“Van Til as Critic of Barth’s Christology” by James J. Cassidy

In the recent resurgence of interest in the theology of Karl Barth — particularly among evangelicals — theologians of no mean significance have chimed in on their take of Cornelius Van Til’s writings about the dialectical theologian. The Orthodox Presbyterian churchman, according to some, offered an “absurd” and “inept analysis” of Barth’s theology which “wielded a disproportionate influence” among evangelicals through his “tendentious” reading of the Church Dogmatics. Others have argued that Van Til’s motive for critiquing Barth and Barthianism was “institutional.” D.G. Hart,for example, paints a portrait of the historical situation as one in which Van Til was motivated by giving an institutional justification for Westminster Seminary’s existence over against Princeton Seminary. …