The Tulip Driven Life

By: Thomas F. Booher Some may believe that a pastor’s inability to defend the faith is an unimportant issue. After all, is not a minister preaching to believers who are already convinced of Christianity? Indeed, he is, and this is precisely why the pastor must have a firm grasp of biblical apologetics. It is the pastor’s job to help equip the saints so that they are always ready “to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear” (1 Peter 3:15). The pastor himself must be well-versed in defending the faith, and he must know how to do it in a biblical manner, so as to teach and model apologetics for the congregation. Defending the faith well comes with benefits for both minster and congregation alike.             Apologetics gives the minister greater confidence when he preaches the word because he knows that his faith is sure. Indeed, the great value and benefit of presupp...

FRAME AND BAHNSEN ON VAN TIL’S APOLOGETIC: A COMPARISON  By: Thomas F. Booher                John Frame and Greg Bahnsen are two of the most well-known advocates of Van Tillian presuppositional apologetics. Both studied under Van Til and are especially qualified to write on his apologetic method. What follows will be a brief examination of both Frame and Bahnsen’s analysis of Van Til’s apologetic. It will become evident that, on the whole, Bahnsen is in greater agreement with Van Til’s thought than Frame is, though both men would claim to accept the heart of Van Til’s methodology. Frame and Bahnsen will be discussed together, examining their interaction with Van Til’s teaching in several key areas, highlighting both their agreements and disagreements.              For Cornelius Van Til, an apologetic dialogue between believer and...