FaithInterface Profile: Prof Douglas Groothuis
Prof Doug Groothuis
Douglas R. Groothuis (pronunciation: grote-hice) received his Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Oregon. He is Professor of Philosophy at Denver Seminary, where he has served since 1993. He has written ten books, most recently On Pascal and On Jesus in the Wadsworth Philosophers Series (Wadsworth, 2003). His book Truth Decay: Defending Christianity Against the Challenges of Postmodernism, (InterVarsity Press, 2000) won a 2001 Christianity Today Award of Merit. In addition, Prof Groothuis is a contributing editor for the Dictionary of Contemporary Religion in the Western World (InterVarsity, 2002). His books have been translated into French, German, Korean, Norwegian and several other languages.
Prof Groothuis has published articles in scholarly journals such as Religious Studies, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Philosophia Christi, Inquiry, Christian Scholars Review, Asbury Theological Journal and Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society. He has written, too, for popular periodicals, including Christianity Today, National Forum, Books and Culture and The Christian Research Journal, and for newspapers such as The Rocky Mountain News, The Seattle Times and The Denver Post. For three years he wrote a regular column for Moody Magazine called “Culture Watch.” His observations on religion and culture have been quoted in Time, The New York Times and US News and World Report.
Prof Groothuis’s primary passion is to make Christian truth known in contemporary culture and in the church. To that end, he speaks at many colleges and universities on apologetics and ethical themes. He is married to author and editor Rebecca Merrill Groothuis. He has a blog The Constructive Curmudgeon.
Many thanks to Prof Groothuis for consenting to be profiled on FaithInterface.
Can you please briefly tell us about your personal journey from a Christian perspective and your professional career to this point?
I became a Christian in the summer of 1976 after having been attracted to both mysticism and Western atheism. Of course, my worldview was not coherent at the time. I received a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy in 1979 from the University of Oregon (Eugene) and then spent five years in campus ministry, during which time I met my wife, Rebecca, who encouraged me to write my first book, Unmasking the New Age (InterVarsity Press, 1986). I received a Masters Degree in Philosophy from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1986 and then spent three more years in campus ministry with Probe Ministries in Seattle, Washington. I received my Ph.D. in Philosophy in 1993 from the University of Oregon, where I wrote my dissertation on “To Prove or Not to Prove: Pascal on Natural Theology.” Since 1993 I have been a Professor of Philosophy at Denver Seminary.
My call has been to speak Christian truth into the church and present it to the unbelieving world in venues in which it does not typically appear, such as secular books, editorials in newspapers and journals, and public lectures at universities, and other forums.
Describe how you view the interface between Theology, Philosophy and Apologetics?
That question is too big for a short answer! Our theology should be biblical and logical. Philosophy helps us forge a coherent theology, which we defend through apologetics. Apologetics also employs philosophy to show that Christianity is objectively true, rational, and pertinent to all of life.
For some history behind how the rational Christian mind and intellect was lost, and the effect of this on Christianity, I suggest you read Mark Noll, The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind and J.P. Moreland, Love Your God with all Your Mind.
Why is it important that the life and development of the Christian mind be recovered?
Simply because the Bible requires it for faithful Christian witness.
See Romans 12:1-2; Matthew 22:37-40; 1 Peter 3:15-17; Jude 3; 2 Corinthians 10:3-5.
Where is evangelical Christianity in 2009, as you see it, in the process of recovering the rational Christian mind?
In the last thirty years, there have been very significant contributions made to intellectual life by Christian Philosophers such as Alvin Plantinga, Richard Swinburne, J.P. Moreland, and William Lane Craig, and by historians such as Mark Noll and George Marsden.
However, much of this material does not make its way to the average church-goer. Worldview, apologetics, and ethics must make its way into the pulpits and educational ministries of the church, as well as into the Christian colleges and seminaries.
Many thanks again to Prof Doug Groothuis, Professor of Philosophy at Denver Seminary, Colorado, for kindly agreeing to be profiled on FaithInterface. I highly recommend Prof Groothuis’ 2004 lectures on Christian Apologetics.