Copyright © 2018 Brian Keith Baker
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Copyright © 2018 Brian Keith Baker All rights reserved. The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary has permission to reproduce and disseminate this document in any form by any means for purposes chosen by the Seminary, including, without limitation, preservation or instruction. INTEGRATING PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES OF APOLOGETICS WITH BIBLICAL COUNSELING __________________ A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary __________________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Ministry __________________ by Brian Keith Baker December 2018 APPROVAL SHEET INTEGRATING PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES OF APOLOGETICS WITH BIBLICAL COUNSELING Brian Keith Baker Read and Approved by: __________________________________________ Robert D. Jones (Faculty Supervisor) __________________________________________ Theodore J. Cabal Date______________________________ Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page PREFACE ...................................................................................................................... vi Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................... 1 Familiarity with the Literature ......................................................................... 2 The Theological Component ................................................................... 2 The Apologetic Exemplars ...................................................................... 4 The Biblical Counseling Exemplars ........................................................ 5 Primary and Supporting Literature .......................................................... 7 Void in the Literature ...................................................................................... 8 Thesis ........................................................................................................... 11 2. PRINCIPLES OF PRESUPPOSITIONAL APOLOGETICS ............................. 13 Some of the Backstory .................................................................................. 15 The Bible Is First........................................................................................... 17 Philosophy and the Doctrine of God .............................................................. 19 The Doctrine of Man and the Noetic Effects of Sin ....................................... 22 The Doctrine of Salvation and the Noetic Effects of Grace ............................ 26 Antithesis ...................................................................................................... 27 A Summary of Van Til’s Worldview ............................................................. 31 The Evolution of Presuppositionalism ........................................................... 32 Conclusion .................................................................................................... 33 iv Chapter Page 3. THE THEOLOGY AND METHODOLOGY OF BIBLICAL COUNSELING ................................................................................................. 35 Some of the Backstory .................................................................................. 35 The Bible Is First........................................................................................... 42 Psychology and the Doctrine of God ............................................................. 45 The Doctrine of Man and the Noetic Effects of Sin ....................................... 48 The Doctrine of Salvation and the Noetic Effects of Grace ............................ 52 The Evolution of Nouthetic Counseling ......................................................... 53 Conclusion .................................................................................................... 55 4. APOLOGETIC PRINCIPLES IN BIBLICAL COUNSELING .......................... 57 Overt Statements ........................................................................................... 58 Apologetics Topics........................................................................................ 62 Epistemology ........................................................................................ 65 Neutrality .............................................................................................. 66 Antithesis, Worldview, and Unbelief ..................................................... 70 Science and Defending the Faith ........................................................... 78 Conclusion .................................................................................................... 79 5. APOLOGETIC COUNSELING IN PRACTICE................................................ 81 A Balanced Counseling Methodology ........................................................... 81 A Robust Doctrine of God ............................................................................. 87 The Hope of the Resurrection ........................................................................ 92 A Clash of Worldviews ................................................................................. 94 Method.......................................................................................................... 98 Conclusion .................................................................................................. 102 Appendix RECOMMENDED RESOURCES ...................................................................... 105 BIBLIOGRAPHY ....................................................................................................... 108 v PREFACE My second-grade teacher told me I would never go to college. Her prophecy almost came true. But around the second year of my six-year enlistment in the navy, my friend and mentor, A. C. Musgrave, Jr. suggested that I consider going to seminary. I am forever grateful for his encouragement and for the many hours he spent discipling me. I thank my dear wife, Jennifer, for making our life together precious and for encouraging me to continue my education. I thank our son, Benjamin, for being Ben. He has taught me that faith in Jesus is not about theological assertions to be swallowed without chewing. I thank our daughter, Lydia, who quickly surpassed me in her ability to think and write, for her encouragement, proofreading, and edits in this thesis. Thank you, Les Walthers, for being a true pastor. I am grateful to my supervisor, Dr. Robert D. Jones, for his helpful insights into the biblical counseling movement. My thanks extend to Dr. Theodore Cabal and Dr. Timothy Paul Jones for their work to make this maiden voyage of the Applied Apologetics program happen. To the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, thank you for remaining a stalwart of the Word of God. Finally, I thank my dear parents, Bob and Carlene, for loving me and showing me what devotion in marriage looks like. Thank you, Carol Bond, for your sweet legacy that I see daily in my precious wife and children. See you and Dad soon. Brian K. Baker North Smithfield, Rhode Island December 2018 vi CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION “Men may have atheistical hearts without atheistical heads.”1 Stephen Charnock’s discourse on “practical atheism” insightfully and soberly warns of the dangerous possibility that one can know God’s Word while remaining unconverted. In other words, atheists can think like Christians. The inverse is also true: Christians at times think like atheists. Perhaps it could be said like Charnock, “Men may have atheistical heads without atheistical hearts.” The Christian church has the God-given responsibility to confront atheism in the head and heart of every person, whether unconverted or converted. In Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus commissioned his church to engage in two fundamental tasks: evangelize the lost and teach converts the things of God. Two distinct groups thus emerge within the church’s mind, non-Christians and Christians. Non- Christians are to be evangelized. Christians are to be “discipled.” Christian apologetics and biblical counseling are concentrated forms of evangelism and discipleship, respectively.2 Apologists and biblical counselors fulfill callings by dutifully, but selectively, addressing their respective audiences. Generally speaking, apologists are interested in reaching the unbeliever while biblical counselors are interested in helping 1Stephen Charnock and William Symington, The Existence and Attributes of God, 2 vols. in 1 (1853; repr., Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2000), 89. 2Robert Jones cautions against segregating counseling and evangelism ministries. Nevertheless, he acknowledges that counseling non-Christians is an evangelistic task while counseling Christians is discipleship. This thesis affirms Jones’s lament and would suggest that evangelistic counseling is another reason apologetic acumen is necessary for biblical counselors. Robert D. Jones, “Biblical Counseling: An Opportunity for Problem-Based Evangelism,’” Journal of Biblical Counseling 31, no. 1 (Spring 2017): 75-92. 1 the believer. The premise of this thesis is that there is value in and biblical warrant for integrating these two complementary disciplines. The interplay between apologetics and biblical counseling becomes obvious once the parallels are brought to light. Acclaimed theologian John Frame writes, “Apologetics has value for both believers and unbelievers,