Challenging the dominant Van Tillian approach in Reformed apologetics, this book by a leading expert in contemporary Reformed theology sets forth the principles that undergird a classic Reformed approach. J. V. Fesko’s detailed exegetical, theological, and historical argument takes as its starting point the classical Reformed understanding of the “two books” of God’s revelation: nature and Scripture. Believers should always rest on the authority of Scripture but also can and should appeal to the book of nature in the apologetic task.
Richard A. MullerReforming Apologetics presents a compelling case for the shape and content of Reformed apologetics by reconnecting it with the roots of the Reformed faith. Fesko carefully examines the nineteenth-century idealist backgrounds of the Van Tilian and Dooyeweerdian approaches and demonstrates their flawed epistemology. He outlines the enduring strength of the genuine tradition of the Reformation, which begins with the authority of Scripture but also recognizes the presence of intuitions and concepts common to believer and unbeliever and of the natural law written on the heart–common grounds of discourse necessary to the apologetic task.
P. J. Zondervan Professor of Historical Theology, Calvin Theological Seminary
Paul HelmFesko writes with learning and verve as he ploughs up the baked ground of much current Reformed apologetics, letting in light and fresh air. His basic charge is that the apologetics of Van Til and Dooyeweerd is inconsistent in its basic method: they criticized other apologetics as unholy mixtures of the biblical and the pagan, while their own efforts did not escape from such ‘synthesis.’ In the final chapter, Fesko sets out afresh the methods and objectives of the classical tradition of Reformed apologetics. If you are skeptical about whether a book on apologetics can be good reading, then this incisive treatment will convince you.
author, Human Nature from Calvin to Edwards
Michael AllenReformed theologians haven’t paid very careful attention to the doctrine of nature in the twentieth century, leading to a number of unfortunate consequences. Fesko helpfully reminds us of deeper Christian and Reformed reflection on what Holy Scripture reveals about nature and of its significant implications for Christian apologetics. It’s a grace to think anew about God’s creative goodness, and Fesko provides a helpful prompt in this important direction.
John Dyer Trimble Professor of Systematic Theology, Reformed Theological Seminary