Both Van Til and Barth rejected all forms of bare theism. That is, they denied a generic view of God. Both believed this “god” was an idol. This is the god of human autonomy and philosophy. It comes from an…
Reason, Revelation, and Calvin’s View of Natural Theology
Jim Cassidy and Camden Bucey discuss theological methodology in light of Calvin’s view of natural theology. As a starting point for the discussion, they turn to Thiago M. Silva’s article, “John Calvin and the Limits of Natural Theology,” Puritan Reformed…
Geerhardus Vos on the Personal and Active Faith of the Old Testament
The Westminster Larger Catechism defines justifying faith as a saving grace, wrought in the heart of a sinner by the Spirit and Word of God, whereby he, being convinced of his sin and misery, and of the disability in himself…
The Reformation Restoration of Faith and True Religion
Saving faith is the instrument by which the whole person is united to the whole Christ in the unbreakable bond of the Holy Spirit. I am not my own, confesses the believer, but belong—body and soul, in life and in death—to my…
The Essential Van Til — Transcendental Method
Now we begin to make a definite turn toward Barth in Van Til’s writing. Thus far this blog series has been a smattering of topics arising from my rereading of Van Til. But the purpose of my research is to…
The Essential Van Til — His Relation to Scholasticism
Van Til used the word “scholasticism” (or its other variations) as shorthand for Thomistic dualism (and with it the medieval synthesis of Christian and pagan thought). In short Thomistic dualism is the idea that there are two sources of knowledge:…
The Essential Van Til – The Failure of Classical Apologetics
This post is a kind of follow-on from a previous post about “as-suchness.” In The New Synthesis Van Til writes: Paul does not discuss questions of “fact” and views of “logic” as such. For Paul, there are no facts as…
Live Q&A Session
We took to Facebook to broadcast a live Q&A session. With questions submitted through email and the live comment thread, we covered Lord’s Day observance, fasting and gluttony, and membership in the New Covenant. Download Participants: Camden Bucey, Glen Clary,…
The Essential Van Til — The Crux of the Difference
There is still a great deal of confusion out there concerning the difference between orthodox Reformed theology and the theology of Karl Barth. Are they not the same? Is Barth not just advancing the ground work established by the Reformed…
The Meaning of Tradition
Camden Bucey reviews Yves Congar’s The Meaning of Tradition. Download Participants: Camden Bucey
