Integrating Principles and Practices of Apologetics with Biblical Counseling

Abstract

ABSTRACT

INTEGRATING PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES OF

APOLOGETICS WITH BIBLICAL COUNSELING

Brian Keith Baker, D.Min.

The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2018

Faculty Supervisor: Dr. Robert D. Jones

Jay Adams’s system of biblical counseling coincided in time, place, and content with Cornelius Van Til’s presuppositional apologetics. Adams clearly stated that his system was presuppositional. This thesis explores Van Til’s theological and philosophical influences and argues that the discipline of apologetics is inherent to biblical counseling and should therefore be exploited for the church’s benefit.

The primary link between the disciplines is captured in the nuanced definition of apologetics which is to defend the faith against unbelief wherever it is found—in the world, the church, or the individual Christian. These concentric spheres of experience provide the context in which the biblical counselor can use apologetic topics to combat doubt and buttress the counselee’s faith. The biblical counselor is urged to pursue the study of apologetics to develop a clearer epistemology and be able to recognize the philosophical and cultural presuppositions that may be disrupting the counselee’s sanctification.