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The Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments. Unpublished Manuscript from 1933
Westminster Theological Seminary, n.d.
Syllabus, 65 pp.
[1939.I]
This rare syllabus provides an exposition of the ethics of the decalogue before John Murray began teaching this course at WTS.
1. First Commandment—Religion
2. Second Commandment—Worship
3. Third Commandment—Revelation
4. Fourth Commandment—Sabbath
5. Fifth Commandment—Authority
6. Sixth Commandment—Human Life
7. Seventh Commandment—Purity
8. Eighth Commandment—Property
9. Ninth Commandment—Truth
10. Tenth Commandment—Desire
Westminster Theological Seminary, n.d.
Syllabus, 65 pp.
[1939.I]
This rare syllabus provides an exposition of the ethics of the decalogue before John Murray began teaching this course at WTS.
1. First Commandment—Religion
2. Second Commandment—Worship
3. Third Commandment—Revelation
4. Fourth Commandment—Sabbath
5. Fifth Commandment—Authority
6. Sixth Commandment—Human Life
7. Seventh Commandment—Purity
8. Eighth Commandment—Property
9. Ninth Commandment—Truth
10. Tenth Commandment—Desire
107 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 4, 2012
2 people are currently reading
23 people want to read
About the author
Cornelius Van Til
149 books121 followersCornelius Van Til, was a Christian philosopher, Reformed theologian, and presuppositional apologist.
Biographical sketch
Born on May 3, 1895, in Grootegast, The Netherlands he was the sixth son of Ite and Klazina Van Til, who emigrated to the United States when "Kees," as he was known to friends, was 10. He grew up helping on the family farm in Highland, Indiana.
Van Til graduated from Calvin College in 1922, receiving a ThM from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1925 and his PhD from Princeton University in 1927. He began teaching at Princeton, but shortly went with the conservative group who founded Westminster Theological Seminary, where he taught for forty-three years of his life as a professor of apologetics.
He was also a minister in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church from the 1930s until his death in 1987, and in that denomination, he was embroiled in a bitter dispute with Gordon Clark over God's incomprehensibility known as the Clark-Van Til Controversy in which, according to John Frame, neither man was at his best and neither quite understood the other's position.
Van Til's thought
Van Til is perhaps best known for the development of a fresh approach to the task of defending the Christian faith. Although trained in traditional methods he drew on the insights of fellow Calvinistic philosophers Vollenhoven and Herman Dooyeweerd to formulate what he viewed as a more consistently Christian methodology. His apologetic focused on the role of presuppositions, the point of contact between believers and unbelievers, and the antithesis between Christian and non-Christian worldviews.
Source: Theopedia
Biographical sketch
Born on May 3, 1895, in Grootegast, The Netherlands he was the sixth son of Ite and Klazina Van Til, who emigrated to the United States when "Kees," as he was known to friends, was 10. He grew up helping on the family farm in Highland, Indiana.
Van Til graduated from Calvin College in 1922, receiving a ThM from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1925 and his PhD from Princeton University in 1927. He began teaching at Princeton, but shortly went with the conservative group who founded Westminster Theological Seminary, where he taught for forty-three years of his life as a professor of apologetics.
He was also a minister in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church from the 1930s until his death in 1987, and in that denomination, he was embroiled in a bitter dispute with Gordon Clark over God's incomprehensibility known as the Clark-Van Til Controversy in which, according to John Frame, neither man was at his best and neither quite understood the other's position.
Van Til's thought
Van Til is perhaps best known for the development of a fresh approach to the task of defending the Christian faith. Although trained in traditional methods he drew on the insights of fellow Calvinistic philosophers Vollenhoven and Herman Dooyeweerd to formulate what he viewed as a more consistently Christian methodology. His apologetic focused on the role of presuppositions, the point of contact between believers and unbelievers, and the antithesis between Christian and non-Christian worldviews.
Source: Theopedia
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 21, 2025
★ ★ ★ 1/2 (rounded up)
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
---
WHAT'S THE TEND COMMANDMENTS ABOUT?
Well, as the title suggests, it's about The Ten Commandments--it's an exposition of them, and a brief explanation of what the Moral Law is and how it functions by Cornelius Van Til, who taught the course on Christian Ethics at Westminster Theological Seminary in its early days.
Like many of his works, until this edition, it was unpublished. It's the curriculum from that class, really. It's as close to attending Van Til's course as we're going to get.
We get one chapter on the nature and use of the Law in the Christian life (and throughout Scripture) and then a (generally) brief chapter on each commandment.
MISCELLANEOUS OBSERVATIONS
There are a handful of things that an academic reviewer would spend time on, or if I wanted to get into his arguments, I would devote paragraphs to. But I'm not, so I'm just going to list off thoughts I had along the way:
* When it comes to the First Commandment (leading to a discussion of God's existence and atheism) and the Third Commandment (God's self-revelation via His name and other means), Van Til the apologist comes to the fore. He spends a disproportionate amount of time on these two--I'm not complaining, I'm simply noting. Any students who took his Ethics class before Apologetics (assuming that was possible) probably had a leg up on those who went right into Apologetics.
* His discussion of the 4th (Sabbath) didn't lead to as many specific practical applications as I was hoping (if only for curiosity's sake, I wanted to see his take on some things). But pound-for-pound one of the best brief discussions on the day change, external vs. internal/spiritual observance of the day.
* I really appreciated his discussion of the Sixth Commandment (Human Life), we need more like it.
* It boggled my mind that he saw the necessity of labor unions and protests--in a fallen world, such things are necessary for protection against the fallibility of our fellow man. (I think I agree with him, just didn't expect it from him)
* His discussion of the 9th Commandment (Truth) didn't get take the apologetic turn that I expected (although it's there), and was helpful--but I could've used more.
* The chapter on the 10th Commandment (Contentment) was too brief, but what was there was excellent.
SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT THE TEN COMMANDMENTS?
It wasn't bad--it was pretty good, actually. I had hoped for a little more depth--and I got it occasionally, but not as often as I'd hoped.
It's also pretty clear and easy to understand--this is a great bonus. Van Til enjoys (even among his most ardent of supporters/students) the reputation for not being a very clear writer. But I didn't get a trace of that here.
This is a slightly uneven, but helpful and sound introduction to and overview of the Ten Commandments and their use in the Christian life. It's in line with what you'd find in Calvin, Turretin, Hodge, and the like. Maybe a little more accessible because it was written in the early 20th Century.
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
---
WHAT'S THE TEND COMMANDMENTS ABOUT?
Well, as the title suggests, it's about The Ten Commandments--it's an exposition of them, and a brief explanation of what the Moral Law is and how it functions by Cornelius Van Til, who taught the course on Christian Ethics at Westminster Theological Seminary in its early days.
Like many of his works, until this edition, it was unpublished. It's the curriculum from that class, really. It's as close to attending Van Til's course as we're going to get.
We get one chapter on the nature and use of the Law in the Christian life (and throughout Scripture) and then a (generally) brief chapter on each commandment.
MISCELLANEOUS OBSERVATIONS
There are a handful of things that an academic reviewer would spend time on, or if I wanted to get into his arguments, I would devote paragraphs to. But I'm not, so I'm just going to list off thoughts I had along the way:
* When it comes to the First Commandment (leading to a discussion of God's existence and atheism) and the Third Commandment (God's self-revelation via His name and other means), Van Til the apologist comes to the fore. He spends a disproportionate amount of time on these two--I'm not complaining, I'm simply noting. Any students who took his Ethics class before Apologetics (assuming that was possible) probably had a leg up on those who went right into Apologetics.
* His discussion of the 4th (Sabbath) didn't lead to as many specific practical applications as I was hoping (if only for curiosity's sake, I wanted to see his take on some things). But pound-for-pound one of the best brief discussions on the day change, external vs. internal/spiritual observance of the day.
* I really appreciated his discussion of the Sixth Commandment (Human Life), we need more like it.
* It boggled my mind that he saw the necessity of labor unions and protests--in a fallen world, such things are necessary for protection against the fallibility of our fellow man. (I think I agree with him, just didn't expect it from him)
* His discussion of the 9th Commandment (Truth) didn't get take the apologetic turn that I expected (although it's there), and was helpful--but I could've used more.
* The chapter on the 10th Commandment (Contentment) was too brief, but what was there was excellent.
SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT THE TEN COMMANDMENTS?
It wasn't bad--it was pretty good, actually. I had hoped for a little more depth--and I got it occasionally, but not as often as I'd hoped.
It's also pretty clear and easy to understand--this is a great bonus. Van Til enjoys (even among his most ardent of supporters/students) the reputation for not being a very clear writer. But I didn't get a trace of that here.
This is a slightly uneven, but helpful and sound introduction to and overview of the Ten Commandments and their use in the Christian life. It's in line with what you'd find in Calvin, Turretin, Hodge, and the like. Maybe a little more accessible because it was written in the early 20th Century.
May 11, 2024
Excellent book, the most readable Van Til book I've read so far, very insightful and impactful at a personal devotional level. I highly recommend this book.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews