Top 30 Apologetics Books (#16): Cornelius Van Til, The Defense of the Faith

By Rob Bowman

Note: Below, Dr. Rob Bowman continues his series on the 30 most important apologetics books in church history. See his earlier posts in previous weeks of our weekly emails.

#16: Cornelius Van Til, The Defense of the Faith (1955, 1967)

Arguably the most controversial apologist of the twentieth century was Cornelius Van Til (1895–1987), a Dutch-American Calvinist whose system of thought is often called presuppositionalism. In 1929 J. Gresham Machen founded Westminster Theological Seminary as a conservative alternative to the recently liberal Princeton Theological Seminary, and the next year brought Van Til, who had earned his degrees at Princeton, to Westminster as its first professor of apologetics. Van Til served in that capacity until his retirement in 1972.

For Van Til, traditional apologetics suffered from being founded on a faulty theological basis. This explains the structure of his major textbook on apologetics, The Defense of the Faith. It begins with a chapter on Christian theology and three chapters elucidating “the Christian philosophy” of reality, knowledge, and behavior, before turning to the subject of apologetics proper. Chapters 5 and 7 both critique the Roman Catholic, evangelical (or Arminian), and less consistently Calvinist approaches to apologetics, all of which he finds are theologically compromised to some extent. The last fault, inconsistent Calvinism, belonged to the apologetical tradition at Old Princeton. In Van Til’s view, its great mistake was in using rationalistic arguments that concluded that the truths of Christianity are probably true. Van Til thought probabilistic arguments detracted from the absolute authority of Scripture as the word of God.

According to Van Til, a Reformed or Calvinistic theology required an equally distinctive Reformed apologetic. This apologetic would not attempt to prove or substantiate Christianity by a simple appeal to factual evidence, as though non-Christians were honest enough to examine the evidence fairly. Instead it would, as Van Til puts it in chapters 6 and 9, reason or argue “by presupposition.” The first step in this approach is to show that non-Christian systems of thought are incapable of accounting for rationality and morality. Here the apologist is to show that ultimately all non-Christian systems of thought fall into irrationalism. The second step is to commend the Christian view as giving the only possible presuppositional foundation for thought and life. For Van Til this is the only legitimate apologetic approach:

“The best, the only, the absolutely certain proof of the truth of Christianity is that unless its truth be presupposed there is no proof of anything. Christianity is proved as being the very foundation of the idea of proof itself” (298).

Van Til’s students have included some of the most influential apologists of a more broadly evangelical perspective, most notably Edward John Carnell, whom we introduced in [our last post], and Francis Schaeffer, whom we will introduce later. Van Til did not, however, regard either of these students of his as sound proponents of a Reformed apologetic, and he wrote extensive critiques of their apologetic thought. (Carnell receives some criticism in The Defense of the Faith.) Although much of Van Til’s criticism of other apologists was divisive, it also led to much fruitful discussion and reflection on apologetic method.

Note: This series originally appeared in the Apologetics Book Club group on Facebook and was revised for publication as a book, Faith Thinkers: 30 Christian Apologists You Should Know (Tampa, FL: De Ward, 2019). The book includes an introduction, additional quotes from each of the 30 books, readings for each author, and a list of other recommended readings. For a free excerpt from the published book, please visit https://faiththinkers.org.

—Rob Bowman Jr. is an evangelical Christian apologist, biblical scholar, author, editor, and lecturer. He is the author of over sixty articles and author or co-author of thirteen books, including Putting Jesus in His Place: The Case for the Deity of Christ, co-authored with J. Ed Komoszewski. He leads the Apologetics Book Club on Facebook.

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Quotable

One central reason why Christians arrive at significantly different convictions about transgender experience and identity is that they hold to different interpretations and contemporary applications of specific biblical passages, some of the key ones being Genesis 1-3; Deuteronomy 22:5; 23:1; Isaiah 56:1-5; Jeremiah 31:22; Matthew 19:3-12; Acts 8:25-39; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11; 11:2-16; and Galatians 3:27-28.

One leading site of interpretive controversy is Genesis 1-3. What are the implications for our understanding of transgender experience that God created humanity "male and female"? In particular, what are we to make of the fact that, even if God's creation included a prelapsarian [i.e., pre-fall] ideal of male and female, we are most certainly not, at present, living in a Genesis 1 world? Our post-Genesis 3 world has obscured and marred the human ideal in myriad ways. For some, the experience of transgender identity is understood as a product of the fall and, as such, something to be brought back into alignment with God's ideal. Others see the experience of transgender persons as part of the fall but emphasize that in a post-Genesis 3 world we are all broken, and ultimately our "fixing" is not likely to be experienced this side of the eschaton. Still others see the diversity of gender identities as part of the unfolding of God's beautifully diverse creation, not something to be feared or seen as fallen and certainly not something to be fixed.

In addition to Genesis 1-3, the statements in Matthew 19 about eunuchs comprise an important, if controversial, data point in this conversation. Christians are left to wrestle with the fact that Jesus affirmed the Genesis creation account—that at the beginning the Creator "made them male and female"— and then went on to hold up the eunuch as a model for life in the kingdom (Matt. 19:4, 12). Was Jesus validating a choice to live outside the typical gender norms and expressions of the day? Or was he defending a genderless expression of humanity? Or was he only highlighting the willingness of the kingdom-centered eunuch to sacrifice that which was deemed by many to be an essential part of human expression in the service of a higher cause?

Of course, as important as these scriptural texts are to Christians, when taken by themselves they do not clearly or straightforwardly "teach" any particular position on transgender experience. The difficulty represented by scriptural texts is that, by their very nature, they tend to underdetermine the theological views they are used in support of. Scriptural interpretations are complex things that are influenced by many factors: interpretations of other texts, theological and philosophical beliefs, cultural commitments, and polemical or apologetic purposes.

Also crucially important is one's stance on the scriptural teaching about gender roles. Even apart from the question of transgender experience, the gender role question is highly controversial and continues to split churches and denominations. Complementarians hold that males and females are equal in nature, worth, and dignity but are given different roles, one implication of which is that leadership in church and family is reserved for men. For complementarians, key differentiating expressions of gender are not determined by the particular culture in which people find themselves but are divinely ordained. Egalitarians, on the other hand, reject any necessary, transcultural gender hierarchy and, as such, are more open to cultural differences in how gender is expressed. The implications of one's perspective on gender roles on questions related to transgender experience are complex and are affected by other variables. But two lines of influence seem clear: First and most obviously, the more one sees gender roles and their expression as divinely ordained, the more one is likely to see gender dysphoria as an unhealthy symptom of the fall, and the less likely one is to allow for, or encourage, any sort of transitioning. Second, the more narrowly the expression of gender is defined the more likely that such definitions will increase the gender dysphoria experienced by individuals who do not align easily with those highly specified gender roles or who do not match that particular ideal of gender expression.

In addition to interpretation of particular passages of Scripture, one's approach to hermeneutics will powerfully shape one's perspective on transgender experience and identity. Particularly important is the contested question of how much hermeneutical weight should be given to human experience when interpreting Scripture and doing theology. More specifically, a crucial question is whether—and/or to what extent—the experience of transgender persons should shape our theological grids and biblical interpretation. Most Christians would allow that experience must play some role in our biblical and theological work—as evidenced by the popularity of John Wesley’s quadrilateral, in which Scripture is interpreted not only by tradition and reason but also by experience. Similarly, most Christians are uncomfortable allowing personal experience completely free rein in the definition and articulation of biblical interpretations and theological commitments. However, while these agreements are important, there remains a lot of room for disagreement on how and in what ways experience might shape our theological commitments.

— James K. Beilby and Paul Rhodes Eddy, eds., Understanding Transgender Identities: Four Views (Baker Academic, 2019), 48-49, 50.

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Book Highlights

*One of the greatest points of conflict between the Christian worldview and contemporary Western culture is the issue of sexuality—especially homosexuality, and more recently, transgender identity. In order to engage with these issues, it is important to acquaint oneself with the biblical, theological, philosophical, and scientific considerations that play a role in the debate. It’s also very helpful to carefully think through the arguments of those who take non-evangelical views on these matters so that we truly understand what people are saying, and why.

Understanding Transgender Identities: Four Views is a very helpful survey of the major Christian viewpoints, presented by four different proponents of these views, which range from a rejection of transgender as an identity, to a full embrace of it. Each of the four contributors also responds to the others, which provides the benefit of seeing how each position stands up to critique. Finally, the editors have written a substantial introduction that surveys the background, vocabulary, and key psychological and scientific theories that have given rise to the the current discussion.

"Every Christian leader needs to think through questions related to transgender identities and experiences. Every Christian leader, therefore, needs to read this book and humbly and critically consider the various views. Paul Eddy and James Beilby have put together a thoughtful team of scholars addressing some of the most important ethical questions facing the church today."

— Preston Sprinkle, president of the Center for Faith, Sexuality, and Gender

James K. Beilby (PhD, Marquette University) is professor of systematic and philosophical theology at Bethel University in St. Paul, Minnesota. He has written or edited numerous books, including Thinking about Christian Apologetics. Beilby is the coeditor (with Paul Rhodes Eddy) of six successful multiview volumes, including Understanding Spiritual Warfare: Four Views.

Paul Rhodes Eddy (PhD, Marquette University) is professor of biblical and theological studies at Bethel University in St. Paul, Minnesota. He is the author, coauthor, or editor of a number of books, including Across the Spectrum. Eddy is the coeditor (with James K. Beilby) of six successful multiview volumes, including Understanding Spiritual Warfare: Four Views.

Read an extended excerpt from the introduction here.

Find Understanding Transgender Identities: Four Views at Amazon, Baker, and other major booksellers.

* This is a sponsored post.

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*One of the foundational pillars of a Christian worldview is morality, which Christians derive from the Old and New Testaments.  But it can be challenging figuring out how instructions given in biblical times apply to Christians today.  There are everyday issues we’re confronted with, like questions about sexual morality, divorce, and alcohol and drugs.  And then there are issues that skeptics raise objections about such as slavery, homosexuality, and the Bible’s view of women. 

New Testament scholar David Instone-Brewer has written Moral Questions of the Bible which helpfully treats each of these moral issues, and many others, and we encourage you to check it out for helpful guidance on these challenging subjects.  Drawing on his expertise in the cultural and historical backgrounds of Scripture, he helps readers uncover the unchanging biblical principles that speak to today’s moral questions.

“Does the Bible condone slavery? The subjugation of women? The execution of homosexuals? Readers approaching the Bible with twenty-first-century eyes are often puzzled, confused, and even appalled at what they read. Can this really be God’s unchanging word? As a leading authority on the Jewish and Greco-Roman background of the Bible, David Instone-Brewer is an ideal guide for addressing moral and ethical questions related to the application of Scripture. By examining these texts within their unique cultural contexts, Instone-Brewer shows not only that the biblical commands represent a major ethical advance on the cultures of their day, but also that they reflect the encultured revelation of a just and loving God.”

— Mark L. Strauss, University Professor of New Testament, Bethel Seminary

The Rev. Dr. David Instone-Brewer is a research fellow at Tyndale House, a research library in biblical studies located in Cambridge, England. He previously served as a Baptist minister. His books include Divorce and Remarriage in the Bible, Divorce and Remarriage in the Church, and Traditions of the Rabbis from the Era of the New Testament.

Find Moral Questions of the Bible at Lexham Press, Amazon, and other major booksellers.

* This is a sponsored post.

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