Dr. Ronald H. Nash, a New Friend

I cannot help but to think how much of a nut I am.  I sit here weeping quietly for a man I had never met. As I was reading his memorials, I couldn’t help but to cry.  I felt a connection. So much so, that he had become a friend.  But how do you befriend someone you’ve never met, someone who has already passed?

About two-months ago, I thought I scored the jock pot.  iTunesU made available many lectures from years past.  Of course, being the nut I am for philosophy, the first thing I type in was “philosophy.”  Most of the topics of each group providing the lectures were of my interest, but one stuck out.  This was the lecture series from the Reformed Theological Seminary.  I thought, “reformed?… like, John Calvin reformed?”  For sure!  I had a heyday. I downloaded as many tracks as I could, copied them to my iPod and then took off.

Although there were a variety of subjects, as well as a variety of professors, one particular person stuck out, Dr. Ronald Nash.  Dr. Nash was originally from Cleveland.  Growing up with a Lutheran background, Nash explained that he had not met the Lord until much later as “…an Arminian Baptist.”  What set Dr. Nash apart from manner other Christian philosophers at the time was his confidence in the fortitude of the Christian faith.  On one occasion during a lecture he could be heard saying that if Christianity was irrational and illogical, and, thus wrong, he would be forced to admit that it was false.  But, it was not, therefore he did not.

Nash seemed overconfident at times, and sometimes harsh.  But, then, so did the Apostle Paul.  And rightly so, it was spiritual warfare in which both men were dealing, to quote Nash “… [it] was serious business.”

I searched for videos of Dr. Nash and all I could find was one on economics.  And boy was he a fan of capitalism and Austrian economics. But in the same search, I found an audio lecture on Reformed Epistemology. The contrast between the two hit me.  In class lectures, he was teaching about the views of other philosophers, many with which he disagreed.  Being the person he was, he was excited and critical much of the time. But in this audio lecture on reformed epistemology, he was conveying his knowledge.  It was a gift.  He saw an issue Christians faced and he provided his argument – no matter if he was alone or a part of an army of Christian philosophers. Nash saw it as a spiritual war and was a picture of how Christian philosophers should, at the least, feel.

Prior to hearing this byte of audio, it seemed he was a very stern and proud man – but hearing such a change of voice, from authoritative into surprisingly gentle, transformed my understanding. After this, I befriended Dr. Ronald Nash.

So, now, you may be asking, why was I crying?  I sat at my desk weeping for a man I had never met. But, why?  I cannot help but to think that I could not help but to do so.  For those memorials were about my friend, a friend, that up until that point, I had not realized I had lost.  RIP Dr. Nash, God bless your work!