STOKER, HENDRIK GERHARDUS

Hendrik Stoker (1899–1993) was a South African philosopher and psychologist. He matured intellectually as a Christian scholar under the influence of H. Bavinck, J. D. du Toit, H. Dooyeweerd, D. H. T. Vollenhoven and C. Van Til and made penetrating, progressive, and original contributions to Christian apologetics, including theoretical analyses of apologetics. He also undertook a lifelong practical philosophical engagement with a variety of different intellectual, ideological and religious trends. His major works contain several significant applications of apologetics to various aspects of philosophy, such as his brilliant exposition of the unity of scholarship.

In his work on Calvinistic philosophy, Stoker analysed apologetics in detail, primarily as a methodical procedure. His main contribution is a well-grounded advocacy of the divergent possibilities, tasks and perspectives presented by basic theological apologetics, general philo- sophical apologetics and scholarly work on social life, communication, *law and politics, *ethics, etc.

Stoker sketched the methodological relevance of apologetics within an open philosophical system by distinguishing between synthetics, antithetics and irenics. Synthetics is the identifying and extracting of kernels of truth from various systems in a non-eclectic way. Antithetics is the investigation of the motifs, basis and legitimacy of methods whereby the intellectual struggle for scientific truth is conducted. The scope of antithetics includes the methodological consideration of contradictions, polemics, elenctics and apologetics. The elenctic method involves an aggressive attack on contrary points of view (apologetics comprises a defence against such opinions). In both instances presuppositions play an important role. Irenics is the investigation of attempts to deal with common features of different systems and to transcend basic scientific differences for the sake of truth.

Stoker broadened his basic cosmological insights (known as the ‘philosophy of the idea of creation’) into a systematic and apologetic Christian viewpoint for the contemporary world. His contributions to the understanding of duty and *ethics, his novel application of the concept of the manifestation of *truth, and his method for probing the problem of truth are particularly important.

In several respects Stoker anticipated significant new approaches in both contemporary philosophy and apologetics, such as bridge-building and unmasking. Many of his insights are also still relevant in contemporary philosophical debates.

N. T. Van der Merwe From: Campbell Campbell-Jack and Gavin J. McGrath (ed.) New Dictionary Of Christian Apologetics (Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 2006).