Christian apologist Greg Koukl, founder of Stand to Reason, recognizes Stephen Meyer as a major player in the central "second column" of a "three-column" Christian apologetics movement of recent times. You, oh TrueU user, are participants in the "third column." Let me explain.
Koukl's January-February 2012 Solid Ground newsletter identifies three "columns" (phases) of the Christian apologetics movement over the past few generations. I summarize and quote Koukl’s newsletter:
Column One: Pioneers of Evangelical Christian Apologetics
Koukl offers as chief example: “John Warwick Montgomery, Francis Schaeffer, Josh McDowell, Norm Geisler, and Walter Martin.” One could add C.S. Lewis and others to this list.
Column Two: Current Leading Evangelical Christian Apologists & Their Organizations
“Ravi Zacharias, Nancy Pearcey, Os Guinness, Chuck Colson, David Noebel, Gary Habermas, Stephen Meyer, William Dembski, Lee Strobel, Craig Hazen, [and] Hugh Ross.” Koukl lists these as examples of major figures and says they “are now heading up enterprises of their own that collectively have a much larger impact than our mentors [in column one] could have ever accomplished on their own—the result of the simple calculus of discipleship and multiplication.”
Stephen Meyer (listed in column two) has had a lead role in Focus on the Family's TrueU apologetics curriculum. TrueU is a prominent instance of column two curriculum that prepares students in column three groups for the anti-theistic bias of college academic life.
Column Three: Local Community and University Student Apologetics Groups
“A third column has begun to form. Everywhere I travel I meet sharp, committed ambassadors for Christ who are students of those in the first two columns and are grouping up with others of kindred spirit in their local communities.”
On pages 6-7 of his newsletter Koukl describes Ratio Christi as a movement that strategically connects “second-column speakers and organizations [including curriculum like TrueU] to third-column groups on campuses and in churches around the country.” There is no other organization with a university-focus that has this comprehensive cooperative apologetic outcome in view, and TrueU is one of the best curricular partners of Ratio Christi. Greg Koukl understands this and thus lists Ratio Christi and Stephen Meyer (best accessed through TrueU) as strategic partners in Christian apologetics today.
Postcript: Note the relationship between today's blog and my 3-part series on anti-theist student organizations and their upcoming DC “Reason Rally” (blogs posted on the last 3 days of December). The "three columns" of the Christian apologetics movement will have an effect that outlasts the defiant rants of anti-theist student clubs and their upcoming rally in DC, which they are hoping will be the “Largest Gathering of the Secular Movement in World History.”
Ratio Christi has blogged on Koukl's "Three Columns" here.
