The Consequences of Ideas

R.C. Sproul (where)
Vastly informative. This series used to be available on audio cassette under the title, “The History of Philosophy.” Studying the history of philosopy is a tremendous help in understanding and recognizing the roots of all of the various heresies that have slowly permeated Western Christian thought. Virtually every philosophical movement and period of scientific discovery has had an impact on the theologians of the church throughout the centuries, sometimes provoking councils with declarations and creeds, sometimes creating shifts in theological thinking, and sometimes provoking irrational and confusing overreactions by the church. The Scripture has remained constant, and the gospel has not changed, but the lenses through which interpreters and commentators have viewed God and his Word have been colored by changes and struggles in the world of philosophy.

The “versions” of Christian thought (theologies) that we find in our contemporary culture are, in part, the products of philosophical movements and the church’s responses to them. Which theology is better? Which is closer to the truth, and more faithful to the actual, honest Biblical exegesis? These questions are much more easily answered by examining the historical and philosophical climates which gave birth to particular lines of reasoning regarding the existence of God, His role in the maintenance of the world, humanity’s struggles with sin, life after death, etc.

This series starts pre-Socrates/Plato, and reaches all way to the 20th century. This series covers more than just theology, touching on all of the major schools of thought, in most of the important categories, such as Aesthetics, Epistemology, Ethics, and Metaphysics. Each message is usually focused on a particular thinker or new movement, then basic issues and proponents are discussed, followed by its effects on Christian thought. This series has thirty-five 23-minute lectures, with double-messages devoted to several foundational areas: Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Hume, the Enlightenment, Kant.