OVERVIEW
This chapter is considerably long, so I decided to cut it into pieces and deal with it little bits at a time. The particular portion of the chapter I will be talking about here is mainly about the philosophy behind Christian ethics. There is such a thing a ethically right and wrong, and this ethical judgment must be based on something; the Christian believes that it should be based on the Word of God; The Scriptures. Van Til also explains that all facts, beliefs, evidences, and proofs must be interpreted through the "Lens" of Scripture, or you will not get the full truth.
THOUGHTS
I really enjoy reading Van Til. Though at times he can speak a bit above my vocabulary, he is nevertheless very enjoyable to read. This book was, at one time at least, used in seminaries as the main textbook for apologetics courses. Though not very long, this specific portion more than deserves a bit of study and consideration.
CHOICE QUOTES [1]
- "If we say that Christ came to set us a fine example of morality and no more, then we have redefined sin to mean some weakness inherent in human nature, and therewith we have redefined God to be something less than that absolute and holy being which orthodox theology conceives Him to be. Christianity can never be separated from some theory about the existence and the nature of God."
- "It is apparent... that if we would really defend Christianity as ahistorical religion, we must at the same time defend the theism upon which Christianity is based."
- "To interpret a fact of history involves a philosophy of history"
- "The Bible is thought of as authoritative on everything of which it speaks"
- "[The Scriptures]... speak of everything either directly or by implication"
- "It is only if you reject the Bible as the Word of God that you can separate the so-called religious and moral instructions of the Bible from what it says, e.g., about the physical universe."
- "This view of Scripture, therefore, involves the idea that there is nothing in this universe on which human beings can have full and true information unless they take the Bible into account."
What are your thoughts? Do you agree or disagree with the quotes above? Comment what you think!
[1] -- Van Til, Cornelius, Christian Apologectics, P&R Publishing, 1976,2003,
pgs 17-20
This chapter is considerably long, so I decided to cut it into pieces and deal with it little bits at a time. The particular portion of the chapter I will be talking about here is mainly about the philosophy behind Christian ethics. There is such a thing a ethically right and wrong, and this ethical judgment must be based on something; the Christian believes that it should be based on the Word of God; The Scriptures. Van Til also explains that all facts, beliefs, evidences, and proofs must be interpreted through the "Lens" of Scripture, or you will not get the full truth.
THOUGHTS
I really enjoy reading Van Til. Though at times he can speak a bit above my vocabulary, he is nevertheless very enjoyable to read. This book was, at one time at least, used in seminaries as the main textbook for apologetics courses. Though not very long, this specific portion more than deserves a bit of study and consideration.
CHOICE QUOTES [1]
- "If we say that Christ came to set us a fine example of morality and no more, then we have redefined sin to mean some weakness inherent in human nature, and therewith we have redefined God to be something less than that absolute and holy being which orthodox theology conceives Him to be. Christianity can never be separated from some theory about the existence and the nature of God."
- "It is apparent... that if we would really defend Christianity as ahistorical religion, we must at the same time defend the theism upon which Christianity is based."
- "To interpret a fact of history involves a philosophy of history"
- "The Bible is thought of as authoritative on everything of which it speaks"
- "[The Scriptures]... speak of everything either directly or by implication"
- "It is only if you reject the Bible as the Word of God that you can separate the so-called religious and moral instructions of the Bible from what it says, e.g., about the physical universe."
- "This view of Scripture, therefore, involves the idea that there is nothing in this universe on which human beings can have full and true information unless they take the Bible into account."
What are your thoughts? Do you agree or disagree with the quotes above? Comment what you think!
[1] -- Van Til, Cornelius, Christian Apologectics, P&R Publishing, 1976,2003,
pgs 17-20
