Cornelius Van Til
Arguing about God’s existence, I hold, is like arguing about air. You may affirm that air exists, and I that it does not. But as we debate the point, we are both breathing air all the time.
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Cornelius Van Til

Cornelius Van Til As human beings we must know or interpret the facts after we look at the facts, after they are there and perhaps after they have operated for some time. In the case of God, on the other hand, God’s knowledge of the facts comes first. God knows or interprets the facts before they are facts. It is God’s plan or his compr...ehensive interpretation of the facts that makes the facts what they are.

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November 12 at 4:13pm
Cornelius Van Til
Cornelius Van Til
Chapter 1: Christian Theology: 1. The Doctrine Of God; THE DEFENSE OF THE FAITH. Philadelphia: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1955. 436 pp. / Sigward 1955.G
November 12 at 4:13pm
James Wilkinson
James Wilkinson
John 14:6-7 !!
November 12 at 4:35pm
Jay
Jay
I like presuppositional apologetics and use it to defend the faith. I have Van Tils book and have read always ready by Dr. Bahnsen. I find than I don't understand much of what is posted here. Any suggestions on understanding Van Til better? Can someone flesh out this quote for a dummy like me?
November 12 at 7:17pm
Mike
Mike
Because God created the facts, He knows them originally and exhaustively. We can only know the facts derivatively and in a limited way.
November 12 at 8:24pm
Herb Smiley
Herb Smiley
not to be rude. But, what's the point?
November 13 at 1:47am
David Holbrook
David Holbrook
But - and this is critical for life - we can know them TRULY. Why? because God has deigned to reveal truth to us (infallibly, in the Bible). Though we don't know comprehensively in the way God does, we do know what has been revealed truly - as truly as God knows it. The point is that it's BS to pretend we can't know anything, or that we ... See Moreactually know nothing, or that we invent our own meaning. The reality of non-comprehensive-but-true knowledge brings with it a moral responsibility that, according to the apostle Paul, renders all of us guilty before God with no excuse. We can therefore never claim "I didn't know" because we do - even if we suppress the truth in unrighteousness (as we all do to one degree or another in various ways). We can't begin to justify ourselves before God. We standly guilty and rightly condemned, with no way out of this impasse by our own merit. That's why Paul says "Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!" What we could never do, God did in Christ - rendering the just punishment we desrved for our sins to Jesus instead of to all of us who despairing of our own rightness put all of our hopes in Jesus. The guilty sinners whom God throws into hell will know (and will realize that they always knew) they deserved it. Give it up. The only escape is through the blood of Jesus. Is this a little more relevant (no disrespect intended at all, seeriously)? This is about getting out of a burning building that's just about to collapse. Apologies if it sounds a little rough... My intentions here are - really - to be kind.
November 13 at 6:36am
Herb Smiley
Herb Smiley
In response to David. I like what you say. It seems intuitive and foundational. Were you responding to me or Mike? Is yours a presuppositional response? Thank you.
November 13 at 2:09pm