Religion, Reason, and Revelation

by Gordon H. Clark

Religion, Reason, and Revelation is one of the greatest defenses of the Christian faith ever written. It is a model of scholarship and analysis; in it Dr. Clark refutes both the broad philosophical movements that opposed Christianity and the specific contentions of many modern authors. But he does not conclude with the logical destruction of non-Christian philosophies; Dr. Clark goes on to show how Biblical Christianity answers questions and solves problems that all other philosophies leave unanswered and unsolved. It is a classic work in Christian apologetics.

Genres: Philosophy, Theology, Christianity

216 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1961

About the author

Gordon Haddon Clark was an American philosopher and Calvinist theologian. He was a primary advocate for the idea of presuppositional apologetics and was chairman of the Philosophy Department at Butler University for 28 years. He was an expert in pre-Socratic and ancient philosophy and was noted for his rigor in defending propositional revelation against all forms of empiricism and rationalism, in arguing that all truth is propositional and in applying the laws of logic. His system of philosophy is sometimes called Scripturalism.

The Trinty Foundation continues to publish his writings.

Reviews

[Dan Coats · Rating 5 out of 5]

His chapter on God and Evil is brilliant. His chapters on reason and on morality are great examples of presuppositionalist arguments. I struggled on following many of the examples and counter-arguments he quotes, especially in the chapter on language, since philosophy is not my background. It is a lot to chew on and I will be returning in the future to further process it all.

[Vagabond of Letters, DLitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

***** (summa cum laude)

An excellent book which is worth more than one - the chapter on God and Evil alone is worth five stars even if the other 80% was worthless - but it's not. Each chapter in this book contains more accessible and condensed truth than anything since the age of Scholasticism, and surpasses a typical ponderous tome by one of the better verbose authors. The author stays on point like a laser and writes decisively (contra any other philosopher), to the detriment of any feeling of wandering in a forest of ideas (contra e.g. NT Wright) - or getting further information from the scanty further references, apparatus, and bibliography - but to no great advantage as to clearly communicating that which is set forth.

Clark is without a doubt one of the two or three greatest theologians since Aquinas and is on the single-hand shortlist for philosophers. His work is woefully underappreciated and underknown.

Thank you to Trinity Press for reissuing this work inexpensively (for the price of a fiction book) as part of a three-book omnibus in a very handsomely-bound, beautifully-typeset burgundy cloth volume, containing also 'Three Types of Religious Philosophy' and 'Introduction to Secular Philosophy'.

[Mitch · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked up this book because it seemed to be a treatise on not only the philosophical necessity of faith, but also the philosophical necessity of the Christian faith specifically. To be clear, I was not expecting a silver bullet, slam dunk argument that would seem to convert the most ardent skeptic, but I was hoping at least for something to confound much of the misinformation swirling around American culture about what Christianity is and isn't, both inside and outside the Church. I was not disappointed. Clark spends a fair amount of time teasing out the necessary outcomes of humanistic logic and philosophical/ideological systems. Is he comprehensive? Not necessarily but I don't think he's trying to be. The bottom line to me is that there is no bulletproof system and we are all clinging to our respective systems on faith, whether we claim to have faith or not. Clark is a sharp guy and does as good a job as anyone (and better than most others I've read) at dissecting arguments for and against religion, reason, and revelation as the title indicates. This certainly is a worthwhile read for any Christian as well as anyone who has an interest in reason and faith as it shows the necessity of both. Highly recommended.

[Ma Kuru · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very good book. Much better than the ones I found in Indonesian. I am translating the book into Indonesian.

[Steven H · Rating 5 out of 5]

A FAMED CALVINIST PHILOSOPHER/APOLOGIST EXAMINES THESE ISSUES

Gordon Haddon Clark (1902-1985) was an American philosopher and Calvinist theologian, who was chairman of the Philosophy Department at Butler University for 28 years. He wrote many books, such as aA Christian View of Men and Things,' 'Thales to Dewey, An Introduction to Christian Philosophy,' 'God and Evil: The Problem Solved,' 'God's Hammer: The Bible and Its Critics,' etc.

He asserts that "It is essential to define Christianity more exactly by a specific doctrinal system. Romanism is not what is meant. By Christianity we shall mean, to use common names, what is called Calvinism." (Pg. 23) He elaborates, "outside the Bible the most accurate and satisfactory expressions of Christianity are the carefully worded creedal statements of the Westminster Confession." (Pg. 146)

He is critical of fundamentalism, which he describes as "a faith without reason" (pg. 71), and suggests that "Frequently they deplore reason, knowledge, and scholarship." (Pg. 89)

He rejects the idea that God's existence can be demonstrated on the basis of observation of nature. (Pg. 45) He admits, interestingly, that "The idea of a finite god, although it is a non-Christian expedient, has nonetheless a certain amount of merit by reason of its honesty." (Pg. 198) Later, he argues that "As God cannot sin, so in the next place, God is not responsible for sin, even though he decrees it." (Pg. 240)

This is a substantial augmentation of the explanation of Clark's apologetic approach.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book deserves wider readership. The rationality of the Christian Faith is clearly set out. Arguably, Gordon H. Clark is the most important Reformed philospher/theologian of the twentieth century. A firmly Scriptural and logical mind tackling the major philosophical themes. It is a book that will remain in print for years, possibly centuries to come as Christians, especially the Reformed, will philosophically relevent answers to the questions asked of the Christian Faith. This book is one of Clark's major works.

[Justin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding. There were parts that ebbed and flowed with my understanding and interests, but overall it was excellent. I took my time and could only read a few pages on some days because I had to think through so much. It was worth it. I HIGHLY recommend this to anyone looking for a clearer understanding of the nature of knowledge and how the bible provides the only clear lens to view the world.

[Irene · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like this book probably deserves more stars than I'm giving it. Gordon Clark seems to be very well-studied on his subject matter, and there were portions of the book I really appreciated, but some of it was very technical and way over my head, despite my interest in the topics (ethics, the relationship between reason and faith, and so on).

[Tyson Froment · Rating 5 out of 5]

Soooooooooo much better than Van Til.

[Felipe Sabino · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantástico!