Cornelius Van Til

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Cornelius Van Til

Cornelius Van Til (born May 4, 1895 in Grootegast , Netherlands ; † April 17, 1987 ), Reformed theologian and founder of the so-called presuppositional approach to Christian apologetics .

biography

Van Til holds degrees from Calvin College, Princeton Theological Seminary, and Princeton University . He began teaching at Princeton, but soon joined the conservative group that founded Westminster Theological Seminary . Here he taught apologetics for 43 years . He was also pastor of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church from the 1930s until his death in 1987. In that denomination he became involved in a heated dispute with Gordon Clark about God's incomparability, known as the Clark-Van Til Controversy .

Think

Van Til drew on the work of Dutch Calvinist philosophers such as Dirk Hendrik Theodoor Vollenhoven and Herman Dooyeweerd, as well as theologians such as Herman Bavinck , to bring about a new approach to Christian apologetics , which is the traditional method of arguing with non-Christians on, so to speak, “neutral ground” “Opposition. He did not attach particular importance to the designation of this approach as presuppositional ( i.e .: already starting from a basic premise), which, strictly speaking, describes the apologetic method of Gordon Clark . But he (like his students) accepted it as a means of convention because it was at least useful for classifying methods into those that deny neutrality and those that do not.

In Van Til: The Theologian , John Frame , a benevolent critic of Van Tils, describes Van Til's contribution to Christian philosophy as being comparable in importance to Immanuel Kant's in non-Christian philosophy. He points out that Van Til identified the disciplines of systematic theology and apologetics as a positive assertion of the Christian faith or as a defense of that assertion - “a difference in emphasis rather than substance”. Frame summarizes Van Til's legacy as a novel application of traditional beliefs:

As little novel as his theorems may be, his use of these formulations - as he employs them - is often quite remarkable. Thus the sovereignty of God becomes an epistemological , but also a religious and metaphysical principle. The Trinity becomes an answer to the philosophical problem of universality . Common grace becomes the key to a Christian philosophy of history. These new applications of common doctrines inevitably expand understanding of the doctrines themselves.

Similarly, Van Til's novel application of the doctrine of the corruption of man and the ultimate authority of God led to his reform of apologetics . In particular, he rejected neutrality in apologetics because of the utter depravity of humanity and the infiltrating influence of sin on man's power of reasoning (according to the Calvinist understanding of the first chapter of Romans ). And he insisted on an unconditional trust in the Bible , which he regarded as a divinely inspired book, because he believed that a Christian's ultimate commitment must be based on the ultimate authority of God. As Frame notes elsewhere, "The basis of Van Til's system and its most persuasive principles" is a denial of autonomy, since "Christian thought, like all areas of Christian life, is an object of the Lordship of God" ("Van Til and the Ligonier Apologetic, "p. 282).

Many contemporary theologians are influenced by Van Til's thought, including John Frame, Greg Bahnsen , Rousa's John Rushdoony, and the current members of Westminster Theological Seminary Vern Poythress, William Edgar, and K. Scott Oliphint.

Fonts

Some of Van Til's publications (sorted by importance by K. Scott Oliphint):

  • A Survey of Christian Epistemology ( In Defense of the Faith , vol. II; available online for free ) ISBN 0-87552-495-8
  • Introduction to Systematic Theology ( In Defense of the Faith , vol. V) ISBN 0-87552-488-5
  • Common Grace and the Gospel ISBN 0-87552-482-6
  • A Christian Theory of Knowledge ISBN 0-87552-480-X
  • The Defense of the Faith ISBN 0-87552-483-4
  • The Reformed Pastor and Modern Thought ISBN 0-87552-497-4
  • Christian-Theistic Evidences ( In Defense of the Faith , vol. VI), Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Co., 1978
  • The Doctrine of Scripture ( In Defense of the Faith , vol. I), Copyright denDulk Christian Foundation, 1967
  • The Sovereignty of Grace: An Appraisal of GC Berkouwer's View of Dordt , Nutley, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Co., 1975
  • The New Synthesis Theology of the Netherlands , Nutley, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Co., 1976
  • The Case for Calvinism ISBN 0-87552-476-1
  • Essays on Christian Education ISBN 0-87552-485-0
  • Psychology of Religion ( In Defense of the Faith , vol. IV) ISBN 0-87552-494-X
  • The New Hermeneutic ISBN 1-112-86264-1
  • The Intellectual Challenge of the Gospel (brochure) ISBN 0-87552-487-7
  • Why I Believe in God (brochure; available online for free ), Philadelphia, Pa .: Westminster Theological Seminary, undated
  • Paul at Athens (brochure), Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Co., 1978
  • Karl Barth and Evangelicalism (booklet), Nutley, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Co., 1964

In addition, published by Eric Sigward: The Works of Cornelius Van Til, 1895-1987, CD-ROM ( ISBN 0-87552-461-3 ), a comprehensive collection of Van Til's writings in digital form including pictures and detailed sound recordings by Van Til.

Books about Van Til

  • Van Til: defender of the faith: an authorized biography by William White, Jr ISBN 0-8407-5670-4
  • Jerusalem & Athens: Critical Discussions on the Philosophy and Apologetics of Cornelius Van Til a commemorative publication , edited by ER Geehan ISBN 0-87552-489-3
  • Cornelius Van Til: An Analysis of His Thought by John Frame ISBN 0-87552-220-3
  • Van Til's Apologetic: Readings and Analysis by Greg Bahnsen ISBN 0-87552-098-7
  • For a Time Such as This: An Introduction to the Reformed Apologetics of Cornelius Van Til by Jim S. Halsey. (1976) Philadelphia, Penn: Presbyterian and Reformed.
  • By what standard? : an analysis of the philosophy of Cornelius Van Til von Rousas John Rushdoony, (1959) Philadelphia, Penn: Presbyterian and Reformed (Reprint by Chalcedon Dec 2003) ISBN 1-879998-05-X

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Til, Cornelius Van
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Dutch theologian
DATE OF BIRTH May 4, 1895
PLACE OF BIRTH Grootegast , Netherlands
DATE OF DEATH April 17, 1987