Anselm Study House’s (ASH) name has been taken from the eleventh century Christian philosopher and theologian, Saint Anselm of Canterbury (1033-1109).
Saint Anselm was an outstanding Christian philosopher and theologian. He is best known for the “ontological argument” for the existence of God. His motto was “faith seeking understanding” (fides quaerens intellectum). Anselm, like Saint Augustine believed that faith establishes or is the foundation for reason. In the ontological (presuppositional) apologetic method the Bible is presupposed as the Word of God; and without accepting the existence of God (and His revelation) you cannot make sense of life and experience. So, when we engage in defending the faith ASH asserts that there is no neutral ground and believers should not grant unbelievers an inch of what can only be intelligible on the Christian Worldview (
Proverbs 26:4-5 ). E.g. if an agnostic/atheist uses logic to ridicule Christianity, we are to question how he can account for the laws of logic, without using logic (i.e. circular reasoning), on his agnostic/atheistic worldview.
ASH holds that the Bible is the Word of God and must be accepted by faith. This faith is not a blind faith. It is logical and coherent and leads us to be able to make sense of the world around us and our experiences in life. This presuppositional thinking demands believers to start from the Scriptures and subject every thought thereafter to what is revealed in the Bible. Therefore, our name reflects our distinctive of submitting everything (including the mind) captive to the obedience of Christ (
2 Corinthians 10:5 ).