Category Archives: Van Til

10 Things to Expect in a Federal Vision Church

Posted on July 8, 2013 by Uri Brito

I recently read a post by a frustrated woman on the outcome of some decisions made in different PCA Presbyteries. Among many things, this individual observed that she was deeply concerned for the well-being of the people who attend PCA … Continue reading →

Posted in Apologetics, Federal Vision, G.K. Chesterton, Kingdom, Resurrection, Rich Lusk, Typology/Symbolism/Biblical Parallels, Van Til, Word/Sacrament | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

Van Til’s Influence on Norman Shepherd

Posted on February 9, 2013 by Uri Brito

In Obedient Faith: A Festschrift for Norman Shepherd, Dr. Shepherd speaks to the influence of Van Til in his own thinking: Van Til visited Westminster College in my senior year, and I heard his lecture on Noah. This lecture made a profound … Continue reading →

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Van Til on False Remedies

Posted on December 4, 2012 by Uri Brito

“Christians are in themselves no wiser than are other men. What they have they have by grace. They must be ‘all things to all men.’ But it is not kindness to tell patients that need strong medicine that nothing serious … Continue reading →

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Peace and Destruction

Posted on December 4, 2012 by Uri Brito

“He [Christ] came to bring peace, to be sure, but the peace that He came to bring must be built upon the complete destruction of the power of darkness.” –Cornelius Van Til

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The Tangibility of Worldviews

Posted on September 13, 2012 by Uri Brito

George Grant writes in the foreword to Angels in the Architecture that a “worldview is as practical as garden arbors, public manners, whistling at work, dinner-time rituals, and architectural angels (14).” For all the great resurgence of worldview thinking in our day, … Continue reading →

Posted in Christian Living, Van Til | 1 Comment

Psalm 19, Brief Observations

Posted on March 8, 2012 by Uri Brito

This psalm contains a three-fold theme. Creation, the law, and forgiveness serve as testimonies to the glory of God. Creation does not serve as an equal manifestation to the Law-Word, but rather in submission to the Word of the Lord, … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Notes, Psalms, Van Til | 1 Comment

Calvin on Reason

Posted on May 24, 2011 by Uri Brito

All my years of reading Calvin (a weekly part of my sermon preparation) I have often found him much more consistent with a VanTilian way of looking at reason than other attempts that claim Calvin. In his commentary on John, … Continue reading →

Posted in Calvin/Calvinism, Van Til | Leave a comment

Van Til in 30 seconds

Posted on May 18, 2011 by Uri Brito

William White Jr. in his biography of Cornelius Van Til: Defender of the Faith, summarizes Van Til in this way: “To concede that the mind of the thinker can by searching find out about God, or discover truth, be it … Continue reading →

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Van Til on the Antithesis

Posted on October 2, 2010 by Uri Brito

Every time any human being opens his mouth to say anything, he either says that God is or that God is not a reality. It could not be otherwise. God claims to control every fact. –Cornelius Van Til, “Our Attitude … Continue reading →

Posted in Van Til | 2 Comments

Interview on Apologetics with Joe Torres

Posted on July 2, 2009 by Uri Brito

The Audio can be found here. Links: Joe Torres and his dog Van Til Dialogue with an Atheist by Joe Torres Joe’s Blog Why I Believe in God by Van Til Misconceptions of Van Til by Richard Pratt

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Joe Torres and Presuppositional Apologetics

Posted on July 2, 2009 by Uri Brito

At 12 Central/1Eastern, I will be interviewing Joe Torres on presuppositional apologeticsat Trinity Talk. Joe summarizes our interview as follows: On  Thursday, July 2nd, I’ll be discussing the topic of presuppositional apologetics on Trinity Talk with Uri and Jarrod. Uri … Continue reading →

Posted in Apologetics, Apologus Interviews, Audio, Presuppositional Apologetics, Trinity Talk Interview, Van Til | Leave a comment

Born to be Wild: Why I became a Van Tilian

Posted on April 7, 2009 by Uri Brito

Randy Booth thinks this picture may have been taken by Greg Bahnsen…

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Richard Mouw reviews Muether’s Biography of Van Til

Posted on March 26, 2009 by Uri Brito

In this excellent review, Mouw, president of Fuller Theological Seminary writes favorably of John Muether’s biography of Cornelius Van Til. John was working diligently on this project in my days at RTS/Orlando. I often saw him smoking his pipe and … Continue reading →

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Van Til, Evidence, and Fideism

Posted on April 2, 2008 by Uri Brito

The charge that Cornelius Van Til was a fideist has come from many camps. Clark Pinnock (now an open theist), leveled many attacks some decades ago attempting to discredit the proliferation of favorable responses to Presuppositionalism in the Reformed community. … Continue reading →

Posted in Presuppositional Apologetics, Van Til | 5 Comments

A Reformed View of Apologetics, Part 2

Posted on November 6, 2007 by Uri Brito

One of the assertions of a Reformed view of apologetics is that apart from God’s revelation, man cannot account for anything, or as Van Til once put it: “…the atheists cannot account for accounting.” It is the “voluntary revelation” of … Continue reading →

Posted in Apologetics, Presuppositional Apologetics, Reformed Theology, Van Til | Leave a comment

A Reformed View of Apologetics, Part 1

Posted on October 31, 2007 by Uri Brito

Editor’s Note: In these posts, I have tried to offer a simple introduction to Presuppositional apologetics. Many in our day are unaware of the incredible influence of Professor Cornelius Van Til. These posts serve to distinguish the Reformed View of … Continue reading →

Posted in Apologetics, Arminianism, Atheism, Calvin/Calvinism, Greg Bahnsen, Presuppositional Apologetics, Van Til | 3 Comments

Common Grace and Van Tillian Philosophy

Posted on September 21, 2007 by Uri Brito

In the late 1940’s, Professor Cornelius Van Til wrote a series of articles for the Westminster Theological Journal. The articles analyzed Abraham Kuyper’s1 view of Common Grace. It was in a sense a brief analysis of Kuyper’s great three-volume work … Continue reading →

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Journal: An early start

Posted on September 14, 2007 by Uri Brito

7:08Am One of the advantages of rising at 5:30AM is the enjoyment of beginning a new day ahead of over 70% of the population. A fresh start and a fresh walk in the empty streets. I have some Kuyper and … Continue reading →

Posted in Abraham kuyper, Journal, Van Til | Leave a comment

Autonomy and Political Stupidity

Posted on March 30, 2006 by Uri Brito

To paraphrase Cornelius Van Til: “If there is no autonomy then only theonomy.” Though Dr. Van Til had the philosophical issue of neutrality in mind rather than ethical dispute, he makes an eternally valid point that has affected many thinkers of … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Van Til | Leave a comment

Similarities in God’s thoughts and Man’s thoughts: A few observations

Posted on September 6, 2005 by Uri Brito

This is based on a discussion on the Gordon Clark v. Van Til debate in the OPC in the 1940’s. For further background see my paragraph entitled: Futile Disputes, and peruse through the comments for context. Dear brother, let me … Continue reading →

Posted in Anthropology, John Frame, Van Til | 8 Comments

Futile Disputes

Posted on August 26, 2005 by Uri Brito

In his introduction to Apologetics, Professor Frame told us that the Van Til vs. Clark debate was a futile discussion that only led to chaos in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC). The disputation concerns whether we think like God (Clark) … Continue reading →

Posted in John Frame, Van Til | 8 Comments