Tradition must give way to the clear statements of the Scripture

  Theonomy in its contemporary form was just beginning to emerge as Van Til’s career was ending. Bahnsen’s Theonomy in Christian Ethics did not appear until five years after Van Til’s retirement in the Spring of 1972. Therefore Van Til has no public account which permits us to determine how he evaluated Theonomy.  This surely accounts in part for the fact that both Theonomy and its detractors claim to be influenced by Van Til. The matters which we have considered indicate that, in our judgment, Van Til would have distinguished himself from Theonomy. Indeed, in private communication , Van Til indicated reticence to be associated with Theonomic ethics , at least insofar as it was manifest in his day:   Then too I am frankly a little concerned about the political views of Mr. Rushdoony and Mr. North and particularly ...