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Norman L Geisler Biography & Facts

Norman Leo Geisler (July 21, 1932 – July 1, 2019) was an American Christian systematic theologian, philosopher, and apologist. He was the co-founder of two non-denominational evangelical seminaries (Veritas International University and Southern Evangelical Seminary). He held a Ph.D. in philosophy from Loyola University and made scholarly contributions to the subjects of classical Christian apologetics, systematic theology, the history of philosophy, philosophy of religion, Calvinism, Roman Catholicism, Biblical inerrancy, Bible difficulties, ethics, and more. He was the author, coauthor, or editor of over 90 books and hundreds of articles. One of the primary architects of the Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy, Geisler was well noted within the United States evangelical community for his stalwart defense of Biblical inerrancy. Education Geisler's education included a Th.B. (1964) from William Tyndale College, B.A. in philosophy (1958) and M.A. in theology (1960) from Wheaton College, and a Ph.D. in philosophy from Loyola University. He had additional graduate work at Wayne State University, the University of Detroit, and Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. Biography Norman Leo Geisler was born on July 21, 1932, in Warren, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. He attended a nondenominational, evangelical church from age nine; and converted into Christianity at age of eighteen. He immediately began attempting to share his faith with others in various evangelistic endeavors—door-to-door, street meetings, and jail service, rescue missions, and Youth for Christ venues. Some of his conversations forced him to realize that he needed to find better answers to the objections he was hearing. He subsequently earned two bachelor's degrees, two master's degrees, and a Doctorate. Geisler's decades of degree work overlap a professorial career begun at Detroit Bible College (1963–66) and continued at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (1969–70) and Trinity College (1970–71). He was later Chairman of Philosophy of Religion at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (1970–79) and Professor of Systematic Theology at Dallas Theological Seminary (1979–88). In 1981, Geisler testified in "the Scopes II trial" (McLean v. Arkansas Board of Education). Duane Gish, a creationist, remarked: "Geisler was... the lead witness for the creationist side and one of its most brilliant witnesses. His testimony, in my view (I was present during the entire trial), effectively demolished the most important thrust of the case by the ACLU. Unfortunately, in my opinion, no testimony, and no effort by any team of lawyers, no matter how brilliant, could have won the case for the creationist side." Geisler was formerly a president of the Evangelical Theological Society but left the ETS in 2003, after it did not expel Clark Pinnock, who advocated open theism. Geisler also was a key figure in founding the Evangelical Philosophical Society. He served as its first president as well as the first editor of its journal, which was then called the Bulletin of the Evangelical Philosophical Society. Additionally, he was the founder and first president of the International Society of Christian Apologetics. In 1997, Geisler co-authored When Cultists Ask: A Popular Handbook on Cultic Misinterpretation. He contributed to The Counterfeit Gospel of Mormonism. In 2008, Geisler co-founded the Veritas Evangelical Seminary (now Veritas International University) in Santa Ana, California. The seminary offers master's degrees in theological studies, apologetics, biblical studies, and Divinity. Geisler served as Chancellor, Distinguished Professor of Apologetics and Theology, and occupant of the Norman L. Geisler Chair of Christian Apologetics. He retired from this post in May 2019. Personal Geisler was married to Barbara Jean Cate for 64 years, and together they had six children: Ruth, David, Daniel, Rhoda, Paul, and Rachel. He died of cerebral thrombosis at a hospital in Charlotte, North Carolina on July 1, 2019, 20 days before his 87th birthday. Geisler's funeral was held at Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina. Ravi Zacharias gave the eulogy. Apologetics Geisler is known first and foremost as a classical Christian apologist. Between 1970 and 1990 he participated in dozens of public debates and gained a reputation as a defender of theism, biblical miracles, the resurrection of Jesus, and the reliability of the Bible. Outline of Geisler's Apologetic Method The first attempt to publish an outline of his apologetic method showed up in an appendix of his 1990 book When Skeptics Ask. The appendix is titled "Reasoning to Christianity from Ground Zero" and in it we see a high-level view of the holistic system of classical apologetics he had been developing over the years. The first outline contained fourteen points of argument: There are self-evident truths (e.g., "I exist," "Logic applies to reality"). Truth corresponds to reality. Truth is knowable (all other views are self-defeating). One can proceed from self-evident truths to the existence of God. The argument from Creation (proceeds from "I exist") The argument from morals (proceeds from "Values are undeniable") The argument from design (proceeds from "Design implies a designer") God is a necessary Being (argument from being). My existence is not necessary (evident from the definition of a necessary Being). Therefore, theism is true (there is a necessary Being beyond the world who has created the contingent things in the world and intervenes in the world). The objection from the problem of evil can be solved. The objection to miracles can be solved. The Bible is a historically reliable document. History is an objective study of the past. There is great historical, archaeological, and scientific evidence to confirm the reliability of the Bible. (Corollary: The Bible gives a reliable record of the teaching of Jesus Christ.) Jesus claimed to be both fully human and fully God. He gave evidence to support this claim. The fulfillment of prophecy His miraculous and sinless life His resurrection Therefore, Jesus is both fully human and fully God. Whatever God teaches is true. Jesus (God) taught that the Old Testament was the inspired Word of God and He promised the New Testament. Therefore, both the Old and New Testaments are the inspired Word of God. The overview of his system was later streamlined slightly into a 12-point schema. As of 1999, it could be summarized as follows: Truth about reality is knowable. Opposites cannot both be true (The Law of Noncontradiction). It is true the theistic God exists. If God exists, then miracles are possible. Miracles performed in connection with a truth claim are acts of God to confirm the truth of God through a messenger of God. The New Testament is historically reliable. As witnessed in the New Testament, Jesus claimed to be God. Jesus's claim to divinity was proven by miracles, especially the Resurrection. Therefore, Jesus is Go.... Discover the Norman L Geisler popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Norman L Geisler books.