall on Predestination, John Frame on Presuppositional Apologetics, R.T. France on the Historical Jesus, J.I. Packer on Revelation, Henri Blocher on Evil, Arthur Holmes on Word-View, and Gene Veith on Television (!). The book concludes with three brief indices: name, subjects, and articles.

The extraordinary scope of this volume stems from the editors’ understanding of apologetics: Christian apologetics is not so much a set of answers or responses as a way of seeing (as well as being and living) consistent with a biblical world-view — seeing all of reality and existence through biblical revelation, the chief focus of which is the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ (p.vii).

Helpful and balanced

Most of what I sampled was helpful and well set out. The article on Heaven is an excellent three-page Biblical study showing that heaven is personal, material, active, and certain. The article on Hell is well written and balanced. It carefully sets out three views: first, that the descriptions of hell are literal and the punishments everlasting; second, that while the punishments are unending, the descriptions of them make free use of imagery; and third, that the conscious sufferings of the damned will eventually end in extinction (conditional immortality).

The article on Homosexuality is one of the lengthier ones (five pages) and is clear in its rejection of homosexual unions. Its focus is on the philosophical and socio-scientific arguments and does not, in my view, give enough attention to the biblical arguments.

The article on Islam is a highly structured consideration of the Islamic critique of Christianity and the Christian response, with references to both the Koran and the Bible. While it is excellent on the theological issues, it could have been written 30 years ago as it has little on contemporary Islamic militancy and fundamentalism.

I found the article on Gender particularly outstanding. It surveys the history of feminism, and then summarises four Christian approaches to the issue. The article on Postmodernity is hard going, but the author might well take that as fair comment, given that he emphasises the complexity of the issue and warns against a simple acceptance or rejection of postmodernity.

Treasure trove

The book is a remarkable treasure trove, but there were some things that disappointed me. It is slanted a bit too much towards the academic and away from the popular. For example, we are enlightened on Foundationalism, but get no help on near-death experiences. Klass Jan Popma (who?) is included, but not John Stott, J.I. Packer, Ravi Zacharias, or Josh McDowell. These latter may not be considered original thinkers, but few have been more effective in commending the faith. (I was pleased to see an excellent article on Francis Schaeffer.)

The Bible

My biggest criticism is that the book is weak where evangelicals in the past have been strong. The article on Biblical Inspiration is too abstract, focusing almost entirely on how the Bible functions in the ‘community’. There is little consideration of the Bible’s witness to itself, nor of the issues usually associated with inspiration. (The article on Authority was far better, surveying attempts to ground authority in the church, the Spirit, human reason, and the Bible, and clearly advocating the last.)

The article on Archaeology was very inadequate. The author has little sympathy with those who use archaeology to ‘prove’ the Bible, and hence provides little material in that direction. He has too much sympathy with those who see the OT narratives as ‘story’ and would therefore regard archaeological evidence as unnecessary or misguided. Historians and archaeologists have done much to substantiate the Bible as a book of history. This has long been a part of evangelical apologetics, and seems largely ignored here. (The article on Historical Difficulties in the OT is better, and the one on the Historical Jesus is excellent.)

Accepting evolution

The most disappointing thing, for me, was the treatment of Origins, again traditionally a key issue in apologetics (if the Bible is wrong on page one, why read further?). The author seems to accept evolutionary theory completely, rejecting only some of its philosophical extensions. He argues that there is nothing in the Bible that cannot be reconciled with evolution and that Christians have little to fear from it. He even quotes Francis Schaeffer’s remark that ‘the Bible is not a scientific textbook’, whereas Schaeffer was adamant that the Bible is trustworthy wherever it speaks, including history and science. The article is dismissive not only of strict creationism but also of the intelligent design movement. Indeed, the whole Dictionary has no articles on Creationism, nor Henry Morris who led that movement, nor the more contemporary Intelligent Design movement, nor Phillip Johnson who has done so much to promote it. Surely this is one-sided. In a book of this scope, the arguments for Creationism and for Intelligent Design need to be heard.

Those reservations aside, this Dictionary is a most impressive and useful reference work. It’s a bit pricey, so put it on your Christmas list.

Barry Seagren,
former staff member of L’Abri Fellowship and retired pastor