Presuppositionalism

Presuppositionalism is an approach to Christian apologetics that focuses on the presuppositions with which we approach reality. The goal of a presuppositional apologetic is to show that Christianity is the only system of thought, or worldview, that can provide the necessary preconditions to allow us to make sense of reality, and to show that no other system can.

Presuppositionalism has a three-fold approach. First, It argues that neutrality is a myth -- no one is neutral towards their ultimate presuppositions, since they're the framework within which you view everything else. Second, it highlights the presuppositional conflict of worldviews, which points out that when two people disagree on fundamental issues, their disagreement is not merely a disagreement about facts, but how they look at and interpret the facts. So, no amount of new information alone can convince someone that their worldview is wrong. In Kuhn's terms, you need a paradigm shift to be able to change worldviews. Third, the "transcendental argument" attempts to prove that Christianity is the only workable worldview.

The transcendental argument itself always has two stages. First, an internal critique of the unbelieving worldview (whichever one is under discussion) is offered. Second, the apologist shows how Christianity provides the necessariy preconditions for the intelligibility of experience.

Presuppositionalism's ideological founder was Cornelius Van Til (1895-1987), and its strongest proponent and popularizer was Greg Bahnsen (1948-1995). Dr. Bahnsen's book, Van Til's Apologetic: Readings and Analysis is a must-read on the subject, and many of his audio tapes and lectures may be purchased from Covenant Media Foundation.

Resources

• Applied Presuppositionalism
• Covenant Media Foundation

Page last edited: January 22, 2005 (utc)