A PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF VAN TIL’S PRESUPPOSITIONAL APOLOGETICS - John Azie Kaivin T. Pascual

         Van Til’s approach to apologetics is popularly known as “presuppo-sitionalism”. Van Til realized that when the believer encounters intellectual objections or challenges to his Christian faith from unbelievers, the dispute between them is almost always generated by, and will be controlled by, their different fundamental assumptions-their presuppositions. The basic convictions that people hold determine how they live and how they use their minds. 

        It is important to understand what presuppositional apologetics is. Christians and unbelievers have different assumptions. All assumptions can affect the person’s reasoning and conclusions, but all assumptions do not have the same strength or influence.   In this apologetics, it is believed that all non-believers believe that God exists. How do we know that? Let us define presuppositional apologetics. Presupposition is one’s primary rational principle. It is preeminent belief said to be true and taken as a pre commitment whether you’ve thought it through or not, you’ve already made that as a pre commitment. It is a belief that is held at the most foundational level of one’s web belief. Presuppositional apologetics pays attention, not simply to the influence of just any assumptions on a person’s thinking, but more especially to his fundamental or basic philosophical assumptions. Everyone has this web of beliefs whether you are atheist, Hindu, Christian or whatever religion you are in. It’s a lens for which presuppositional apologists interpret reality whether other people say they don’t believe in God. 

        The Scripture reveals in Romans chapter 1 they’re suppressing the truth and unrighteousness the unbelievers know that God exists. And also when Christians talk to them whether it’s online or in person, Christians can tell that they know God exists when unbelievers exhibit anger and hostility so presuppositional apologists believe that a person can’t be mad at something that does not exist. Here’s an illustration on how it works. All the unbelievers, the atheist know that God exists no matter what they say, no matter how much they say “no,no, no!” THEY DO! They’re just suppressing that truth in unrighteousness. If the unbeliever really does believe in God they’re suppressing that truth in unrighteousness, it would be similar to the person who lies to themselves and says I love everybody, I don’t discriminate and yet they hate fat people and you can prove it because when their relative who’s overweight comes in they move on a different couch. When they walk down the street they see a heavyset person on the sidewalk, they cross the street to avoid that person. They say they love all the people yet by their actions they’re exhibiting that it’s different from what they are saying. Just like the atheist who borrow from the Christian worldview, he knows that God exists. 

        In the view of presuppositional apologist, the reality of the physical universe and everything about it is changing so it cannot be the foundation of what a person believes in. Many of atheist are mean and nasty but not all of them, some of them killed many Christians who are building churches. But no matter how they tried to stop people from believing, the evidence of God’s existence is everywhere. For the presuppositional view, Truth will always be unchanging and this is their defense to those who believe in changing existence. 

        Presuppositional apologists believe that atheist, no matter what they say, cannot deny the fact that God exists and the proof is the presuppositional argument by asking people the questions like “How do you know that your reasoning is valid?” by asking them “What is your standard of proof?” so they can dialogue that the standard of proof is God until they prove that even atheist believe in God. To have proof and to have knowledge, we must start in God. God must be presupposed. God’s existence is essential for the discovery of truth because He is the fountainhead of truth. All truth is given by revelation in the Bible through Christ and must be received by reason and faith. Truth is that which is consistent with the mind, will, character and glory in the being of God. 

        Without the light of Christianity, it is as little possible for man to have the correct view about himself and the world. For me, the purpose why we must use this presuppositional apologetics is to try to wake people up from suppressing the truth and to try to wake them up from their deep slumber. To make them believe that the God we know is the God whom they know and He really exists. We must profess that God is the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit- three persons in one God. He is the Great I Am.  He alone is the true and Living God.