Journal: Southern Baptist Journal of Theology
Volume: SBJT 24:2 (Summer 2020)
Article: SBJT Forum
Author: Anonymous

SBJT 24:2 (Summer 2020) p. 149

SBJT Forum

Mark T. Coppenger was Professor of Christian Philosophy and Ethics at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky, prior to his retirement. In addition to pastoring churches in Arkansas and Illinois, he has done denominational service with the Indiana Baptist convention, the SBC Executive Committee, and Midwestern Baptist Seminary, as well short term missionary stints on five continents. Dr. Coppenger has also taught at Vanderbilt, Wheaton, Elmhurst, Trinity, and Midwestern. His columns have appeared online for The Gospel Coalition, Cornwall Alliance, and The American Spectator. His most recent book is Moral Apologetics for Contemporary Christians (B&H 2011); For Such a Time as This (Westbow, 2018); Cases and Maps: A Christian Introduction to Philosophy (Wipf & Stock, 2019); God and Humanity at Marshall: Toward November 14, 1970 and Beyond (Wipf & Stock, 2020).

SBJT: In Your Life, You Briefly Interacted With Francis Schaeffer And Were Influenced By Him. Reflect On Schaeffer’s Legacy And Importance For The Evangelical Church.

Mark T. Coppenger: As I was beginning my doctoral work in philosophy at Vanderbilt in 1970, I became aware of a Christian mentor of some sort in Switzerland, one sporting knee pants and a billy goat beard. I somehow laid my hands on his little book, Escape from Reason, and was intrigued and pleasantly surprised that he was conversant and engaged with some secular philosophers. Most of the Christian literature with which I was familiar came in the form of commentary, devotion, and biography. But here was a fellow mixing it up with the likes of Kant and Rousseau.

Little did I know that, in the years ahead, I would lead the discussion of his film series How Should We Then Live? in Wheaton, at College Church and Bethany Chapel (Plymouth Brethren); that Francis and Edith would come speak to my bioethics class at Wheaton College; that Udo Middelmann (their son in law) would meet with my Baptist Collegiate Ministry group at Northwestern University; that our Kairos Journal (kairosjournal.org) editorial team would spend a day in conversation with Os Guinness (who lived with the Schaeffers in Switzerland) and that I would use his Os’s book, The Call, in my freshman

SBJT 24:2 (Summer 2020) p. 150

Christ-and-culture classes at Wheaton. I was meeting Francis Schaeffer and L’Abri at every turn.

I think I am (and perhaps we are) most indebted to Schaeffer for three things: (1) His work in cultural apologetics; (2) His engagement with the heavyweights of Western civilization, whether philosophical or artistic; (3) His advocacy for the unborn. Let me take them in reverse order.