On December 10th, a group of friends, associates and admirers will gather for a dinner to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the passing of a man who was hardly a household name, but perhaps ought to be. He is the Christian apologist Dr. Greg L. Bahnsen.
Dr. Bahnsen was opined by many as the most prolific Christian apologist in the last quarter of the 20th century in terms of defending the Christian perspective against the assaults of atheism. His 1985 debate with atheist scholar, the late Gordon Stein, was dubbed The Great Debate, and remains a classic as well as a benchmark in Christian apologetics.
There are without a doubt scores of people who would be better suited than I to write this piece. Many knew and worked with Dr. Bahnsen, they understood him personally and intimately, and they would have had many anecdotal stories or testimonials to offer. But that is why my perspective is unique–I never met Dr. Bahnsen, or for that matter, even heard of him until six years after his untimely death.
I remember December of 1995 well though. We just had gone through the first cold snap of what was to be an usually cold winter even for the my region of the country. I was moving into a new residence, and was assisted in moving by a man who had been a friend and mentor to me for over 21 years at that time. It can only be considered a unique parallel that several years later, this particular gentleman passed away after his hospitalization for open heart surgery revealed additional severe health problems. Emergency procedures resulted in complications that led to his death several months later at the youthful age of 46.
It so happened that I heard of Dr. Bahnsen only days after my special friend’s death. A local Christian speaker who I had recently befriended, Dr. Patrick “Jake” Jacobs, gave me a copy of the Great Debate on cassette tape. It turns out Jacobs never met Dr. Bahnsen either, but was a seminary student at Ashland Theological Seminary when Dr. Bahnsen was on the faculty. After becoming enamored with the debate, Jacobs and I pooled our resources together to purchase more of Bahnsen’s taped sermons and lectures in various areas of interest. I was immediately attracted both to the transcendental argument for God’s existence, as well as the Theonomic perspective on ethics.
In one such seminar entitled “Worldview Apologetics,” Dr. Bahnsen told of when he first read the arguments of C.S. Lewis against naturalism, he starkly realized he would be able to debate anybody. After listening to several of Bahnsen’s tapes, I had a similar awareness. If I was to diligently apply the methodology being taught, I too, could answer the critic. In the same lecture, Dr. Bahnsen exhorts his audience, telling them that anyone right down to the janitor sweeping the floor can effectively defend the faith via “presuppositional” argumentation. Bahnsen simplified and distilled the erudition of his own wise mentor, Cornelius Van Til.
Some time ago, a Christian radio program featured an interactive discussion between humanist Kimberly Blaker, who was promoting a book critical of “The Religious Right,” and the host of the program who was a Christian. The host graciously, but firmly dismantled Blaker’s assertions. It turned out that the host was heavily influenced by none other than Greg Bahnsen.
The aspects of Dr. Bahnsen’s approach that struck me were numerous. While Bahnsen was a scholar of no small magnitude, as he earned two degrees concurrently, he yet had a down-to-earth, bucolic approach that made him easy to understand and appreciate. He came off as the kind of guy who you could have a ball with spending an afternoon watching a football game. I finished listening to many a tape wishing I could have met him–wishing I might have been his friend. Looking down the corridors of time during my early studies of the scriptures as a young man early in adulthood, I might only have scarcely dreamed of becoming as faithful, learned and devout, as Dr. Bahnsen clearly was. Learning from him now still gives me hope of what I might yet become.
So many times after hearing a Bahnsen lecture, I felt so grateful that I wanted to thank any member of his family which I could locate, in consideration for all the things I had learned from him. Recently, I got that opportunity when I came across the website of his son David. We exchanged a couple of E-mails back and forth. It turns out that David and I have a number of common interests. It is a correspondence I hope I can cultivate.
Dr. Bahnsen’s life was like a large rock splashing in a quiet mill pond. Although the splash was over only too quickly, the rippling waves of good will wrought by him living his life and ministry, shall continue to make their way toward the hopeful shore. We might also say that he was like the candle that burned out far too early in the night, yet one which burned exceedingly bright while it remained lit.
Greg Bahnsen trained a handful of faithful men to follow in his footsteps, but I doubt if even he might have imagined the positive impact his legacy would have had on a few average guys residing in the Midwest. Dr. Jacobs expressed his own thoughts about Greg Bahnsen, saying, “while he was one of the keenest minds in the world of Christian apologetics, he had a gentle heart and always stressed love in ‘the battle.’ His Legacy is in the spirit of the Bereans.”
Dr. Bahnsen was among a special breed of men whose very heartbeat seemed destined to motivate and inspire others. I am not myself of that gracious calling, but I know that sort of leadership when I see it, and can’t help but to cleave to and reverence it. I suppose I am just keen enough to discern and appreciate the blessings wrought by such rare individuals. On the basis of his manifold contributions to Christian thought, he must be counted among the stalwarts of the Reformed Christian tradition in the last quadrant of the 20th century, such luminaries as Van Til, Rushdoony and Schaeffer.
We might ask what tribute is fitting to honor such men of God as Dr. Bahnsen. I don’t have a complete or an adequate answer, but one thing that comes to mind, is that we should climb the spiritual colonnades on the foundations they have laid, and endeavor to reach just a bit higher ourselves.
“Published originally at EtherZone.com : republication allowed with this notice and hyperlink intact.”