Greg Bahnsen, (1948 - December 11, 1995), was an ordained minister in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and a full time Scholar in Residence for the Southern California Center for Christian Studies. He is also considered a contributor to the field of Christian apologetics. He received his Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Southern California, specializing in the theory of knowledge. He had previously received the B.A. (magna cum laude, philosophy) from Westmont College, and then simultaneously earned the M.Div. and Th.M. degrees from Westminster Theological Seminary. Bahnsen lectured to a broad range of evangelical Christian groups at many colleges and conferences. He published numerous articles and has over 1,700 audio tapes, videos, articles, and books. In addition, he was also known for his debates with atheists Dr. Gordon S. Stein, George H. Smith, and Edward Tabash. One of the original pillars of Christian Reconstruction, Bahnsen was a proponent of theonomy, postmillennialism and presuppositional apologetics.
Debates and presuppositional apologetics
Bahnsen was once described as "the man atheists fear most". This phrase originated from the controversy surrounding the Bahnsen-Martin debate which was cancelled by Martin. In regard to debates, Bahnsen is also well known for the Gordon-Stein debate in which the existence of God was debated and which occurred some years