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38 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A profound resource for Christian apologetics, February 10, 2006
The Defense of the Faith is Prof. Van Til's book about the subject for which he is most famous, presuppositional apologetics. I know many Christians wish to be able to defend their faith and to be "prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope" that they have (I Peter 3:15). But terms like "presuppositional" can be intimidating, so I will try to explain what Dr. Van Til is communicating in this book, as well as to answer the "Empty Assertions" criticism of the reader, who, I am afraid, has not dealt very squarely with the position of Van Til.
"Presuppositional" means that the argument for the truth of the claims of Scripture focuses on the presuppositions, or assumptions, of non-Christian thought, and it is founded on and proceeds according to the presuppositions of Biblical, Christian thought. The most foundational idea of non-Christian thought is the idea of human autonomy. According to the Bible, the unbeliever's heart is naturally at war with God after the fall. God has revealed that He is the Creator, and that man, whether he wants to or not, must always ultimately face the fact the he is the creature, and is responsible to and dependent on God. He knows that this is true. However, after the fall, the unbeliever does not want to be responsible to or dependent on God. He suppresses the truth that he knows in unrighteousness (Rom. 1:21). He wants to determine for himself the significance and purpose of his life. He makes his own mind the ultimate criterion for all interpretation and for all activity. The claims of God are not satisfactory to him, so he rejects them. The mind of the creature sits in judgment over its Creator. Thus all human reasoning and interpretation is inescapably and fundamentally ethical by nature. Van Til's argument is that a truly Biblical apologetic must confront the unbeliever at this very point.
The result is that there is no intellectual or moral neutrality. The unbeliever is at war with his Creator, and his mind rejects the authority of God in favor of his own autonomy. The believer, on the other hand, has a new heart, and a new spirit put within in him by God, and he submits to God's Word and authority. The apologetic enterprise must be undertaken within one or the other of these two frameworks. All too often, however, Christians do not live up to the principle that is within them. They unconsciously approach the unbeliever as if he really were autonomous and in the position of sitting in judgment over God and His Word. They may adjust the presentation of the gospel truth to make it more palatable to the rebellious sinner. The result is that the unbeliever is never really challenged at the root of his problem.
As a concrete example, Van Til says that, for an unbeliever "Granted he allows that Christ actually arose from the grave, he will say that this proves nothing more than that something very unusual took place in the case of that man Jesus." This is because as humans we do not encounter any facts in isolation, but we interpret and assign meaning to all the facts that we see around us. The unbeliever always interprets the facts on the basis of his presupposition of autonomy. Van Til is saying that the unbeliever's ultimate problem is not an intellectual problem, but an ethical problem. Any apologetic endeavor that focuses exclusively on the intellectual differences between believers and unbelievers and does not confront the ethical differences, is not addressing the unbeliever's problem.
One Amazon.com reader has been dissatisfied with Van Til's approach. His criticism centers on Van Til's claim that all reasoning is circular reasoning. Smart people don't reason circularly: "The Bible is true because it says so." But we have to think carefully about the argument. If Van Til is right that every human is either in rebellion against God's authority or by grace has been transformed to be submissive to God's authority, then it is impossible to reason apart from one of these two frameworks or "presuppositions". Thus, all human reasoning cannot be anything but circular in the sense that as finite creatures we cannot engage in any intellectual activity in a vacuum, but always start with some foundation.
I can't believe that Van Til's point is too much of a stretch for people in the 21st century, when we look at the current climate of moral and epistemological relativism. It has been over 200 years now since Kant showed us that the human consciousness inescapably alters and shapes the reality that we encounter. The current epistemological and moral vacuum in Western culture is simply the consistent working out of non-Christian presuppositions. Of course, Van Til is arguing that mankind in fact cannot escape the knowledge of God that is within them and the fact that all human interpretation is derivative, not determinative. He is saying that as Christians, we should not assume and submit to the unbeliever's view of human autonomy and intellectual and ethical neutrality.
I think that this book is truly significant and profound, and that Christians really need to come to grips with its ideas in order to make a fully Biblical presentation of the truth that is faithful to God's Word. I will not pretend that this is an easy book to read. There are many important points that I think are very clear, and there are some points that I have not yet been able to understand myself. Dr. Van Til's writings are notoriously intimidating to lay people. If you are serious, it is well worth reading this book, and I think that there is enough that is perfectly clear to greatly benefit even those who are not as interested in the more esoteric portions. If you are interested in the content, but are afraid of the level, you may prefer something like John Frame's book "Apologetics to the Glory of God." Van Til's book is absolutely not written to convince unbelievers that they should become Christians. It is written to help Christians understand how they can "sanctify Christ as Lord" in their hearts in order to give a consistently Biblical defense of their faith that will truly challenge the unbeliever at the root of his problem. For all serious students of apologetics, this book is indispensable.
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28 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Finally, a response to the philosophy of despair!, October 10, 1999
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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22 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
good presuppositional apologetics, November 27, 1999
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.
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