Van Til vs. Christianity
Peter: “Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know” (Acts 2:22).
Greg Bahnsen: “The apostles were certainly not afraid of evidence; yet we notice that they never argued on the basis of it.” (Bahnsen, The Impropriety of Evidentially Arguing for the Resurrection, 1972).
Paul: “For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead” (Acts 17:31).
Cornelius Van Til: “The God spoken of in Scripture cannot be proved to exist by *any other method* than the indirect one of presupposition” (Van Til, 1955).
Paul: “Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy” (Acts 14:17).
John Calvin: “God was shown by natural arguments [evidences]” (Calvin, Commentary on Acts 14:17, in Calvin’s Commentaries (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker, 1979), XIX/1, 19).
Cornelius Van Til: “The true method for any Protestant with respect to the Scripture… and with respect to the existence of God… *must be* the *indirect* method of reasoning by presupposition” (Van Til, 1955, pp. 125–126).
John Calvin: Paul “showeth by natural arguments who and what God is” (Calvin, Commentary on Acts 17:22, in Calvin’s Commentaries (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker, 1979), XIX/1, 154.)
Greg Bahnsen: “God makes a radical demand on the believer’s life which involves never demanding proof of God or trying Him” (Bahnsen, The Impropriety of Evidentially Arguing for the Resurrection, 1972).
John Calvin: “Paul’s drift is to teach what God is. Furthermore, because he hath to deal with profane men, he draweth proofs from nature itself; for in vain should he have cited testimonies of Scripture” (Calvin, Commentary on Acts 17:24, in Calvin’s Commentaries (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker, 1979), XIX/1, 157–58.)
Greg Bahsen: “They did not attempt to prove it by appealing to the facts” (Bahnsen, The Impropriety of Evidentially Arguing for the Resurrection, 1972).
Paul: “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities — his eternal power and divine nature — have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse” (Romans 1:20).
Greg Bahnsen: “They preached the resurrection without feeling any need to *prove* it to the skeptics…” (Bahnsen, The Impropriety of Evidentially Arguing for the Resurrection, 1972).
Paul: “I am not insane, most excellent Festus… What I am saying is true and reasonable. The king is familiar with these things, and I can speak freely to him. I am convinced that none of this has escaped his notice, because it was not done in a corner” (Acts 26:25).
Jacob Brunton: “I firmly believe that the risen Lord Jesus sees Presuppositionalism (and every other variety of fideism) as a black scourge upon his Bride. The mind of the church has been atrophied to the point of near death because of this despicable rot.”
Works Cited
Bahnsen, G. (1972). The Impropriety of Evidentially Arguing for the Resurrection. Retrieved from Covenant Media Foundation: http://www.cmfnow.com/articles/pa003.htm
Bahnsen, G. (1986). Pressing Toward The Mark. Retrieved from Covenant Media Foundation: cmfnow.com/articles/pa064.htm
Van Til, C. (1955). The Defense of the Faith. Philadelphia: Presbyterian and Reformed.
Become a Christian Defender of Reason, Individualism, and Capitalism:
Get our latest book for free when you subscribe
Join our Philosophy Club when you support us on Patreon
Connect on Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube
Get a free 20-minute breakthrough strategy session for how to grow your online readership
