Cornelius Van Til

Cornelius Van Til (May 4, 1895 - April 17, 1987), born in Grootegast, the Netherlands, was a Christian philosopher, Reformed theologian, and presuppositional apologist.  ©  This image is copyrighted. ...  ©  This image is copyrighted. ... May 4 is the 124th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (125th in leap years). ... 1895 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... April 17 is the 107th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (108th in leap years). ... 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Grootegast is a municipality and a town in the northeastern Netherlands. ... As a noun, Christian is an appellation and moniker deriving from the appellation Christ, which many people associate exclusively with Jesus of Nazareth. ... A philosopher is a person devoted to studying and producing results in philosophy. ... The Reformed churches are a group of Protestant denominations historically related by a similar Zwinglian or Calvinist system of doctrine but organizationally independent. ... Theology is reasoned discourse concerning God (Greek θεος, theos, God, + λογος, logos, word or reason). It also refers to the study of other religious topics. ... Presuppositional apologetics is a school of Christian apologetics, a field of Christian theology that attempts to (1) present a rational basis for the Christian faith, (2) defend the faith against objections, and (3) attack the alleged flaws of other worldviews. ...

Biography

Van Til was a graduate of Calvin College, Princeton Theological Seminary and Princeton University. He began teaching at Princeton, but shortly went with the conservative group who founded Westminster Theological Seminary, where he taught for forty-three years of his life as a professor of apologetics. He was also a minister in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church from the 1930s until his death in 1987, and in that denomination, he was embroiled in a bitter dispute with Gordon Clark over God's incomprehensibility known as the Clark-Van Til Controversy in which, according to John Frame, neither man was at his best and neither quite understood the other's position. Calvin College logo Calvin College is a comprehensive liberal arts college located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. ... Princeton Theological Seminary is a professional and graduate school operated by the Presbyterian Church USA in Princeton, New Jersey. ... Princeton University, located in Princeton, New Jersey, is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States. ... Westminster Theological Seminary is a Reformed Christian graduate educational institution with campuses located in Pennsylvania, and Texas and programs of study in New York City, London, and Seoul. ... Apologetics is the field of study concerned with the systematic defense of a position. ... In most Protestant churches, a minister is a member of the ordained clergy who leads a congregation or participates in a role in a parachurch ministry; such a person may also be called a Pastor, Preacher, Bishop, Chaplain or Elder. ... Along with Westminster Seminary, the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC) was founded by conservative Presbyterians who revolted against the modernist theology within the Presbyterian Church (USA) (PCUSA) during the 1930s. ... // Events and trends The 1930s were described as an abrupt shift to more radical lifestyles, as countries were struggling to find a solution to the global depression. ... 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A religious denomination, (also simply denomination) is a large, long-established subgroup within a religion that has been in existence for many years. ... Gordon Clark Gordon Haddon Clark (August 31, 1902-April 9, 1985) was an American philosopher and Calvinist theologian. ... John Frame Dr. John M. Frame (born 1939) is an American philosopher and a Calvinist theologian especially noted for his work in epistemology and presuppositional apologetics, systematic theology, and ethics. ...

Thought

Van Til drew upon the works of Dutch Calvinist philosophers such as D. H. Th. Vollenhoven and Herman Dooyeweerd and theologians such as Herman Bavinck to bring together a fresh approach to Christian apologetics, which opposed the traditional methodology of reasoning on purportedly neutral grounds with the non-Christian. He did not particularly care for the label describing his approach as "presuppositional," which more accurately represents the apologetical method of Gordon Clark, but he (and his students) accepted it as a matter of convention because it is at least useful in grouping methods into those which deny neutrality and those which do not. Calvinism is a system of Christian theology advanced by John Calvin, a Protestant Reformer in the 16th century, and further developed by his followers, associates and admirers. ... Dirk Hendrik Theodoor Vollenhoven ( 1892- 1978) was with Herman Dooyeweerd the first generation of reformational philosophers, an intellectual movement with which Vollenhoven worked communally from his election in 1936 as President of the newly-organized group formed to advance the movement; the organization is now known as the Association for... Herman Dooyeweerd Herman Dooyeweerd (1894-1977) was a Dutch juridical scholar by training, who by vocation was a philosopher, and the founder of a new approach called, the philosophy of the cosmonomic idea. ... Herman Bavinck (1854-1921 )was born in the town of Hoogeveen in the Netherlands. ... Christian Apologetics is the field of study concerned with the systematic defense (apologetics) of Christianity. ...

In Van Til: The Theologian, Frame, a sympathetic critic of Van Til, describes Van Til's contributions to Christian thought as comparable in magnitude to those of Immanuel Kant in non-Christian philosophy. He indicates that Van Til identified the disciplines of systematic theology and apologetics, seeing the former as a positive statement of the Christian faith and the latter as a defense of that statement -- "a difference in emphasis rather than of subject matter." Frame summarizes Van Til's legacy as one of new applications of traditional doctrines: Christian philosophy is a catch-all expression for a two-millennia tradition of rational thought that attempts to fuse the fields of philosophy with the religious teachings of Christianity. ... It has been suggested that Kantianism be merged into this article or section. ... Systematic theology is the study of Christian theology organized thematically (as opposed to historically, as in Historical Theology or Biblical Theology - according to some uses of the latter term). ...

Unoriginal as his doctrinal formulations may be, his use of those formulations -- his application of them -- is often quite remarkable. The sovereignty of God becomes an epistemological, as well as a religious and metaphysical principle. The Trinity becomes the answer to the philosophical problem of the one and the many. Common grace becomes the key to a Christian philosophy of history. These new applications of familiar doctrines inevitably increase [Christians'] understanding of the doctrines themselves, for [they] come thereby to a new appreciation of what these doctrines demand of [them].

Similarly, Van Til's innovative application of the doctrines of total depravity and the ultimate authority of God led to his reforming of the discipline of apologetics. Specifically, he denied neutrality on the basis of the total depravity of man and the invasive effects of sin on man's reasoning ability (as per the usual Calvinistic understanding of the first chapter of the Epistle to the Romans), and he insisted that the Bible, which he viewed as a divinely inspired book, be trusted preeminently because he believed the Christian's ultimate commitment must rest on the ultimate authority of God. As Frame says elsewhere, "the foundation of Van Til's system and its most persuasive principle" is a rejection of autonomy since "Christian thinking, like all of the Christian life, is subject to God's lordship" ("Van Til and the Ligonier Apologetic," p. 282). The examples and perspective in this article do not represent a worldwide view. ... The origins of the word religion have been debated for centuries. ... Metaphysics (Greek words meta = after/beyond and physics = nature) is a branch of philosophy concerned with the study of first principles and being (ontology). ... The Christian doctrine of the Trinity states that God is a single being who exists, simultaneously and eternally, as a communion of three Persons: the Father, the Son (the eternal Logos, incarnate as Jesus of Nazareth), and the Holy Spirit. ... The problem of universals is a phrase used to refer to a nest of intertwined problems about universals within cognitive psychology, epistemology, and ontology. ... Common Grace is a theological concept in Protestant Christianity, primarily in Reformed and Calvinistic circles, referring to the grace of God that is common to all humankind. ... The philosophy of history asks at least these questions: what is the proper unit for the study of the human past? the individual, the city or sovereign territory, the civilization, or nothing less than the whole of the species?; what broad patterns can we discern through the study of the... Total depravity (also called total inability and total corruption) is a theological doctrine that derives from the Augustinian doctrine of original sin and is advocated in many Protestant confessions of faith and catechisms, including those of Lutheranism,1, Anglicanism and Methodism,2, and especially Calvinism. ... Link titleLink titleLink titleLink titleLink titleLink titleLink titleLink titleLink titleMedia:Example. ...

Many recent theologians have been influenced by Van Til's thought, including John Frame, Greg Bahnsen, R. J. Rushdoony, and current Westminster Theological Seminary faculty members Vern Poythress, William Edgar, and K. Scott Oliphint. Greg Bahnsen Greg Bahnsen, (1948 - December 11, 1995), was an ordained minister in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and a full time Scholar in Residence for the Southern California Center for Christian Studies. ... Rousas John Rushdoony (1916–2001) was the major intellectual figure of the Christian Reconstructionist theology in the United States. ...

Writings

Some of Van Til's writings (ranked in order of importance by K. Scott Oliphint) include:

• A Survey of Christian Epistemology (In Defense of the Faith, vol. II; available online for free) ISBN 0875524958
• Introduction to Systematic Theology (In Defense of the Faith, vol. V) ISBN 0875524885
• Common Grace and the Gospel ISBN 0875524826
• A Christian Theory of Knowledge ISBN 087552480X
• The Defense of the Faith ISBN 0875524834
• The Reformed Pastor and Modern Thought ISBN 0875524974
• Christian-Theistic Evidences (In Defense of the Faith, vol. VI), Phillipsburg, N.J.: 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 G.C. Berkouwer's View of Dordt, Nutley, N.J.: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Co., 1975
• The New Synthesis Theology of the Netherlands, Nutley, N.J.: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Co., 1976
• The Case for Calvinism ISBN 0875524761
• Essays on Christian Education ISBN 0875524850
• Psychology of Religion (In Defense of the Faith, vol. IV) ISBN 087552494X
• The New Hermeneutic ISBN 1112862641
• The Intellectual Challenge of the Gospel (pamphlet) ISBN 0875524877
• Why I Believe in God (pamphlet; available online for free), Philadelphia, Pa.: Westminster Theological Seminary, no date
• Paul at Athens (pamphlet), Phillipsburg, N.J.: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Co., 1978
• Karl Barth and Evangelicalism (pamphlet), Nutley, N.J.: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Co., 1964

Additionally, Eric Sigward has edited The Works of Cornelius Van Til, 1895-1987, CD-ROM (ISBN 0875524613), a comprehensive collection of Van Til's writings in digital form that also includes images and extensive audio recordings of Van Til.

Books about Van Til

• Van Til : defender of the faith : an authorized biography by William White, Jr ISBN 0840756704
• Jerusalem & Athens: Critical Discussions on the Philosophy and Apologetics of Cornelius Van Til a Festschrift edited by E.R. Geehan ISBN 0875524893
• Cornelius Van Til: An Analysis of His Thought by John Frame ISBN 0875522203
• Van Til’s Apologetic: Readings and Analysis by Greg Bahnsen ISBN 0875520987
• 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 by Rousas John Rushdoony, (1959) Philadelphia, Penn : Presbyterian and Reformed (Reprint by Chalcedon Dec 2003) ISBN 187999805X

In academia, a Festschrift is a book honouring a respected academic. ...

References and external links

• Van Til: The Theologian by John Frame, presenting Van Til's contributions to theology apart from apologetics
• "Van Til and the Ligonier Apologetic" by John Frame from the Westminster Theological Journal, analyzing the book Classical Apologetics by R. C. Sproul, John Gerstner, and Arthur Lindsley (ISBN 0310449510), which itself includes "a friendly refutation of Cornelius Van Til's presuppositional apologetics"
• "Van Til and the Reformation of Apologetics" by K. Scott Oliphint
• "Reconnoitering The Theory Of Knowledge Of Prof. Dr. Cornelius Van Til", a summary and analysis of Van Til's theory of knowledge by Hendrik G. Stoker with a response by Van Til.
• "Machen, Van Til, and the Apologetical Tradition of the OPC" - an article on apologetics in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church by Greg Bahnsen
• "Common Misunderstandings of Van Til's Apologetic", part 1 and part 2 by Richard Pratt
• "A Van Til Glossary" by John Frame
• www.vantil.info - writings by and about Van Til and his apologetic
• Articles regarding Van Tillian apologetics