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A Christian View of Men and Things: An Introduction to Philosophy
Gordon H. Clark Hardback, 4th ed., 263 pages, 2005 [1952, 1998] In this book, Dr. Clark outlines his unique Christian Philosophy - a philosophy developed by applying the truth of sola Scriptura to all disciplines. Unlike other philosophers, Dr. Clark regarded seriously Paul's assertion in 1 Corinthians that the wisdom of this world is foolishness, and that if we desire genuine wisdom, we must find it in Scripture. He makes no attempt to synthesize, accommodate, or integrate the Christian faith with non-Christian ideas. This book is an invaluable addition to every Christian's library. Foreword, Introduction; The Philosophy of History; The Philosophy of Politics; Ethics; Science; Religion; Epistemology; Index; Scripture Index.
267 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 1981
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About the author
Gordon H. Clark
92 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.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
June 25, 2014
This book is a particular form of Christian apologetics. In it, Clark attempts to show that the Christian worldview makes the best sense of the world. He does this by comparing non-Christian views on the philosophy of history, the philosophy of politics, ethics, science, religion, and epistemology with Christian ones. His method is spelled out in the introduction: "Christianity . . . has, or, one may even say, Christianity is a comprehensive view of all things: it takes the world, both material and spiritual, to be an ordered system. Consequently, if Christianity is to be defended against the objections of other philosophies, the only adequate method will be comprehensive" (p. 25). Therefore, the Christian worldview must be compared with others. He takes this approach to apologetics over against theistic proofs, which he claims do not prove the existence of the God of the Bible.
This book is over sixty years old and really needs to be written again by a contemporary Christian philosopher. Clark's non-Christian exemplars are sometimes dated and/or obscure and his writing is not as clear as it should be. The general idea/method/approach of this book is excellent. In its execution, I'm not sure it always succeeds. But what Clark does well is get to the fundamental questions of each area of philosophy, something rarely done today, or so it seems to me. The chapters on history, politics, and epistemology were the best. In particular, the chapter on the philosophy of politics was excellent.
I pray that someone takes up the challenge of writing a new version of this book.
This book is over sixty years old and really needs to be written again by a contemporary Christian philosopher. Clark's non-Christian exemplars are sometimes dated and/or obscure and his writing is not as clear as it should be. The general idea/method/approach of this book is excellent. In its execution, I'm not sure it always succeeds. But what Clark does well is get to the fundamental questions of each area of philosophy, something rarely done today, or so it seems to me. The chapters on history, politics, and epistemology were the best. In particular, the chapter on the philosophy of politics was excellent.
I pray that someone takes up the challenge of writing a new version of this book.
August 8, 2007
Great read. Definitely under-looked when compared to the great 20th century Christian thinkers such as Schaeffer and Van Til, but is wonderful. Although somewhat difficult and obtuse in some places, it will help clarify and bring to light objections of Modern Philosophy in light of what the Gospel says of them.
March 1, 2013
Kant, Kelsen, Aquino, Spengler, Toynbee, Berkeley, Brunner, Hobbes, Bentham.. ninguém sai ileso. (e esses são só os que lembrei de primeira)
October 3, 2012
I'm guilty of viewing Dr. Clark as Van Til's nemesis and therefore only read him when he engages issues relevant to their famous disputes. The Christian View of Men and Things reminds me what a disservice I have done to Clark's depth and breadth and range of writings. This work alone is brilliant.
March 7, 2010
Fantástico!
October 11, 2012
Have read and reading again. My most highly recommended book other than the Bible.
July 17, 2024
A FAMED CALVINIST PHILOSOPHER/APOLOGIST'S INTRODUCTORY TEXT
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 '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.
He stated his purpose for this 1952 book in the Introduction: "In the first place... some elements and implications of theism are available in several fields. These can be added to, and then arranged so as to give some prospect of what a theistic worldview would be. In the second place, from the mass of naturalistic literature a picture may be drawn that will clarify theism by contrast... In the third place, nothing will be lost if the whole can be phrased in the elementary form of an introduction to philosophy." The book is, therefore, an introductory text which includes History, Politics, Ethics, Science, Religion, and Epistemology.
He argues, "The particular law that the scientist announces to the world is not a discovery forced on him by so-called facts; it is rather a choice from among an infinity of laws all of which enjoy the same experimental basis... however useful scientific laws are, they cannot be TRUE. Or, at the very least... scientific laws are not DISCOVERED but are CHOSEN." (Pg. 209)
He summarizes, "It follows therefore that the Thomistic proofs of the existence of God are invalid... this existence of which (Thomas has) arrived would not be God's existence... Once more, empiricism has failed." (Pg. 312) As a counter-argument, he suggests, "The 'proof' of God's existence... results from showing that consistency is maintained by viewing all things as dependent on God... what hypothesis provides a ground for the common possession of the categories as adequately as Christianity does. Though the existence and nature of God is insuceptible of formal demonstration..." (Pg. 318)
While this book is not likely to find a place on any secular college campuses, it is a useful summary of pre-modern philosophy from an orthodox Christian point of view.
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 '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.
He stated his purpose for this 1952 book in the Introduction: "In the first place... some elements and implications of theism are available in several fields. These can be added to, and then arranged so as to give some prospect of what a theistic worldview would be. In the second place, from the mass of naturalistic literature a picture may be drawn that will clarify theism by contrast... In the third place, nothing will be lost if the whole can be phrased in the elementary form of an introduction to philosophy." The book is, therefore, an introductory text which includes History, Politics, Ethics, Science, Religion, and Epistemology.
He argues, "The particular law that the scientist announces to the world is not a discovery forced on him by so-called facts; it is rather a choice from among an infinity of laws all of which enjoy the same experimental basis... however useful scientific laws are, they cannot be TRUE. Or, at the very least... scientific laws are not DISCOVERED but are CHOSEN." (Pg. 209)
He summarizes, "It follows therefore that the Thomistic proofs of the existence of God are invalid... this existence of which (Thomas has) arrived would not be God's existence... Once more, empiricism has failed." (Pg. 312) As a counter-argument, he suggests, "The 'proof' of God's existence... results from showing that consistency is maintained by viewing all things as dependent on God... what hypothesis provides a ground for the common possession of the categories as adequately as Christianity does. Though the existence and nature of God is insuceptible of formal demonstration..." (Pg. 318)
While this book is not likely to find a place on any secular college campuses, it is a useful summary of pre-modern philosophy from an orthodox Christian point of view.
May 12, 2017
This book isn’t perfect but it does exhibit all of Dr Clark’s strengths as a communicator My main problem with the book is the chapter lengths: they are excessively long. This isn’t too much of a problem, except Clark will spend 90% of the chapter debunking erroneous views, but he only gives a few pages to the biblical position, and even then it is only a summary.
Clark does a good job in debunking liberal theology’s view of religion, showing what the unfunny joke it is.
Notwithstanding, there are a few areas that are quite interesting, notably epistemology. Even then, though, it is limited. We get evaluations of empiricism, skepticism, and relativism, and Clark lists all the inadequacies of these views--but there is more to epistemology than a survey of three or four options. The book doesn’t have much on belief-formation, justification of knowledge, etc. Nonetheless, Clark hints towards a theistic summary (which would be later fine-tuned by Carl F Henry).
“The truths or propositions that may be known are the thoughts of God, the eternal thought of God. And insofar as man knows anything he is in contact with God’s mind. Since, further, God’s mind is God, we may legitimately borrow the figurative language, if not the precise meaning, of the mystics and say, we have a vision of God” (321).
This is good. And I think Clark was correct over Van Til on this point. This also nicely sidesteps the Eastern Orthodox critique that the West relies on created grace and avoids any direct contact with God. If Clark’s analysis holds, however, this isn’t true.
Clark does a good job in debunking liberal theology’s view of religion, showing what the unfunny joke it is.
Notwithstanding, there are a few areas that are quite interesting, notably epistemology. Even then, though, it is limited. We get evaluations of empiricism, skepticism, and relativism, and Clark lists all the inadequacies of these views--but there is more to epistemology than a survey of three or four options. The book doesn’t have much on belief-formation, justification of knowledge, etc. Nonetheless, Clark hints towards a theistic summary (which would be later fine-tuned by Carl F Henry).
“The truths or propositions that may be known are the thoughts of God, the eternal thought of God. And insofar as man knows anything he is in contact with God’s mind. Since, further, God’s mind is God, we may legitimately borrow the figurative language, if not the precise meaning, of the mystics and say, we have a vision of God” (321).
This is good. And I think Clark was correct over Van Til on this point. This also nicely sidesteps the Eastern Orthodox critique that the West relies on created grace and avoids any direct contact with God. If Clark’s analysis holds, however, this isn’t true.
March 11, 2019
The best of the best for doing Christian apologetics, by using the Bible (presupposing the Bible for all knowldge), rather than defending the Bible with non-Christian evidence and non-Christian presuppositions.
This book is more about a negative argument against how bottom-of-the-barrel stupid non-christian epistemologies are, rather than, focusing on the dogmatics of the Christian system. For the positive side of the argument, I prefer Vincent Cheung, Systematic Theology, and Ultimate Questions.
This book is more about a negative argument against how bottom-of-the-barrel stupid non-christian epistemologies are, rather than, focusing on the dogmatics of the Christian system. For the positive side of the argument, I prefer Vincent Cheung, Systematic Theology, and Ultimate Questions.
August 23, 2023
Clark is exceptionally an apologetics and writer. His book is one of the best
Want to read
February 5, 2024History philosophy
December 30, 2015
An excellent book for jumping into the serious pursuit of truth by rigorous thought.
A helpful introduction to Philosophy, and a useful tool to draw a curious person into deeper thought - an excellent comparison of Christian and Naturalistic thought. I have used this to teach several people in one on one lessons/discussions. Some including atheistic/agnostic thinkers who have been forced to consider the reality of their own worldview claims in comparison to the claims of Christianity.
Clear and careful explanation of the necessity of making choices and the impossibility of epistemological and moral neutrality.
This book is on R.C. Sproul's top 10 books list along with "Thales to Dewey" by Gordon Clark.
A helpful introduction to Philosophy, and a useful tool to draw a curious person into deeper thought - an excellent comparison of Christian and Naturalistic thought. I have used this to teach several people in one on one lessons/discussions. Some including atheistic/agnostic thinkers who have been forced to consider the reality of their own worldview claims in comparison to the claims of Christianity.
Clear and careful explanation of the necessity of making choices and the impossibility of epistemological and moral neutrality.
This book is on R.C. Sproul's top 10 books list along with "Thales to Dewey" by Gordon Clark.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews