Mr. Van Til
So I've been listening to a Cornelius Van Til lecture mp3. You can find it on theopedia, under Karl Barth. So far he's rejecting the existential heritage that Barth is bringing into theology; he considers this direct connection of God to our consciousness man-centered theology (Jesus is the man, the Son of Man, by the way). I do think it needs to be said that it is not merely "us and God" but that the Holy Spirit connects us with Christ, who reveals the Father. This is what Barth is getting at, and Mr. Van Til misunderstands him. And of course, the Father reveals the Son, but this goes to show that Father and Son are working together. We need not worry about a secret agenda (or secret decree) from God the Father, we see Christ doing his work. Jesus of Nazareth, the Jesus who is the head of the church now. Anyhow...He labels Bart a "liberal modern theologian," and what I don't get is how he can't see that he himself is entrenched in the modern notion that our reason is capable of providing a framework for God's action. This is our "man-centered" theology at it's best (or it's worst:( ). Sure, we have scripture, and we can build a framework upon that, but God is beyond our frameworks. It reminds me of the Pharisees, and there shock when Jesus did something apart from the Torah (healing on the Sabbath, for example). It's not like he just spoke to people thousands of years ago and then stopped, leaving us this book to figure out. He speaks to us through the Holy Spirit, through the Bible.
Sorry, that's just my rant. Criticisms are welcome.
And I'm still listening to Cornelius.
Sorry, that's just my rant. Criticisms are welcome.
And I'm still listening to Cornelius.
posted by Anonymous at 11:25 AM
2 Comments:
Sweet rant bro. I'll comment on it...when I get the energy to think for a second. You may post the link though in a comment if you felt up to it.
-Mike-
man, what a beef post! I wonder how much flak Barth has gotten by his colleagues because of his dependence on Christ and the Spirit for revelation throughout the years. I wonder also, if the reason that it does catch so much flak is because it forces us to trust in someone else than ourselves with considering God - novel approach I think. Help me out though Eric...my theological gears need some major lubing up because of me not wanting to pull the lever the past few weeks (i.e I am a bit rusty). What exactly is Cornelius saying regarding Christ and his relation to the father and us. I do think you are on to something regarding the work of the spirit, not being seperated from the work of the father and the son. Let me continue to give it some thought, and lo! perhaps cross reference some scripture.
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