The Trinity And The Vindication Of Christian Paradox
Download The Trinity And The Vindication Of Christian Paradox PDF/ePub or read online books in Mobi eBooks. Click Download or Read Online button to get The Trinity And The Vindication Of Christian Paradox book now. This website allows unlimited access to, at the time of writing, more than 1.5 million titles, including hundreds of thousands of titles in various foreign languages.
The Trinity and the Vindication of Christian Paradox
Author: Brant Bosserman
language: en
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Release Date: 2014-09-22
The Trinity and the Vindication of Christian Paradox grapples with the question of how one may hold together the ideals of systematic theology, apologetic proof, and theological paradox by building on the insights of Cornelius Van Til. Van Til developed an apologetic where one presupposes that the triune God exists, and then proves this Christian presupposition by demonstrating that philosophies that deny it are self-defeating in the specific sense that they rely on principles that only the Trinity, as the ultimate harmony of unity and diversity, can furnish. A question raised by Van Til's trademark procedure is how he can evade the charge that the apparent contradictions of the Christian faith render it equally self-defeating as non-Christian alternatives. This text argues that for Van Til, Christian paradoxes can be differentiated from genuine contradictions by the way that their apparently opposing elements discernibly require one another, even as they present our minds with an irresolvable conflict. And yet, Van Til failed to sufficiently vindicate the central Christian paradox--the doctrine of the Trinity--along the lines required by his system. Hence, the present text offers a unique proof that God can only exist as the pinnacle of unity-in-diversity, and as the ground of a coherent Christian system, if He exists as three, and only three, divine Persons.
The Trinity and the Vindication of Christian Paradox
Author: BA Bosserman
language: en
Publisher: James Clarke & Company
Release Date: 2015-02-26
'The Trinity and the Vindication of Christian Paradox' grapples with the question of how one may hold together the ideals of systematic theology, apologetic proof, and theological paradox by building on the insights of Cornelius Van Til. Van Til developed an apologetic where one presupposes that the Triune God exists, and then proves this Christian presupposition by demonstrating that philosophies that deny it are self-defeating in the specific sense that they rely on principles that only the Trinity, asthe ultimate harmony of unity and diversity, can furnish. A question raised by Van Til's trademark procedure is how he can evade the charge that the apparent contradictions of the christian faith render it equally self-defeating as non-Christian alternatives. This text argues that for Van Til, Christian paradoxes can be differentiated from genuine contradictions by the way that their apparently opposing elements discernibly require one another, even as they present our minds with an irresolvable conflict. And yet, Van Til failed to sufficiently vindicate the central Christian paradox-the doctrine of the Trinity-along the lines required by his system. Hence, the present text offers a unique proof that God can only exist as the pinnacle of unity-in-diversity, and as the ground of a coherent Christian system, if He exists as three, and only three, divine persons.
The Trinity and the Vindication of Christian Paradox
"The Trinity and the Vindication of Christian Paradox" grapples with the question of how to honor theological system, apologetic proof, and genuine Christian paradox by building on the. in sights of Dr. Cornelius Van Til. Van Til developed an apologetic where one presupposes that the Triune God exists and has spoken authoritatively in Scripture, and then proves this Christian presupposition by demonstrating that the anti-Christian alternative is self-defeating in the specific sense that it betrays reliance on principles that only the Triune God, as a perfect harmony between unity and diversity, can furnish. Van Til deflects the criticism that theological paradoxes render Christianity self-defeating by arguing that although they cannot be resolved, they can be vindicated as true. Vindication involves showing that the opposing features of a paradox discernibly necessitate one another, and together perform an indispensable function to the Christian system. Yet, Van Til fails to thoroughly vindicate the Trinity by showing that the self-sufficient unity of God requires that he should be specifically tri-personal rather than generically multi-personal. Likewise, subsequent Van Tillians have failed to develop systematic vindications of Christian paradoxes according to the method so described. In an effort to overcome these shortcomings, this thesis supplies a demonstration that God's status as (a) his own source of self-distinction, and (b) his own personal context necessitates that he must be three, and only three persons, in order to be a self-sufficient unity. Our conclusion about the Trinity is necessitated by the covenantal perspective that permeates Scripture. And the Trinity in return is proven to be foundational for a covenantal worldview. This initial vindication of the Trinity supplies a refined vision of the Christian worldview in light of which other prominent Christian paradoxes are vindicated in systematic Succession, and variations on the anti-Christian perspective are dispelled as genuine contradictions.