Philosophy at Denver Seminary
Dec 09, 2008 by Doug Groothuis | 2 Comments
In the past few decades there has been a resurgence of evangelical Christians in the discipline of philosophy. I was told as an undergraduate studying philosophy in the 1970s that natural theology had been slain by Kant and Hume long ago and there was no point in trying to revive the corpse. Today, that philosophical program is flourishing, given the work of Richard Swinburne, William Lane Craig, and many others. A host of top-notch philosophers are contributing to contemporary philosophy in ways that commend Christianity as true and rational. The Evangelical Philosophical Society is thriving and produces a stellar journal called Philosophia Christi. It is an exciting time to be a Christian philosopher.
Denver Seminary has a rich legacy of Christian philosophy. Our second president and current Chancellor, Dr. Vernon Grounds, received a doctorate in philosophy when many Evangelicals would have never considered it. Dr. Gordon Lewis, now a senior professor, did likewise a few years later and has left a deep mark on the discipline as a teacher and writer. Denver Seminary began the Philosophy of Religion program in 1981. I joined the faculty in 1993. In the fall of 2008, we gladly welcomed Dr. Troy Nunley as Assistant Professor of Philosophy. He holds a Ph.D. and M.A. from the University of Missouri, as well as a M.Div. from Nazarene Theological Seminary. He has published in Philosophia Christi and augments the department with his strengths to logic, philosophy of religion, epistemology, metaphysics, and the history of philosophy. For the first time, Denver Seminary now has two full-time philosophy professors, a development that deepens our resources considerably.
The Philosophy of Religion program at Denver Seminary is fully accredited. It is known for the personal interaction it offers between students and faculty, as well as its academic rigor and its emphasis on approaching philosophy from a Christian worldview. We take special care to get to know our students and to work with them closely to develop their thinking, writing, and philosophical prowess.
Our program offers a full year's worth of philosophy classes in addition to the required core classes for all seminary students (biblical studies, theology, and church history). We require a rigorous six-hour comprehensive examination, which covers major philosophical figures and significant philosophical problems. Our required curriculum includes a year on the history of philosophy, as well as courses on religious pluralism, Christian apologetics, and Christian ethics. Students also take two of the following three seminars: Metaphysics, Epistemology, and Philosophical Ethics. Our electives include Philosophy of Religion, Logic, Blaise Pascal, C.S. Lewis, and other topics. A unique emphasis of Denver Seminary's Philosophy Program is a professional seminar I teach called Writing for Publication, in which students develop a Christian philosophy of scholarship and produce both a book review (which is published in Denver Journal) and a publishable philosophical paper.
Denver Seminary's Philosophy of Religion Masters program has graduated dozens of students who have gone on to pursue doctorates in philosophy or other avenues of service suited to the skills they developed with us. We have placed students in graduate programs such as the University of Colorado-Boulder, the University of Nebraska, the University of South Carolina, Cornell, Hebrew University, Oxford, the University of Pittsburg, and Marquette. Many of our graduates are teaching in colleges in the United States and around the world.
If you would like more information about our professors and our program, please follow the links below:
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Comments
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William Farris Dec 15, 2008 8:12am
My time at Denver Seminary (g. 2005) has left an indelible, positive mark on my abilities to engage the seemingly infinite variety of ideas, assertions, and claims passing through my sensorium every day. Given that there are so many slickly presented, conflicting propositions and countless agents who seek to delude, spin, or promote absolute error I am thankful for the experiences I encountered at Denver while studying philosophy of religion.
Philosophy, if anything, is a methodology seeking clarity and understanding of the finer points of propositions and arguments. One develops inductive, deductive, and abductive logic to see what is actually possible within a specific body of speculation, and then moving to what option is the more probable in a given set of possibilities. In other words, establishing what is actually true in the framework of reality. From there informed decisions and actions proceed, something seriously lacking in the world, made all the more dangerous by efficient media that quickly overloads society with whatever images and illusory messages come along. The mental tools to break apart such sophistry and see it for what it is and what motivates its promulgation are latent in most rational people, but the honing comes through the using of said tools. And that is the richness of the MAPR program.
In the scientific and business world of which I am currently a part there are constant opportunities to apply my philosophical training. Whether it be discovering flaws in specific management and technical decisions or personal dealings with advertising, political, social, or economic news I can often see where the real issue lies. By no means least of all is the inculcation of the ability to communicate one's thoughts and analysis of issues. Cogent argument is one thing, but the ability to communicate your point across to others in an appropriate, effective way is an essential life skill. I have found that through the study of philosophy one gets placed on that road well ahead of the pack that perhaps runs with less versed undertakings.
Of course, in the end, by taking a sober and studied approach to the understanding and application of scripture, and to every wind of doctrine that comes along, one can humbly further the Kingdom of God by ascertaining, as best as humanly possible, the truth that the Creator has revealed to the creation. Is this not a fulfillment of the New Testament's injunctions to be an unashamed worker and one ready to give an answer for the hope within?
Aaron Beitler Dec 19, 2008 11:55pm
The philosophy program at Denver Seminary has been the biggest blessing on my life as a Christian. The morass of countervailing ideas, movements, and influences within our culture that entangle the Christian mind--and lead one to believe robust thought is not even worthwhile--must be counteracted. This philosophy curriculum and faculty, to the degree I have experienced them thus far, serve to break through the cultural backwash, and unleash the Christian to think at her highest level. This greatly edifies the heart and gives one the tools needed to meet the great intellectual needs that exist in our country and world--which are, for the most part, going unmet!
If you are a believer who wants to throw the whole weight of your mind behind your faith, the 2-3 years spent in the philosophy program will be time extremely well-spent.