Thomas Bratton Warren (August 1, 1920 – August 8, 2000) was an American professor of philosophy of religion and apologetics at the Harding School of Theology in Memphis, Tennessee, USA, and was an important philosopher and theologian in the Churches of Christ during the latter half of the twentieth century.
[1] Warren served in the United States Air Force as an aerial navigator in World War II.
His dissertation topic foreshadowed his long-time interest in apologetics: God and Evil: Does Judeo-Christian Theism Involve a Logical Contradiction?
From 1959-61 he chaired the Department of Bible at Fort Worth Christian College where he also served as President.
At Freed-Hardeman College in Henderson, Tennessee, USA, Warren chaired the Department of Bible from 1964-1971.
In Have Atheists Proved There is No God?,[3] Warren develops a version of a soul-making theodicy to answer J. L. Mackie's argument from evil against theism.
Matson, a professor of philosophy at the University of California at Berkeley was, like Flew, a long-time proponent of atheism.
Flew struggled to answer Warren's question; however, Matson replied with, "When did Latin become French," arguing that in biological evolution, as in language, there are times when it is difficult to assign a language (or a life form) into a specific category.
In his theological writings, especially in his articles in the magazine he edited, The Spiritual Sword, Warren argued that specific Christian beliefs, such as the resurrection of Christ and the inspiration of the Bible, could be proved by natural reason.
In the context of the Churches of Christ and the Restoration Movement, Warren was a strict restorationist: he believed that the noninstrumental Churches of Christ followed the strict New Testament pattern of Christian doctrine, worship, and practice.
Another area of controversy in Churches of Christ in which Warren played a role was the issue of divorce and remarriage.
The proper action, according to Warren, for that person is to return to his or her first spouse, or remain celibate IAW Matthew 19:12).
After Warren's death, a number of his former students and others influenced by his thought worked to establish a center in Christian apologetics.
ISBN 978-0-934916-33-2 Keeping the Lock in Wedlock: A Critical Analysis of the Doctrine of Dr. James D. Bales on Divorce and Remarriage.