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A Case Study on Carl FH Henry Andrews University Digital Commons @ Andrews University Master's Theses Graduate Research 1990 Inerrancy and Sovereignty: a Case Study on Carl F. H. Henry Joseph Karanja Andrews University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/theses Recommended Citation Karanja, Joseph, "Inerrancy and Sovereignty: a Case Study on Carl F. H. Henry" (1990). Master's Theses. 46. https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/theses/46 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Research at Digital Commons @ Andrews University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Andrews University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Thank you for your interest in the Andrews University Digital Library of Dissertations and Theses. Please honor the copyright of this document by not duplicating or distributing additional copies in any form without the author’s express written permission. Thanks for your cooperation. INFORMATION TO USERS The most advanced technology has been used to photograph and reproduce this manuscript from the microfilm master. U M I films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted.Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margin*, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send U M I a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. 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Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Order Number 1340648 Inerrancy and sovereignty: A case study on Carl F. H. Henry Karanja, Joseph, M.Th. Andrews University, 1990 Copyright ©1990 by Karanja, Joseph. All rights reserved. UMI 300 N. Zeeb Rd. Ann Arbor, MI 48106 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABSTRACT INERRANCY AND SOVEREIGNTY-, A CASE STUDY ON CARL F. H. HENRY by Joseph Karanja Faculty Advisor: Fernando L. Canale Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABSTRACT OF GRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCH Thesis Andrews University Seventh—day Adventist Theological Seminary Title: INERRANCY AND SOVEREIGNTY: A CASE STUDY ON CARL F. H. HENRY Name of researcher: Joseph Karanja Name and degree of faculty advisor: Fernando L. Canale, Ph. D. Date completed: January 1990 Problem This study examines how the concept of inerrancy of Scripture presupposes a particular understanding of divine sovereignty. Investigation is based on the writings of Carl F. H. Henry, a contemporary American evangelical theologian. Method This investigation uses case—study approach. It consists of a descriptive analysis of Carl Henry's concepts of inerrancy and sovereignty as individual concepts and the sense in which the former presupposes the latter. General inferences are based on that analysis. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Results This study shows that Henry's concept of sovereignty is an indispensable presupposition in his concept of inerrancy. Among other things, sovereignty denotes Gad's absolute causality, thereby providing the theological grounds on which scriptural inerrancy is predicated. Conelusions The concept of inerrancy is best explained in theological contexts where divine sovereignty is affirmed and understood in absolute causal terms. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Andrews University Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary INERRANCY AND SOVEREIGNTY: A CASE STUDY GN CARL F. H. HENRY A Thesis Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Theology by Joseph Karanja January 1990 E-------------- Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Copyright by Joseph Karanja 1990 All Rights Reserved Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. INERRANCY AND SOVEREIGNTY: A CASE STUDY ON CARL F. H. HENRY A thesis presented in partial -fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Theology by Joseph Karanja APPROVAL BY THE COMMITTEE: Fernando L. Canale. Ph. D., Faculty Advisor Miroslav M. Kis, Ph. D. Date approved r Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter I. INTRODUCTION.......................................... 1 Purpose of the Study.......... 6 Delimitations of the Study...................... 0 Methodology............................. 9 Overview of the Study ....... 10 II. THE CONCEPT OF INERRANCY............................ 12 Inerrancy and Henry's Sources................... 13 The Meaning of Inerrancy......................... 17 The Inerrant Referent......................... 19 What Inerrancy Means.......................... 23 Inerrancy as an Attribute of Scripture... 24 Inerrancy as a Characteristic of Biblical Propositions.................. 28 Inerrancy as Absence of Error from Biblical Propositions................... 36 Inerrancy as Presence of Truth in Biblical Propositions................... 38 The Extent of Inerrancy.......................... 40 Inerrancy in Henry's Theology................... 45 Conclusion.................................... 53 III. THE CONCEPT OF SOVEREIGNTY.......................... 61 Sovereignty and Henry's Tradition.............. 62 The Meaning of Sovereignty....................... 67 The Scope of God's Sovereignty.................. 83 The Problem of Evil................... 84 Providence......... 91 Sovereignty in Henry's Theology ......... 99 Sovereignty as an Attribute of God.......... 99 Sovereignty in Henry's Theological System... 103 Conclusion - - 105 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. IV. SOVEREIGNTY AS A PRESUPPOSITION IN THE CONCEPT OF INERRANCY............................................. Ill Primary Considerations........................... 112 God's Epistemological Sovereignty........... 114 God Is Rational....... 118 Man Is Rational................. 119 The World Is Rational..................... 121 Rationality and Sovereignty............... 122 God's Ontological Sovereignty................ 125 The Divine Logos............................... 127 Sovereignty and Inerrancy in Inspiration....... 133 Divine Authoru f Scripture............... 134 Providential Guidance of Bible Writers...... 139 Spirit's Superintendence in Inspiration..... 142 Cone lusion ...... 147 V. CONCLUSION............................................ 152 Implications of the Study....... 157 Suggestions for Further Study................... 160 BIBLIOGRAPHY................................................. 162 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION The idea of inerrancy1 has been a focus of much discussion in the recent past.3 Discussion often consists 1As a word, "inerrancy" refers to a view of Scripture which affirms that biblical truth was originally revealed and written down without error. The "Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy," written by a number of conservative evangelical theologians, seems to reflect the basic understanding of the term “inerrancy." The fourth point in the preamble of the Articles reads: “Being wholly and verbally God-given, Scripture is without error or fault in all its teaching, no less in what it states about God's acts in creation and the events of world history, and about its own literary origins under God, than in its witness to God's saving grace in individual lives" (Norman L. Geisler, ed., Inerrancy CGrand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1979], 494). 3Mark A. Noll lists twenty—seven books, most of which have been published since 1979, on the subject of inerrancy and related issues. See his article, “Evangelicals and the Stuay of the Bible," in Evangelicalism and Modern America. George Marsden, ed. (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans,
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