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Title: Defense of the Faith by Cornelius Van Til ISBN: 0875524834 Publisher: Presbyterian & Reformed Publishing Company Pub. Date: January, 1980 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $9.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 4
Rating: 1
Summary: Empty Assertions
Comment: It appears obvious to me, and should to any reader, that there are a lot of problems with Van Til's views, thesis and defense in this book. His most outstanding being his use and defense of presuppositionalism, that is, the fallacy known as petitio principii or commonly known as begging the question.
He apparently is convinced that circular reasoning is the only reasoning that is possible to finite man and sees no alternative to informal fallacy. With these words he commits his entire system to cognitive error and makes no attempt to conceal this, as this appears to be his ultimate presupposition and treats his conclusion as his primary. He is in fact talking about knowledge and its validation in general. Thus he has to include - either implicitly or explicitly - some reference to the nature of the being to which this matter applies. That being is, in this case, man himself. Before we can make any knowledge statements about God, we would have to first achieve some understanding about our nature and our ability to acquire and validate knowledge.
Van Til makes no attempt to justify his assessment of man's nature. He believes that circular reasoning is the only reasoning that is possible to finite man." Van Til makes his reference to the nature of the being to which his proceeding statements will apply: he offers a brief assessment of man and his ability to reason. He does not argue here for this conclusion; he merely asserts it as a primary that no reasoning but circular reasoning is possible to man. How does he come to that conclusion? Reference to his argument for such a conclusion is not given. Is this true simply because he writes it in a book? No, I don't buy it, at this point it is just an empty assertion and a flawed argument. Since all other proofs have failed for theists, the end result is faulty argument.
Rating: 4
Summary: good presuppositional apologetics
Comment: van til is one of the best presuppositionalists. this volume is an introductionto to his thought packed with clever quips. especially helpful is his emphasis that man cannot start from himself, entirely separated from supernatural revelation, and find and codify God. instead, man's very being is immutably dependent on God. reading in tandem with carl henry, gordon clark, and the simpler schaeffer help one to understand presuppositionalism and inevitably hone one's theology regardless of outlook.
Rating: 5
Summary: Finally, a response to the philosophy of despair!
Comment: Van Til systematically analyzes the essential equivalence of thought in the arminiun view of salavation and the world's view of the autonomy of man. He further points out the conclusion of modern secular philosophers that if man is indeed "autonomous" then there is really no control other than chance/fate and he is not truly "autonomous" but a slave to chance....further, if at the mercy of chance he is left in despair. The presupposition of ultimate truth in God alone is not just preferrable but necessary for any cogent understanding of reality. The beginning of wisdom is with God...not man. Without God, there is no basis for any reason, only despair.
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Title: Van Til's Apologetic: Readings and Analysis by Greg L. Bahnsen ISBN: 0875520987 Publisher: Presbyterian & Reformed Publishing Company Pub. Date: July, 1998 List Price(USD): $39.99 |
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Title: Christian Apologetics by Cornelius Van Til ISBN: 087552477X Publisher: Presbyterian & Reformed Publishing Company Pub. Date: January, 1992 List Price(USD): $9.99 |
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Title: Christianity and Liberalism by J. Gresham Machen ISBN: 0802811213 Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. Pub. Date: December, 1923 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
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Title: Every Thought Captive: A Study Manual for the Defense of Christian Truth by Richard L., Jr. Pratt ISBN: 0875523528 Publisher: Presbyterian & Reformed Publishing Company Pub. Date: August, 1983 List Price(USD): $8.99 |
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Title: Apologetics to the Glory of God: An Introduction by John M. Frame ISBN: 0875522432 Publisher: Presbyterian & Reformed Publishing Company Pub. Date: February, 1994 List Price(USD): $14.99 |
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