Greg L. Bahnsen (September 17, 1948 – December 11, 1995) was an American Reformed

philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...

, apologist, and debater. He was a minister in the

Orthodox Presbyterian Church The Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC) is a confessional Presbyterian denomination located primarily in the United States, with additional congregations in Canada, Bermuda, and Puerto Rico. It was founded by conservative members of the Presbyter ...

and a full-time Scholar in Residence for the Southern California Center for Christian Studies (SCCCS). He is also considered a contributor to the field of Christian apologetics, as he popularized the presuppositional method of

Cornelius Van Til Cornelius Van Til (May 3, 1895 – April 17, 1987) was a Dutch-American reformed philosopher and theologian, who is credited as being the originator of modern presuppositional apologetics. A graduate of Calvin College, Van Til later received ...

. He is the father of David L. Bahnsen, an American portfolio manager, author, and television commentator.

Early life and education

He was the first born of two sons of Robert and Virginia Bahnsen in

Auburn, Washington Auburn is a city in King County, Washington, United States (with a small portion crossing into neighboring Pierce County). The population was 87,256 at the 2020 Census. Auburn is a suburb in the Seattle metropolitan area, and is currently rank ...

, and grew up in

Pico Rivera, California Pico Rivera is a city located in southeastern Los Angeles County, California. The city is situated approximately southeast of downtown Los Angeles, on the eastern edge of the Los Angeles basin, and on the southern edge of the area known as the ...

. In youth he was beset by a number of medical difficulties, the most serious of which was a lifelong platelet problem that made it difficult for him to stop bleeding, a condition similar to hæmophilia. He also had heart trouble which came to light only during his first college admissions medical exam. Raised in the

, he actively participated in religious activities. He first began reading the apologetics of

when in high school. While attending Westmont College he began writing for the Chalcedon Foundation of Rousas J. Rushdoony and soon came to admire the latter's strong Calvinistic convictions. In 1970 Bahnsen graduated ''

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

'' from Westmont College, receiving his B.A. in philosophy as well as the John Bunyan Smith Award for his overall

grade point average Grading in education is the process of applying standardized measurements for varying levels of achievements in a course. Grades can be assigned as letters (usually A through F), as a range (for example, 1 to 6), as a percentage, or as a numbe ...

. From there he went on to Westminster Theological Seminary in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

, where he studied under Cornelius Van Til. The two became close friends. When he graduated in May 1973, he simultaneously received two degrees,

Master of Divinity For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and di ...

and Master of Theology, as well as the William Benton Greene Prize in apologetics and a Richard Weaver Fellowship from the Intercollegiate Studies Institute. His next academic stop was the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

(USC), where he studied

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. ...

, specializing in the theory of knowledge. In 1975, after receiving ordination in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, he became an associate professor of Apologetics and Ethics at

Reformed Theological Seminary Reformed Theological Seminary (RTS) is a theological seminary in the Reformed theological tradition with campuses in multiple locations in the United States. Founded by conservatives in the Southern Presbyterian Church, the Presbyterian Church in ...

(RTS) in

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the capital of and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, along with Raymond. The city had a population of 153,701 at t ...

. While there, he completed his studies at USC, receiving his Ph.D. in 1978. Bahnsen's four years at RTS were fraught with contention, centered around his particular version of theonomic postmillennialism.

Later life

One of the original pillars of

Christian Reconstruction Christian reconstructionism is a fundamentalist Calvinist theonomic movement. It developed primarily under the direction of Rousas Rushdoony, Greg Bahnsen and Gary North and has had an important influence on the Christian right in the Unite ...

, Bahnsen was a leading proponent of theonomy, postmillennialism, and

presuppositional apologetics Presuppositionalism is an epistemological school of Christian apologetics that examines the presuppositions on which worldviews are based, and invites comparison and contrast between the results of those presuppositions. It claims that apart from ...

. He lectured to a broad range of evangelical Christian groups at many colleges and conferences, not only throughout the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, but in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

. He published over 1700 audio tapes, videos, articles, and books. Greg Bahnsen's vocal advocacy of Christian Reconstructionism and theonomy was highly controversial during his lifetime, and a public disputation pertaining to theonomy led to his dismissal from the

in Jackson, Mississippi. In addition, he was known for his public debates on apologetics, theonomy,

religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatur ...

(such as

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...

, and

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in th ...

), and a variety of socio-political issues (such as

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pre ...

gun control Gun control, or firearms regulation, is the set of laws or policies that regulate the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification, or use of firearms by civilians. Most countries have a restrictive firearm guiding policy, with onl ...

, and

homosexuality Homosexuality is Romance (love), romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romant ...

). Bahnsen is perhaps best known for his debates with atheists as George H. Smith, Gordon Stein, and Edward Tabash. The debate with Stein marked one of the earliest uses of a transcendental argument for the existence of God (TAG). In 1994 a controversy emerged after atheist philosopher Michael Martin was informed three weeks before a scheduled debate with Bahnsen "that Bahnsen would not debate unless Martin gave written permission to SCCCS to tape the debate" for resale to support SCCCS. Martin refused because "he did not want SCCCS to profit from his participation", while SCCCS refused to let Bahnsen debate without the debate being taped. The debate was canceled. Since that time Martin has responded to Bahnsen's use of TAG, doing so in his own debates with Michael Butler, John Frame, and Douglas Jones, and has published his "Transcendental Argument for the Non-Existence of God" in the journal of the

New Zealand Association of Rationalists and Humanists New Zealand Association of Rationalists and Humanists (or NZARH) is an organisation, established in 1927 in New Zealand for the promotion of rationalism and secular humanism. The principal aims are stated as: * To advocate a rational, humane, and ...

, as well as in essays posted on the Secular Web.

Death

Due to his lifelong medical problems, Bahnsen had to undergo a third aortic valve implant surgery on December 5, 1995. After the completion of the operation, serious complications developed within twenty-four hours. He then became comatose for several days and died on December 11, 1995, at the age of 47.

Works

* ''Always Ready: Directions for Defending the Faith'' () * ''Van Til's Apologetic: Readings and Analysis'' () * ''Theonomy in Christian Ethics'' () * ''By This Standard: The Authority Of God's Law Today'' * ''No Other Standard: Theonomy and Its Critics'' * ''House Divided: The Breakup of Dispensational Theology'' with Kenneth Gentry. * ''Homosexuality: A Biblical View'' () * ''Five Views on Law and Gospel'' (Chapter contribution) () * ''Foundations of Christian Scholarship'' (2 Chapter Contributions) () * ''God and Politics: Four Views on the Reformation of Civil Government'' (Chapter contribution) () * ''Theonomy: An Informed Response'' (2 Chapter contributions) () * ''Victory in Jesus: The Bright Hope of Postmillennialism'' () * ''Presuppositional Apologetics: Stated and Defended'' (Edited by Joel McDurmon.) ()

References

External links

Essays by Greg Bahnsen and other writers

Appointed for the Defense of the Gospel: The Life and Ministry of Greg L. Bahnsen
by Kenneth Gentry
Bahnsen vs. Stein Audio Debate transcribed

by John Frame * by Steve M. Schlissel

by John Frame

includes several articles written by Bahnsen * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bahnsen, Greg 1948 births 1995 deaths People from Auburn, Washington Presbyterians from Washington (state) Orthodox Presbyterian Church ministers American Calvinist and Reformed theologians 20th-century Calvinist and Reformed theologians Calvinist and Reformed philosophers Christian apologists Critics of atheism Christian reconstructionism Dominion theology Westmont College alumni Westminster Theological Seminary alumni