Why I believe in God

Beat Boyz #3

by Cornelius Van Til

“Você deseja uma pequena joia que explique e ilustre a apologética pressuposicional? Então leia o pequeno panfleto de Cornelius Van Til intitulado Por que creio em Deus. Ele não é chamativo no estilo, nem é complexo no conteúdo. Mas é devastador.” — Greg Bahnsen

Nesta edição em português incluímos notas de comentário do Dr. Greg Bahnsen e ao final um apêndice do Dr. K. Scott Oliphint (“Van Til o Evangelista”).

Genres: Theology, Christian, Philosophy, Nonfiction

18 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1960

About the author

Cornelius 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

Reviews

[Josiah Richardson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short conversion story from Van Til as well as a response to the assertion that Christian's only believe in Christianity because of the area they were born in and the family they were raised in; that they would be Buddhists if they were born in China or India with a family that raised them to be Buddhists. Decent response, but a lot of tangents throughout.

[Jay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short and Sweet

Van Til is one of my heroes. His basic argument is that everyone believes in God in some sense. And the proof is that everyone believes in things that, at bottom, are only justified by belief in God.

I’d be very curious what my non-Christian family and friends thought of this.

[Dillon Smith]

“I hold that belief in God is not merely as reasonable as other belief, or even a little or infinitely more probably true than other belief; I hold rather that unless you believe in God you can logically believe in nothing else.”

[João Uliana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excelente aplicação do pressuposicionalismo vantiliano. De maneira breve o autor aplica sua apologética num suposto diálogo com um não cristão.

[Tom Carpenter]

Very important.

[Ryan Watkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

First read this back in 2019. Reread now in 2023. A nice introduction to Van Til's apologetic methodology. I think he's easier to read than many would admit. I especially appreciated his humor.

[Logan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very personal testimony. Nothing spectacular but Van Til doesn't back down from his position that we are all influenced and biased but only his worldview gives unity and makes God the center rather than self.

[Jonathan Celaya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great short read. Van Til is famous for his "presuppositional" approach to apologetics. Those not familiar with Van Til and the presuppositional method will find a clear exposition of it here. I would recommend this to all!

[Peter Whyte · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clear, thought-provoking, challenging and persuasive. Essential reading for anyone who is unsure if God exists. And highly recommended for every Christian as a model for how to present the gospel forthrightly and without compromise, yet respectfully.

[Jordy Andrade · Rating 5 out of 5]

Para Cornelius Van Til, filósofo e teólogo holandês radicado nos Estados Unidos, considerando sua abordagem apologética pressuposicional, argumentar acerca da existência de Deus sem conceber o condicionamento divino em todas as coisas nos distaria de qualquer tipo de significado, de maneira que não poderíamos crer logicamente em mais nada. Seria, então, semelhante a argumentar sobre o ar. Nas palavras do autor: "você pode afirmar que o ar existe ou que não existe, contudo, enquanto debatemos, estamos ambos, todo tempo, respirando". Logo, Deus é "o posicionador onde repousam as armas que devem atirar nele, mesmo afim de pô-lo fora de existência".

Esse pequeno livro (de fato, apenas em tamanho) parte biográfico, parte apologético é, acima de tudo, o testemunho de uma vida regenerada. Testemunho esse que, como advoga Van Til, estaria despido de significado, não fosse pela verdade objetiva e pelos fatos objetivos que ele pressupõe. Já afirma o autor, "testemunho que não seja um argumento também não é testemunho, de mesmo modo, um argumento que não seja testemunho, também não configura argumento".

[Jordan Hay · Rating 2 out of 5]

Expected a more fleshed out transcendental argument. 3/4 of the work was spent rambling about ideas that could have been stated outright because of how simple they were.

As far as I could tell this was his basic argument, but he gave little justification for any of the premises:

- P1. Either God is the ultimate authority/grounding for knowledge, or the human subject (self) is the ultimate authority/grounding.
- P2. If the human subject is the ultimate authority, knowledge is impossible (because a finite subject cannot ground the totality of reality)(also, if you are the start and end of your own reasoning, you have no way to verify your logic against a standard outside yourself).
- P3. Knowledge is possible (to say it’s not is self refuting)
- C1. Therefore the human subject is not the ultimate authority/grounding.
- C2. Therefore God is the ultimate authority/grounding, and any claim to knowledge presupposes him.

[Emanuel Queiroz · Rating 5 out of 5]

A apologética de Van Til traça uma categoria argumentativa não para diluir a teologia bíblica na sabedoria humana, mas para deslocar o incrédulo da ignorância sobre a própria incredulidade e expressar a inevitável glória de Deus como SENHOR Soberano sobre tudo, até mesmo a consciência dos ímpios que, por mais pervertida e destruída que seja, é incapaz de anular a finalidade para a qual foi criada pelo SENHOR: tornar todos os homens inescusáveis diante do Seu trono.

Leitura indispensável e uma ferramenta excelente de convite à apologética pressuposicional.

[Otávio Mayrink · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bastante superficial - até pra um texto introdutório. O autor gastou a maior parte do tempo afirmando as próprias visões, sem desenvolver o "why" - muito fraco na argumentação (que aparentemente seria o objetivo do livro). Em alguns momentos chega a ser infantil (não me refiro às referências que ele faz à sua infância e juventude, mas como se posiciona no debate, sua maturidade). Esse é aquele tipo de texto q vc lê o primeiro parágrafo e já sabe tudo oq ele vai escrever. Também não me agradou o tom presunçoso do autor - especialmente na segunda metade do livro.

[Laurent Dv · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible relevant (firstly for unbelievers) and intelligible (surprinsinly coming from Van Til). Definitively, the first and chief book of Van Til to read ! One will find : presuppositional apologetics, critics of traditional apologetics, of barthism and fideism, transcendantal proof for God, insights on psychology, Van Til's story, clear illustrations of difficult concepts

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely interesting in that it raises more questions than it answers. Van Til’s goal is not to convince the unbeliever of belief in God, but to show that said unbeliever’s rationale for unbelief is equally as “faithful” as the believer’s, if not more so. An excellent introduction Van Til in that it whets the appetite for more.

[Collin Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an extremely short and endearing introduction to presuppositional apologetics.

Edit: I guess the entry for this book got changed to an erotic novel.. just adding this note in case something happens to this version as I see it’s still tagged as a part of that series. This is an apologetics book!

[Marcio Neves · Rating 5 out of 5]

Um livreto curto e objetivo, sem deixar de ser técnico. Gostei da construção do dialogo entre Cornelius Van Til e incrédulo fictício, além do artigo de Scott K. Oliphint sobre a Apologética Pressupocionalista.

[Adam T. Calvert · Rating 4 out of 5]

A terrific example of presuppositional apologetics at work! A short read, but well worth it.

[Jeremy Counts · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent short read on the truth of the Christian faith.

[Linn · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Toda abordagem apologética incapaz de comportar a autoridade da revelação de Deus é apenas vaidade, e correr atrás do vento..."

[Christopher David · Rating 5 out of 5]

A short, beautiful essay introducing the Christian faith in an engaging dialogue form.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good.

[Miles Foltermann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short but remarkably powerful.

[Andrew S. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very short length, yet Van Til still makes some great points about the dangerous assumptions far too many atheists make.

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quintessential VanTil

This short work grants you a hearing of the wit and mind of Van Til along with his love for the Lord, the Gospel and being a witness for Christ. This is a great introduction to his thought and style.

[Samuel Kassing · Rating 3 out of 5]

Epistemology is never neutral in our world.

[Armando Portillo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book

Here is a man who should be known more than he is. A wisdom like this is rarely found in theologeons.

[Melissa]

History philosophy

[Matthew Rawlings · Rating 5 out of 5]

This pamphlet can be easily read in one sitting and, while dated, is the best example of presuppositional apologetics "in action" that I have ever read.

[Michael Martinez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Neutrality does not exist when it comes to thinking, and anyone who is not with God, is against God. Some are born into a context that conditions them to believe in God, and others are born into a context that conditions them to disbelieve in God, there is no neutral conditioning when it comes to this question of God existing or not existing, it is always one or the other. Cornelius essentially argues the presuppositionalist position, one which acknowledges that no amount of evidence will somehow convince an Atheist who already presupposes a system that discounts any evidence in support of God existing. For instance, proving miracles to an atheist may not work, since they can always just move the goalpost and say that said miracles are simply new aspects of their naturalist worldview, and ergo not even miracles. Cornelius is squarely within the Calvinist school, and ergo concludes that he cannot convince anyone that God exists, but merely that he can explain why he exists, and it is up to God to move someone into belief. I think there is much worth in presuppositionalist apologetics, but disagree squarely with Van Til in that I do not believe that God picks and chooses who he wants to have belief in him or not, but rather that he wants everyone to believe in him, and does in fact give sufficient grace for that, but that some just choose to reject him nonetheless. Van Til rightfully points out that many apologetic points only make sense under certain presuppositions, and he contends that only the presupposition of God can justify anything to begin with, and that without God, one cannot give a coherent account of anything. All in all, good work.