Edward John Carnell - Apologetic Writings

Apologetic Writings

During the period of his doctoral studies, Carnell composed a work in Christian apologetics that he submitted to William Eerdmans in a competition for the Evangelical Book Award. Carnell's manuscript won the five thousand dollar prize, which in 1948 was a considerable sum of money. It was hailed in Evangelical circles as a masterly new work in apologetics, and established a reputation for Carnell as a brilliant young and rising theologian.

The book, which was released as An Introduction to Christian Apologetics, reflected the apologetic influences of his mentors Gordon Clark and Cornelius Van Til, and also the philosophical influence of Edgar Sheffield Brightman. In the book he sought to show that Christian faith was systematically logical, factual and rationally satisfying as it best fitted the facts as an explanation for the human condition. His apologetic gambits dealt with topics such as Biblical criticism, the problem of miracles, evolution, and the existential problem of soul-sorrow in an effort to show that Christianity offers a coherent view of reality.

In many respects his apologetic approach represented an attempt at combining the deductive rationalist and presuppositionalist methods of Clark and Van Til, with a test for truth he called "systematic consistency". Later analysts of Evangelical apologetics have dubbed his apologetic method as either a "combinationalist" or "verificational" approach. Irving Hexham has noted in his survey of apologetic responses to New Age spirituality that Carnell's approach had some influence on the way in which Francis Schaeffer developed his apologetic writings. Hexham states, "Another source for Schaeffer's ideas was the evangelical philosopher E. J. Carnell, although Schaeffer was reluctant to admit this unless directly asked." (Hexham, "The Evangelical Response to the New Age" in Perspectives on the New Age, edited by James Lewis & J. G. Melton, p. 322).

Carnell's second apologetic text, A Philosophy of the Christian Religion, explored questions of value that are personally and existentially satisfying. This study is technically known as axiology.

Two further apologetic works Christian Commitment and The Kingdom of Love and the Pride of Life delved into subjective issues of introspective meaning. Both texts reflected his deep study and appreciation of the work of Søren Kierkegaard. Carnell emphasised the meaning of authentic discipleship and commitment to the way of Christ as grounded in God's love.

After graduating from Harvard, Carnell joined the faculty of the recently founded Fuller Seminary. Carnell was attracted to this seminary as it was part of an emerging movement of reform within Protestant Fundamentalism. The background to this new movement of reform lies in the nineteenth century and the early twentieth century.