The Van Til I Knew: An Interview With R.J. Rushdoony

The Van Til I Knew: An Interview With R.J. Rushdoony

In “The Van Til I Knew,” Rushdoony portrays Cornelius Van Til as both intellectually formidable and personally simple “profound” in philosophical penetration yet marked by humble, almost childlike faith (“God said it, I believe it”). He recounts how he first encountered Van Til through The New Modernism, was captivated by its presuppositional starting-point emphasis, and then entered a long correspondence and friendship with Van Til, including visits and extended conversations in California. The interview highlights Van Til’s core contribution as drawing a sharp antithesis between belief and unbelief and insisting that God is never an “add-on” to human reasoning; God must be the starting point, not a conclusion of autonomous logic. Rushdoony argues this has direct implications for the church’s weakness: when evangelism and theology cater to man’s sovereignty (or treat faith as a “plus” that enhances an otherwise self-governing life), the result is antinomianism, shallow discipleship, and cultural impotence. He also connects Van Til’s method to Reconstruction: Van Til’s “autonomy vs. theonomy” framing, in Rushdoony’s telling, naturally presses toward applying God’s Word comprehensively law, ethics, education, politics, and culture rather than confining Christianity to private devotion or church life. Finally, Rushdoony emphasizes that Van Til’s legacy is not merely academic; it demands systematic Christian thinking, disciplined catechesis, and a return to “sin, salvation, service” so the church becomes an engine of Kingdom labor rather than a waiting-room for heaven.

Farming and National Welfare

What happens to farmers doesn’t stay on the farm it ripples through the entire nation. When agriculture collapses, cities swell into poverty and unemployment, as history across the developing world clearly shows. Scripture understood this long ago: “the king himself is served by the field.” Food, land, and farming anchor every economy, reminding man that he is a creature dependent on God’s order, not a master who can legislate reality into submission. When nations ignore this truth and trust human planning over God’s Word, the result is not progress but destruction. Ignore the field, and the whole nation pays the price.

The Enemy (Enemies in the Church) (Remastered)

Jude, brother of Jesus and James, sounds a powerful alarm in his short but explosive epistle: Ungodly infiltrators have crept into the church unnoticed twisting God's grace into license for sin and denying Christ's absolute Lordship.These false teachers claim ""higher"" spirituality, but Jude exposes them: They pervert the gospel, turning freedom into lawlessness (antinomianism) while posing as enlightened leaders.From ancient Gnosticism to modern neo-orthodoxy, new age fads, and evolutionary ""wisdom"" the pattern repeats: A façade of agreement masks a radical remake of the faith.The true gospel needs no improvements it was once for all delivered to the saints. Our calling? Earnestly contend for it defend, preserve, apply!Rushdoony's timeless exposition reveals: The fallen world hates Christ and His people, always seeking to capture and corrupt biblical faith.Today, the enemy adapts subtle, ""respectable,"" intellectually superior but the threat is the same.Awake! Contend boldly the faith is worth fighting for!Powerful call to vigilance share and stand uncompromised! #JudeWarning #ContendForTheFaith #BiblicalVigilance #Rushdoony"

The Two Plans

There are always two plans at work in history. One trusts salvation to centralized, scientific planning by men, where families, private ownership, and independence are dismissed as outdated obstacles to “progress.” The other is God’s plan, where the family is foundational, land ownership matters, and responsibility and freedom grow together under His law. These visions cannot be blended they are in conflict. Nations flourish when they honor God’s design and decay when they replace it with man’s schemes. The choice is unavoidable: will we trust the planners, or the plan of God?

Are You Afraid of God?

There is a healthy fear of God, which Scripture calls the beginning of wisdom, born of drawing near to Him and seeing His holiness and our sin, but there is also an unhealthy fear that shows itself in running away from God through unbelief, denial, evasion, blame-shifting, or flight from responsibility, as seen in Jonah, Adam, and Eve. Such fear is not courage but terror, a refusal to be changed by God, and it inevitably multiplies fear until all of life becomes threatening, because creation itself bears witness to its Creator and leaves no hiding place. Men who fear God and flee from Him end up fearing everything; yet flight is futile, for God confronts us everywhere, even from within our own being. In the end, we must meet Him either naked and afraid in our guilt or clothed in the righteousness of Jesus Christ; and when we meet Him in Christ, fear is cast out, God becomes our Father, and our hearts cry, “Abba,” as we enter the joy of His redeeming love.