Christianity Is the Only, Not Just the Best, Reasonable Position to Hold
April 23, 2012 3 Comments
The argument for the existence of God and for the truth of Christianity is objectively valid. We should not tone down the validity of this argument to the probability level. The argument may be poorly stated, and may never be adequately stated. But in itself the argument is absolutely sound. Christianity is the only reasonable position to hold. It is not merely as reasonable as other positions, or a bit more reasonable than other positions; it alone is the natural and reasonable position for man to take.
By stating the argument as clearly as we can, we may be the agents of the Spirit in pressing the claims of God upon men. If we drop to the level of the merely probable truthfulness of Christian theism, we, to that extent, lower the claims of God upon men.
Cornelius Van Til, Common Grace and the Gospel (P&R, 1977), 62.
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Although I would agree that dropping to the level of “probable truthfulness of Christian theism” would be worthless as a belief, it is quite an extra step to say that everyone else is “unreasonable.”
Van Til was writing with New Testament theology in mind, not our colloquial use of the word “reason.” If the unbeliever is futile in his thinking, darkened in his understanding, alienated from the life of God due to the ignorance that is in him because of the hardness of his heart (Eph. 4:17-18), then rejection of Christianity is from God’s perspective “unreasonable.” That is, the unbeliever deliberately rejects the truth about God that is plain to him, which he clearly perceives (Rom. 1:18-21). In refusing to honor God as God, unbelievers become futile in their thinking and their foolish hearts are darkened. While they claim to be wise (read “reasonable”), they are made fools by their exchange of the truth for a lie.
For anyone involved in missions, or anyone who engages world religions, clarity on this point is crucial in order to maintain both the exclusivity and power of the gospel. To deemphasize the antithesis between the truth of Christianity and the error of all other belief systems is to mute the gospel.
Aha! Understood. Danke.