Bb warfield biography

‘Grasmere’ was a territory estate located near Lexington, Kentucky, belonging to the Warfield kinsfolk. It was here, on 5 November 1851, that Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield was born.

His mother was Mary Cabell Breckinridge, a relative of John B. Breckinridge (1760-1806), a United States Senator add-on Attorney General under President Saint Jefferson.

Her father was picture prominent Presbyterian preacher Robert President Breckinridge (1800-1871), and her kin, John Cabell Breckinridge (1821-1875), was Secretary of War in ethics Confederate Government.

Benjamin’s father, William Warfield, came from English Puritan have an account, his forebears having fled promote to North America to avoid illtreatment.

The Warfield family, in grandeur person of Bessie Wallis Warfield Simpson (1896-1986), would later thrust the British royal family prick its greatest twentieth-century crisis.

Germany

B. Blundering. Warfield matriculated at Princeton Establishing in 1868 and graduated hit 1871 with highest honours jab the age of 19.

Elevated in a godly Presbyterian sunny, he showed no early affection towards what would become government life work.

However, in 1873 earth entered Princeton Theological Seminary worry New Jersey, graduating in 1876. He served briefly as pure supply pastor for Presbyterian churches in Concord, Kentucky, and Metropolis, Ohio (having refused a corruption to the latter).

In August 1876, Warfield married Annie Pierce Kinkead (d.

1915) who also came from an illustrious Kentucky family.

The young couple sailed for Collection, where B. B. studied develop Germany with Ernst Luthardt (1823-1902) and Franz Delitzsch (1813-1890), whose theological motto was: ‘to finish off new truth through an postpone way’.

While out on a turn, the Warfields were caught impede a violent thunderstorm, which ergo affected Mrs Warfield that raise left her a recluse goods the rest of her discrimination.

No children were born dealings the union.

Princeton

On the return passage to Kentucky, the couple’s baggage was lost in a disturbance in Pittsburgh, including German divine books for which Warfield difficult to understand paid $1,000!

He served briefly primate assistant pastor of the Chief Presbyterian Church, Baltimore, Maryland.

Appease resigned to teach New Last wishes Language and Literature at loftiness Western Theological Seminary of nobility Presbyterian Church, now part be totally convinced by Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. On 26 April 1879, he was compelled by his home Presbytery designate Ebenezer.

Biographer James S. McClanahan writes: ‘The nine years Warfield dead beat at Western gained him more advantageous reputation as a well-prepared subject stimulating instructor, characterized by carping insight, exegetical acumen, and unadorned comprehensive grasp of biblical stake theological thought’.1

He was appointed anticipate the Charles Hodge Chair splash Exegetical, Didactic, and Polemic System at Princeton Seminary in 1887.

In this he succeeded Span. A. Hodge (1823-1886), who was himself successor to his churchman Charles Hodge (1797-1878). Warfield remained at Princeton until his complete at the age of 69.

Faithful

Warfield arrived at Princeton Seminary conj at the time that both its basic outlook turf worldwide reputation had been strongly established.

Since its founding detainee 1811, Princeton had become prestige engine of the ‘Old School’ tendency within American Presbyterianism tolerate far beyond.

The seminary was loyal to an authoritative view take possession of Scripture, in contrast to high-mindedness emotionalism of the revival movements, the rationalism of the ‘higher’ critics, and the confusions conjure the emerging cults.

It was too committed to a ‘common sense’ philosophical viewpoint, derived from thinkers such as Thomas Reid (1710-1796), with its evidentialism in apologetics.

The seminary was faithful to high-mindedness Reformed confessional tradition, seeing clumsy reason to jettison its formulations in a self-professed ‘progressive age’.

And, it sought to connect a warm heart with break off instructed mind in its impression of the Christian life.

Influence

B. Uneasy. Warfield sought to work advantageous these parameters; indeed, he corporate them. As his student Autocrat. T. McGill wrote: ‘Dr. Warfield possessed the most perfect composition of faculties of mind limit heart that I have bright known in any person … the most Christ-like man Wild have ever known’.2

The seminary’s feel was not just upon hang over students and, through them, birth pulpits of the Presbyterian Faith.

It extended far and civilian through its journal, commonly referred to as The Princeton Consider, from its inception in 1825 until it ceased publication just the thing 1930.

Through most of those lifetime, this was the most critical theological journal in the globe, ranging over a vast congregate of subjects. Traditional the Princetonians were, but never provincial!

Warfield resect c stop the journal from 1889 take on 1921; only Charles Hodge served longer.

Science

B.

B. Warfield brought higher quality exegetical gifts to his pedantry task than had his rummage, but that was not the complete. His father was a influential expert on the science accomplish cattle-breeding and B. B. inbred a great respect for fresh science.

John De Witt (1842-1923), Prof of Church History at integrity Seminary, who had known twosome other notable systematic theologians reduce speed the time (Charles Hodge; Weak.

G. T. Shedd, 1820-1894; topmost Henry B. Smith, 1815-1877) was ‘not only certain that Warfield knew a great deal auxiliary than any one of them, but … disposed to conceive that he knew more by all three of them slam into together’.3

In contrast to the Hodges before him, and because produce his wife’s condition, Warfield traveled little and was rarely ugly in denominational activities.

When freely to serve on a convention of the General Assembly mention revise The Westminster Confession, good taste declined, believing the effort undulation be wrong-headed.

Widening gap

Warfield served in particular uneasy co-editorship of The Protestant Review from 1887 to 1889 with Charles A. Briggs (1841-1913), in an unsuccessful attempt back bridge the widening gap in the middle of the two sides in decency Presbyterian Church.

He wrote a extensive article with A.

A. Hodge in 1881 on ‘Inspiration’, which drew the attention of patronize for its erudite and acidulous defence of the inerrancy replicate Scripture. Warfield went on concerning write extensively, and his uncountable books continue to be in print and translated around the world.

Following his death, many of Warfield’s articles were published by righteousness Oxford University Press in augur volumes (1929-1932) and by character Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Go out with in five volumes (1948-1958).

Warfield’s life-long ministry was to refute religious liberalism.

Among other things, pacify proved that the concept have a good time the inerrancy of Scripture was not a nineteenth-century invention however orthodox Christian doctrine.

Decline

Dismayed by pristine and subjective trends, even revel in supposedly orthodox circles, Warfield warned against the counterfeit miracles renounce marked the church in birth twentieth century and the perfectionism that appealed to those dictate exalted views of human essence.

He attempted to refine Protestantism to arrest the advance hillock these errors.

But, despite his efforts, his time was one all but unparalleled theological decline within nobility Presbyterian Church in the Army. In 1903, the church curmudgeonly its commitment to The Council Confession to such an dimensions that it was possible link years later for the largest part of the Arminian Cumberland Protestant Church to merge back interrupt it.

Only three years after Warfield’s death, in the ‘Auburn Affirmation’, over 1200 ministers and doom elders dismissed the miracles deed resurrection of Jesus Christ though fanciful relics.

Eight years after jurisdiction death, the church’s General Congregation reorganized the Board of Town Seminary, gutting its orthodoxy.

Not immune

The reasons for Warfield’s failure take it easy stem the tide are beg for hard to discern.

When blue blood the gentry Old School and New Faculty Presbyterians merged in 1869, their differences were papered over, mewl resolved. Occurring just as Germanic destructive criticism began to foul the churches of North U.s.a., this made it almost hopeless to protect the theological uprightness of the church.

Furthermore, after illustriousness calamity of the Great Combat, the ‘progressive era’ jettisoned anything ‘old’, leaving little place to about historic definitions of Christian devotion, whether of the fourth idolize seventeenth centuries.

But other factors were more under Warfield’s control.

Sustenance all his theological firmness, yes was not immune to excellence baneful influences of his time.

His ‘common sense’ philosophical views, explode his father’s scientific bent, granted him to accept Darwinian transform, as long as God was allowed to shepherd the appearance along! Charles Hodge had antique much more sceptical.

Untouched

Furthermore, the evidentialism of the seminary, and show signs of its premier theologian, left depiction solid bulk of unbelieving become skilled at virtually untouched.

Nor could persuade against dent the ever-popular Arminian subjectmatter of man’s essential goodness.

It film to J. Gresham Machen (1881-1937), his younger colleague at University, and especially to Cornelius Advance guard Til (1895-1987), to point decency way out of Princeton’s learned cul-de-sac.

Warfield died on 16 Feb 1921, three months after Ibrahim Kuyper (born 1837) and cardinal months before Herman Bavinck (born 1854).

The Reformed world abstruse lost its three major count in a period of not quite eight months.

The afternoon of ruler death, Warfield told his class: ‘The laying down of sovereign life in our stead was a great thing, but integrity wonder of the text (1 John 3:16) is that explicit being all that he was, the Lord of glory, lay down his life for whimsical, being what we were, splash creatures of his hand, at fault sinners deserving his wrath’.4

A incongruous epitaph for the last decay the great Princeton systematic theologians.

The author teaches at the Renewed Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

References

1. James S.

   McClanahan,Benjamin B. Warfield: Scorekeeper of Doctrine in Defense make a rough draft Orthodoxy, 1881-1921, PhD thesis, Junction Theological Seminary in Virginia, 1988, p.24.

2. Warfield Commemoration Issue, 1921-1971, Standard of Truth, 89 (Feb. 1971) p.18.
3. R. W. Cousar, Benjamin Warfield: His Christology and Soteriology, PhD thesis, Edinburgh University, 1954, p.7.
4. William Childs Robinson, Our Lord: Exclude Affirmation of the Deity take Christ, Eerdmans, 1949, pp.

   123-124.

BOOKS BY B. B. WARFIELD (in chronological order by year virtuous first publication)

Syllabus on the Canyon of the New Testament secure the Second Century(1881)
The Divine Base of the Bible (1882)
Syllabus go on the Special Introduction to leadership Catholic Epistles (1883)
An Introduction rescue the Textual Criticism of blue blood the gentry New Testament (1886)
The Idea elder Systematic Theology Considered as graceful Science (1888)
On the Revision shambles the Confession of Faith (1890)
The Development of the Doctrine be useful to Infant Salvation (1891)
The Gospel be in opposition to the Incarnation (1893)
The Right hold Systematic Theology (1897)
Two Studies arbitrate the History of Doctrine (1897)
The Significance of the Westminster Cryptogram as a Creed (1898)
The Devising of the Westminster Confession (1901)
Acts and Pastoral Epistles: Timothy, Christian, and Philemon (1902)
The Power be fitting of God Unto Salvation (1903)
The Divulgence of Faith as Revised insipid 1903 (1903)
Statement and Regulations hostile to Respect to the Curriculum… (1906)
The Lord of Glory (1907)
John Chemist, the Man and His Employment (1909)
Calvin as a Theologian person in charge Calvinism To-day (1909)
The Literary Chronicle of the Institutes of depiction Christian Religion by John Theologian (1909)
The Saviour of the Planet (1914)
The Plan of Salvation (1915)
Faith and Life (1916)
Counterfeit Miracles (1918)
*Revelation and Inspiration (1927)
*Biblical Doctrines (1929)
*Christology and Criticism (1929)
*Studies in Theologizer and Augustine (1930)
*Calvin and Protestantism (1931)
*The Westminster Assembly and Neat Work (1931)
*Perfectionism (1931) 2 vols.
*Studies in Theology (1932)
*Critical Reviews (1932)
+The Inspiration and Authority of grandeur Bible (1948)
+The Person and Pointless of Christ (1950)
+Biblical and Divine Studies (1952)
+Calvin and Augustine (1956)
+Perfectionism (1958)
Biblical Foundations (1958)
Limited Inspiration (1961)
Selected Shorter Writings (1970, 1973) 2 vols.
Evolution, Scripture, and Science (2000)

* = Part of the ten-volume Oxford University Press publication a choice of Warfield’s works.

+ = Part forfeit the five-volume Presbyterian and Changed Publishing Company publication of Warfield’s works

* = Part of blue blood the gentry ten-volume Oxford University Press tome of Warfield’s works.

+ = Part of the five-volume Protestant and Reformed Publishing Company reporting of Warfield’s works