The Riddleblog

Gems from Warfield's Essay, "Christless Christianity"

Warfield’s essay, “Christless Christianity” was originally written for the Harvard Theological Review in 1912. It is a decimating critique of that cycle of liberal theology which sought to respond to Arthur Drew’s 1909 book, “The Christ Myth.” Drew’s book was widely identified as anti-Christian propaganda, even by liberals. But liberal theologians who sought to respond to Drew, particularly German liberals, conjured up a form of Christianity which was no longer dependent upon a historical Jesus. Warfield will have none of it. In many ways Warfield’s essay argues the same points Machen does in his Christianity and Liberalism, written in 1923. Warfield argues that whatever it was that German liberals were exporting into American seminaries and churches it was not Christianity, but an altogether different religion with a completely different Jesus. The liberal’s collective response to Drew’s attack was a not a defense of Christianity but a capitulation to unbelief.

To read the rest, follow the link below

B. B. WarfieldKim RiddlebargerMay 23, 2022Christless Christianity, Protestant LiberalismComment

Warfield on "Faith" -- A Corrective to Edwardsianism (Faith as Affectional)

The Following quotations come from B. B. Warfield’s magisterial essay “Faith” originally written for the Hastings Dictionary of the Bible (1905). This article was reprinted in volume 2 of The Works of Benjamin B. Warfield, “Biblical Doctrines” (467-508). Warfield’s essay can be found here in its entirety: The Biblical Doctrine of Faith. Well worth a read.

I’ve taken a number of citations from Warfield’s essay and included the page numbers from the Biblical Doctrines volume.

The saving power of faith resides thus not in itself, but in the Almighty Saviour on whom it rests. It is never on account of its formal nature as a psychic act that faith is conceived in Scripture to be saving,—as if this frame of mind or attitude of heart were itself a virtue with claims on God for reward, or at least especially pleasing to Him (either in its nature or as an act of obedience) and thus predisposing Him to favour, or as if it brought the soul into an attitude of receptivity or of sympathy with God, or opened a channel of communication from Him. It is not faith that saves, but faith in Jesus Christ: faith in any other saviour, or in this or that philosophy or human conceit (Col. 2:16, 18, 1 Tim. 4:1), or in any other gospel than that of Jesus Christ and Him as crucified (Gal. 1:8, 9), brings not salvation but a curse. It is not, strictly speaking, even faith in Christ that saves, but Christ that saves through faith. The saving power resides exclusively, not in the act of faith or the attitude of faith or the nature of faith, but in the object of faith; and in this the whole biblical representation centres, so that we could not more radically misconceive it than by transferring to faith even the smallest fraction of that saving energy which is attributed in the Scriptures solely to Christ Himself. (504)

So little indeed is faith conceived as containing in itself the energy or ground of salvation, that it is consistently represented as, in its origin, itself a gratuity from God in the prosecution of His saving work. It comes, not of one’s own strength or virtue, but only to those who are chosen of God for its reception (2 Thess. 2:13), and hence is His gift (Eph. 6:23, cf. 2:8, 9, Phil. 1:29), through Christ (Acts 3:16, Phil. 1:29, 1 Pet. 1:21, cf. Heb. 12:2), by the Spirit (2 Cor. 4:13, Gal. 5:5), by means of the preached word (Rom. 10:17, Gal. 3:2, 5); and as it is thus obtained from God (2 Pet. 1:1, Jude 3, 1 Pet. 1:21), thanks are to be returned to God for it (Col. 1:4, 2 Thess. 1:3). Thus, even here all boasting is excluded, and salvation is conceived in all its elements as the pure product of unalloyed grace, issuing not from, but in, good works (Eph. 2:8–12). The place of faith in the process of salvation, as biblically conceived, could scarcely, therefore, be better described than by the use of the scholastic term ‘instrumental cause.’ Not in one portion of the Scriptures alone, but throughout their whole extent, it is conceived as a boon from above which comes to men, no doubt through the channels of their own activities, but not as if it were an effect of their energies, but rather, as it has been finely phrased, as a gift which God lays in the lap of the soul. (505)
To read the rest of the citations from the Warfield essay, follow the link below

B. B. WarfieldKim RiddlebargerMay 7, 2022The Biblical Doctrine of FaithComment

"A Vice Very Common with Books of This Class" -- B. B. Warfield's "Review" of Andrew Murray's "Spirit of Christ"

As readers of this blog are no doubt aware (because I keep reminding you), B. B. Warfield (1851-1921) is widely hailed as one of America's greatest theologians. His books have remained in near-continuous publication since his death in February, 1921. Although dead for over a century, Warfield remains a theological force with whom to be reckoned.

As professor of polemical and didactic theology at Princeton Theological Seminary, Warfield published 781 book reviews over his long and exceedingly productive career. Some of Warfield's reviews are published in his collected works, while many are not. I thought it might be of interest to bring some of these currently unpublished "Reviews" to light. The first review discussed was "Children in the Hands of the Arminians". The second was Warfield's review of C. F. W. Walther's book, Gesetz und Evangelium (Law and Gospel), Warfields Review of C. F. W. Walthers' "Law and Gospel". For this installment, I have chosen Warfield's "Review" of Rev. Andrew Murray's book, "The Spirit of Christ," published in 1888, and which Warfield reviewed the following year. This influential book still remains in print (The Spirit of Christ) and is available from Whitaker House, a charismatic/Pentecostal publisher.

A brief word about Andrew Murray is in order. Rev. Murray (1828-1917) was a Dutch Reformed minister who labored in South Africa. Murray had a life-long passion for missions and was a champion of the South African Revival of 1860. Murray was devoted to the so-called "Keswick" theology which stressed the "inner" or "higher life." He also endorsed faith healing and believed in the continuation of the apostolic gifts. He was a significant forerunner of the Pentecostal movement--a remarkable accomplishment for any Dutch Reformed minister (I am being facetious, of course).

Murray was a prolific author, cranking out more than fifty books and hundreds of pamphlets. We sold cases of them in our bookstore (when I was growing up) and for which I have long since repented. So when I first ran across BBW's "Review" of Murray's book, I was very interested in what Warfield would have to say. Needless to say, the Lion of Princeton was not terribly impressed with Andrew Murray.

To read Warfield’s “Review” follow the link below

B. B. WarfieldKim RiddlebargerApril 30, 2022Review of Andrew Murray Comment

Speaking of Warfield . . . His Outstanding Essay, "The Emotional Life of Our Lord," Is Now Available as a Booklet, or a Kindle or E-Pub Download

This wonderful essay is now available as a booklet, or as a Kindle or E-Pub download: You can find it here: Warfield's "Emotional Life of Our Lord"

B. B. WarfieldKim RiddlebargerMarch 28, 2022On the Emotional Life of Our LordComment

The Calvinistically Warped Mind -- Warfield's "Review" of Methodist Theologian John Miley's Systematic Theology.

As the two volumes of John Miley’s Systematic Theology were published in 1892-1894, B. B. Warfield reviewed each volume upon release. Miley was a noted Methodist theologian who taught at Drew Theological Seminary in Madison, New Jersey, not far from Princeton, where the Lion of Princeton (B. B. Warfield) held the chair of “polemical and didactic theology.” It was Warfield’s task to pounce upon any and all challenges to Reformed orthodoxy.

Miley, who some have called the “Methodist Charles Hodge” (because he wrote a similar theology text two decades after Hodge completed his), was a capable theological in the Methodist/Arminian tradition. Miley stated in his Systematic Theology that his efforts were, in part, to be seen as a Methodist corrective to the recently published Calvinist theologies of both Charles Hodge and his son, Archibald Alexander Hodge.

Warfield appears eager to see these volumes come into print as Miley was a capable sparring partner, whose work, Warfield was sure, would illustrate the profound difference between the two systems. Warfield playfully (if not sarcastically) speaks of his objection as the consequence of our “Calvinistically warped mind.”

The excerpts below (quotes from Warfield’s “Review” of Miley’s work and my interaction with both Warfield and Miley) are taken from my Lion of Princeton (2015) and edited for publication here.

Warfield appreciates Miley’s clarity and consistency regarding the Methodist/Arminian system.

The material is handled in a masterly manner, and the volume as a whole sets forth the Arminian scheme of salvation in as powerful and logical a form as that scheme admits of. For Dr. Miley presents himself here as above all things an Arminian, and as above most Arminians ready to follow his Arminianism to its logical conclusions. Here, indeed, we find the highest significance of the book. It is the Arminian `Yea’ to the Calvinistic declaration of what Arminianism is in its essential nature, where its center of gravity lies, and what it means with reference to that complex of doctrines which constitute the sum of evangelical truth.

To read the rest, follow the link below

B. B. WarfieldKim RiddlebargerMarch 26, 2022Warfield reviews John MileyComment

"Law and Gospel" -- B. B. Warfield's "Review" of C. F. W. Walther's Book

B. B. Warfield (1851-1921) was professor of polemical and didactic theology at Princeton Theological Seminary. The Lion of Princeton published 781 book reviews over his long and exceedingly productive career. Simply an astonishing accomplishment.

Warfield's review of the German born Lutheran theologian, C. F. W. Walther's book, Gesetz und Evangelium (Law and Gospel) appeared in1894. The book was first published by Concordia in 1893, and Warfield gave it a brief review the following year. Walther's book remains in print and can be found here: C. F. W. Walther on Law and Gospel

Warfield describes the format behind Walther's book, noting that Walther had given a series of lectures on Friday evenings to theological students. These lectures were then transcribed into thirty-nine chapters, corresponding to Walther's lectures with each centering around a particular thesis, then discussed in detail. Warfield clearly appreciates the content produced in “freer” interaction with such a "live" audience.

Besides his academic lectures, Dr. Walther was, it seems, accustomed to give to the whole body of students, assembled usually on a Friday evening, series of freer talks on theological and practical topics. Among these was a course of twenty-two talks on “Inspiration;” one of twenty-two talks on “The Truth of the Christian Religion;” one of forty-nine talks on “Justification;” one of sixty-two talks on “Election and Justification;” and (among still others) two courses, one of ten and the other of thirty-nine talks, on “The Law and the Gospel.” The Introduction to each talk, the citations used in it, and the plan of treatment, exist in Dr. Walther’s own hand; for the rest full stenographic notes of his students are available. From this material, it is proposed to publish the whole of them in due time; and the present book, which contains the shorter course on “The Law and the Gospel,” makes the beginning.

To read the rest, follow the link below

Warfield on William James and the Difference Between Mere Moralism and True Religion

In his short essay, "What Is Calvinism?" (from the Presbyterian, Mar. 2, 1904, 6-7), B. B. Warfield writes,

"`There is a state of mind' says Professor William James in his lectures on `The Varieties of Religious Experience,' `known to religious men, but to no others, in which the will to assert ourselves and hold our own has been displaced by a willingness to close our mouths and be as nothing in the floods and waterspouts of God. [James] is describing what he looks upon as the truly religious mood over against what he calls `mere moralism' `The moralist' he tells us, `must hold his breath and keep his muscles tense': and things go well with him only when he can do so. The religious man, on the contrary, finds his consolation in his very powerlessness; his trust is not in himself but in his God; and the `hour of his moral death turns into his spiritual birthday."

Says Warfield in response, "the psychological analyst [William James] has caught the exact distinction between moralism and religion. It is the distinction between trust in ourselves and trust in God. And when trust in ourselves is driven entirely out, and trust in God comes in, in its purity, we have Calvinism. Under the name of religion at its height, what Professor James has really described is therefore just Calvinism."

William James, by the way, once called himself a Methodist without the Savior.

B. B. WarfieldKim RiddlebargerFebruary 11, 2022William James, Moralism and Religion

"Children in the Hands of the Arminians" -- B. B. Warfield on the Salvation and Proper Nuture of Christian Children

Some of B. B. Warfield's book reviews are published in his collected works, while many are not. There are a number of gems from the "Lion of Princeton" that remain hidden away in obscure journals and publications. One of these gems is Warfield's "Review" of The Child as God's Child, by Rev. Charles W. Rishell, Ph. D., Professor of Historical Theology in Boston University School of Theology. New York: Eaton & Mains. Cincinnati: Jennings & Graham (1904).

Warfield's review of Rishell's book was originally published in vol. xvii of the Union Seminary Magazine, 1904. Warfield entitled his review, "Children in the Hands of the Arminians. Here’s an excerpt

The children certainly must be a source of gravest concern to a consistently Arminian reasoner. The fundamental principle of Arminianism is that salvation hangs upon a free, intelligent choice of the individual will; that salvation is, in fact, the result of the acceptance of God by man, rather than of the acceptance of man by God. The logic of this principle involves in hopeless ruin all who, by reason of tenderness of years, are incapable of making such a choice. On this teaching, all those who die in infancy should perish, while those who survive the years of immaturity might just as well be left to themselves until they arrive at the age of intelligent option.

To read the entire review, follow the link below

Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield (November 5, 1851 - February 16, 1921) — The Centennial of B. B. Warfield's Death

B. B. Warfield died of an apparent heart attack on February 16, 1921. I thought it might be a fitting tribute to talk about Warfield bibliography.

One hundred years after his death, Warfield's collected works are still readily available: The ten-volume “Oxford” set reprinted by Baker Books, or the five-volume set from P & R (several volumes are still in print, but e-book editions of the others are easy to find), and the two-volume set Warfield's Selected Shorter Writings, published by P & R in 2001, includes many important essays.

A huge (and free) collection of Warfield’s books, essays, and articles about Warfield can be found at Monergism.com. Monergism's Warfield Resources.

To see my short Warfield bibliography, follow the link below

B. B. WarfieldKim RiddlebargerFebruary 19, 2021B. B. Warfield, Centennial of Warfield's death, Warfield bibliogrpahyComment