In this episode of Christ the Center, Camden Bucey is joined once again by Lane Tipton and Carlton Wynne for a substantive follow-up to their earlier discussion of Keith Mathison’s Toward a Reformed Apologetic: A Critique of the Thought of Cornelius Van Til. In the months since their first review, Dr. Mathison published a blog response, prompting deeper analysis and clarification.

Together, Drs. Bucey, Tipton and Wynne explore key critiques Mathison levels against Van Til, especially the claims of epistemological idealism and the so-called “omniscience requirement” for true knowledge. The panel addresses these concerns with thoughtful care, highlighting Van Til’s emphasis on covenantal epistemology, the distinction between psychological and ethical knowledge, and the non-neutrality of unbelieving thought.

The episode also tackles Mathison’s treatment of common grace and the antithesis—core concepts in Van Til’s apologetic system. Does Van Til teach that unbelievers attain true knowledge by way of common grace? What is the actual function of common grace in a fallen world? And how does Van Til preserve the absolute ethical antithesis between belief and unbelief without denying shared external reality or meaningful engagement?

This is a clarifying and edifying conversation for anyone interested in Reformed theology, presuppositional apologetics, or the legacy of Cornelius Van Til.

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Participants: Camden Bucey, Carlton Wynne, Lane G. Tipton