DOCSLIB.ORG

Kees Van Til Als Apologeticus

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Kees Van Til Als Apologeticus View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by ZENODO Kees Van Til als Nederlandse-Amerikaanse, Neo-Calvinistisch-Presbyteriaan apologeticus: An Analysis of Cornelius Van Til’s Presupposition of Reformed Dogmatics with special reference to Herman Bavinck’s Gereformeerde Dogmatiek A thesis submitted to the faculty of Calvin Theological Seminary in candidacy for the degree of Master of Theology Theological Division Department of Systematic Theology By Laurence R. O’Donnell III Grand Rapids, MI, USA May 2011 Copyright © 2011 by Laurence R. O’Donnell III All rights reserved To the precious παιδίον whom the Lord gave and then took yet unborn during the preparation of this thesis With tears, your loving father and mother and—אֲנִי֙ הֹלֵ֣ךְ אֵלָ֔יו—rest in King David’s hope rejoice at Jesus’ bidding: Ἄφετε τὰ παιδία ἔρχεσθαι πρός με, μὴ κωλύετε αὐτά, τῶν γὰρ τοιούτων ἐστὶν ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ. (2 Samuel 12:23; Mark 10:14) Now the basic structure of my thought is very simple. I have never been called upon to work out any form of systematic theology. My business is to teach Apologetics. I therefore presuppose the Reformed system of doctrine. —Cornelius Van Til, The Defense of the Faith, 1955 CONTENTS Abstract............................................................................................................................. ix Preface.................................................................................................................................x Chapter I. Van Til’s Presupposition in abstracto: Cornelius as Copernicus.................................................................................................. 1 A. The Problem: Cornelius as Copernicus............................................................. 3 1. Van Til’s Modest Self-Assessments.............................................................. 5 2. Van Til’s Polemics against Novelty..............................................................8 3. Van Til’s Neo-Calvinist Vision.................................................................... 10 B. The Question: “Van Tilian” or Neo-Calvinist?................................................13 C. The State of the Question: Van Til vis-à-vis Bavinck.....................................19 1. Scholarship before the Reformed Dogmatics Translation (1950–2002).....20 2. Scholarship after the Reformed Dogmatics Translation (2003–Present)..32 3. Summary........................................................................................................44 D. The Thesis: Neo-Calvinist à la Bavinck........................................................... 46 E. The Argument: A Précis......................................................................................47 Chapter II. Van Til’s Presupposition in concreto (Part 1): Formal Appropriations of Bavinck’s Dogmatiek.........................................................49 A. Dogmatics and Apologetics in Bavinck’s Dogmatiek.....................................50 1. The Nature of Theology as a Science......................................................... 51 2. The Place of Dogmatics in Theological Encyclopedia.............................55 3. The Place of Apologetics in Theological Encyclopedia...........................57 4. The Task of Apologetics...............................................................................59 B. Dogmatics and Apologetics in Van Til’s Thought..........................................60 1. Theological Encyclopedia in Christian Apologetics...................................60 2. Theological Encyclopedia in An Introduction to Systematic Theology.....63 3. Theological Encyclopedia in The Defense of the Faith...............................65 4. The Task of Apologetics...............................................................................68 C. Analysis................................................................................................................ 69 D. Summary..............................................................................................................72 Chapter III. Van Til’s Presupposition in concreto (Part 2): Material Appropriations of Bavinck’s Dogmatiek....................................................... 75 A. Appropriations in An Introduction to Systematic Theology.............................76 v 1. Explicit Appropriations............................................................................... 77 2. Tacit Appropriations.................................................................................... 78 2.1. Extensive Appropriations in Chapter 10.........................................79 2.2. Extensive Appropriations in Chapter 16.........................................90 3. Appropriations of Various Motifs.............................................................. 96 B. Summary.............................................................................................................. 99 Chapter IV. Van Til’s Presupposition in concreto (Part 3): Polemical Appropriations of Bavinck’s Dogmatiek...................................................101 A. Appropriations in The New Synthesis Theology of The Netherlands..............102 1. The Context: Synthesis Theologies vs. Pure Reformed Orthodoxy....102 2. The Crux: Modern Synthesis Theologies vs. Bavinck’s Orthodoxy....105 2.1. Bavinck contra the “Ethical Theologians”..................................... 105 2.2. Bavinck contra G. C. Berkouwer.....................................................109 2.3. Bavinck contra Berkouwer’s Followers.........................................112 2.4. Excursus: Bavinck contra Berkouwer in Van Til’s Other Writings...................................................................................113 3. Summary......................................................................................................115 B. Appropriations in The Theology of James Daane..............................................116 C. Appropriations contra Karl Barth....................................................................121 1. Appropriations in The New Modernism.................................................... 122 2. Appropriations in Christianity and Barthianism.......................................124 2.1. Bavinck contra Barth’s View of Scripture......................................125 2.2. Bavinck as The Criterion of Reformed Orthodoxy......................126 2.3. Bavinck contra Barth’s View of Christ...........................................128 2.4. Excursus: Barth pro Bavinck...........................................................132 D. Appropriation in Jerusalem and Athens...........................................................135 E. Summary............................................................................................................ 136 Chapter V. Van Til’s Presupposition in defectu et in excessu (Part 1): Dialectical Appropriations of Bavinck’s Dogmatiek..................................................138 A. Van Til’s Critiques of Bavinck’s Thought......................................................140 1. Dialectical Interpretations of Van Til’s Criticisms..................................140 2. Criticisms in An Introduction to Systematic Theology...............................144 3. Criticisms in The Defense of the Faith.........................................................146 3.1. Chapter 8: A Brief Excursus on Sources........................................147 3.2. Chapter 8: Common Grace and Scholasticism.............................148 3.3. Chapter 13: Amsterdam and Old Princeton.................................149 4. Criticisms in Common Grace and the Gospel..............................................151 vi 4.1. The Context of Van Til’s Criticisms................................................151 4.2. The Catalog of Van Til’s Criticisms................................................154 5. A Brief Criticism in The Sovereignty of Grace............................................158 6. Criticisms in “Bavinck the Theologian” and “As I think of Bavinck”.................................................................................................. 158 7. Criticisms in Herman Dooyeweerd and Reformed Apologetics...................161 B. Summary............................................................................................................ 165 1. The Crux of Van Til’s Criticisms...............................................................165 2. Van Til’s Perplexing Self-Evaluation of His Criticisms.........................165 3. An Irreducible Dialectic............................................................................. 167 Chapter VI. Van Til’s Presupposition in defectu et in excessu (Part 2): Dialectical Appropriations of Herman Dooyeweerd’s Wijsbegeerte der Wetsidee. 169 A. Scholarship on Van Til and Dooyeweerd...................................................... 172 1. The Untold Story in General..................................................................... 172 2. The Untold Story in Particular..................................................................176 B. Dooyeweerd on Scholasticism.........................................................................177 1. Brief Excursus on Reformation and Scholasticism in Philosophy..............177 2. Scholasticism in General: Synthesis Thinking........................................178 2.1. The Greek Form-Matter Ground-Motive......................................180 2.2. The Biblical Creation-Fall-Redemption
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Logos Catalog
    ID Name Picture bhstcmot Bible History Commentary: Old Testament $45.50 Excellent tool for teachers - elementary, Sunday school, vacation Bible school, Bible class--and students. Franzmann clarifies historical accounts, explains difficult passages, offers essential background information, warns about misapplications of the biblical narrative, and reminds readers of the gospel. Contains maps, illustrated charts and tables, a Hebrew calendar, indexes of proper names and Scripture references, and an explanation of biblical chronology. The mission of Northwestern Publishing House is to deliver biblically sound Christ- centered resources within the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod and beyond. The vision of Northwestern Publishing House is to be the premier resource for quality Lutheran materials faithful to the Scriptures and Lutheran confessions. NPH publishes materials for worship, vacation Bible school, Sunday school, and several other ministries. The NPH headquarters are located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. BHSWTS42 Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (BHS Hebrew): With Westminster $99.95 4.2 Morphology This edition of the complete Hebrew Bible is a reproduction of the Michigan-Claremont-Westminster text (MCWT) with Westminster Morphology (WM, version 4.2, 2004). The MCWT is based closely on the 1983 edition of Biblica Hebraica Stuttgartensia (BHS). As of version 2.0, however, MCWT introduced differences between the editions, based on new readings of Codex Leningradensis b19A (L). The MCWT was collated both computationally and manually against various other texts, including Kittel's Biblia Hebraica (BHK), the Michigan-Claremont electronic text. Additionally, manual collations were made using Aron Dotan's The Holy Scriptures and BHK. The Westiminster morphological database adds a complete morphological analysis for each word/morpheme of the Hebrew text.
    [Show full text]
  • Machen on Barth: Introduction to a Recently Uncovered Paper*
    ι WTJ53 (1991) 189-196 MACHEN ON BARTH: INTRODUCTION TO A RECENTLY UNCOVERED PAPER* D. G. HART N December 2,1929, W. L. Savage of Scribner's publishing house sent OJ. Gresham Machen a copy of Emil Brunner's recently released The Theology of Crisis and asked for some advice on marketing the book. Though Machen had already in the minds of many established his reputation as a cantankerous fundamentalist when he left Princeton for Westminster Sem­ inary, he was still a natural resource for the publisher's request. Machen himself was well acquainted with New York publishers since all of his books to that time had been published with MacMillan, and his newest, The Virgin Birth of Christ, was ready to go to press at Harper and Brothers. More importantly, Machen had heard Brunner lecture the previous year when the Swiss theologian visited Princeton. On that occasion Brunner had ex­ pressed "a special desire" to meet Machen. And according to Douglas Horton, the man responsible for the first English translation of Karl Barth, Brunner spoke of Machen's work "in the highest terms." Furthermore, some at Scribner's probably thought a positive evaluation of Brunner and Barth from Machen, one of the leading spokesmen for conservative Prot­ estantism, would boost sales among fundamentalists. Machen, however, in what became his typical response to inquiries about neoorthodoxy, said that he did not think the theology of crisis was a return to evangelical Chris­ tianity, but his limited knowledge made final judgment difficult. So for a fuller assessment Machen referred the Scribner's executive to Cornelius Van Til, Westminster's newly appointed professor of apologetics who even­ tually became one of America's most outspoken foes of Barthianism.1 * [Editor's note: Among the materials preserved in the Machen Archives, under the super­ vision of Grace Mullen, a previously unpublished paper by J.
    [Show full text]
  • Where Person Meets Word Part 1: Personalism in the Language
    WTJ 77 (2015): 355–77 WHERE PERSON MEETS WORD PART 1: PERSONALISM IN THE LANGUAGE THEORY OF KENNETH L. PIKE Pierce Taylor Hibbs I. Introduction eformed theology has always championed the Trinity as the beating heart of the Christian faith. This is true not just of the mainstay his- torical Reformers, Luther and Calvin, but also of Dutch Calvinism, Old R 1 Princeton, and the Westminster heritage. Certainly, Calvin and Melanchthon were not alone in claiming that “God’s triunity was that which distinguished the true and living God from idols.”2 The true God is the Trinity. Out of this tradition emerged Cornelius Van Til and his insistence that the self-contained ontological Trinity be the basis of all human experience and knowledge.3 He claimed that “if we are to have coherence in our experience, Pierce Hibbs currently serves as the Assistant Director of the Center for Theological Writing at Westminster Theological Seminary. 1 On Luther, see David Lumpp, “Returning to Wittenberg: What Martin Luther Teaches Today’s Theologians on the Holy Trinity,” CTQ 67 (2003): 232, 233–34; and Mickey Mattox, “From Faith to the Text and Back Again: Martin Luther on the Trinity in the Old Testament,” ProEccl 15 (2006): 292. On Calvin, see T. F. Torrance, “Calvin’s Doctrine of the Trinity,” CTJ 25 (1990): 166. For an example of the Dutch Calvinist view, see Herman Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics, ed. John Bolt, trans. John Vriend, 4 vols. (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2003–2008), 2:279, 329. For Old Princeton, see Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2013), 1:442; and B.
    [Show full text]
  • The Function of Perichoresis and the Divine Incomprehensibility
    Wrj 64 (2002) 289-306 THE FUNCTION OF PERICHORESIS AND THE DIVINE INCOMPREHENSIBILITY LANE G. TIPTON I. Introduction Reformed Trinitarian theism best encapsulates the theology of Cornelius Van Til. He says, "Basic to all the doctrines of Christian theism is that of the self-contained God, or, if we wish, that of the ontological Trinity. It is this notion of the ontological Trinity that ultimately controls a truly Christian methodology."1 Again, "unless we may hold to the presupposition of the self- contained ontological Trinity, human rationality itself is a mirage."2 The onto- logical Trinity provides the architectonic principle in Van Til's theology and apologetic. However, the doctrine of the Trinity in Van Til's thought is as controversial as it is foundational. Regarding the Trinity, Van Til makes the following state- ments, which, when taken together, provide a formulation which John Frame called "a very bold theological move."3 What is this bold move? Van Til argues: It is sometimes asserted that we can prove to men that we are not assuming anything that they ought to consider irrational, inasmuch as we say that God is one in essence and three in person. We therefore claim that we have not asserted unity and trinity of exactly the same thing. Yet this is not the whole truth of the matter. We do assert that God, that is, the whole Godhead, is one person.4 Notice that Van Til does not assert that the person/essence formulation is false, or in need of replacement; instead, he argues that the statement "God is one in essence and three in person" does not yield the "whole truth of the matter." Again Van Til says, "We must hold that God's being holds an absolute numeri- cal identity.
    [Show full text]
  • Pious and Critical Scholarly Paradigms of the Pentateuch •Fl
    Author Biography Spencer is a third year History major from Martinez, California. In addition, he is perusing a minor in Religious Studies. His major research interests involve the study of the Old and New Testament, as well as military history. After graduation, he hopes to take his passion and research to seminary, where he can further his study of the field and history of Biblical criticism. Morgan Pious and Critical Scholarly Paradigms of the Pentateuch — during the 19th & early 20th centuries by Spencer Morgan Abstract This paper examines the antithesis between Christian scholarship and modern higher criticism of the Pentateuch during the 19th and early 20th centuries. During the 19th century, the popularization and eventual hegemony of the Doc- umentary Hypothesis revolutionized the field of Biblical studies. Modern criti- cal scholars claimed that Moses did not write the Pentateuch (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy) during the 15th century BC, but rather it was the product of a later redaction of at least four separate documents: J, E, P, and D. Writing hundreds of years apart and long after Moses, their authors reflect not the ancient covenantal religion of Moses, but rather various periods in the evolution of Israel’s religion. The implications of the Documentary Hypothe- sis bring into question the historicity and theological validity of not only the Pen- tateuch, but also the Christian New Testament which presupposes it. The goal of this research is to identify the foundational presuppositions, conclusions, and contextual consciousness that both the modern critics and the Reformed body of Christian scholars opposing them brought to their scholarship.
    [Show full text]
  • 2 Corinthians
    Vol. 19 • Num. 3 Fall 2015 2 Corinthians Stephen J. Wellum 5 Editorial: Learning from Paul’s Second Letter to Corinth Mark Seifrid 9 The Message of Second Corinthians: 2 Corinthians as the Legitimation of the Apostle Matthew Y. Emerson and Christopher W. Morgan 21 The Glory of God in 2 Corinthians George H. Guthrie 41 Καταργέω and the People of the Shining Face (2 Corinthians 3:7-18) Matthew Barrett 61 What is So New About the New Covenant? Exploring the Contours of Paul’s New Covenant Theology in 2 Corinthians 3 Joshua M. Greever 97 “We are the Temple of the Living God” (2 Corinthians 6:14- 7:1): The New Covenant as the Fulfillment of God’s Promise of Presence Thomas R. Schreiner 121 Sermon: A Building from God—2 Corinthians 5:1-10 Book Reviews 131 Editor-in-Chief: R. Albert Mohler, Jr. • Editor: Stephen J. Wellum • Associate Editor: Brian Vickers • Book Review Editor: Jarvis J. Williams • Assistant Editor: Brent E. Parker • Editorial Board: Randy L. Stinson, Daniel S. Dumas, Gregory A. Wills, Adam W. Greenway, Dan DeWitt, Timothy Paul Jones, Jeff K. Walters, Steve Watters, James A. Smith, Sr. Typographer:• Gabriel Reyes-Ordeix • Editorial Office: SBTS Box 832, 2825 Lexington Rd., Louisville, KY 40280, (800) 626-5525, x 4413 • Editorial E-Mail: [email protected] 3 Editorial: Learning from Paul’s Second Letter to Corinth Stephen J. Wellum Stephen J. Wellum is Professor of Christian Theology at The Southern Baptist Theolog- ical Seminary and editor of Southern Baptist Journal of Theology. He received his Ph.D.
    [Show full text]
  • The Alleged Legalism in Paul's Doctrine of Justification
    The Princeton Theological Review. EDITORS: Francis L. Patton, Benjamin B. Warfield, John D. Davis, John DkWitt, Wm. Brknton Grkene, Jr., Geerhardus Vos, Robert Dick Wilson, Wm. Park Armstrong, Henry W. Smith, Joseph H. Dulles, James Oscar Boyd, Caspar Wistar Hodgk, Frederick "W. Loetscher, Kerr D. McMillan, David DeF. Burrell. VOLUME I. 1003. PHILADELPHIA: PUBLISHED BY MacCalla & Co. Inc., 237-9 Dock Street 8# NuW Yo=fK vUBLlC LIBRARY 3541309 A9TOH, LENOX AND TILDEN FOUNDATIONS R 1905 L Copyright, 1908, by The Princeton Theological Review. UacCalia & Co. Inc., Mnteti, STl-9 Dock St., PhUa. CONTENTS. JANUARY. PAOI I. — Edward Irving. Meade C. Williams, D.D 1 II. — Dashing the Little Ones against the Rock. Howard Os good, D.D., LL.D 23 III. IV. —— Prof.An Exegesis Swing on of Ritschl2 Corinthians and His v. Critics. 1-5. Samuel James T. Orr, Lowrie, D.D. 38 D.D 51 V. — The Authenticity and Genuineness of the Book of Esther. W. Scott Watson, M.A 62 VI. — Success in the Ministry. William Irvin, D.D 75 VII. — Modern field, Theories D.D., LL.D of the Atonement. Benjamin B. War- 81 VIII. — A Study in Textual Criticism. William T. Whiiley, M.A., LL.D 93 IX. — The Epic Verse of Milton — Paradise Lost. Theodore W. Hunt. Ph.D., L.H.D 101 X . — Reviews of Recent Theological Literature Ill 1 . — Apologetical Theology. Benjamin L. Hobson, D.D.; Ben jamin B. Warfield, D.D., LL.D.; W. Brenton Greene, Jr., D.D 1 1 1 2. — Exegetical G.Park Vos, Armstrong, Theology.Ph.D., D.D.; AM John James D.
    [Show full text]
  • PSCF09-16P155-164Kim New Pic.Indd
    Article Bernard Ramm’s Scientifi c Approach to Theology Andrew Kim Andrew Kim The year 2016, which marks the 75th anniversary of the American Scientifi c Affi liation, also marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Bernard L. Ramm (1916–1992), one of the affi liation’s most important fi gures, and one whose infl uence among evangelicals in the area of religion and science has been matched by few others. Much of the historical attention given to Ramm has focused on his scientifi c background and how it infl uenced his biblical hermeneutic and treatment of scientifi c topics. However, through use of hitherto unstudied sources, this article will show how his scientifi c background also conditioned his overarching theological method. By building on ideas rooted in orthodoxy and history, openly accepting new data and evidence into his system, and adjusting his ideas to compensate for changes and developments, Ramm exhibited a scientifi c methodology that undergirded the development, change, and growth of his theology throughout his career. s news of the gravitational in turn, made the recent discovery pos- wave readings at the Laser sible.2 In other words, Einstein’s scientifi c A Interferometer Gravitational- approach not only retained original ideas Wave Observatory (LIGO) was publicly but also left room for reconsideration, announced on February 11, 2016, excite- revision, and review, which allowed for ment rippled through the scientifi c further contribution and development. community. The LIGO data supplied evidence for theories of space-time and Born in the same year that Einstein gave gravitational waves postulated by Albert birth to his gravitational wave theory Einstein in 1916 and confi rmed “Einstein’s was a quiet and unassuming American theory of gravity, the general theory of Baptist theologian named Bernard Ramm relativity, with unprecedented rigor and (1916–1992).
    [Show full text]
  • Faith and Learning the Heritage of J
    REVIEW: Hoffecker’s Charles Hodge by Barry Waugh NewHorizons in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church OCT 2012 OCT Faith and LearninG The Heritage of J. Gresham Machen by Katherine VanDrunen ALSO: NEW BOOKS ON OLD PRINCETON by D. G. Hart and John R. Muether V o l u m e 3 3 , N u m b e r 9 NewHorizoNs iN tHe ortHodox PresbyteriaN CHurch Contents Editorial Board: The Committee on Christian Education’s Subcommittee on Serial Publications Editor: Danny E. Olinger FEATURES Managing Editor: James W. Scott Editorial Assistant: Patricia Clawson Cover Designer: Christopher Tobias 3 Faith and Learning: The Heritage of Proofreader: Sarah J. Pederson J. Gresham Machen © 2012 by The Committee on Christian Education of By Katherine VanDrunen The Orthodox Presbyterian Church. All rights reserved. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are 6 The Personal Side of Charles Hodge from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publish- By Alan D. Strange ers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Articles previously published may be slightly edited. The Legacy of Geerhardus Vos 8 New Horizons (ISSN: 0199-3518) is published monthly By Danny E. Olinger except for a combined issue, usually August-Septem- ber, by the Committee on Christian Education of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, 607 N. Easton Road, 19 Planning for a Minister’s Retirement Bldg. E, Willow Grove, PA 19090-2539; tel. 215/830- By Douglas L. Watson 0900; fax 215/830-0350. Letters to the editor are welcome. They should deal with an issue the magazine has recently addressed.
    [Show full text]
  • Revised Standard Version of the Old Testament (1952)
    REVISED VERSION OR REVISED BIBLE? A Critique of the Revised Standard Version of the Old Testament (1952) By OSWALD T. ALLIS The Scripture cannot be broken THE PRESBYTERIAN AND REFORMED PUBLISHING COMPANY PHILADELPHIA 1953 ABBREVIATIONS AV Authorized or King James Version (1611) ARV American Revised Version (1901) RSV Revised Standard Version (1946, 1952) AT American Translation (1927) Moffatt New Translation by James Moffatt (1922-26) OT Old Testament NT New Testament Heb Consonantal Hebrew Text of the OT MT Massoretic Text of the OT (i.e., the Consonantal Hebrew Text as vocalized (pronounced) by Jewish scholars called Massoretes) Gk Greek Septuagint Version (LXX) Sam Samaritan-Hebrew Text Syr Syriac Version Tg Targum Vulg Latin Vulgate Cn “Correction” Ms Manuscript Vers Versions Introduction An Introduction to the RSV Old Testament (1952), by Members of the Revision Committee PREFACE Every lover of the Bible must deplore the fact that the appearance of a version of it should become the occasion of such controversy throughout American Protestantism as has resulted from the publication of the completed RSV Bible in the autumn of 1952. But this was inevitable for three reasons. The first reason is the tremendous pressure which has been and is being exerted in behalf of the RSV by the Publishers and by the National Council of Churches which is the owner of the copyright. They have not been willing to allow the new version to speak for itself and stand on its own merits. They are using every possible means to persuade Bible readers to accept it as a vast improvement on AV and ARV, and to induce Church Boards and Agencies to adopt it as the Standard Version for use by their respective denominations.
    [Show full text]
  • The Shepherd Student
    WRS Journal 12:2 (August 2005): 27-36 THE SHEPHERD STUDENT Earl L. Brown, Jr. Breath of Breath1 says Qoheleth,2 the whole is breath. Not only was Qoheleth wise but he also taught knowledge to the people; he studiously weighed3 and arranged many proverbs. Qoheleth sought to find delightful words,4 and to write true words with precision.5 The words of the sages are like prods, and the collected sayings are like firmly fixed nails; they are given by one shepherd6 Be warned, my son, of anything in addition to them. There is no end to the making of many books, and much study is wearisome to the body.7 Having heard everything, I have reached this conclusion. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will evaluate every deed, including every secret thing, whether good or evil. Ecclesiastes 12:8-14 [Brown adaptation of NET Bible8] The text set before us is not only the key to the interpretation of the book, but it accurately coalesces the convergent philosophy of life as a précis of the life of Solomon,9 as it is paraphrased in the lives of Robert Dick Wilson, Allan MacRae, and Robert W. Anderson.10 Life Transitions: From Solomon to Jesus, From David’s Son to David’s Greater Son Solomon was the Old Covenant prototype for the masterful Shepherd Student. Unlike Solomon, however, Jesus learned in his earthly human nature, obedience “through the things which he suffered” (Heb 5:8). It is in this capacity that Christ in the New Covenant provides a superior Shepherd and student (see 1 Pet 2:21).
    [Show full text]
  • ABSTRACT Reclaiming Peace: Evangelical Scientists And
    ABSTRACT Reclaiming Peace: Evangelical Scientists and Evolution After World War II Christopher M. Rios, Ph.D. Advisor: William L. Pitts, Jr., Ph.D. This dissertation argues that during the same period in which antievolutionism became a movement within American evangelicalism, two key groups of evangelical scientists attempted to initiate a countervailing trend. The American Scientific Affiliation was founded in 1941 at the encouragement of William Houghton, president of Moody Bible Institute. The Research Scientists‘ Christian Fellowship was started in London in 1944 as one of the graduate fellowship groups of Inter-Varsity Fellowship. Both organizations were established out of concern for the apparent threat stemming from contemporary science and with a desire to demonstrate the compatibility of Christian faith and science. Yet the assumptions of the respective founders and the context within which the organizations developed were notably different. At the start, the Americans assumed that reconciliation between the Bible and evolution required the latter to be proven untrue. The British never doubted the validity of evolutionary theory and were convinced from the beginning that conflict stemmed not from the teachings of science or the Bible, but from the perspectives and biases with which one approached the issues. Nevertheless, by the mid 1980s these groups became more similar than they were different. As the ASA gradually accepted evolution and developed convictions similar to those of their British counterpart, the RSCF began to experience antievolutionary resistance with greater force. To set the stage for these developments, this study begins with a short introduction to the issues and brief examination of current historiographical trends.
    [Show full text]