Lane Tipton, Carlton Wynne, and Camden Bucey discuss pages 25–29 of Cornelius Van Til’s book, The Defense of the Faith. In this section, Van Til details the doctrine of God that structures his apologetic thought. A Reformed apologetic seeks first to understand the nature of the God it seeks to set forth and defend. In Van Til’s estimate, we must ask “what kind” of a God we believe in before we can proceed in any meaningful way to set for the arguments for the existence and revelation of this God.

• Lane Tipton lectures from Mid-America Reformed Seminary: “Van Til’s Trinitarian Theology: Reformed or Revisionist?“

Participants: Camden Bucey, Carlton Wynne, Lane G. Tipton

In the spirit of our Vos Group episodes, we begin a concurrent venture into Cornelius Van Til’s book, The Defense of the Faith. Carlton Wynne joins Lane Tipton and Camden Bucey to discuss the theology and apologetics of this significant twenty-first century Reformed apologist.

Participants: Camden Bucey, Carlton Wynne, Lane G. Tipton

Carlton Wynne and Charles Williams speak about the new edition of Herman Bavinck’s The Wonderful Works of God published by Westminster Seminary Press. The book was first published in English under the title, Our Reasonable Faith. The new edition is re-typeset and includes an introduction by Dr. Wynne, Bavinck’s original introduction translated by Nathaniel Gray Sutanto, and helpful indices collected by Charles Williams.

Carlton Wynne is assistant professor of systematic theology and apologetics at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, PA.

Charles Williams is pastor of Bethel Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Wheaton, Illinois.

• The Wonderful Works of God discussion guide

Participants: Camden Bucey, Carlton Wynne, Charles Williams

Rev. Dr. Kevin Chiarot introduces and offers a critical look into the influential Christology of T. F. Torrance, who among other things taught that the Son of God assumed a fallen human nature. Rev. Chiarot is the pastor of Westminster Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Rock Tavern, New York. He has written an excellent book titled, The Unassumed Is the Unhealed: The Humanity of Christ in the Christology of T. F. Torrance (Pickwick, 2013). Join us as we discuss this theology that has influenced many.

Participants: Camden Bucey, Carlton Wynne, Jim Cassidy, Kevin Chiarot

Brian DeJong takes us to Jesus Christ as Lord as well as the preeminent practitioner of apologetics. Listen to this important conversation on an underdeveloped topic. Rev. De Jong is pastor of Grace Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Sheboygan, Wisconsin and currently serves as the chairman of the Candidates and Credentials Committee for the OPC’s Presbytery of the Midwest. His article, “Lord Defender: Jesus Christ as Apologist,” published in Ordained Servant, is an excellent treatment of Jesus’ apologetic example and an important call-to-action that Reformed apologists would devote time and attention to studying this topic.

Participants: Brian De Jong, Camden Bucey, Carlton Wynne

Marcus Peter Johnson joins us once again to talk about Christology and soteriology. With his colleague Dr. John C. Clark, Dr. Johnson has co-authored The Incarnation of God: The Mystery of the Gospel as the Foundation of Evangelical Theology (Crossway). Johnson and Clark examine the doctrine of the incarnation and its implications fro the church’s knowledge and worship of God, understanding of salvation, and approach to the Christian life. Be sure also to listen to our previous conversations with Dr. Johnson regarding his book One with Christ: An Evangelical Theology of Salvation (Crossway).

Participants: Camden Bucey, Carlton Wynne, Jim Cassidy, Marcus Johnson

Carlton Wynne leads us into the world of modern theology by introducing the theology of Wolfhart Pannenberg. Pannenberg (1928–2014) was a leading systematic theologian who introduced an innovative relationship between eschatology and theology proper. By studying his theology in a polemical fashion, we may become better theologians of redemptive history. Carlton Wynne is Lecturer in Apologetics and Systematic Theology at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Participants: Camden Bucey, Carlton Wynne, Jim Cassidy

Dr. James N. Anderson speaks about his recent book What’s Your Worldview?: An Interactive Approach to Life’s Big Questions, published by Crossway. The book takes the reader through important theological and philosophical questions in a “Choose Your Own Adventure” style, leading to a label and description of the reader’s own worldview. Dr. Anderson explains the setup of the book and a number of ways it might be used, and also discusses the idea of a worldview and what important elements constitute one. Dr. Anderson is associate professor of theology and philosophy at the Charlotte campus of Reformed Theological Seminary. He received his Ph.D. at the University of Edinburgh, writing about paradox in Christian theology. That study became his book, Paradox in Christian Theology: An Analysis of Its Presence, Nature, and Epistemic Status, which was the subject of a previous episode of Christ the Center.

Participants: Camden Bucey, Carlton Wynne, James Anderson, Jared Oliphint

We begin the New Year with a look at some of our best clips from 2013. Listen to the full episodes of the clips we’ve chosen to include by using the following links:

Participants: Camden Bucey, Carl Trueman, Carlton Wynne, Darryl G. Hart, David Gibson, David Murray, James White, Jared Oliphint, Jim Cassidy, John Currid, Jonathan Gibson, K. Scott Oliphint, Lane G. Tipton, Michael Emlet, Nick Batzig, Scott Manetsch, Scott R. Wright, Timothy Brindle, Vern Poythress, William Edgar

Dr. Mark Talbot speaks about his forthcoming book tentatively entitled, When the Stars Disappear: Why Christians Suffer. Dr. Talbot’s research in philosophy, theology, and psychology serve to interpret his personal experiences of suffering and inform his counseling of those who suffer. The discussion covers the definition and purpose of Christian suffering, the human need to understand life as a story, the danger of a prosperity gospel, and the role of Scripture in the Christian life. Ultimately, the Christian’s hope in suffering is in the faithfulness of God, who cannot deny himself (2 Tim. 2:13). Dr. Talbot is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Wheaton College (IL) where he has taught since 1992. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. His areas of expertise include the intersection of philosophy and theology, philosophy and psychology, the epistemologies of the early modern philosophers, and the works of David Hume, St. Augustine, and Jonathan Edwards. The article mentioned in the interview can be found here. You can also see Dr. Talbot speak about chronic suffering at the 2012 Desiring God Works of God Conference.

Participants: Carlton Wynne, Jared Oliphint, Mark Talbot