Closed Thread
Results 1 to 6 of 6

Thread: Muether on Van Til: A Review (pt 1)

  1. R. Scott Clark's Avatar
    R. Scott Clark is offline. Puritanboard Senior
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    Escondido, CA
    Posts
    2,136
    Thanks
    19
    Thanked 890 Times in 323 Posts
    Digg this Post!Add Post to del.icio.usBookmark Post in TechnoratiFurl this Post!

  2. The Following 5 Users Say Thank You to R. Scott Clark For This Useful Post:

    Backwoods Presbyterian (04-09-2008), crhoades (04-09-2008), Daniel Ritchie (04-09-2008), J. David Kear (04-09-2008), VirginiaHuguenot (04-09-2008)

  3. SolaGratia's Avatar
    SolaGratia is offline. Puritanboard Junior
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Location
    Encino, California
    Posts
    1,550
    Thanks
    615
    Thanked 425 Times in 222 Posts
    I wasn't aware that Pastor Vern Pollema "was" your pastor, he is my pastor now. I knew he was a pastor in Nebraska before he came to California, but I never made the connection with you and Pastor Pollema.

    Did the author of the book study under Van Til or one of Van Til former students?
    Gil Garcia
    Rehoboth Reformed Church (RCUS)
    La Habra, CA

    "Ignorance of this distinction between Law and Gospel is one of the principal sources of the abuses which corrupted and still corrupt Christianity." - Calvin's successor


    "By the words of the law man is admonished and taught, not what he can do, but what he ought to do. How is it that you theologians are twice as stupid as schoolboys, in that as soon as you get hold of a single imperative verb you infer an indicative meaning...?"
    -Martin Luther, The Bondage of the Will
    Digg this Post!Add Post to del.icio.usBookmark Post in TechnoratiFurl this Post!

  4. R. Scott Clark's Avatar
    R. Scott Clark is offline. Puritanboard Senior
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    Escondido, CA
    Posts
    2,136
    Thanks
    19
    Thanked 890 Times in 323 Posts
    Hi Gil,

    Yes, Vern was my first Reformed pastor. He was very gracious to and patient with a truly ignorant young man. He encouraged me to consider pastoral ministry but he was honest and realistic with me too. We had a very nice group then. Warren Embree and Bill Stephens had just graduated from the old RE seminary (when it was still Reformed in most respects) and they were "on fire" for the Reformed faith. They had gathered a group of about 25 guys or so to study the Institutes on campus at the Univ of Nebraska. I came in after glory had departed but I caught the tail end of things. Vern had to navigate a difficult situation since the congregation was composed of people who had been chased out of an old independent (former) German Reformed group by some zealous college-age dispensational types. They were worried that the same thing was going to happen again.

    Vern let me exhort in St John's as my first public sermon in an actual congregation. I'm sure the pulpit is still moist with flop sweat 23 years later.

    I know John Muether studied at WTS but I think Van Til was retired by then. John did get to know CVT but the book draws heavily from CVT's own correspondence.
    Digg this Post!Add Post to del.icio.usBookmark Post in TechnoratiFurl this Post!

  5. The Following User Says Thank You to R. Scott Clark For This Useful Post:

    SolaGratia (04-09-2008)

  6. Daniel Ritchie is offline. Puritanboard Doctor
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    Saintfield, Co. Down, Northern Ireland
    Posts
    6,513
    Thanks
    2,011
    Thanked 1,123 Times in 739 Posts
    Dr Scott

    It did not take you long reading that; thanks for the helpful review. I look forward to this book landing in Northern Ireland.
    Daniel Ritchie
    Saintfield, Northern Ireland - Queen's University, Belfast:History/Politics
    Member of Dromara Reformed Presbyterian Church of Ireland (Covenanter)
    Digg this Post!Add Post to del.icio.usBookmark Post in TechnoratiFurl this Post!

  7. sastark's Avatar
    sastark is offline. Puritanboard Senior
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    Orange County, CA
    Posts
    2,408
    Thanks
    750
    Thanked 400 Times in 226 Posts
    Dr. Clark,

    You wrote:

    As a pastor in Kansas City, when I came into contact with a large fundamentalist creation science society there I was asked to give lectures on apologetics and I endeavored to wean them from their rationalist approach to apologetics and to introduce them to Van Til.
    May I ask what creation science society this was? The reason I ask is this: a few years ago my wife and I attended a seminar by Answers in Genesis. I had been to similar things when I was younger, so I knew what to expect: Literal interpretation of the days of Genesis and as a side note, fundamentalism (aka "non-Calvinism"). So, as you can imagine, I was shocked when the speakers continually quoted Van Til (and used his name as their source) and used terminology such as "presuppositional".

    Then I read this little sentence in your review. So, I'm curious is there is a connection between yourself and Answers in Genesis?
    Digg this Post!Add Post to del.icio.usBookmark Post in TechnoratiFurl this Post!

  8. Ivanhoe's Avatar
    Ivanhoe is offline. Puritanboard Doctor
    Join Date
    Jun 2004
    Location
    LA
    Posts
    9,972
    Thanks
    876
    Thanked 824 Times in 512 Posts
    One of the more prominent YEC-ers is Doug Phillips, who is a rabid Van Tillian. It was his use of Van Til that convinced me of YEC.
    J. B. Atken
    John Knox PCA
    Layman, M.A. student at Louisiana College
    Digg this Post!Add Post to del.icio.usBookmark Post in TechnoratiFurl this Post!

Closed Thread

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69