All posts by James

Knowledge and the Fall in American Neo-Calvinism (Bálint Békefi)

Articles, Bálint Békefi, Epistemology, Philosophy, Theology

“Knowledge and the Fall in American Neo-Calvinism: Toward a Van Til–Plantinga Synthesis” by Bálint Békefi

Cornelius Van Til and Alvin Plantinga represent two strands of American Protestant philosophical thought influenced by Dutch neo-Calvinism. This paper compares and synthetizes their models of knowledge in non-Christians given the noetic effects of sin and non-Christian worldview commitments. The paper argues that Van Til’s distinction between the partial realization of the antithesis in practice and its absolute nature in principle correlates with Plantinga’s insistence on prima facie–warranted common-sense beliefs and their ultimate defeasibility given certain metaphysical commitments. Van Til endorsed more radical claims than Plantinga on epistemic defeat in non-Christian worldviews, the status of the sensus divinitatis, and conceptual accuracy in knowledge of the world. Finally, an approach to the use of evidence in apologetics is developed based on the proposed synthesis. This approach seeks to make more room for evidence than is generally recognized in Van Tilianism, while remaining consistent with the founder’s principles.

Van Til versus Stroud (Bálint Békefi)

Apologetics, Articles, Bálint Békefi

“Van Til versus Stroud: Is the Transcendental Argument for Christian Theism Viable?” by Bálint Békefi

In this paper I introduce the transcendental argument for Christian theism in the context of Reformed theologian and philosopher Cornelius Van Til’s thought. I then present the critique proffered by Barry Stroud against ambitious transcendental arguments, and survey various formulations of transcendental arguments in the literature, seeking how the objection bears upon them. I argue that Adrian Bardon’s (2005) interpretation is the most helpful in understanding the Stroudian objection. From this interpretation, two types of possible rebuttals are deduced. Proceeding to survey the responses offered by Van Tillians to this objection in the recent literature, I discern two general strategies pursued in these responses, which map onto the previously deduced types of rebuttals: the Biblical justification strategy and the objection-undermining strategy. I argue that all the specific attempts to answer Stroud which I examine here (those of Butler, Bosserman, and Fluhrer) are inadequate and that these two strategies, in general, face serious problems. I conclude with considering the options before the proponent of the transcendental argument for Christian theism and with offering a new objection to the argument, which focuses on its inconsistency with the implications of Christian theism itself.

An Analytical Presentation of Cornelius Van Til’s Transcendental Argument from Predication (Robin Barrett)

Apologetics, Articles, Robin Barrett

“An Analytical Presentation of Cornelius Van Til’s Transcendental Argument from Predication” by Robin Barrett

This present author intends to examine the apologetic method and arguments of Cornelius Van Til from within an analytical framework. The purpose of such an endeavor is to subject Van Til’s arguments to an analytical critique to understand if they can withstand such a critique. However, before undertaking such a task, it will be necessary to briefly examine the reasoning behind the method which Van Til used to guide his argumentation. …

Van Til and the Trinity (Colin D. Smith)

Apologetics, Articles, Colin D. Smith, Theology

“Van Til and the Trinity: The Centrality of the Christian View of God in the Apologetics of Cornelius Van Til” by Colin D. Smith

Beginning with the publication of his book The Defense of the Faith in 1955, until his death in 1987, Cornelius Van Til set forth an apologetic system for which his name has since become synonymous. This system, known as “Presuppositional Apologetics,” or the “Transcendental Method,”  emphasizes the fundamental antithesis between God as Creator and man as creature, and between believer and unbeliever, and seeks to use that antithesis to show unregenerate men their need of the gospel. …

Presuppositionalism in the Dock (James N. Anderson)

Apologetics, Articles, Epistemology, James N. Anderson, Philosophy, Reviews, Theology

“Presuppositionalism in the Dock: A Review Article” by James N. Anderson

Three things are certain in life: death, taxes, and debates over Cornelius Van Til. For many, the Dutch professor is a hero of the Protestant tradition—a brilliant reformer in the mold of John Calvin who sought to further the work of the Reformation in the areas of Christian philosophy and apologetics. For others, he is more of a villain—an innovator beguiled by unbiblical idealist philosophy who led a large faction of the Reformed church in a dubious if not dangerous direction. And then there are those who fall somewhere between the two wings, acknowledging that Van Til was on the side of the angels, and that he made some positive contributions to Christian thought, but nevertheless finding significant faults in his more distinctive and provocative claims about natural theology, philosophy, and apologetic methodology. …

The Works of Cornelius Van Til (James N. Anderson)

General, James N. Anderson, Reviews

“The Works of Cornelius Van Til” by James N. Anderson

According to one leading Reformed theologian, Cornelius Van Til is “the most important Christian thinker of the twentieth century.” If that’s an overstatement, it’s a forgivable one. Van Til’s thought was profound, innovative, and provocative. He wrote voluminously, and his most prominent publications have been variously engaged, praised, and condemned by Christian scholars from practically every point on the theological spectrum. His ‘presuppositionalist’ Christian philosophy with its sharp distinction between analogical thought (“man thinking God’s thoughts after Him”) and autonomous thought (“man is the measure of all things”) has wide-ranging implications for many other disciplines: apologetics, education, systematic theology, biblical hermeneutics, scientific inquiry, counselling — indeed, for any area of human study and endeavour one cares to mention. …

The Theistic Preconditions of Knowledge (James N. Anderson)

Apologetics, Articles, James N. Anderson

“The Theistic Preconditions of Knowledge: A Thumbnail Sketch” by James N. Anderson

One of the distinctive claims of Van Tilian apologists is that human knowledge presupposes the existence of God; therefore, since we know at least some things, it follows that God must exist. In recent months, while surfing the blogosphere, I have encountered several times the insinuation that Van Tilians invariably forward this claim without any argument. For example, one commenter going by the moniker ‘Yo Mama’ (not to be confused with Yo-Yo Ma, the acclaimed Chinese-American cellist) remarked that she had never come across a presuppositionalist who had offered argumentative support for the claim that knowledge presupposes God. In truth, I suspect this tells us more about Yo Mama’s diet of reading than about the efforts of presuppositionalists to defend their arguments. Reasoned support for the claim can be found in the writings of Cornelius Van Til, John Frame, Greg Bahnsen (see also his lectures and debates, particularly his debate with Edward Tabash), and Michael Butler. Similar arguments have been formulated by Alvin Plantinga, Dallas Willard, and Victor Reppert; and while these Christian philosophers would not consider themselves ‘presuppositionalists’ in the conventional sense, their arguments have often been endorsed as supportive of presuppositionalist claims. …

No Dilemma for the Proponent of the Transcendental Argument (James N. Anderson)

Apologetics, Articles, James N. Anderson, Philosophy

“No Dilemma for the Proponent of the Transcendental Argument: A Response to David Reiter” by James N. Anderson

David Reiter has recently argued that presuppositionalists who champion the transcendental argument for God’s existence (“TAG”) face a dilemma: depending on what conclusion the argument is supposed to establish, either TAG is inadequate to deliver that conclusion or else TAG is superfluous (thus bringing into question claims about its importance and distinctiveness as a theistic argument). By way of reply, I contend that several plausible lines of response are available to the proponent of TAG in the face of this purported dilemma.

If Knowledge Then God (James N. Anderson)

Apologetics, Articles, Epistemology, James N. Anderson, Philosophy

“If Knowledge Then God: The Epistemological Theistic Arguments of Plantinga and Van Til” by James N. Anderson

The two Christian philosophers Alvin Plantinga and Cornelius Van Til have much in common in terms of their religious upbringing, their education, their approach to Christian philosophy, and their work on the relationship between epistemology and metaphysics. In particular, both have claimed that the existence of God is in some weighty sense a precondition of human knowledge. In this paper, I review and compare a selection of epistemological theistic arguments inspired by their writings — three from Plantinga and four from Van Til — and through drawing attention to significant points of similarity and difference suggest some ways in which such arguments might be further developed with an eye to insights gleaned from these two thinkers.