“Van Til the Evangelist” by K. Scott Oliphint

Unlike some readers of Ordained Servant, I never had the opportunity to study under Cornelius Van Til. My initial introduction to him came through his many writings. I immersed myself in those writings, seeing, for the first time in my Christian life, a man whose method (based as it was on Reformed theology) was able to decimate all pretensions and permutations of unbelief, including those residing in my own heart.

 

When I determined, as a result of reading Van Til, to attend Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, I had the opportunity to stay with him for a time. One of the advantages of staying with him was the occasion to walk with him on his “daily constitutional.” After almost thirty years, two things still stand out to me about those walks. (1) Even as an octogenarian, Van Til could maintain a rigorous pace. More importantly, (2) I remember that every one of Van Til’s neighbors, to whom I was introduced by him, said virtually the same thing to me: “I suppose he’s talking to you, too, about this Jesus.” …