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In general, while strictly speaking there is no epistemological
point of contact, there is a formal point of contact between
the believer and the unbeliever in terms of which apologetic
reasoning may be carried on. The most common term used to
denote this formal point of contact is the image of God. Just
because man, even though a sinner, is yet a creature made in
God's image in an intellectual and moral sense, every human
being is metaphysically accessible to the influence of God.
(Footnote 40: VanTil, Apologetics, p. 38.) And it is this very
image that keeps man from consistently moving to the nihilism
of every non-Christian position: "Christianity can see in every
such view, by its inability to work itself out into a comprehensive
nihilism, that struggle with the innate image of God which
drives every naturalistic philosopher to something less than a
consistent outworking of his position." (Footnote 41: Henry,
Drift, p. 99.) Carnell, in rather more generous fashion, grants
not only the formal contact posed by the image of God, but also
that posed by the facts of nature, though both together are inadequate.
(Footnote 42: Introduction, pp. 218, 219.)
In terms of such a formal point of contact, an apologetic becomes
possible. Believer and unbeliever may reason together
"by placing themselves in turn upon their opponent's position
for argument's sake. The argument will then be one from consequences.
. . ." (Footnote 43: VanTil, Apologetics, p. 38.) The
argument will then proceed on the basis of coherence and will
be twofold: first, it will point out the internal coherence of
Christian theism; second, it will set forth the internal incoherence
of every non-Christian position. (Footnote 44: Ibid., p. 41;
cf. also Clark, Christian View, pp. 29-33, 318f.; Christian Philosophy
of Education, p. 41f.)
Does this mean, then, that the Christian and the non-
Christian do have a true epistemological, as distinguished from
a formal, point of contact? VanTil's answer is emphatically:
no---the agreement is still only formal; in fact, "a non-Christian