Best Book on Vantillian Apologetics

[Deleted member 6112]

What is the best treatment of Vantillian Presuppositionalism and the Transcendental Argument? An awful lot has been written.

 

[RamistThomist]

What is the best treatment of Vantillian Presuppositionalism and the Transcendental Argument? An awful lot has been written.

The best all-around book in terms of usefulness is Frame's Apologetics to the Glory of God. Mind you, Frame rejects the idea that TAG can function as a magical silver bullet.

Scott Oliphint's Faith has its Reasons is well-written, if somewhat difficult.

The best book on Van Til's apologetics is Bahnsen, obviously.

The best book on Van Til's theology is Frame's book on Van Til.

One of the best essays on TAG is by Michael Butler in The Standard Bearer

 

[jwright82]

Reason and Revelation: Essays in Reformed Apologetics edited by Oliphint and Tipton and Covenantal Apologetics by Oliphint are great. A more accessible one is Reasons of the Heart by Oliphint's colleague Dr. William Edgar, very good.

 

[MW]

There is a vague idea going around that Van Til was not able to clearly communicate his thoughts, and he needs secondary material to properly explain his position. If one starts with his work on the Reformed Pastor I think his position will be made clear in his own terms. After that his Christian Apologetics should fall into place.

Twenty plus years ago Richard Pratt's Every Thought Captive was considered a good entry-level text. I'm not sure if that has changed in a world that craves change for change's sake. Dr. Pratt also has a paper correcting common misunderstandings of CVT, which I think is online somewhere.

 

[Ask Mr. Religion]

Twenty plus years ago Richard Pratt's Every Thought Captive was considered a good entry-level text. I'm not sure if that has changed in a world that craves change for change's sake. Dr. Pratt also has a paper correcting common misunderstandings of CVT, which I think is online somewhere.

Indeed. Pratt's paper is available here: http://thirdmill.org/newfiles/ric_pratt/TH.Pratt.VanTil.1.html and http://thirdmill.org/newfiles/ric_pratt/TH.Pratt.VanTil.2.html

 

[RamistThomist]

There is a vague idea going around that Van Til was not able to clearly communicate his thoughts, and he needs secondary material to properly explain his position. If one starts with his work on the Reformed Pastor I think his position will be made clear in his own terms. After that his Christian Apologetics should fall into place.

Twenty plus years ago Richard Pratt's Every Thought Captive was considered a good entry-level text. I'm not sure if that has changed in a world that craves change for change's sake. Dr. Pratt also has a paper correcting common misunderstandings of CVT, which I think is online somewhere.

The new books on apologetics aren't simply craving to be new. They are responding to new challenges. And at one time, even Van Til and Pratt were considered new.

True, Van Til is clearer than some of his interlocutors, but he does presuppose some knowledge of German Idealism. I read Hegel for fun so I am able to follow Van Til's discussion of the concrete universal, but this probably isn't the case for most readers.

 

[MW]

The new books on apologetics aren't simply craving to be new. They are responding to new challenges. And at one time, even Van Til and Pratt were considered new.

"Ad fontes." In a thread seeking resources on "VanTillian Presuppositionalism" one would expect a reference to Van Til somewhere.