John Warwick Montgomery's Legal Apologetic

335 Pages·2004·1.66 MB·English

by  Ross Clifford

Ross Clifford is the Principal of Morling Theological Col- JOHN
lege, Sydney. Prior to entering the Baptist Ministry he
practised as a solicitor and barrister. He is the author of WARWICK
c
a Leading Lawyers’ Case for the Resurrection and co-au- i
t
e
thor of Riding the Rollercoaster: How the Risen Christ g MONTGOMERY’S
Empowers Life, Jesus and the Gods of the New Age and o
l
Beyond Prediction. He is also a well known radio pre- o ROSS LEGAL
p
senter. The subject of his doctoral thesis was John War- A
wick Montgomery. l CLIFFORD APOLOGETIC
a
g
e
L
Dr Montgomery is one of our leading Christian apologists. His writings have s An Apologetic for all Seasons
influenced several generations of apologists from around the globe. His y‘
r
debates are legendary. This book purports to break new ground apologeti- e
m
cally as it assesses Dr Montgomery’s work. It focuses on his legal/historical
o
apologetic and in the process reframes it for both for the ‘tough minded’ g
and the ‘tender hearted’. It shows not only the rationality of Montgomery’s 5 nt 5
work but also that his writings pave the way for an apologetic to New Age o
y M y
followers and to those who place experience before reason. A special fea- a a

d k d
ture of this analysis concerns Montgomery’s apologetic insights on the oc- c
o o
cult and paganism. T wi T
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y a y
This book also breaks new ground as the legal apologetic model has not h W h
been previously assessed; it illustrates that a juridical apologetic style has p n p
o o
a rich history dating back to the Gospels themselves. The present work h
s o s
should thus be of particular interest to apologists, theologians, philoso- o J o
l l
phers of religion, pastors, and all who are concerned to share the legal/ i i
h h

historical fact of the Resurrection of Jesus – together with its relevance – in P d P
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a secular age. o
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ISBN 3-938116-00-5 ri s ri
ISSN 1612-1171 h o h
C R C

Verlag für Kultur und Wissenschaft W W W
(Culture and Science Publ.) K K K
Dr. Thomas Schirrmacher
V V V
Ross Clifford
John Warwick Montgomery’s Legal Apologetic
Christliche Philosophie heute
Christian Philosophy Today
Quomodo Philosophia Christianorum Hodie Estimatur
Band 5
Band 1
John Warwick Montgomery
Tractatus Logico-Theologicus
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John Warwick Montgomery
Hat die Weltgeschichte einen Sinn?
Geschichtsphilosophien auf dem Prüfstand
Band 3
John Warwick Montgomery
Jésus: La raison rejoint l'histoire
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Horst Waldemar Beck
Marken dieses Äons
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Ross Clifford
John Warwick Montgomery’s Legal Apologetic
John Warwick Montgomery
John Warwick Montgomery’s
Legal Apologetic
An Apologetic for all Seasons
Christian Philosophy Today 5
Verlag für Kultur und Wissenschaft
Culture and Science Publ.
Bonn 2004
Die Deutsche Bibliothek - CIP - Einheitsaufnahme
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Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data is available in the Internet at
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© 2004 Dr. Ross Clifford
eMail: [email protected]
ISBN 3-938116-00-5
ISSN 1612-1171
(Christliche Philosophie heute)
Satz:
Beate Hebold
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Acknowledgments 5
Acknowledgments
This writer would like to express appreciation to the following people
who have aided me in this endeavour. This book is based on my doctoral
thesis.
Dr John Warwick Montgomery for providing me with materials, includ-
ing his latest unpublished texts and for always being available to answer
queries as I pursued this study. Also, for his encouragement to academi-
cally evaluate the teaching of one’s mentors. His writings to me have been
the ‘hound of heaven’.
My doctoral supervisor throughout this study Dr Bill Andersen, who per-
sonifies what it is to be a Christian academic. Two other doctoral super-
visors worked with me for part of the time: Dr Graham Cole and Geoff
Moore LL.M., Barrister-at-Law. Their valuable contribution is also much
appreciated.
The faculty, staff, and College Council members at Morling Theological
College who were always encouraging. In particular Mrs Nancy Connell
for her endless hours of typing and computer work; and Philip Johnson for
his incessant probing.
My wife Beverley whose encouragement, support and giving of her time
in this project was invaluable, and my children Briony and Joel for their
understanding.

Contents Page 7
Contents Page
Acknowledgments ..............................................................................5
Contents Page ...................................................................................7
Introduction ....................................................................................11
Background and Focus of the Study ................................................11
Aims and Structure ...........................................................................14
Limitations ........................................................................................16
Chapter 1 .........................................................................................19
Historical Background ......................................................................19
The Early Church .............................................................................19
Grotius, Sherlock, Greenleaf ............................................................21
Links to the Historical Apologetic .....................................................24
Common Sense ...............................................................................26
Influence on General Christian
and Non-Christian Apologetic Works ...............................................27
A Fourfold Taxanomy .......................................................................32
General Observation ........................................................................40
The Model and its Development ......................................................41
Intended Audience ...........................................................................45
Potential Difficulties ..........................................................................46
New Development ............................................................................47
Epistemological Matters ...................................................................48
Chapter 2 .........................................................................................57
The Evidence ...................................................................................57
Documents .......................................................................................58
‘Ancient Documents’ Rule ................................................................59
8 Contents Page
Legal Hermeneutic ...........................................................................72
Hearsay ............................................................................................80
Hostile Witnesses .............................................................................80
Multiple Hearsay ..............................................................................82
First-Hand Admissible Hearsay –
‘The Devil’s Advocate’ Position ........................................................86
A Point for Further Research: Letter of James ...............................102
Luke’s Gospel ................................................................................104
Non-Technical Legal Apologetic ....................................................106
Chapter 3 .......................................................................................109
Testimony .......................................................................................109
The Competency and Truthfulness of a Witness ...........................110
Limitations Surrounding Eyewitness Testimony .............................139
Things ............................................................................................144
Circumstantial Evidence .................................................................147
The Circumstantial Case ................................................................148
Reframing the Legal Apologetic .....................................................158
The Technical Apologetic ...............................................................159
The Non-Technical Apologetic .......................................................162
‘Commonly Agreed Facts’ Apologetic ............................................163
Chapter 4 .......................................................................................166
‘New Spirituality’ .............................................................................166
Background to ‘New Spirituality’ .....................................................167
Apologetic Models in Relation to ‘New Spirituality’ ........................179
Montgomery’s ‘Incarnational’ Model ...............................................181
Montgomery and the Apologist’s Craft ...........................................185
Contents Page 9
The Legal Apologetic Model of
Montgomery in Relation to New Spirituality ...................................189
The Resurrection and Circumstantial Evidence .............................189
Reframing the Circumstantial Apologetic .......................................211
The Resurrection and Direct Evidence –
Montgomery and the Place of Story ...............................................217
Reframing the Direct Evidence ......................................................223
Faddishness ...................................................................................224
Conclusion: An Apologetic Case Study Approach .........................226
Chapter 5 .......................................................................................229
Strenghts of the Legal Paradigm ....................................................229
Scriptural Support ..........................................................................229
Historical Precedent .......................................................................238
Other Factors Supporting the Application
of the Legal Method to Ultimate Questions ....................................238
Perceived Limitations of the Legal Paradigm Analogy ...................248
Law and Astonishing Events ..........................................................249
Eternal Facts in Issue .....................................................................254
A Legal Formalist Approach ...........................................................259
Conclusion ....................................................................................267
Appendix 1 Table of Lawyers’ Apologetic Writings ..................269
Resurrection and Reliable Gospels ................................................269
Bible (not just the gospels) Reliability ............................................269
Creation and Evolution ...................................................................270
Trial of Jesus ..................................................................................270
Miracles, Historico-Philosophical Attacks .......................................271