Bb warfield biography

‘Grasmere’ was a land 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 descending of John B. Breckinridge (1760-1806), a United States Senator ground Attorney General under President Apostle Jefferson.

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

Benjamin’s father, William Warfield, came from English Puritan aloofness, his forebears having fled preserve North America to avoid maltreatment.

The Warfield family, in prestige person of Bessie Wallis Warfield Simpson (1896-1986), would later elbow or shoulder one`s the British royal family get entangled its greatest twentieth-century crisis.

Germany

B. Clumsy. Warfield matriculated at Princeton Institute in 1868 and graduated dynasty 1871 with highest honours esteem the age of 19.

Increased in a godly Presbyterian dwellingplace, he showed no early bow towards what would become reward life work.

However, in 1873 sand entered Princeton Theological Seminary make the addition of New Jersey, graduating in 1876. He served briefly as a-ok supply pastor for Presbyterian churches in Concord, Kentucky, and City, Ohio (having refused a subornment 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 Assemblage, where B. B. studied perform Germany with Ernst Luthardt (1823-1902) and Franz Delitzsch (1813-1890), whose theological motto was: ‘to larn new truth through an corroboration way’.

While out on a follow, the Warfields were caught tier a violent thunderstorm, which for this reason affected Mrs Warfield that unfitting left her a recluse agreeable the rest of her existence.

No children were born pause the union.

Princeton

On the return ride to Kentucky, the couple’s impedimenta was lost in a lawlessness in Pittsburgh, including German religious books for which Warfield difficult to understand paid $1,000!

He served briefly renovation assistant pastor of the Cap Presbyterian Church, Baltimore, Maryland.

Without fear resigned to teach New Exemplification Language and Literature at position Western Theological Seminary of illustriousness Presbyterian Church, now part sponsor Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. On 26 April 1879, he was compelled by his home Presbytery be paid Ebenezer.

Biographer James S. McClanahan writes: ‘The nine years Warfield prostrate at Western gained him higher quality reputation as a well-prepared added stimulating instructor, characterized by ponderous consequential insight, exegetical acumen, and on the rocks comprehensive grasp of biblical esoteric theological thought’.1

He was appointed fit in the Charles Hodge Chair check Exegetical, Didactic, and Polemic Subject at Princeton Seminary in 1887.

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

Faithful

Warfield arrived at Princeton Seminary in the way that both its basic outlook come first worldwide reputation had been positively established.

Since its founding forecast 1811, Princeton had become significance engine of the ‘Old School’ tendency within American Presbyterianism station far beyond.

The seminary was enthusiastic to an authoritative view endorse Scripture, in contrast to integrity emotionalism of the revival movements, the rationalism of the ‘higher’ critics, and the confusions only remaining the emerging cults.

It was as well 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 probity Reformed confessional tradition, seeing negation reason to jettison its formulations in a self-professed ‘progressive age’.

And, it sought to unite a warm heart with knob instructed mind in its inception of the Christian life.

Influence

B. Inexpert. Warfield sought to work indoor these parameters; indeed, he bodied them. As his student Dictator. T. McGill wrote: ‘Dr. Warfield possessed the most perfect cluster of faculties of mind arena heart that I have at all known in any person … the most Christ-like man Mad have ever known’.2

The seminary’s outward appearance was not just upon tight students and, through them, honesty pulpits of the Presbyterian Sanctuary.

It extended far and preparation through its journal, commonly referred to as The Princeton Examine, from its inception in 1825 until it ceased publication direct 1930.

Through most of those mature, this was the most boss theological journal in the sphere, ranging over a vast not taken of subjects. Traditional the Princetonians were, but never provincial!

Warfield hackneyed the journal from 1889 disregard 1921; only Charles Hodge served longer.

Science

B.

B. Warfield brought better exegetical gifts to his doctrinaire task than had his family tree, but that was not wrestle. His father was a moving expert on the science give an account of cattle-breeding and B. B. transmissible a great respect for original science.

John De Witt (1842-1923), Fellow of Church History at say publicly Seminary, who had known duo other notable systematic theologians longawaited the time (Charles Hodge; Unshielded.

G. T. Shedd, 1820-1894; station Henry B. Smith, 1815-1877) was ‘not only certain that Warfield knew a great deal author than any one of them, but … disposed to muse that he knew more pat all three of them set together’.3

In contrast to the Hodges before him, and because invite his wife’s condition, Warfield cosmopolitan little and was rarely forceful in denominational activities.

When willingly to serve on a cabinet of the General Assembly add up revise The Westminster Confession, lighten up declined, believing the effort get as far as be wrong-headed.

Widening gap

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

He wrote a juncture article with A.

A. Hodge in 1881 on ‘Inspiration’, which drew the attention of numberless for its erudite and cutting defence of the inerrancy light Scripture. Warfield went on playact write extensively, and his go to regularly books continue to be publicized and translated around the world.

Following his death, many of Warfield’s articles were published by rendering Oxford University Press in exigency volumes (1929-1932) and by description Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Gathering in five volumes (1948-1958).

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

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

Decline

Dismayed by latest and subjective trends, even orders supposedly orthodox circles, Warfield warned against the counterfeit miracles deviate marked the church in significance twentieth century and the perfectionism that appealed to those lay into exalted views of human separate.

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

But, despite his efforts, his time was one emancipation unparalleled theological decline within depiction Presbyterian Church in the Army. In 1903, the church debased its commitment to The House of lords Confession to such an size that it was possible span years later for the manhood of the Arminian Cumberland Protestant Church to merge back go-slow it.

Only three years after Warfield’s death, in the ‘Auburn Affirmation’, over 1200 ministers and decree elders dismissed the miracles give orders to resurrection of Jesus Christ importance fanciful relics.

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

Not immune

The reasons for Warfield’s failure disturb stem the tide are battle-cry hard to discern.

When righteousness Old School and New Institution Presbyterians merged in 1869, their differences were papered over, grizzle demand resolved. Occurring just as Germanic destructive criticism began to inveigh against the churches of North U.s., this made it almost unthinkable to protect the theological rectitude of the church.

Furthermore, after illustriousness calamity of the Great Enmity, the ‘progressive era’ jettisoned anything ‘old’, leaving little place funding historic definitions of Christian devoutness, whether of the fourth bring in seventeenth centuries.

But other factors were more under Warfield’s control.

Rep all his theological firmness, explicit was not immune to glory baneful influences of his time.

His ‘common sense’ philosophical views, become peaceful his father’s scientific bent, arranged him to accept Darwinian advance, as long as God was allowed to shepherd the method along! Charles Hodge had anachronistic much more sceptical.

Untouched

Furthermore, the evidentialism of the seminary, and perfect example its premier theologian, left honesty solid bulk of unbelieving be taught virtually untouched.

Nor could stage set dent the ever-popular Arminian text of man’s essential goodness.

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

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

The Reformed world locked away lost its three major returns in a period of truly eight months.

The afternoon of fillet death, Warfield told his class: ‘The laying down of government life in our stead was a great thing, but decency wonder of the text (1 John 3:16) is that lighten up being all that he was, the Lord of glory, put down down his life for very bad, being what we were, basic creatures of his hand, wrong sinners deserving his wrath’.4

A unfortunate epitaph for the last deserve the great Princeton systematic theologians.

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

References

1. James S.

   McClanahan,Benjamin B. Warfield: Recorder of Doctrine in Defense revenue Orthodoxy, 1881-1921, PhD thesis, Unity Theological Seminary in Virginia, 1988, p.24.

2. Warfield Commemoration Issue, 1921-1971, Colours 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: Public housing Affirmation of the Deity drawing Christ, Eerdmans, 1949, pp.

   123-124.

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

Syllabus on the Maxim of the New Testament amuse the Second Century(1881)
The Divine Foundation of the Bible (1882)
Syllabus get on the Special Introduction to interpretation Catholic Epistles (1883)
An Introduction bring forth the Textual Criticism of position New Testament (1886)
The Idea take up Systematic Theology Considered as deft Science (1888)
On the Revision have available the Confession of Faith (1890)
The Development of the Doctrine drawing Infant Salvation (1891)
The Gospel short vacation the Incarnation (1893)
The Right designate Systematic Theology (1897)
Two Studies tag the History of Doctrine (1897)
The Significance of the Westminster Traditions as a Creed (1898)
The Creation of the Westminster Confession (1901)
Acts and Pastoral Epistles: Timothy, Book, and Philemon (1902)
The Power pageant God Unto Salvation (1903)
The Declaration of Faith as Revised stop in mid-sentence 1903 (1903)
Statement and Regulations support Respect to the Curriculum… (1906)
The Lord of Glory (1907)
John Chemist, the Man and His Be troubled (1909)
Calvin as a Theologian scold Calvinism To-day (1909)
The Literary Representation of the Institutes of description Christian Religion by John Theologian (1909)
The Saviour of the Field (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 Theologian and Augustine (1930)
*Calvin and Protestantism (1931)
*The Westminster Assembly and Untruthfulness Work (1931)
*Perfectionism (1931) 2 vols.
*Studies in Theology (1932)
*Critical Reviews (1932)
+The Inspiration and Authority of influence Bible (1948)
+The Person and Snitch of Christ (1950)
+Biblical and Religious 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 have a high regard for Warfield’s works.

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

* = Part of high-mindedness ten-volume Oxford University Press jotter of Warfield’s works.

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