Confessor
Puritan Board Senior
On p. 196 in Van Til's Apologetic, Bahnsen says, "Accordingly, if God is to be properly known and the intellectual effects of man's fallen condition are to be corrected, a deistic or redemptionless worldview is inadequate." This sentence is linked to footnote 83, which reads in part, "A merely 'natural religion'...is philosophically inadequate because man now corrupts and mishandles natural revelation and does not have the means in himself to rescue himself from this plight."
It seems that a very easy defense of unbelievers against presuppositionalism would be turn to deism and claim that they posit some creator-god who makes knowledge possible. According to Bahnsen and Van Til, though, this is inadequate because man is clearly in a sinful state and therefore needs redemption. If an apologist is successful, he will make the unregenerate realize that he is suppressing some knowledge (since the unbeliever's espoused philosophy would destroy all knowledge, yet he has knowledge). But can pointing out that someone is sinful work to disprove deism? Why couldn't the unbeliever say, "Yeah, the deistic God created flawed humans"?
I was wondering if (1) anyone knew how to respond to this hypothetical objection, and (2) if anyone knew of any other defenses of Christianity against deism.
Perhaps whatever killed the deist movement in the 17th and 18th centuries would be helpful. Also, I can imagine the fact that since deists have no revelation (it's a "natural religion"), that could play a huge role.
It seems that a very easy defense of unbelievers against presuppositionalism would be turn to deism and claim that they posit some creator-god who makes knowledge possible. According to Bahnsen and Van Til, though, this is inadequate because man is clearly in a sinful state and therefore needs redemption. If an apologist is successful, he will make the unregenerate realize that he is suppressing some knowledge (since the unbeliever's espoused philosophy would destroy all knowledge, yet he has knowledge). But can pointing out that someone is sinful work to disprove deism? Why couldn't the unbeliever say, "Yeah, the deistic God created flawed humans"?
I was wondering if (1) anyone knew how to respond to this hypothetical objection, and (2) if anyone knew of any other defenses of Christianity against deism.
Perhaps whatever killed the deist movement in the 17th and 18th centuries would be helpful. Also, I can imagine the fact that since deists have no revelation (it's a "natural religion"), that could play a huge role.