Dr. Hackett provides, in digestible form, a comprehensive, systematic, and pervasively philosophical apologetic for the Christian revelation claim. Although the approach is seriously philosophical, the text is free as possible of the earmarks of technical scholarship-reflecting the author’s aspiration to "reach the common person who has a deep interest in such questions."

Table of Contents

• • Preface 9
  • Introduction: Philosophical Prolegomena 11
  • Foundations of Religious Knowledge 13
  • The Development of the Concept of Revelation 70
• Part I Christianity and the Revelational Cosmos –
  A Philosophical Case for a Theistic Metaphysic
  • The Development of the Theistic Position 87
  • The Possibility of the Cosmos: A Conceptual Argument 90
  • The Actuality of the Cosmos: A Causal Argument 96
  • The Structure of the Cosmos: A Purposive Argument 103
  • The Climax of the Cosmos: An Anthropological Argument 107
  • The Value Dimension of the Cosmos: A Moral Argument 111
  • Viable Alternatives and Critical Objections 118
  • Logical Conventionalism and the Analytic-Empirical Objection to Theism 118
  • Metaphysical Naturalism and the Denial of Theistic Transcendence 127
  • The Chance Hypothesis and the Irrelevance of Purposive Explanation 131
  • Emergent Evolutionism and the Naturalistic Explanation of the Mind 136
  • Ethical Relativism and the Rejection of an Objective Moral Order 152
  • The Culmination of General Revelation 162
  • In Relation to the Knowledge of God 162
  • In Relation to the Predicament of Man 165
  • In Relation to the Expectation of Reason 166
• Part II Christianity and the Revelational Person –
  An Historical/Critical Case for the Incarnation of God in Jesus Christ
  • The Christian Concept of the Christ 181
  • In Relation to His Person 181
  • In Relation to His Vocation 197
  • In Relation to His Position as the Pivotal Basis of the Christian Truth-Claim 202
  • The Critical Controversy Concerning the Christ 210
  • In Relation to His Person 210
  • In Relation to His Vocation 237
  • A Concluding Christological Synthesis 247
  • Christology and the Christian Revelation Claim 247
  • Christology and Comparative Religious Philosophy 249
  • Concluding Estimate on the Critical Objections in Christology 253
• Part III Christianity and the Revelational Word –
  The Propositional Expression of Revelation in Scripture
  • The Bible and Its Structure: The Internal Nature of Propositional Revelation 257
  • The Claim of Scripture 257
  • The Canon of Scripture 298
  • The Coherence of Scripture 302
  • The Bible and Science: The External Relation of Scripture Propositions to Scientific Truth-Claims 311
  • The Nature and Limitations of Scientific Methodology 311
  • The Relation Between Scientific Theories and the Biblical Perspective 316
  • The Evidential Support of the Scriptural Revelation Claim in the Area of Scientific Subject Matter 320
  • The Bible and Christian Religious Experience: The Progressive Realization of Scriptural Truth-Claims in Personal Life 330
  • The Apologetic Significance of Christian Religious Experience 330
  • The Subjective Reality of Christian Religious Experience 335
  • The Individual Prerequisites for Christian Religious Experience 339
  • Concluding Synthesis on the Revelational Word 340
  • Epilogue: A Summary Reflection 342
  • Bibliography of Suggested Readings for the Exploratory Reader 345