A Brief Book Notice from Books At a Glance
Cornelius Van Til’s famous apologetic method seeks simply, in the words of the apostle Paul, to “take every thought captive” to the obedience of Christ (2 Cor. 10:5). This is the conviction of the editor and contributors of this volume.
The quest here is to “destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God” (2 Cor. 10:5) now in the twenty-first century, applying Van Til’s method.
The Future of Reformed Apologetics features essays by James Anderson, Brian Mattson, Dan Strange, Scott Oliphint, Vern Poythress, David Filson, Christopher Watkin, Nathan Shannon, and Rob Edwards – followers of Van Til’s proven method all. Originally delivered at Westminster Theological Seminary during the 2023 Conference on Reformed Apologetics, this collection is written to encourage and equip you to defend the Christian faith, as it was “once for all delivered to the saints,” for today’s Christian.
Table of Contents
Foreword: WTS Van Til Conference: The Legacy of Van Til (William Edgar)
Introduction (K. Scott Oliphint)
1. Van Til and the Sensus Divinitatis (K. Scott Oliphint)
2. Van Til Goes Pop: Desire, Diff-enchantment, and the Point of Contact (Daniel Strange)
3. Van Til’s Apologetic: Attributes, Roots, and Fruits (Brian G. Mattson)
4. The Robust Role of General Revelation in Van Til’s Apologetic: Reasserting the Relationship between God’s Word and God’s World (Rob Edwards)
5. Van Til’s Two-Handed Apologetics: Lessons for the Future of Christian Thought (Christopher Watkin)
6. Van Til Versus The Matrix: A Van Tilian Response to the Simulation Hypothesis (James N. Anderson)
7. Implications of Van Til’s Thought for Redeeming Academic Disciplines (Vern Poythress)
8. Van Til on God as Absolute Person: Origin, Meaning, and Function (Nathan D. Shannon)
9. Old Things Made New? The Buswellian Vintage of Van Tillian Criticism (David O. Filson)