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The Apologetics of Thomas Chalmers UHI Thesis - pdf download summary The Apologetics of Thomas Chalmers The influences, methods, and effects of chalmers’ rebuttals to objections to christianity Adamson, Steven DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (AWARDED BY OU/ABERDEEN) Award date: 2014 Awarding institution: Aberdeen Maritime Museum Link URL to thesis in UHI Research Database General rights and useage policy Copyright,IP and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the UHI Research Database are retained by the author, users must recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. This copy has been supplied on the understanding that it is copyright material and that no quotation from the thesis may be published without proper acknowledgement, or without prior permission from the author. Users may download and print one copy of any thesis from the UHI Research Database for the not-for-profit purpose of private study or research on the condition that: 1) The full text is not changed in any way 2) If citing, a bibliographic link is made to the metadata record on the the UHI Research Database 3) You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain 4) You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the UHI Research Database Take down policy If you believe that any data within this document represents a breach of copyright, confidence or data protection please contact us at [email protected] providing details; we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Download date: 26. Sep. 2021 THE APOLOGETICS OF THOMAS CHALMERS: THE INFLUENCES, METHODS, AND EFFECTS OF CHALMERS’ REBUTTALS TO OBJECTIONS TO CHRISTIANITY By: Steven C. Adamson A Thesis Presented for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy At the University of Aberdeen, 2013 ABSTRACT Scholarly investigations of the works of Dr. Thomas Chalmers (1780-1847) primarily focus on his pastoral ministry and role in the formation of the Free Church of Scotland, passing over his apologetic and theological endeavours. Consequently, the contents and methodologies of Chalmers’ arguments have not been thoroughly researched. This study critically analyses Chalmers’ Christian defences; asserting that the single most influential factor in his apologetic arguments is the presupposition of humanity’s innate tendency to expect nature’s constancy. Chalmers’ writings, sermons, and journals serve to demonstrate that his arguments for the existence of God, creation, inspiration of Scripture, and miracles are anchored in this metaphysical belief. As written, his works have the goal of refuting the theistic objections offered by David Hume (1711-1776), and within that goal, he modifies the then existing natural theological arguments to conform to his philosophical views. This research reveals that Chalmers’ apologetic arguments, which reflect the prevailing approach of Natural Theology, contain numerous distinctive rebuttals to Hume’s theistic objections and have marks of similarity to the approaches of numerous modern natural theologians, classical apologists and intelligent design advocates. Additionally, while popular in his day as a Christian author, this research identifies Chalmers’ verbose style of writing, limited technical acumen and the decline of Natural Theology as principal causes for his anonymity amongst academic apologists. Hence, the intended side effect of this research is to shed light on Chalmers’ apologetics; providing keys to deciphering the density of his writings, making them more accessible to modern researchers. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS PART I: INTRODUCTION 1 PRELIMINARY ISSUES: RESEARCH OVERVIEW 1 CHAPTER ONE: Background, Literature Review, and Structure 2 Background 2 Literature Review 6 Literature about Chalmers’ Theology 6 Literature about Chalmers’ Life 14 Historical Literature of Chalmers 18 Literature Review Summary 19 Structure of This Research 20 CHAPTER TWO: Chalmers’ Apolog etic Anonymity 24 Reason 1: His Literary Style 26 Reason 2: His Limited Critical Approach 30 Reason 3: The Diminishing Credibility of Natural Theology 31 Summary of Chalmers’ Apologetic Anonymity 33 PART II: INFLUENCES AND APOLOGETIC FOUNDATION 34 CHAPTER THREE: Influences on Chalmers’ Apologetics 34 Chalmers’ Predilection for Math and Sci ence 34 Chalmers’ Evangelical Orientation 42 Natural Theology’s Influence on Chalmers 53 Common Sense Philosophy’s Influence on Chalmers 58 Summary of Influences on Chalmers’ Apologetics 65 CHAPTER FOUR: Chalmers’ Apologetic Foundation 66 Innate Expectation of Nature’s Constancy 66 Common Sense Philosophy Today 75 Nature’s Constancy 82 Summary of Chalmers’ Foundational Belief 85 PART III: CHALMERS’ APOLOGETIC A RGUMENTS 86 CHAPTER FIVE: Chalmers’ Design Analogy 89 Hume’s Objections to Design Arguments 90 Chalmers’ Design Argument by Analogy 98 Chalmers’ Contention the Analogy is Improperly Used 99 Chalmers’ Design Argument Based on Essentials 100 Critical Analysis of Chalmers’ Design Argument 114 Chalmers’ Design Argument in light of Today’s Rese arch 121 Summary of Chalmers’ Argument by Analogy 126 CHAPTER SIX: Chalmers’ Continuing Defence of Design 128 Hume’s Postulate of an Eternal or Self -organizing World 128 Chalmers’ Rebuttal of an Eternal or Self -organizing World 130 Chalmers’ Rebuttal from Geology 133 Critical Assessment and Comparison to Modern Apologists 136 Chalmers’ Rebuttal from Metaphysics 142 Critical Assessment and Comparison to Modern Apologists 143 iii Chalmers’ Rebuttal from Historical Testimony 145 Critical Assessment and Comparison to Modern Apologists 158 Summary of Chalmers’ Argument for a Beginning 159 Chalmers’ Proof the World was Designed 161 Chalmers’ Rebuttal of Un -designed Beginnings 162 Chalmers’ Argument the World was Designed 170 Critical Assessment and Comparison to Modern Apologists 174 Summary of Chalmers’ Defence of Design 183 Chalmers’ Discussion of the Nature of the Cause 184 Argument for the Eternality of the Cause 185 The Personal Nature of the Cause 191 Critical Assessment and Comparison to Modern Apologetics 195 Summation of This Section and Chapter Six 203 CHAPTER SEVEN: Chalmers’ Defence of Miracles 207 Background on Objections to Miracles 210 Miracles: Part I of Hume’s Objection and Chalmers’ Rebuttal 212 Hume’s In Principle Argument 213 Chalmers’ Critique of His Contemporaries 215 Chalmers’ Rebuttal to Part I of Hume’s Argument 221 Miracles: Part II of Hume’s Objection and Chalmers’ Rebuttal 241 Hume’s In Fact Argument 242 Chalmers’ Rebuttal to Part II of Hume’s Argument 251 Summation of Chalmers’ Argument 258 PART IV: SUMMARY OF FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION 260 CHAPTER EIGHT: Summary of Apologetic Findings 260 Limitations of Natural Theology 260 Systematic Theology 265 Order of Christian Doctrines 266 Adaptability and Appeal 269 Chalmers’ Apologetic Dis tinctive 272 Chalmers’ Influence on Evangelical Apologetics 277 CONCLUSION 284 APPENDIX 1: Logical Representation of Chalmers’ Defence of Design 292 APPENDIX 2: The Remainder of Chalmers’ Apologetics 298 In Support of Scripture 299 Internal Experiential Evidences in Support of Scripture 303 Summation of Chalmers’ Views on Evidence 309 On Natural Theology 310 Evidence for God in the Design of Nature 311 The Proposition of Design in the Constitution of the Mind 314 The Adaptations of Humans to the Natural Environment 318 REFERENCES 323 iv PART I: INTRODUCTION PRELIMINARY ISSUES: RESEARCH OVERVIEW The field of apologetics is vast, possessing roots going back to the pre- Socratic and Greek philosophers of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle (Sennett, Groothuis 2005, 21; Sproul et al 1984, 65; Sedley 2007). The New Testament itself is replete with defences of the Christian faith. Throughout the centuries, myriads of writings on Christian apologetics have come down from early Church Fathers, the Middle Ages, Reformation, and succeeding centuries. Consequently, there is a mountain of historical works offering various proofs and defences for Christianity. Not only is there a mountain of apologetic works, there is a mountain of analyses of these works, adding to the complexity of historical apologetic research. However, when it comes to the celebrated nineteenth century Scottish minister, author, and professor Dr. Thomas Chalmers (1780-1847), there are few detailed and comparative critiques of his apologetics; and no systematic analysis of how the foundation upon which his works are based impacts his thinking. Pursuant to that, this dissertation is a study of the apologetics of Thomas Chalmers, with focused attention on analysing and demonstrating the influence his philosophical presupposition (the belief that the human mind possesses innate tendencies) has on his methods and their similarities to works of modern researchers. 1 CHAPTER ONE: Background, Literature Review, and Structure Background On the morning of 31 May 1847, Dr. Thomas Chalmers, “the greatest of living Scotchmen” (McCrie 2007, 527) was found to have passed peacefully in his sleep. The public outpouring at his funeral was something seldom seen in Edinburgh, as the procession of mourners stretched for mile after mile, and as one chronicler said, it was “amid the tears of a nation, and with more than kingly honours” that this Scottish divine was laid to rest (Hanna 1852c, 591-593). This humble minister of the Word of God, who disliked publicity, praise, and popularity (Oliphant 1893, 76-78), left behind a wealth of written works that cover a diverse range of subjects from pauperism, education, church government, evangelism, and missions, to philosophy,
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