Van Til, Oliphint and apologetics

Two recent additions to the Van Til corpus have been published by P&R Publishing. Both volumes have now been annotated and provide for the reader explanations and definitions of concepts, ideas and terms. These additions should go a long way toward a better and more coherent understanding of Van Til's Reformed apologetic than has been previously shown.

The first, An Introduction to Systematic Theology, is edited by William Edgar. Edgar provides clear and helpful explanations of Van Til's vocabulary, as well as giving the reader a heightened sense of the importance of theology as a foundation for apologetics.

The second volume, The Defense of the Faith, is the original 1955 edition of that central work, including Van Til's dialog (absent in all subsequent editions) with many who were struggling to make sense of his approach. The annotations and explanations are designed not only to give the reader a sense of the importance of those criticisms and Van Til's response to them, but also to provide a guide through some of the more difficult philosophical and theological terms and concepts used.