The Highway Forums General Discussion Theology Discussion Forum Twenty Years Ago Tonight

Hi Pilgrim,

I somewhat agree with Henry's point. I am fairly familiar with the article you linked too and have read it a number of times in the past, and although I do see the transcendental argument in the article, I was looking for a more technical description of the argument. If I remember correctly, a few years ago there used to be a short article by Van Til floating around the web that discussed the transcendental argument in more "philosophical" terms. I tried searching for it last week, but was unable to find it. I think the name of the article was along the lines of "The Transcendental Proof for God". I imagine it was actually an excerpt from one of his books as opposed to an actual article though. On the other hand, I could just be imagining things about the existence of that article.

I really like the transcendental argument though and think it makes a lot of sense, but sometimes I think even it has somewhat of a subjective part that I don't like. Personally, I find the most sure proof of God to be the Bible since it is God's testimony about himself. If God is truly God, then his word (testimony) about himself is absolute proof of his existence. Of course, due to the depravity of the human nature, though, only by the Holy Spirit are we able to accept God's word for what it truly is. What are your opinions of this like of thinking?

John

Pilgrim: Here’s Greg Bahnsen’s take on the article.


Van Til’s..Why I Believe in God, by Dr Greg Bahnsen

Dave

I'll have to read the Bahnsen article! I loved the Van Til article because it was so, well, "homey." He explained it in the way we all think not the way we debate.

John,

Try these out for size:

The Transcendental Perspective by Robert Knudsen
Van Til FEM
Transcendental Arguments, by John Frame
Van Til’s Critique of Human Thought, by William D. Dennison

In His Grace,

Pilgrim,

Thanks for the links. They are at the top of my reading list when I get some free time.

John

Marie,

I really want to read this debate!! I have tried to download the PDF file three or four times, but it keeps making my computer freeze up. Can you attach the file for me?

Thanks,
Kim

Kim,

I tried, but it is larger than 100,000 bytes. Is it something wrong with your computer? I know that I have had some trouble viewing PDF's, as I have dialup. I tried copying and pasting the text, but it would not let me.

What's worked for me with problematic PDF's is to leave the window open and in front of everything. Don't minimize or open other windows. Then, read it through and then exit out of it.

Or, you could use a different computer to view it. Perhaps Pilgrim or someone else has any other ideas?

I'm not sure if it's my computer or the website. I have done some major changes on my computer in the last few days but all seem positive and I haven't experienced any other problems. Maybe I need to tweek something. I've never had problems launching Adobe before.

Thanks for trying, Marie! I appreciate it! I'll try what you recommended.

Blessings,
Kim

It must be your computer, since the PDF is working fine for me. Hopefully you can get the problem fixed soon <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Marie,

I did what you suggested and it didn't freeze up this time, but I did get a message:

"Could not find external Window handler."

I probably did something with my new spyware program that is interferring with the Adobe. Thanks for helping me get far enough to at least get an error message!

"Sometimes" if you will save the PDF file to your computer first (right click on the link and select "save target as") and then attempt to open it this will work when the other (opening directly from the web) fails.--not always, but sometimes.....

Well, I tried to go into add/remove programs and do a repair, but when I hit the fix button, I kept getting a message that Acrobat Reader 6.1 is currently running and needed to be closed down! And I don't even have that version on my computer! Hmmm.

I would suggest that you open Windows Explorer, and to to C:\Program Files\Adobe. Delete anything associated with version 6 and try again. If necessary, you might have to uninstall version 7.0 (I'm assuming that's what you are using), remove any and all related files of Adobe Acrobat Reader, and perhaps even look through the Registry for Adobe, Acrobat, etc., entries and remove them. (last resort to be sure and only if you are familiar with the Registry, know how to do a backup, and are confident to do this! <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> ) After removing all files (use the "Search" utility) from your C:drive, reinstall Acrobat Reader 7.0.

You might want to browse around the Adobe Acrobat Reader site and see if they have a "Clean/Removal Tool", which would get rid of not only the files but Registry entries too. That would be ideal! <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/BigThumbUp.gif" alt="" />

Thanks! I'll see if I can find a clean/removal tool first!! <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/yep.gif" alt="" />

Adobe is fixed and I have the debate printed out! It only printed 50 pages, less than I expected. Off to read. . .thanks, all!