What do you think?
Rate this book
An Introduction to Christian Philosophy
Not since the days of Luther and Calvin has anyone started a complete revolution in philosophy. Here, in three lectures delivered at Wheaton College in 1966, Gordon H. Clark launches a breathtaking and invigorating attack on worldly wisdom - all in the name of a sufficient revelation and a sufficient Savior. Taking his lead from Paul ("What communion has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial?") Clark rejects the wisdom of this world in toto and constructs a completely consistent system of Christian philosophy based on the Bible alone.
143 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 1993
4 people are currently reading
158 people want to read
About the author
Gordon H. Clark
93 books54 followersGordon 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.
The Trinty Foundation continues to publish his writings.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
February 28, 2020
In a number of cases, Clark takes things for granted. For example, he assumes the reader is at least vaguely familiar with various secular philosophies. On these points, he can be hard to follow. But there is a sense where, due to being an amateur philosopher, my own ignorance hurts me. Still, Clark could be clearer, even in his own writing. Other than these critiques, I consider this a solid introductory work.
Clark excels at shredding pagan (what he calls secular) philosophy to shreds, exposing the many forms of inconsistency and insufficiency. He then moves to posit a logically consistent Christian philosophy based upon the axiom of revelation: Scripture, although not exhaustive, is sufficient and authoritative for the fields of epistemology, history, ethics, and religion. Regardless of whether one agrees with his axiom, it's obvious this man is a gifted thinker.
He prizes logic, so much so that he is willing to render John 1 as, "In the beginning was the Logic, and the Logic was with God, and the Logic was God." This may sound strange, and his argument for this is certainly interesting, but it is important to note that he is not deifying an abstract principle. Neither is "logos" opposed to such a translation. He's also comfortable rendering it as Reason.
This book was challenging to me. His push against pietism and subjectivism was/is prophetic; these ideas are everywhere now, both within and without the church. He does not intend to detail his philosophy; rather, his goal is to destroy the idols of man and lay out a blueprint for Christians to rebuild. By all appearances, that blueprint seems to be this: Christianity must be comprehensive, coherent, consistent, and cognitive. I have no cause to disagree.
Clark excels at shredding pagan (what he calls secular) philosophy to shreds, exposing the many forms of inconsistency and insufficiency. He then moves to posit a logically consistent Christian philosophy based upon the axiom of revelation: Scripture, although not exhaustive, is sufficient and authoritative for the fields of epistemology, history, ethics, and religion. Regardless of whether one agrees with his axiom, it's obvious this man is a gifted thinker.
He prizes logic, so much so that he is willing to render John 1 as, "In the beginning was the Logic, and the Logic was with God, and the Logic was God." This may sound strange, and his argument for this is certainly interesting, but it is important to note that he is not deifying an abstract principle. Neither is "logos" opposed to such a translation. He's also comfortable rendering it as Reason.
This book was challenging to me. His push against pietism and subjectivism was/is prophetic; these ideas are everywhere now, both within and without the church. He does not intend to detail his philosophy; rather, his goal is to destroy the idols of man and lay out a blueprint for Christians to rebuild. By all appearances, that blueprint seems to be this: Christianity must be comprehensive, coherent, consistent, and cognitive. I have no cause to disagree.
April 19, 2017
The content of this book was great, but if you are new to the study of philosophy, beware. This is not a beginners book. The book assumes you already know the basics of the philosophies of Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Kant, etc. The material is very heady and written in a logical, but not exactly easy-to-understand way. Several times in the course of reading this book I started to wonder when the author stopped speaking English. But if you have the knowledge and perseverance to get through it, the content is definitely worthwhile. Dr. Clark presents a very logical case for the futility of secular philosophy and the logical necessity of rooting one's worldview in the truth of God's Word. Divine revelation is the only axiom upon which people can build a logically, practically, and spiritually satisfying philosophy of epistemology, history, ethics, and religion.
July 17, 2024
A FAMED CALVINIST PHILOSOPHER/APOLOGIST PROVIDES A SUMMARY OF HIS PHILOSOPHY
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 'A Christian View of Men and Things,' 'Thales to Dewey, An Introduction to Christian Philosophy,' 'Religion, Reason and Revelation,' 'God and Evil: The Problem Solved,' 'God's Hammer: The Bible and Its Critics,' etc. This book (which contains introductions by John Robbins and Carl F.H. Henry) consists of an expanded version of three lectures which Clark gave at Wheaton College in 1966, intending to sketch out a complete Christian philosophy.
He accepts "the impossibility of knowing God otherwise than by revelation... because proofs for the existence of God are invalidated by the arguments of Hume and Kant... that God can be known only through revelation seems to be essential to the very concept of God." (Pg. 60)
He argues that "The intelligibility of the Scriptures presupposes logic. Therefore anyone who is in the business of selecting first principles would seem to do better by choosing the law of contradiction as the axiom rather than Scripture. Scripture without logic would have no meaning." (Pg. 64) He suggests that the Christian religion "is not an affair of the emotions... but fundamentally an acceptance of an intelligible message." (Pg. 87)
Concerning political theory, he argues that "a theory of civil power established by divine decree and promulgated by revelation avoids, as the secular theories cannot, the twin evils of totalitarianism and anarchy." (Pg. 112) About ethics, he suggests that "even if Scripture did not cover all possible cases of moral choice, no one denies that it gives a certain number of directions. Since secular ethics give none, Scripture remains clearly superior." (Pg. 115)
He concludes on the note, "Secular philosophy with or without presuppositions has been shown to be a failure. The verbal revelation of the Bible solves the problems of epistemology, history, ethics, and religion. It distinguishes truth from error. It preserves intelligibility. It banishes mysticism, emotionalism, and despair. And by it we receive the Reason of God, that is, God himself." (Pg. 122)
While I don't think this book is as important as Robbins does, it is a very useful "overview" of Clark's mature views (a significant update of his "Christian View" book).
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 'A Christian View of Men and Things,' 'Thales to Dewey, An Introduction to Christian Philosophy,' 'Religion, Reason and Revelation,' 'God and Evil: The Problem Solved,' 'God's Hammer: The Bible and Its Critics,' etc. This book (which contains introductions by John Robbins and Carl F.H. Henry) consists of an expanded version of three lectures which Clark gave at Wheaton College in 1966, intending to sketch out a complete Christian philosophy.
He accepts "the impossibility of knowing God otherwise than by revelation... because proofs for the existence of God are invalidated by the arguments of Hume and Kant... that God can be known only through revelation seems to be essential to the very concept of God." (Pg. 60)
He argues that "The intelligibility of the Scriptures presupposes logic. Therefore anyone who is in the business of selecting first principles would seem to do better by choosing the law of contradiction as the axiom rather than Scripture. Scripture without logic would have no meaning." (Pg. 64) He suggests that the Christian religion "is not an affair of the emotions... but fundamentally an acceptance of an intelligible message." (Pg. 87)
Concerning political theory, he argues that "a theory of civil power established by divine decree and promulgated by revelation avoids, as the secular theories cannot, the twin evils of totalitarianism and anarchy." (Pg. 112) About ethics, he suggests that "even if Scripture did not cover all possible cases of moral choice, no one denies that it gives a certain number of directions. Since secular ethics give none, Scripture remains clearly superior." (Pg. 115)
He concludes on the note, "Secular philosophy with or without presuppositions has been shown to be a failure. The verbal revelation of the Bible solves the problems of epistemology, history, ethics, and religion. It distinguishes truth from error. It preserves intelligibility. It banishes mysticism, emotionalism, and despair. And by it we receive the Reason of God, that is, God himself." (Pg. 122)
While I don't think this book is as important as Robbins does, it is a very useful "overview" of Clark's mature views (a significant update of his "Christian View" book).
March 20, 2020
BOOK REVIEW 📚
This book is not for beginners. It’s is a tough read and you need more than basic knowledge of philosophy. Gordon Clark admits that secular philosophy is a failure and gives no hope. You need to read this with complete focus on the subject presented to follow along. Clark states that God is the source of all truth he even goes further to say “he must himself be the source of his own knowledge”🤯 he tries to explain how God is logical and I think God may not be so logical to us. There’s just so much more to him that we will not understand but we have to trust that God is good. 💙 Gods thoughts are not our thoughts and His ways are not our ways. 💛 and here’s a complex little quote to think on from Clark “the will of god is so the cause of all things, as to be itself without cause, for nothing can be the cause of that which is the cause of everything” 🔍⏰⏰🤔🤯 “it is fundamental mistake of the ‘practical’ men to think that they can be merely practical, for practice is always the practice of some theory” 👏🏼 therefore this is an area that needs to be given more thought. ⚠️⚠️For those who have no knowledge of most fundamental philosophical teachings I would not recommend this book. 😑📚❗️
This book is not for beginners. It’s is a tough read and you need more than basic knowledge of philosophy. Gordon Clark admits that secular philosophy is a failure and gives no hope. You need to read this with complete focus on the subject presented to follow along. Clark states that God is the source of all truth he even goes further to say “he must himself be the source of his own knowledge”🤯 he tries to explain how God is logical and I think God may not be so logical to us. There’s just so much more to him that we will not understand but we have to trust that God is good. 💙 Gods thoughts are not our thoughts and His ways are not our ways. 💛 and here’s a complex little quote to think on from Clark “the will of god is so the cause of all things, as to be itself without cause, for nothing can be the cause of that which is the cause of everything” 🔍⏰⏰🤔🤯 “it is fundamental mistake of the ‘practical’ men to think that they can be merely practical, for practice is always the practice of some theory” 👏🏼 therefore this is an area that needs to be given more thought. ⚠️⚠️For those who have no knowledge of most fundamental philosophical teachings I would not recommend this book. 😑📚❗️
June 25, 2025
A remarkable little book. Clark is excruciatingly clear. I must disagree with other reviewers that he “excoriates” secular philosophy, which Clark himself admits (he calls his woefully brief critique of Plato a “philosophical crime”). Given that these were originally lectures, brevity can be excused.
What is most striking is his explanation of axiomatic epistemology. This is where he leaves the Van Tillians in the dust. As a philosopher first and apologist second (if at all), Clark is interested in getting to the heart of the matter and calling secular philosophers to bear rather than preaching to the choir.
This is my first foray into Clark, but it most certainly will not be my last.
What is most striking is his explanation of axiomatic epistemology. This is where he leaves the Van Tillians in the dust. As a philosopher first and apologist second (if at all), Clark is interested in getting to the heart of the matter and calling secular philosophers to bear rather than preaching to the choir.
This is my first foray into Clark, but it most certainly will not be my last.
September 21, 2022
The Bible alone is the word of God; Dr. Clark takes this as his axiom of all true knowledge. The first essay attempts to destroy secular theories of epistemology, then he postulates revelation as the only basis for an unshakable theory of knowledge in the second essay. Finally in the third essay he draws some relevant applications from his thesis. I think his idea that God is above law is wrong (third essay), rather God is in His essence goodness, which is the basis for His commandments. There were a few other things I'm still considering or unsure of, but in all a helpful read.
June 1, 2017
A book with deserves a wider reading.
August 23, 2023
Somehow Clark is becoming my favorite apologetics and philosophical writer.
February 25, 2016
Clark starts out by destroying secular philosophy. He then proposes as the solution the axiom that the Bible is the Word of God and describes, distinguishes, and defends it. Pretty good over all. Probably on the plus side of three stars.
June 29, 2010
Read this too long ago (and before I knew much about philosophy) to judge whether I should love or loath the book. So I give it three stars.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews