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Ronald H. Nash, R.I.P.

News is circulating [1] about the death Friday of philosopher Ronald H. Nash. I had the privilege of taking two of Dr. Nash’s classes when I was in seminary: Introduction to Philosophy, and Worldview Analysis. He was by far one of the most memorable teachers I’ve ever had, and consequently one of the most effective — I can still recall some of his lectures verbatim.

He was full of those idiosyncrasies that make a great professor. He did a mocking hip-shake whenever he spoke of an outlandish liberal idea. When speaking of the charlatans of our time, he was not afraid to name names and speak on a wide variety of ideas (economics government were especially helpful). I once heard someone call him the “Rush Limbaugh of Christian philosophy.” A more apt title would have been to label Limbaugh the “Ron Nash of talk radio.” Nash was a tour de force.

Dr. Nash commuted from his home (a labor of love for Nash — he certainly didn’t do it for the money or frequent flyer miles) in Florida to teach the classes I took, so the lectures were held once every two weeks for 6 hours at time. It was a brutal undertaking to cover so much material in one shot, but somehow Dr. Nash made it bearable (his exams, which routinely exceeded the allotted exam time by an hour, were somewhat less bearable).

In class, Dr. Nash usually expressed contempt for falsehood, yet he often choked up when speaking of the Truth of the gospel. He was a man obviously moved by Christ. He will be missed and remembered fondly. If you’re unfamiliar with Ronald H. Nash, check out one of the many books [2] he left behind.