Category Archives: James N. Anderson

Van Til and Analytic Philosophy (James N. Anderson)

Articles, Epistemology, James N. Anderson, Philosophy

“Van Til and Analytic Philosophy” by James N. Anderson

In honor of the centennial of his birth, the Spring 1995 issue of the Westminster Theological Journal featured a collection of articles on the thought of Cornelius Van Til. One of the articles, by William Dennison, took aim at two critics of Van Til, Cecil and Jesse De Boer, for their reliance on the methodology of analytic philosophy in their critique to Van Til’s epistemology. Dennison also targeted John M. Frame, a fellow ‘disciple’ of Van Til, for his adoption of elements of analytic philosophy in his defense and development of Van Til’s apologetic. In Dennison’s estimation, all three had failed to reckon with a central and distinctive element of Van Til’s thought, namely, the role that his philosophy of history plays in his epistemology. The article also conveyed the clear insinuation that analytic philosophy and Van Tilian philosophy are fundamentally at odds and should be kept at a safe distance. …

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.

Cornelius Van Til and Alvin Plantinga: A Brief Comparison (James N. Anderson)

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

“Cornelius Van Til and Alvin Plantinga: A Brief Comparison” by James N. Anderson

Note: The following comments were first posted to the reformed-epistemology discussion group in July 2001, in response to a query about the main areas of agreement and disagreement between these two Christian thinkers. I have corrected a few typos, made some minor changes of wording, and added relevant hyperlinks. …

Comments on John Johnson’s Response to Frame & Hays (James N. Anderson)

Apologetics, Articles, James N. Anderson

“Comments on John Johnson’s Response to Frame & Hays” by James N. Anderson

1. Johnson’s article is shot through with a confusion between arguments for presuppositional apologetics (i.e., as a distinctive methodology) and presuppositional apologetic arguments (i.e., the actual arguments employed by presuppositionalists). In his introduction, Johnson states that his goal is to show that Muslims could use Van Tilian presuppositional arguments just as well as Christians: “My point is not that Islamic apologists are using the Van Tillian system to promote Islam. Rather, I wish to show that they easily could if they so desired.” …