Journal: Westminster Theological Journal
Volume: WTJ 87:2 (Fall 2025)
Article: The Vindication Of God: Towards A Biblical Theology Of Apologetics (Part 1)
Author: Nathan D. Shannon

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The Vindication Of God: Towards A Biblical Theology Of Apologetics (Part 1)

Nathan D. Shannon

Nathan D. Shannon is associate director of global curriculum and assessment as well as adjunct professor of apologetics and systematic theology at Westminster Theological Seminary.

This article addresses persistent impasses in contemporary apologetic methodology, where longstanding disagreements have hindered unified progress in defending the Christian faith. These divisions often stem from differing emphases on empirical evidence, philosophical reasoning, or scriptural authority, leading to fragmented strategies ill-equipped to respond to real challenges and contextual or cultural differences. Furthermore, recent developments in apologetics frequently prioritize pragmatic, inorganic adaptations while marginalizing robust engagement with Scripture and systematic theology. Such oversights risk under-utilizing biblical and theological resources as well as obscuring the organic relationship between salvation, the Christian life, and the defense of the faith.

The present study proposes a biblical theological approach that re-centers apologetics on the overarching storyline of Scripture, from creation to consummation, within a covenantal framework. By drawing on covenant theology, this method integrates doctrine with method in new ways and fosters a holistic and agile defense of the faith capable of dialogue on a range of issues without compromising theological integrity. This framework has the potential to resolve methodological debates and to revitalize apologetics as a theologically grounded enterprise. In sum, the purpose of this study is to re-contextualize apologetics, on the basis of covenant and biblical theology, within the broader theological organism so that apologetics may be not only Reformed but indeed always Reforming.

Introduction

Published in 2000, Five Views on Apologetics convenes several leading voices in apologetics for substantive critical but constructive dialogue.1 Classical and evidential apologetics are defended by William Lane Craig

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and Gary Habermas, respectively; Paul D. Feinberg presents the cumulative case approach; the presuppositionalism of Cornelius Van Til is explained and defended by John Frame; and Kelly James Clark represents Reformed epistemology, an approach to the faith and rationality question developed by Alvin Plantinga and Nicholas Wolterstorff.2

Twenty-five years later, Timothy Paul Jones has edited a comparable text called Understanding Christian Apologetics: Five M...