Edward John Carnell (1919-1967) was a prominent Christian theologian and apologist, was an ordained Baptist pastor, and served as President of Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. He was the author of nine major books, several of which attempted to develop a fresh outlook in Christian apologetics. He also wrote essays that were published in several other books, and was a contributor of articles to periodicals such as The Christian Century and Christianity Today. Year 1919 (MCMXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar). ... Year 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the 1967 Gregorian calendar. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      Baptist is a term describing individuals belonging... Fuller Theological Seminary, located in Pasadena, California, is the largest multi denominational seminary in the world. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... The Christian Century is a liberal Christian magazine based in Chicago, Illinois. ... Christianity Today is an Evangelical Christian periodical based in Carol Stream, Illinois. ...

Family

Carnell was born in Antigo, Wisconsin on June 28, 1919, and was the third of four children born to Herbert Carnell and Fannie Carstens. He was married to Shirley Rowe, a school teacher from Wisconsin. U.S. 45/WIS 47/WIS 52 intersecting WIS 64 in Antigo. ...

Education

Carnell began his tertiary education at Wheaton College, Illinois, where he majored in philosophy and received his B.A. degree. His philosophical mentor at Wheaton was the Calvinist apologist Gordon Clark. Carnell then commenced theological studies at Westminster Theological Seminary where he was awarded the Th.B and Th.M degrees. John Murray and Cornelius Van Til were two of his lecturers who influenced him greatly. He then proceeded to doctoral studies in history and the philosophy of religion at Harvard Divinity School. During his candidacy at Harvard, Carnell also enrolled as a doctoral candidate in philosophy at Boston University under the tutelage of Edgar S. Brightman. Carnell's theological dissertation at Harvard was on Reinhold Niebuhr, while his philosophical dissertation at Boston was on Søren Kierkegaard. Wheaton College is a private Evangelical Protestant, coeducational, liberal arts college in Wheaton, Illinois, a suburb 25 miles west of Chicago in the United States. ... The philosopher Socrates about to take poison hemlock as ordered by the court. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      Calvinism is a theological... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Gordon Haddon Clark (August 31, 1902-April 9, 1985) was an American philosopher and Calvinist theologian. ... Westminster Theological Seminary is a Presbyterian and Reformed Christian graduate educational institution with campuses located in Glenside, Pennsylvania (a suburb of Philadelphia), and Dallas, Texas, and programs of study in New York City, and London. ... Cornelius Van Til Cornelius Van Til (May 4, 1895 - April 17, 1987), born in Grootegast, the Netherlands, was a Christian philosopher, Reformed theologian, and presuppositional apologist. ... Harvard Divinity School is one of the constituent schools of Harvard University, located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the United States. ... For similarly-named academic institutions, see Boston (disambiguation). ... Edgar Sheffield Brightman (1884-1953) was a Christian theologian in the Methodist tradition, associated with Boston University and the school of liberal theology known as Boston personalism. ... Karl Paul Reinhold Niebuhr (June 21, 1892 – June 1, 1971) was a Protestant theologian best known for his study of the task of relating the Christian faith to the reality of modern politics and diplomacy. ... Søren Aabye Kierkegaard (IPA: , but usually Anglicized as ;  ) 5 May 1813 – 11 November 1855) was a prolific 19th century Danish philosopher and theologian. ...

Apologetic Writings

During the period of his doctoral studies, Carnell composed a work in Christian apologetics that he submitted to William Eerdmans in a competition for the Evangelical Book Award. Carnell's manuscript won the five thousand dollar prize, which in 1948 was a considerable sum of money. It was hailed in Evangelical circles as a masterly new work in apologetics, and established a reputation for Carnell as a brilliant young and rising theologian. Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      The word evangelicalism often refers to...

The book, which was released as An Introduction to Christian Apologetics, reflected the apologetic influences of his mentors Gordon Clark and Cornelius Van Til, and also the philosophical influence of Edgar Sheffield Brightman. In the book he sought to show that Christian faith was systematically logical, factual and rationally satisfying as it best fitted the facts as an explanation for the human condition. His apologetic gambits dealt with topics such as Biblical criticism, the problem of miracles, evolution, and the existential problem of soul-sorrow in an effort to show that Christianity offers a coherent view of reality. Gordon Haddon Clark (August 31, 1902-April 9, 1985) was an American philosopher and Calvinist theologian. ... Cornelius Van Til Cornelius Van Til (May 4, 1895 - April 17, 1987), born in Grootegast, the Netherlands, was a Christian philosopher, Reformed theologian, and presuppositional apologist. ...

In many respects his apologetic approach represented an attempt at combining the deductive rationalist and presuppositionalist methods of Clark and Van Til, with a test for truth he called "systematic consistency". Later analysts of Evangelical apologetics have dubbed his apologetic method as either a "combinationalist" or "verificational" approach. Irving Hexham has noted in his survey of apologetic responses to New Age spirituality that Carnell's approach had some influence on the way in which Francis Schaeffer developed his apologetic writings. Hexham states, "Another source for Schaeffer's ideas was the evangelical philosopher E. J. Carnell, although Schaeffer was reluctant to admit this unless directly asked." (Hexham, "The Evangelical Response to the New Age" in Perspectives on the New Age, edited by James Lewis & J. G. Melton, p. 322). Irving Hexham (April 14, 1943) is Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. ... Francis A. Schaeffer (30 January 1912 – 15 May 1984), an American Evangelical theologian, philosopher, and Presbyterian pastor, is most famous for his writings and his establishment of the LAbri community in Switzerland. ...

Carnell's second apologetic text, A Philosophy of the Christian Religion, explored questions of value that are personally and existentially satisfying. This study is technically known as axiology. Axiology, from the Greek axia (αξια, value, worth), is the study of value or quality. ...

Two further apologetic works Christian Commitment and The Kingdom of Love and the Pride of Life delved into subjective issues of introspective meaning. Both texts reflected his deep study and appreciation of the work of Søren Kierkegaard. Carnell emphasised the meaning of authentic discipleship and commitment to the way of Christ as grounded in God's love. Søren Aabye Kierkegaard (IPA: , but usually Anglicized as ;  ) 5 May 1813 – 11 November 1855) was a prolific 19th century Danish philosopher and theologian. ...

After graduating from Harvard, Carnell joined the faculty of the recently founded Fuller Seminary. Carnell was attracted to this seminary as it was part of an emerging movement of reform within Protestant Fundamentalism. The background to this new movement of reform lies in the nineteenth century and the early twentieth century. Fundamentalist Christianity, or Christian fundamentalism, is a movement that arose mainly within British and American Protestantism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by conservative evangelical Christians, who, in a reaction to modernism, actively affirmed a fundamental set of Christian beliefs: the inerrancy of the Bible, Sola Scriptura, the...

Fundamentalist-Liberal Controversies

In the nineteenth century Evangelicalism had been the major expression of Protestant theology and church life in North America. Towards the end of that century a major division occurred in Protestant thought in Europe, England and America that transcended denominational affiliations. The division comprised two broad camps: Liberal Christianity and Evangelical Christianity. The tensions between these two camps arose over developments in Enlightenment based philosophy where theistic or supernatural explanations of reality were brought into question. Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      Liberal Christianity, sometimes called... The Age of Enlightenment (French: ; German: ) was an eighteenth century movement in European and American philosophy, or the longer period including the Age of Reason. ...

The questioning of theism was not confined to abstract concens in philosophy, but also developed as modern historical consciousness dawned. This new historical consciousness was presaged in the seventeenth century controversies of Deism where Biblical miracles, and especially Christ's resurrection, were called into doubt. Alongside the debates about miracles came new conjectures about the authorship of the Biblical books, and investigations into possible sub-documents and written sources undergirding the present biblical texts. Theism is the belief in the existence of one or more divinities or deities. ... For other uses, see Ceremonial deism. ...

A further element of controversy for Christians at that time arose in the wake of the theory of evolution as propounded in 1859 by Charles Darwin. The Genesis narratives of the creation and Noah's Flood were brought into doubt, and the science versus religion debates accelerated. For other people of the same surname, and places and things named after Charles Darwin, see Darwin. ...

Those in the Liberal camp sought to reconcile their faith and theology in light of the modern historical consciousness and evolutionary thought. Some within the Liberal camp began to redefine the message of Christ in light of socialist criticism, and the Social Gospel developed in the popular writings of Charles Sheldon (the inventor of the "What Would Jesus Do" slogan) and in the theological writings of Walter Rauschenbusch. Charles Sheldon (February 26, 1857 Wellsville, New York - February 24, 1946) was an American minister in the Congregational churches and leader of the Social Gospel movement. ... What would Jesus do? bracelets The phrase What would Jesus do? (WWJD) achieved immense popularity in the United States by the mid-1990s and had become the personal motto of thousands of Christians, who used the phrase as a reminder that, under many interpretations of the Bible, Jesus is the... Walter Rauschenbusch (October 4, 1861-1918) was a progressive American Baptist minister, known as a leader in the social gospel movement. ...

Those in the Evangelical camp began to argue that the Liberals were engaged in a massive compromise, if not betrayal, of the central tenets of Christianity. Many of the nineteenth century Evangelicals had prized higher learning, cultural engagement, and pursued matters of social justice and reform (like anti-vivisection, anti-slavery, prison reform). However, as the gospel message of the Liberals was perceived to be largely about social reform and not about personal repentance from sin, the suspicions between the two camps widened.

In 1915 a multi-volume work called The Fundamentals was published, which comprised a variety of tracts that reasserted traditional Christian teachings and challenged modern skeptical thinking and Liberal Christian ideas. It is from these volumes that the subsequent label of fundamentalist was coined in the 1920s and in the wake of the famous Scopes trial on the teaching of evolution. Fundamentalism is a movement to maintain strict adherence to founding principles. ... The Scopes Trial (, often called the Scopes Monkey Trial) was a watershed in the creation-evolution controversy that pitted lawyers William Jennings Bryan and Clarence Darrow against each other (the latter representing teacher John Thomas Scopes) in an American legal case that tested a law passed on March 13, 1925...

Fundamentalist Isolation

As the late nineteenth century Evangelical intellectual leaders began to die out, the emerging generation metamorphosed into a culture-denying phenomenon known as Protestant fundamentalism. Its leaders began to withdraw from cultural engagement, social justice issues, and from the academy, and developed a church sub-culture that developed a siege-mentality over mainstream culture.

Neo-Evangelicals

Main article: Neo-evangelicalism

In the early 1940s a number of those who had grown up in a fundamentalist ethos began to question the eccentricities of the subculture, and particularly its disengagement from both the academy and mainstream culture. A new organization known as the National Association of Evangelicals was formed with the agenda of reforming society. Some of the emerging leaders of this movement, which came to be dubbed "Neo-Evangelical" included Carl F. H. Henry, Harold Ockenga and Billy Graham. These men were convinced that a two-pronged approach to societal transformation was possible. One approach was to reengage the academy bringing a distinctly Christian worldview to bear on disciplines such as history, philosophy, science, literature, art and law. The other approach involved itinerant evangelistic preachers proclaiming the message at the grass roots level of society. The Neo-Evangelical movement was a response among traditionally orthodox Protestants to fundamentalist Christianitys separatism, beginning in the 1920s and 1930s. ... The National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) is an agency dedicated to coordinating cooperative ministry for evangelical denominations of Christians in the United States. ... The Neo-Evangelical movement was a response among traditionally orthodox Protestants to fundamentalist Christianitys separatism, beginning in the 1920s and 1930s. ... Carl F. H. Henry Carl Ferdinand Howard Henry (January 22, 1913 – December 7, 2003) was an American evangelical Christian theologian who served as the first editor-in-chief of the magazine Christianity Today, established to serve as a scholarly voice for evangelical Christianity and a challenge to the liberal Christian... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The Reverend William Franklin Graham, Jr. ...

As the Neo-Evangelical leaders pushed towards these goals, a division occurred between them and their more conservative and sometimes militant colleagues who continued to pursue the cause of fundamentalism.

Carnell as Neo-Evangelical Leader

Carnell had grown up as a fundamentalist and been trained at Wheaton College, which was one of the bastions of fundamentalism. He was, however, dissatisfied with the anti-intellectual tendencies he discerned in fundamentalist culture. He was therefore very receptive to the message of Neo-Evangelicals who sought to both reform fundamentalism and reform the wider society.

As part of his contribution to challenging the culture of fundamentalism, Carnell confronted the issue initially by dealing with the advent of television. Some fundamentalists feared that television was a device in the hands of the devil. In his book Television: Servant or Master? Carnell dealt with some of the issues concerning modern communication systems, the use of technology in the promotion of the Christian message, and engaging with wider cultural concerns. Carnell scorned the anti-intellectual tendencies in fundamentalism, and attacked its legalistic and negative mentality about culture.

In 1957 Carnell was appointed the President of Fuller Seminary. As some of the Neo-Evangelicals, like Carl Henry and Harold Ockenga, had been instrumental in establishing the seminary, Carnell's rising profile as an apologist, theologian, and now seminary professor, catapulted him into the spotlight.

In his book The Case for Orthodox Theology Carnell sought to separate the Neo-Evangelicals from the fundamentalists by arguing that a Reformed Orthodox theology was considerably different from fundamentalism. He attacked the legalism and hypocrisy he saw in fundamentalism and argued that it was "orthodoxy gone cultic". He highlighted what he saw as critical deficiencies in fundamentalist thought and practice. As a result of his published diatribe Carnell became the object of much criticism from fundamentalist preachers.

Carnell's personal life was not without difficulties as he suffered from depression and insomnia, and received psychiatric treatment including electro-convulsive therapy. His treatment included doses of barbiturates, and he died in 1967 from a drug overdose. The cause of his death has been the subject of much conjecture as the coronial finding was unable to determine whether the dose was accidental or not.

Carnell's legacy, however, is generally regarded as a positive contribution to the re-emergence of Evangelicals in scholarly pursuits. His apologetic contributions influenced the post-World War Two generation of evangelicals, and emphasized the importance of the gospel and culture. He was greatly admired by his students at Fuller Seminary, and his writings are highly appreciated for their lucidity and clarity.

Assessments of Carnell's Work

• Boa, Kenneth D., and Robert M. Bowman, Faith has Its Reasons: An Integrative Approach to Defending Christianity, NAV Press, Colorado Springs, 2001. ISBN 1-57683-143-4
• Harper, Kenneth C., "Edward John Carnell: An Evaluation of his Apologetics," Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, 20/2 (June 1977), 133-146.[1]
• Lewis, Gordon R., Testing Christianity's Truth Claims, Moody Press, Chicago, 1976. ISBN 0802485952
• Marsden, George M., Reforming Fundamentalism: Fuller Seminary and the New Evangelicalism, William B. Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 1987. ISBN 0-8028-3642-9
• Nash, Ronald H., The New Evangelicalism, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 1963.
• Nelson, Rudolph., The Making and Unmaking of an Evangelical Mind: The Case of Edward John Carnell, Cambridge University Press, New York, 1987. ISBN 0521342635
• Ramm, Bernard., Types of Apologetic Systems, Van Kampen Press, Wheaton, 1953.
• Sims, John A., Edward John Carnell: Defender of the Faith, University Press of America, Washington DC, 1979.
• Sims, John A., Missionaries to the Skeptics: Christian Apologists for the Twentieth Century. C. S. Lewis, E. J. Carnell and Reinhold Niebuhr, Mercer University Press, Macon, Georgia, 1995. ISBN 0-86554-496-4
• Wozniak, Kenneth., Ethics in the Thought of Edward John Carnell, University Press of America, Lanham, 1983. ISBN 0819134163

Bibliography

• An Introduction to Christian Apologetics, William B. Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 1948.
• Television: Servant or Master? William B. Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 1950.
• The Theology of Reinhold Niebuhr, William B. Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 1950.
• A Philosophy of the Christian Religion, William B. Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 1952. ISBN 0-8010-2464-1
• The Burden of Søren Kierkegaard, William B. Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 1956.
• Christian Commitment: An Apologetic, MacMillan, New York, 1957. ISBN 0-8010-2473-0
• The Case for Orthodox Theology, Westminster Press, Philadelphia, 1959.
• The Kingdom of Love and the Pride of Life, William B. Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 1960.
• The Case for Biblical Christianity, William B. Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 1969.