John Warwick Montgomery is a Renaissance scholar and a true Renaissance man; having made a name for himself as a lawyer, professor, Lutheran theologian and prolific author. He still practices law and is also a Distinguished Research Professor of Philosophy at Concordia University, Wisconsinprofessor emeritus at University of Bedfordshire, Englanddirector of the International Academy of Apologetics, Evangelism and Human Rights at Strasbourg, Franceand is the editor-in-chief of the theological journal online news World Journal of Classical Theology.
In 1949, Montgomery was pursuing a philosophy degree at Cornell University. Like most philosophy students, Montgomery was skeptical of religious ideology and indifferent to the concept of God. It was an engineering student rather than a philosopher or theologian who challenged his preconceptions. The engineering student, Herman John Eckelmann, was an upperclassman who chose to stay in the freshman dormitories specifically for the purpose of challenging young intellectuals such as Montgomery.
Although not a student of philosophy himself, Eckelmann was an enthusiastic reader of apologetic material and eagerly shared his impressive collection with Montgomery – introducing him to works such as that of Wilbur Smith. Therefore, arise, EJ Carnell Introduction to Christian apologetics, and C.S. Lewis Miracles and broadcast lectures (later published as Simple Christianity). Through the enthusiastic engineer’s persistent attempts to engage the philosophy student in religious discussion, Montgomery finally admitted that – although he doubted it would lead anywhere – he could not reject Christ’s claims if he had not first studied these assertions.
So, in order to preserve his intellectual integrity, Montgomery sat down to truly study what Christ had to say.
What followed was not simply an intellectual struggle, as one might expect from a purely intellectual problem, but also an emotional and existential struggle. Montgomery’s study led him to realize that these were assertions – both historical and existential – that could not be so easily dismissed. And if these claims were true, the veracity of these claims would completely upend his worldview and, indeed, his world.
Montgomery realized that he was in active rebellion against God, hence the intellectual resistance to what he was studying. Asking God for forgiveness led to a freedom that made Montgomery a tireless campaigner for the truth he now embraced.
In Montgomery’s own words:
“The day after Christ entered the center of my consciousness, even the leaves of the trees seemed to shine with new brilliance. Later, I read Luther’s commentary, speaking of the real presence of the Lord in the Eucharist, that “Christ is present in the leaf of every tree” – a truth fully supported by Colossians 1:12-17. (excerpt from the work of John Warwick Montgomery autobiography)
After his conversion, Montgomery joined the Cornell chapter of the Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship and attended its worship services, finding great exultation in his study of the hymns sung there and the scriptures.
Returning to Warsaw for the summer, Montgomery confronted the minister of his local congregation and asked him why he had never heard a single sermon on the atoning death of Christ for the sins of the world. The minister responded by asking what theory of atonement Montgomery was talking about.
Montgomery said:
“That which is clearly stated – if anything is stated – in the Holy Scriptures. I might as well have grown up in darkest Africa, given all the gospel I have ever heard in your church. (excerpt from the work of John Warwick Montgomery autobiography – currently in press at Verlag fuer Kultur und Wissenschaft, Bonn, Germany – scheduled for publication later this year)
Since this experience, Montgomery has written more than a hundred articles in scientific journals in English, Spanish, French and German; as well as more than 50 books in several languages – all on the theology that animates his worldview.
And Montgomery’s worldview did not lead him down the path of passive idealism or armchair moralizing: he was an accomplished lawyer who defended human rights and religious freedom around the world whole and has put his beliefs to good use at some of the most important moments in recent years. history. He was present in Paris during the “May Days” of 1968, was involved in helping Germans cross the Berlin Wall during East German oppression, settled in Fiji during the revolution without bloodshed in 1987, and two years later, in China during the Tiananmen Square protests.
The breadth of Montgomery’s work, as debater, broadcaster, seminarian, theologian, librarian, professor and many others, is staggering. His mastery of languages, the creation of institutions, the numerous degrees and high academic positions he held and still holds would make up a fairly long list.
A man as intelligent and energetic as Montgomery would undoubtedly have made significant contributions to the world, regardless of his worldview, but what would those contributions be based on and in what direction would they go? There is no denying Montgomery’s influence on the world and the influence his worldview had on it.