Saturday, March 26, 2022

Incinerating Presuppositionalism: Year Seventeen

The years keep rolling by, and the past one is no different – at least so far as “the passage of time” is concerned. This blog started on March 26, 2005 with its initial installment, and seventeen years later here it is, still chugging along! At this point, it’s quite a collection – more than I ever expected it would be when I first set out. I suppose that if anyone out there ever encounters presuppositionalism and needs a go-to source for a second opinion, this little corner in the internet might provide a few insights.

As I do for every anniversary of my blog, I dedicate a post listing all the entries I’ve posted over the past year starting with the previous anniversary post. The link to the new anniversary post is then added to the handy Blog Chronology in a panel on the right-hand side of my blog, so it’s always at your fingertips!

So, without any further ado, here is this year’s list:



493. Answering the Epistemologist - May 21, 2021




497. Christianity and Socialism - September 28, 2021

498. ”He walked among us” - October 25, 2021

499. The Specter of Antithesis - November 24, 2021




Over the past year, I posted my 500th blog entry (special thanks to Jason mc for helping me to figure that out!). While that may not seem like a major milestone when compared to some blogs, keep in mind this blog is dedicated to a fairly narrow range of topics, most entries are full-length explorations of the topics they address, and I’m not a very fast worker (at least not so far as writing for this blog is concerned). I have a fairly arduous work schedule and my family gets most of what’s left over after that.

Over the next few months, while I have some entries in the planning process, it’s going to be a demanding task to keep up even with my current single-entry-per-month posting rate as I’m in the process now of selling my house and preparing for a move across the country. Plus, I expect work to be very busy this summer as a few new projects are lining up. But I’m up for the challenge, so don’t be surprised if I manage to keep up with my already meager pace!

Thanks to everyone who stops by and reads what I have to say! And for those who even take the time to provide feedback or just post a comment about whatever, thank you even more! I very much appreciate the dialogue.

by Dawson Bethrick

3 comments:

Ydemoc said...

Hey Dawson,

Way to go on another year of enlightening entries.

Thanks again, and happy anniversary!

Ydemoc

Rageforthemachine said...

Dawson, I am curious what led you to start a blog countering presuppositionalism since your blog predates the Internet presupp craze buy at least half a dozen years. What experiences did you have with presuppositionalism before starting your writing?

Bahnsen Burner said...

Hello Rage,

Thanks for your comment and your question.

I first encountered presuppositionalism on an email list which I joined in the 1990s. Among the things I witnessed there were Christian apologists asking questions that I thought were interesting as well as philosophically important, but I marveled at the irony of their presumptuousness in insisting on non-Christians answering their questions when one could search the Christian bible in vain for answers. Questions such as “Is logic dependent on the brain?” “How do you justify induction?” “How are observations more than merely probable?” “Where does the law of non-contradiction come from?” etc. were not questions one could find answered anywhere in the bible, and yet here these apologists were posturing as though their religion had all the answers.

I also observed how other non-Christians struggled to answer these questions and spar with apologists in an intelligent manner. Most seemed to have no good answers, and the answers that they did give tended to lead them right into the apologists’ waiting traps. I had already had my introduction to Objectivism by this point and could tell right off that the kinds of questions apologists were asking were soundly addressed in Objectivist sources. But there was nothing to bring that out. I saw a need, and I began to do my best to fill it. And the rest is documented right here on my blog.

I don’t know how popular presuppositionalism is any more. Several blogs which I used to frequent are either dismantled entirely or long dormant. Even James Anderson’s Van Til List - the original go-to source for all things Vantillian – was closed down nearly 20 years ago – though Anderson himself is still active as an apologist (see here).

Hope that answers your question.

Regards,
Dawson