1970 CORNELIUS VAN TIL. Archive of Correspondence, Annotated Books, Re: Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Karl Barth &c.

A superb archive of books, having belonged to and annotated by Cornelius Van Til, often with annotations of scholarly interest and substance. Accompanied by a hanging file of extremely substance-dense correspondence both to and from Cornelius Van Til.

The Group Includes the Following [and a few bits more not listed]:

1. Van Til, Cornelius. Essays on Christian Education. Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing. 1974. 209pp.

Title, inscribed “To the Reverend David D. Engelsma. Have You read Henry Van Til – The Calvinist Concept of Culture?”

Van Til has personally underlined and annotated the entire volume to emphasize, explain, and offer interpretation for its recipient.

“Lewis [C. S. Lewis] has not even a spec of common grace let alone of saving grace in his ‘Mere Christianity.’”

“That [I Corinthians I.20, 21] was the first text I preached on in Spring Lake – 1927”

On the phrase, subdue the earth, “is not this the cultural mandate?”

“The public school is calculated to break down covenant-consciousness and establish a satanic anti-covenant consciousness.”

“The autonomous man hates any form of grace.”

“We fought the Russians before, but when they attacked Hitler, we furnished them endless billions, then through covenant-backers God destroyed the covenant-breakers so that among a nation of many covenant breakers, a remnant might be saved according to the election of grace. “

“You, my friend, have to make a choice between God and the devil; please be kind to yourself and choose for God.”

“If Christ died that sinners might possibly accept him, then it is certain that Christ died in vain – no sinner – dead in his trespasses and iniquity can accept.”

Etc. etc.

 

2. Van Til, Common Grace and the Gospel. Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company. 1974. 233pp.

Inscribed on the title, “To David Engelsma. Pastor – Protestant Reformed Church. South Holland, Illinois.” Extensively annotated by Van Til for its recipient with critical notes, explanations, personal notes, etc.,

“When H. H. [Herman Hoeksema] was in Holland, Mich. He wrote in The Banner on similar if not identical words. I remember them.”

One whole page crossed out and extensively rewritten in margins in Dutch.

“This is my basic difficulty with Hoeksema’s position,” etc.

Changes his critique of Kuyper, “His universals sometimes resemble those of plate a bit too closely” to “His universals resemble those of Plate far too closely.” And adds, “He spoke audibly to Adam in paradise.”

“The heart of man is desperately / despicably wicked.”

“Arminianism – There cannot be any such things as election since God calls all men to repentance. Does not God mean what he says?”

How would H. H. maintain his position that God cannot at any time have had a favorable attitude toward the non-elect without also saying that God cannot at any time have had an attitude of disfavor to the elect?

On Chapter 8, Van Til notes [in the third person] “This was Cornelius Van Til in the Eastern Avenue C.R.C.” and then, “Don’t forget his [Hoeksema’s] magnificent Exposition of the Heidelburg Catechism.”

“Did H.H. ever warn you against the essential anti-Christian nature of the theology of Brunner and Barth?”

“Did not Hoeksema at first sympathize with Barth’s wholly other idea? And with this modified supralapsarianism?”

“All is now common grace. As in Adam all die, so in Christ shall all be made alive – that is the theme used at funderals by the new-orth [odox] grads of the New Princeton Seminary, if we heard them. Thus ends the dispute between such as hold to common and such as hold to special to special grace – a plague on both your houses!” etc.

 

3. Van Til, Cornelius. Toward a Reformed Apologetics. Nd. 28pp.

Inscribed in Van Til’s hand, “George Van Groningen, CVT”

 

4. Van Til, Cornelius. The Reformed Pastor and the Defense of Christianity & My Credo. 93pp.

Noted as “Personal Copy” on the front wrap, then inscribed on the title page, “Johanna Timmer, regards, C. Van Til.”

Johanna Timmer [1901-1978] was first President of Kuyper College; Timmer Hall on the campus of Calvin University is named for her as well.

Her personal, fairly extensive underlining notes throughout in a neat, cursive hand.

 

5. Fairweather, Eugene R. [Ed. & Trans.]. A Scholastic Miscellany: Anselm to Ockham. [The Library of Christian Classics. Volume X.]. Philadelphia. The Westminster Press. 457pp.

Extensive translation and critical notes on the theologians of the twelfth and thirteenth century, including Anselm, Eadmer, Ivo of Chartres, Peter Abailard, Hugh of Saint Victor, Adam of Saint Victor, Bonaventure, etc.,

Van Til’s personal notes and underlining sporadically throughout, often challenging the philosophy and apologetic perspective, references to Karl Barth, etc.

Re. Anselm: “No, on your view anything you can think of as existing, you can think of as non-existing.”

Re. Anselm: “Who can tell that except G reveals it. You assume you have a standard of goodness.”

Re. Anselm: “Calvin, but G controls all things by his will.”

Re. Bonaventure: “This assumes you must know everything to know anything.”

Etc.

 

6. Richardson, Cyril C. The Early Christian Fathers. Volume I. Philadelphia. The Westminster Press. 1953. 415pp.

Extensive translation and critical notes on the early Church Fathers, including Clement, Ignatius, Polycarp, Diognetus, Apology of Justin, Irenaeus, etc.,

Van Til’s initials on the ffep, personal notes and underlining sporadically throughout, often challenging the philosophy and apologetic perspective, Stoicism, Bultema, Plato, etc.

Re. Irenaeus: “Even those without the Writings have a true Tradition.”

Re. Justin: “But you could not ‘prove” that those this one prophesied is the Son of God, etc.”

Etc.

 

7. Fairweather, A. M. [Tr., Ed.]. Nature and Grace. Selections from the Summa Theologica of Thomas Aquinas. Philadelphia. The Westminster Press. 1954. 386pp.

Between one-third and one-half of the text with underlinings and marginal notations in the hand of Van Til, often exclamatorily negative. Also includes a MSs index on the rfeps in Van Til’s hand.

 

8. McCracken, George E., and Allen Cabaniss [Tr., Eds.]. Early Medieval Theology. Philadelphia. The Westminster Press. 1957. 430pp.

The copy of Van Til with his rather heavily described MSs index in on the rfeps in Van Til’s hand and perhaps 10 percent of the pages with his underlinings and marginalia.

 

9. Atkinson, James [Ed., Tr.]. Luther: Early Theological Works. Philadelphia. The Westminster Press. 1962. 480pp.

The copy of Van Til with his very full manuscript index at the rear. Manuscript underlinings and marginal notations scattered throughout, most heavily concentrated [at points riddling the margins with scattershot exclamations and corrections, debating Luther from the text] in the sections on Scholastic Theology and the Heidelberg Catechism.

 

10. Bromiley, G. W. [Tr., Ed.]. Zwingli and Bullinger. Philadelphia. The Westminster Press. 1953. 364pp.

Van Til’s copy, but he apparently spent little time in it. A few marginal notes in the introductory matter, else probably unread.

 

11. Chadwick, Owen [Tr, Ed.]. Western Asceticism. Philadelphia. The Westminster Press. 1958. 368pp.

Van Til’s copy, but with no physical markings.

 

12. Hardy, Edward Rochie, and Cyril C. Richardson. Christology of the Later Fathers. Philadelphia. The Westminster Press. 1954. 400pp.

Fairly heavily underlined throughout and notated in the margins more heavily during the writings of Gregory of Nyssa and Athanasius on the Incarnation.

 

13. Pauck, Wilhelm [Tr., Ed.]. Luther: Lectures on Romans. Philadelphia. The Westminster Press. 1961. 440pp.

Van Til’s MSs fairly extensive index in the rear with his underlinings and marginal notations generously throughout the text referencing Augustine, Barth, Neo-Platonism, etc.,

 

14. A hanging file folder of 70 pages of correspondence to and from Cornelius Van Til, regarding Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Herman Hoeksema, controversies in the Christian Reformed Church, Neo-Orthodoxy, Karl Barth, Soren Kierkegaard, John Calvin, etc.,

Of special significance is a 6pp MSs letter from 1976 regarding Dietrich Bonhoeffer, noting that Calvin was a bond-servant of Christ, but Bonhoeffer of a slave to Immanuel Kant. Discusses Kierkegaard and Kant as influences on Dietrich. He also notes Kierkegaard as the father of Barth, and Barth the “mastermind of Princeton, the inspirator of the Confession of 1967,” etc., He vacillates without notice, at times mid-sentence, between Dutch and English.

Another letter, 9pp, addressed to Albert Bosscher [editor of The Outlook], deeply criticizing the work of L. J. Kuyper and his connection to the thought of Immanuel Kant and Soren Kierkegaard, a critical attack on the “Four Spiritual Laws” of Bill Bright, etc.,

Plus additional letters to John Vander Ploeg, Albert Bosscher [multiple extensive TLSs], a typed outline for a lecture on Neo-Orthodoxy, extensive correspondence from Albert Bosshcher to Cornelius Van Til, some with replies or notes by Van Til in his hand, letters from John Vander Ploeg, etc.,

Every piece of correspondence containing substantial content. Just a very few of the typed letters are photocopies, perhaps 3 or 4 of the 30+ letters.