“It is necessary with regard to the science that we are seeking that we should first address those puzzles that first arise… For those who wish to make good progress must start well; for subsequent progress depends on the resolution of the first puzzles” -Aristotle, Metaphysics Philosophy and Definition Are definitions possible? Does our language... Continue Reading →
Intro to Philosophy Through Problems| Some Preliminaries
What is philosophy? Can we even define it? Can we ever truly know what it is? Can we determine its subject matter? Does it actually tell us anything about reality or is it just a big waste of time? Why should even I care? If you’re asking yourself these questions, then congrats! You’ve already begun... Continue Reading →
The Apostle Paul and The Liar Paradox
This sentence which you are now reading is a lie. Is that sentence true? If it is true then it is a lie because it said that it is a lie. But since it turned out to be true- then it is a lie and so it is not true. If it is not true,... Continue Reading →
Lily Ponds and Diving Boards| Cornelius Van Til and C.S. Lewis’s Transcendental Arguments
As most of my readers already know, when it comes to Cornelius Van Til I’m pretty much a sycophant. But, As an evangelical Christian apologist, I also have to read C.S. Lewis on the regular and quote him at least once in all of my papers and blog posts. These two guys are my dudes.... Continue Reading →
The Fact of All Facthood: God and a Philosophy of Fact
“But I would not talk endlessly about facts and more facts without ever challenging the nonbeliever’s philosophy of fact.” -Cornelius Van Til, The Defense of the Faith, 257. “The result of our historical enquires thus depends on the philosophical views which we have been holding before we even began to look at the evidence. This... Continue Reading →
“As Kant Could Have Shown…”
This is a short assignment I presented to my Analytic Theology class which is being taught by Dr. James Arcadi here at TEDS. In it, I interact with Andrew Chignell's proposed solution for the Analytic theologian to the problem of what "Kant has shown". Whether it’s round Immanuel Kant, or through him[1], most theologians and... Continue Reading →
Can God Make a Dog That’s Too Big for Him to Walk?
Maverick is a Greater Swiss Mountain Dog and he’s an absolute brute. He is a really sweet boy and would never intentionally hurt anyone. However, watching him pulverize and scarf down a half chicken for lunch engenders a greater sense of reverence with each crunch. He’s not mean or aggressive in the slightest, he’s just... Continue Reading →
The Problem of Not Defining Evil: Craig Vs. Sinnott-Armstrong
This post comes from a very short paper I wrote for a philosophy of religion class at TEDS. I figured since I haven't had time to blog since starting my Theological Studies degree, I might as well share my papers with you. We were limited to five pages double spaced so I didn't get to... Continue Reading →
Parker’s Pensées 1. Apologetics, Sports
What Pascal meant for good, God meant for great! Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) was a French mathematician, philosopher, and Christian apologist. Apparently he set out to write a book to defend and commend the Christian faith but died before it’s completion. The remnants of his apologetical thoughts were collected and arranged- though the proper order of... Continue Reading →
A Clarkian and A Vantillian discuss TAG
I recently had a short dialogue with Doug Douma, author of The Presbyterian Philosopher: The Authorized Biography of Gordon H. Clark, concerning Van Til’s Transcendental Argument for God. Doug is a “Clarkian” and I am a “Vantillian” yet we were able to have a friendly disagreement. If you know anything about the Clark/Van Til controversy,... Continue Reading →
i Think, Therefore “I AM”: Van Til’s TAG
“According to the principle of Protestantism, man’s consciousness of self and of objects presupposes for their intelligibility the consciousness of God. In asserting this we are not thinking of psychological and temporal priority. We are thinking only of the question as to what is the final reference point in interpretation. The Protestant principle finds this... Continue Reading →
Does My Nephew’s Leukemia Disprove The Existence of God?
My nephew Lukas is one of the sweetest little boys you could ever meet. He cares for people way more than I do, and in that sense I have a lot to learn from him. There are so many stories I could share about this little dude but the one that comes right to my... Continue Reading →
Reason, Chess, and the Existence of God
There’s an obvious connection between Logic and chess, this is evident from the numerous logic and debate books out there with pictures of chess boards on their covers. If you think of a chess player, you'll think of a very logical, analytic person. When you think of a Logic professor, it’s safe to assume he... Continue Reading →
Did Willy the Whale Shark Choose to Swallow Jonah?
Willy: “… well, so rather than deal with indigestion the whole trip, I made myself yak over by Nineveh.” Bob: “Woah, that’s quite a story, Willy. I guess that’s why us whale sharks ought to just stick to plankton, huh?” Willy: “Yeah, Bob, obviously I know we aren’t supposed to eat bearded Middle Eastern men,... Continue Reading →
Some Personal Reflections on Van Til’s Transcendental Argument
“For man self-consciousness presupposes God-consciousness.” -Van Til, Defense of the Faith, pg. 113 There are a couple different facets to Van Til's Transcendental Argument for God, or “TAG”. Some people would even say that there are 3 perspectives on TAG- a normative perspective (the essence of TAG), a situational perspective (TAG applied in different ways... Continue Reading →
C.S. Lewis’s Transcendental Argument for God
“Unless I believe in God, I can’t believe in thought: so I can never use thought to disbelieve in God.” -C.S. Lewis, The Case for Christianity, pg. 32 C.S. Lewis is one of the most popular Christian apologists of the 20th century, and arguably, one of the most read apologists of all time. His approach... Continue Reading →
Answering The Euthyphro Dilemma with C.S. Lewis and Cornelius Van Til
The Euthyphro Dilemma is interesting enough on it’s own, but recently it became even more interesting for me when I stumbled upon somewhat of a debate between C.S. Lewis and Cornelius Van Til, two of my favorite Christian apologists. While I find a lot of similarity in the thought of these two (like their views... Continue Reading →
Is The Christian Faith Rational?
Moderator: Ok gents take your seats. I want to start by thanking you for coming to our round table discussion today. As you all know from your invites, we have a fun topic today: “Is the Christian faith rational?” Our structure will be fairly informal but I will be guiding our discussion. We’re going to... Continue Reading →
The Goal of Christian Apologetics
Apologetics, Christian Apologetics, should be just that- Christian. Like I’ve said in my other posts on the subject, apologetics comes from the Greek word apologia and is most readily associated with “the defense of the faith”. But the biblical depiction is much more than mere defense. The Apostle Peter, in 1 Peter 3:15, exhorts us... Continue Reading →
I Just Wanna Know Everything.
I just wanna know everything, my Lord, I just wanna know it all. Birds and fish and creeping things, Knowing is my call. I just wanna know everything my Lord, Reality in all it’s parts, Science, reason, law, and language, History, and all the arts. Teach me how to know, my Lord, Teach me how... Continue Reading →