Cornelius Van Til: An Analysis of His Thought

by John M. Frame

Book Overview

This brilliant analysis of the thought of Van Til combines praise, clarification, and constructive criticism. Both warm and incisive, it promotes appreciation of Van Til and refinement of his ideas.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0875522459
• ISBN13: 9780875522456
• Release Date: November 1995
• Publisher: P & R Publishing
• Length: 480 Pages
• Weight: 1.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.0" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

An Analysis of Van Til's Apologetic

This is one of my favorite books by John Frame. It is a good starting place for a new presuppositional defender of the faith. Frame offers a broad and personal view of the work and the impact of Van Til's thought. The author provides exposition and application of Van Til's apologetic, however he adds some useful critiques (and some incorrect). Frame's presuppositionalism doesn't extend Van Til's argument and may appear to be an attempt to limit its certainty. Van Til (and Greg L. Bahnsen) clearly taught that Christian Theism (CT) must be presupposed to account for anything. Even if one denies CT, one must assume its truth. Thus anti-theism presupposes theism. We can be certain, in advance of any analysis of experience, that God necessarily exists. Only CT furnishes the a priori essentials for immaterial immutable universals (laws of logic, moral law, etc.) and these necessities are employed in everything one thinks, asserts or performs. Frame's writing is engaging and pleasant, but hard-core adherents to Van Til's apologetic (and Bahnsen's) may be, at times, mildly disappointed. Two foremost reasons are: 1. The book doesn't deliver a great quantity of practical arguments for the truth of CT. 2. Some aspects of this monograph no longer engage the current trends in presuppositionalism (yet the personal and biographical information is both indispensable and stirring for a burgeoning presuppositionalist). Frame discusses: Spiral Argument Vs. Circular Reasoning by Presupposition The epistemic Reach and relevance of TAG (the transcendental argument for the existence of God) The work of Clark, Bahnsen, Kant, Barth, Dooyeweerd, and Van Tilians. Even though Frame's approach to Van Til is to some extent controversial, I enjoyed the book and have re-read several chapters numerous times. I am glad I own it and I encourage all apologists to have a copy in your library. Letter to an Atheist Nation: Presupositional Apologetics Responds To: Letter to a Christian

An Analysis of Van Til the *theologian.*

Goal and thesis of the book: To provide a much-needed critical analysis of the legacy of Cornelius Van Til (8). The Metaphysics of Knowledge: God as Self-Contained Fullness This is Frame's favorite aspect of Van Til's thought, and probably the best section in the book. This is another way of saying God's aseity. God is sufficient in himself. From God's self-containment, we may say that God's unity implies his simplicity: "If there is only one God, then there is nothing "in" him that is independent of him" (55). How does God's revelation play into this? Due to the richness of God's nature, we could never know him left to ourselves. However, if God, a self-contained God--and a self-contained God who meets the standards of immanency and transcendence, reveals himself, then we have certain, sure knowledge of who this God is (transcendence) and how his revelation applies to concrete situations (immanence). Absolute Personality Non-Christian systems die on the altar of personality. Either they posit personal, but finite gods (Greek pantheon) or impersonal, infinite gods (Eastern religions). Only Christian theism posits a personal, absolute God. They do so because of the Trinity. To quote CVT, "the members of the trinity are exhaustively representational of one another" (qtd. Frame, 59). To end this section with a quote and call to action from Frame, "Impersonal facts and laws cannot be ultimate, precisely because they are not personal. They cannot account for rationality, for moral value, for the causal order of the universe, or for the universal applicability of logic" (60). The Trinity Ah, this is where the heresy charges come in! And given the renewed interest in Trinitarianism, this section can be very useful. Van Til begins by stating and affirming what the Church has taught on the Trinity. His position can be summarized in the following moves: Trinitarianism denies correlativism, the belief that God and creation are dependent on one another. God is three persons and one Person. Watch closely. He calls the whole Godhead "one person." He is not saying that God is one in essence and three in essence. The main question is "the one being personal or impersonal?" (67). Van Til is calling the whole Godhood one "person" in order to avoid making the essence of God to be merely an abstraction. Frame argues, "If the three persons (individually and collectively) exhaust the divine essence (are "coterminous" with it), then the divine essence itself must be personal" (68). And if God is an absolute person (he is), and he is one (he is), then there must be a sense in which he is a person. Granting the Augustinian circumincessio, every act of God is a personal act involving all three persons acting in unity (68). The Problem of the One and the Many I think Rushdoony was more excited about this than Van Til (see Van Til's response to Rush in Jerusalem and Athens). How do we find unity in the midst of plurality? Unbelief cannot answer this question. It always

Changed my mind

Van Til is one of the most needlessly obtuse writers to which I have ever given serious attention. Thank goodness for his students who have made his ideas accessible. Well, actually alot of his students have not done his legacy any favors. Some have made his views seem more extreme, smug, and novel than he ever intended. Not John Frame. A master of making difficult concepts readable and enjoyable, Frame has written a real masterpiece once again. This is not a slavish Van Tillian diatribe. instead, Frame knowledgably, clearly, and carefully presents Van Tils views, humbly offers some corrections, and lets the reader decide. In the process he utterly changed my mind on the issue of presuppositional apologetics. A long-time fan of Hodge, Warfield, the Old Princetonians, R C Sproul, etc., Frame convinced me of the inconsistencies I was holding onto. A must read for any serious student of epistemology, apologetics, Reformed history, etc.

A worthwhile stroll down Van Til Lane

Frame is down to earth with a passion to communicate in the best way possible. If you've ever heard Frame in person (I have) you will realize what a humble man he is... not like many argumentative types that wish to blow everyone out of the water. He explained everything in a way that helped me understand, which is the mark of a true teacher. Of course, this is coming from a "young layman", not a "skeptical scholar", but I believe he dealt with enough issues to silence most skeptics (at least the ones who get past chapter 3). If you want pretense, look elsewhere, but Frame is the real deal!

Fresh view of Cornelius Van Til's thoughts!

What John Frame does is take parts of Van Til's thoughts and explains them. So, what you're looking at here is a book that builds from the parts to the whole, sort of speak. And it works very effectively. Frame's book will help people look at the transcendental argument for the existence of God from a different point of view. Bear in mind though this is college level reading. If you're looking for something similar yet less technical get Frame's Apologetics to the Glory of God. And, if you search any web engine you're liable to find Frame's debate with Dr. Michael Martin who misrepresents and misunderstands the transcendental argument.