When Apologetics Goes Wrong - II.
Last time I introduced you to Alexander Balmain Bruce, the late 19th Century Free Church of Scotland apologist. I intimated that his apologetic ran into trouble. This time I intend to say something about that.
Bruce was noted for his use of ad hominem apologetic, arguing from the position of his opponents and showing that, even if their alledged 'facts' were true (Bruce's specialty was New Testament criticism), Christ was more than just a man, and the New Testament histories were, in a great measure, accurate.
Bruce also believed that, if he yielded certain outworks of the faith, he would be better able to defend the citadel, the core of Christian belief. Thus his method is sometimes called the Concessive Apologetic. He conceded a few points in order to gain a hearing.
"The attitude of the apologist must be that of one who refuses to be deeply committed on critical questions. But on the other hand, he cannot go on his way as if nothing had happened, or as if he had never heard of modern higher criticism. He must adjust himself to the new situation. He must take into account opinions confidently advanced by others for which he declines to be personally responsible, at least to the extent of how far they are compatible with the faith he is concerned to defend." (Apologetics P. 172)
Bruce's writing style was, however, more than a little involved, and it is sometimes difficult to tell where he is stating his own opinion and when he is practising ad hominem. Bruce's lack of technical learning made him overly respectful of German higher critical Scholarship. Marcus Dods was impatient with this and exclaimed: "his is an infinitely better mind than theirs!" Yet Bruce felt that these men's learning made them ex officio worthy of respect.
Bruce was also unable to deal with more than one aspect of a point under discussion at any one time. The result of this was that he failed to consider qualifications and balancing judgements. Because of this Bruce sometimes seemed to present a solely human Jesus when he was discussing the humanity of Christ.
What was worse was that, as time went on, Bruce seems to have become willing to concede more and more, and, to quote B.B. Warfield, "as the minimizing spirit of a concessive apologetic grew upon Bruce, his theological product decreased in value." It is significant that The Training of the Twelve was Bruce's first book.
God willing, we shall discuss the result of this apologetic on Bruce's personal faith next time.
Bruce was noted for his use of ad hominem apologetic, arguing from the position of his opponents and showing that, even if their alledged 'facts' were true (Bruce's specialty was New Testament criticism), Christ was more than just a man, and the New Testament histories were, in a great measure, accurate.
Bruce also believed that, if he yielded certain outworks of the faith, he would be better able to defend the citadel, the core of Christian belief. Thus his method is sometimes called the Concessive Apologetic. He conceded a few points in order to gain a hearing.
"The attitude of the apologist must be that of one who refuses to be deeply committed on critical questions. But on the other hand, he cannot go on his way as if nothing had happened, or as if he had never heard of modern higher criticism. He must adjust himself to the new situation. He must take into account opinions confidently advanced by others for which he declines to be personally responsible, at least to the extent of how far they are compatible with the faith he is concerned to defend." (Apologetics P. 172)
Bruce's writing style was, however, more than a little involved, and it is sometimes difficult to tell where he is stating his own opinion and when he is practising ad hominem. Bruce's lack of technical learning made him overly respectful of German higher critical Scholarship. Marcus Dods was impatient with this and exclaimed: "his is an infinitely better mind than theirs!" Yet Bruce felt that these men's learning made them ex officio worthy of respect.
Bruce was also unable to deal with more than one aspect of a point under discussion at any one time. The result of this was that he failed to consider qualifications and balancing judgements. Because of this Bruce sometimes seemed to present a solely human Jesus when he was discussing the humanity of Christ.
What was worse was that, as time went on, Bruce seems to have become willing to concede more and more, and, to quote B.B. Warfield, "as the minimizing spirit of a concessive apologetic grew upon Bruce, his theological product decreased in value." It is significant that The Training of the Twelve was Bruce's first book.
God willing, we shall discuss the result of this apologetic on Bruce's personal faith next time.
Labels: A. B. Bruce
posted by Highland Host at 10:35 am
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home