Greg L. Bahnsen, (1948-1995), was an ordained minister in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and a full time Scholar in Residence for the Southern California Center for Christian Studies. He received his Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Southern California, specializing in the theory of knowledge. He previously received the B.A. (magna cum laude, philosophy) from Westmont College, and then simultaneously earned the M.Div. and Th.M. degrees from Westminster Theological Seminary. Dr. Bahnsen lectured to a broad range of evangelical Christian groups at many colleges and conferences. He was an experienced apologist and debater, a clear and cogent teacher of the Christian worldview who was devoted to training believers in understanding and applying the Christian faith to every area of life. He published numerous scholarly articles, a number of well-known books, and has over 1,500 recorded lectures and sermons. (I will be updating this post as I gather more information and resources for "Greg Bahnsen")
I guess it would only be proper to start the promotional portion of the Theonomic Assault Project with some of the work of the late Dr. Greg Bahnsen. Though many have gone before him ever since the Reformation, (see, Was Calvin a Theonomist?), the works of Dr. Bahnsen seem to be the catalyst for most of the modern debate and controversy surrounding the subject of theonomy.
It is Dr. Bahnsen's contention that the moral standards (laws) of the Old Testament dispensation are still morally authoritative today along with New Testament teaching. Because of this, these standards as expressed in the word of God, provide the Christian with socio-political norms for modern culture. It is the assumption of theonomists that there has been a compelling need within the pragmatic and relativistic world view of the 20th and 21st-century Christian, to condemn the theonomic position, and for reasons that make no sense within the framework of Covenantal theology, and only make sense from a world view that would categorize God's word as outdated and impractical; ideal only for a time and a dispensation other than our own. The theonomic argument is based on the premise of Covenant Theology, that there is continuity between Old and New Testament moral principles and regulations until God's revelation tells us otherwise, and therefore, the Old Testament law continues to offer us an inspired and reliable model for a Biblical civil moral code.
This is really nothing new within the Church, but as stated, the reaffirmation of this Covenantal world view by Dr. Bahnsen within the confines of civil law and modern relativism and pragmatism, has ruffled some feathers. Add to that the skill of Dr. Bahnsen's debating strategy and the genius of his rhetoric, and you end up with theologians, otherwise well meaning, swearing up and down that up is down and down is up.
Some of the Available Works of Dr. Bahnsen Online
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