Untitled Sermon

Apologetics Group: 001

Defense of the Faith: Van Til

Introduction - Chapter One

-Introduction to Van Til

-Thoroughly Protestant Theology

-Thoroughly Reformed Theology

-The Importance of Systematic Theology

-The Use of Philosophy in Apologetics and Evangelism

-The Presuppositional Method of Apologetics

· Apologetics is for the glory of God and the supremacy of Jesus Christ

· Apologetics is for evangelism (like Van Til!)

· Limits of neutrality

· Pushing the antithesis

· Meaning, morals, and beauty (aesthetics)

-Introduction to Van Til (1895-1987)

Calvin Theological Seminary, when Louis Berkhof was on the faculty. He then transferred to Princeton Theological Seminary, earning a Th.M. there in 1925 and in 1927 a Ph.D. in philosophy at nearby Princeton University.

Influences:

Berkhof

Machen

Vos (according to Van Til his greatest influence)

Warfield (his writings)

Archibald Allan Bowman (an idealist philosopher)

Kuyper (his teaching on antithesis was very influential on Van Til)

“Van Til developed a kind of apologetic that stressed the antithesis between belief and unbelief.”

Approaching Van Til:

Very Dutch (Dutch American)

Profound but often hard to follow do to language barrier and idiosyncrasies

Thoroughly Reformed (not sympathetic towards “Roman-Evangelical”)

No “brute facts” (God interprets all things for us)

We “think the thoughts of God after Him” (cf. )

Isaiah 55:8–9 NASB95

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts.

Best known for controversial teaching:

-Common Grace

-Creator Creature Distinction

-Transcendental Arguments (the necessary preconditions of intelligibility)

-Revelatory Epistemology

-Analogical Epistemology

-The Trinity drives the nature of the universe as One and Many not “One and the Many”

-Circular Reasoning (to abandon circularity is to abandon your worldview)

-The impossibility of the contrary

-The total worldview

-Thoroughly Protestant Theology

Van Til does not support Roman Catholic theology especially when it comes to its understanding of things like the authority of Scripture, epistemology, the nature of man, the nature of the will, the extent and nature of common grace, and the Lordship and Supremacy of God.

-Thoroughly Reformed Theology

-The Importance of Systematic Theology

Know the faith because we are saying a lot about God.

How can we defend what we do not even known ourselves.

-The Use of Philosophy in Apologetics and Evangelism

Does Scripture condemn philosophy?

.

-The Presuppositional Method of Apologetics

Ten Thousand foot view:

· Apologetics is for the glory of God and the supremacy of Jesus Christ

5 For all the gods of the peoples are idols, But the Lord made the heavens.

Romans and idolatry:

21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools,

OT supports this:

3 But our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases. 4 Their idols are silver and gold, The work of man’s hands. 5 They have mouths, but they cannot speak; They have eyes, but they cannot see; 6 They have ears, but they cannot hear; They have noses, but they cannot smell; 7 They have hands, but they cannot feel; They have feet, but they cannot walk; They cannot make a sound with their throat. 8 Those who make them will become like them, Everyone who trusts in them.

15 The idols of the nations are but silver and gold, The work of man’s hands. 16 They have mouths, but they do not speak; They have eyes, but they do not see; 17 They have ears, but they do not hear, Nor is there any breath at all in their mouths. 18 Those who make them will be like them, Yes, everyone who trusts in them.

· Myth of neutrality

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.

No man can serve two masters ()

Friend of the world or God ()

What this means is that no is neutral and we should not be:

“they are not”

“and you should not be”

· Pushing the antithesis

· Meaning, morals, and beauty (aesthetics)

· Apologetics is for evangelism (like Van Til!)

Paul’s example:

“confounding” for the purpose of “proving” that Jesus is “Christ”

22 But Saul kept increasing in strength and confounding the Jews who lived at Damascus by proving that this Jesus is the Christ.