Presuppositional Apologetics - History

History

The most ancient origins of presuppositional thought are to be found in the Bible itself. It is found in Romans 1:18–22; Psalm 19:1-4; and the teaching of Jesus in the Gospels. It may be found in Wisdom 13:5 and St. John of Damascus; The method of apologetics used in the opening chapters of his work, An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, is essentially presuppositional. The common ground between the believer and the non-believer is that they both know that God exists, although the non-believer tries to suppress the truth. St. Augustine also hints at Presuppositionalism, especially when he says: “What I do know of myself, I know by Thee enlightening me.” (Confessions, Book 1, Ch. 1) This statement parallels Cornelius Van Til’s statement that “ is itself inherently revelational.” (The Defense of the Faith, Ch. 5)

The modern origins (or rather, the revival) of presuppositional apologetics are in the work of Dutch theologian Cornelius Van Til, a member of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, who began to adopt a presuppositional approach to defending the truth of his faith as early as the late 1920s. Van Til personally disliked the term "presuppositional", as he felt it misrepresented his approach to apologetics, which he felt was focused primarily on the preeminence of the Bible as the ultimate criterion for truth, rather than denying or ignoring evidence. He did, however, accept the label reluctantly, given that it was a useful way of distinguishing between those who deny a neutral basis for apologetics and those who do not. His student, Greg Bahnsen, aided in some of the later developments of Van Tillian Presuppositionalism, and the Bahnsen Theological Seminary continues to promote presuppositional apologetics in its curriculum. John Frame, another student of Van Til, also continues to advocate a presuppositional approach, although he is generally more critical of Van Til's thought than Bahnsen was. Bahnsen's protégé, Michael R. Butler, has also been active in advancing the field. Among his contributions is a technical, metalogical study of transcendental arguments in general and the Transcendental argument for the existence of God in particular, which he wrote for Bahnsen's festschrift.

By 1952, presuppositional apologetics had acquired a new advocate in the Presbyterian theologian Gordon Clark. He embraced the label "presuppositional" since his approach to apologetics, following his Platonic epistemology, was more closely concerned with the logical order of assumptions than was Van Til. The differences between the two views on presuppositionalism, though few in number, caused a significant rift between the two men, and even after both Clark and Van Til had died, John Robbins (a theologian and former student of Clark's) and Bahnsen were often involved in heated exchanges.

In a 2000 book outlining the major schools of apologetics, the presuppositional approach was given equal time alongside other schools of thought (the "classical" and "evidential" noted above, for example). In general, Van Til's approach is far more popular and widespread than Clark's.