[Glossary] The Bible, Neo-orthodoxy and Existential Encounter

1. (Clark 1965, 25): "Unfortunately the visible churches that have descended from the Protestant Reformation, especially the larger and wealthier denominations, have to a considerable degree repudiated the Bible. Schleiermacher, Ritschl, and modernism substituted religious experiences for the Word of God. The neo-orthodox also deny the truth of the Bible and substitute something called an existential encounter. They fail to tell us how this experience determines the number of the sacraments, the mode of baptism, the principles of church government, or even the doctrine of the Atonement. Without such information controversies of religion can be settled only by majority vote, that is, by the whims or ambitions of ecclesiastical politicians. No wonder this age is being called the Post-Protestant era. No wonder there is talk of church union with Rome. Without information from God, men are left to their own devices."

Neo-orthodoxy has substituted existential encounters for the Word of God.


Reference:

Clark, Gordon H. 1965. What Do Presbyterians Believe? The Westminster Confession: Yesterday and Today. Phillipsburg, New Jersey: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company.

End.

[Glossary] The Bible, Modernism and Religious Experience

1. (Clark 1965, 25): "Unfortunately the visible churches that have descended from the Protestant Reformation, especially the larger and wealthier denominations, have to a considerable degree repudiated the Bible. Schleiermacher, Ritschl, and modernism substituted religious experiences for the Word of God. The neo-orthodox also deny the truth of the Bible and substitute something called an existential encounter. They fail to tell us how this experience determines the number of the sacraments, the mode of baptism, the principles of church government, or even the doctrine of the Atonement. Without such information controversies of religion can be settled only by majority vote, that is, by the whims or ambitions of ecclesiastical politicians. No wonder this age is being called the Post-Protestant era. No wonder there is talk of church union with Rome. Without information from God, men are left to their own devices."

Modernism has substituted religious experiences for the Word of God.


Reference:

Clark, Gordon H. 1965. What Do Presbyterians Believe? The Westminster Confession: Yesterday and Today. Phillipsburg, New Jersey: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company.

End.

[Glossary] How Can We Obtain a Knowledge of God?

1. (Clark 1965, 24-25): "Section x is the culmination of Chapter I. At the beginning of this chapter the question was asked, How can we obtain a knowledge of God? In the history of theology three main answers have been given. The first is an individual's personal hunches. This is dignified by calling it the Spirit speaking in one's own mind. Do not confuse this with the illumination that the Spirit gives us when we study the Scripture. In this case the Spirit enables us to understand what is written. But what the Confession refers to as 'private spirits' is the view that the Spirit supplies to some men information not contained in and often contradictory to the Bible. Examples are Swedenborg, Anne Hutchinson, and Mary Baker Eddy."

"The second attempt to locate the source of information about God is the Romish theory that the Councils are infallible. Since 1870 the Romanists make the claim that the Pope is infallible. We shall see, in examining the doctrines of the Confession, that the Pope frequently contradicts the Bible; and he explicitly acknowledges and claims to add to it."

"The third answer is that of the Protestant Reformation and the Bible itself. 'The supreme Judge by which all controversies of religion are to be determined ... can be no other but the Holy Spirit speaking in the Scripture.' "

We can obtain a knowledge of God from the Bible.


Reference:

Clark, Gordon H. 1965. What Do Presbyterians Believe? The Westminster Confession: Yesterday and Today. Phillipsburg, New Jersey: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company.

End.

[Glossary] Doctrines and the Bible

1. (Clark 1965, 24): "The Reformers made it a principle never to establish a doctrine on the basis of a single verse. On one occasion a Bible School teacher tried to convince me of something by quoting a verse. I objected that what he was saying was said only once in the Bible. With crushing confidence he replied, 'How often must God say something to make it true.' "

"The gentleman was of course considerably confused. If we take his reply very literally, we shall point out that God does not have to say something, reveal something to us, even once to make it true. All his secret decrees are true, though none of them is revealed. But more to the point, the Bible School teacher did not understand what is necessary for laying down doctrinal statements. The question has nothing to do with how many times God must say something to make it true, but, rather how many times must God say something before we can understand it. And the answer to this question is, usually several times."

The Reformers made it a principle never to establish a doctrine on the basis of a single Bible verse.


Reference:

Clark, Gordon H. 1965. What Do Presbyterians Believe? The Westminster Confession: Yesterday and Today. Phillipsburg, New Jersey: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company.

End.

[Glossary] Saving Understanding versus Ordinary Understanding of the Bible

1. (Clark 1965, 21): "Especially with regard to a saving understanding of Scripture, we need the illumination of the Spirit of God. One of the reasons is that a saving understanding goes beyond an ordinary understanding. The worst infidel can easily understand that the Bible means to say that David was King of Israel and that Christ was Messiah. But in order that this information may be saving information, a man must accept it as the Word of God."

"When Saul of Tarsus was persecuting the Church, he understood perfectly well that Christ claimed to be Messiah. But this understanding of the meaning of the words did not save him. It caused him to persecute. Then one day the Spirit of God illumined his mind. We too need such illumination."

A saving understanding of the Bible presupposes an ordinary understanding but goes beyond it.

A saving understanding of the Bible means accepting the Bible as the Word of God and that what it claims are true.

A saving understanding of the Bible requires the illumination of the Holy Spirit.


Reference:

Clark, Gordon H. 1965. What Do Presbyterians Believe? The Westminster Confession: Yesterday and Today. Phillipsburg, New Jersey: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company.

End.

[Glossary] The Bible and Mistaken Inferences

1. (Clark 1965, 21): "Of course, the validity of logic does not guarantee our infallibility. We may make mistakes in inference, and, what is more frequent, we may misunderstand some portions of Scripture."


Reference:

Clark, Gordon H. 1965. What Do Presbyterians Believe? The Westminster Confession: Yesterday and Today. Phillipsburg, New Jersey: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company.

End.

[Glossary] The Bible, Logic and Good and Necessary Consequence

1. (Clark 1965, 19-20): "Though we are not to add to the Scripture -- no sign of the cross, no bowing at the second phrase of the Apostles' Creed, no holy days or saint's days, no kneeling at the Lord's Supper -- nonetheless we are not restricted to the explicit words of Scripture. God is wisdom, and Christ is the Logos or Reason of God; we were created in his image, and are therefore required to accept conclusions deduced from Scripture 'by good and necessary consequence.' "

"Christ himself, in arguing against the Pharisees, frequently drew out the implications of the Old Testament. John 10:34-36 is such as argument. Another example of implication, though not from the words of the Old Testament, is found in John 8:42. Paul in Rom. 3:20 draws a conclusion from a series of Old Testament verses. There are many other examples; and, to use the language of college textbooks, we 'leave as an exercise for the student' the discovery of several of them."

"This process of implication, which characterizes the New Testament, must also be applied today. Really, the trouble is not the justification of logic. Who can deny that when Scripture says, all men are sinners, we must, because we are men, draw the conclusion that we are sinners? Or, when Jesus says, 'Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out,' and we add the minor premise, I come to Jesus, the logical, necessary, inescapable conclusion is, Jesus will not cast me out. No, the trouble is not the justification of logic. The trouble is that some people doubt logic."

"The neo-orthodox Brunner says logic must be curbed. Barth, at least in his earlier writings, insisted on Paradox. Some other people assume an appearance of piety and talk about 'our merely human logic,' which is so different from God's higher thoughts and ways. In effect these people deny that we have been created in God's image. But aside from their denial of the doctrine of creation, we wonder how they can talk, argue, or preach at all. Do they tell us, 'all have sinned, but any implication that this means you [are a sinner] is mere human logic and is not to be trusted.'? "

"Away with such illogicality! Let us pay no attention to these confused people, no matter how pious they seem. The Confession is right, clearly and obviously right, in accepting what 'by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from Scripture.'"

We are not restricted to the explicit words of the Bible.

We are required to accept conclusions deduced from the Bible by good and necessary consequence.


Reference:

Clark, Gordon H. 1965. What Do Presbyterians Believe? The Westminster Confession: Yesterday and Today. Phillipsburg, New Jersey: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company.

End.

[Glossary] The Bible is God's Complete Revelation

1. (Clark 1965, 19): "[Chapter I] Section vi and the second catechism question assert that the whole counsel of God, so far as the spiritual needs of man are concerned, is contained in the Bible. In the Scripture God's revelation is complete."

The Bible is God's complete revelation to man.


Reference:

Clark, Gordon H. 1965. What Do Presbyterians Believe? The Westminster Confession: Yesterday and Today. Phillipsburg, New Jersey: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company.

End.

[Glossary] The Bible as Axiom

1. (Clark 1965, 18): "Logically the infallibility of the Bible is not a theorem to be deduced from some prior axiom. The infallibility of the Bible is the axiom from which the several doctrines are themselves deduced as theorems. Every religion and every philosophy must be based on some first principle. And since a first principle is first, it cannot be 'proved' or 'demonstrated' on the basis of anything prior. As the catechism question, quoted above, says, 'The Word of God is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify Him.' "

The Bible is the axiom or first principle of doctrines and philosophy.


Reference:

Clark, Gordon H. 1965. What Do Presbyterians Believe? The Westminster Confession: Yesterday and Today. Phillipsburg, New Jersey: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company.

End.

[Glossary] How May We Know the Bible is True?

1. (Clark 1965, 18): "How then may we know that the Bible is true? The Confession answers, 'Our full persuasion and assurance of the infallible truth and divine authority [of the Scripture] is from the inward work of the Holy Spirit.' "

"Faith is a gift or work of God. It is God who causes us to believe: 'Blessed is the man whom thou choosest and causest to approach unto thee' (Psa. 65:4)."

The Holy Spirit works inside us to persuade and assure us of the truth of the Bible.


Reference:

Clark, Gordon H. 1965. What Do Presbyterians Believe? The Westminster Confession: Yesterday and Today. Phillipsburg, New Jersey: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company.

End.

[Glossary] The Bible and Logical Consistency

1. (Clark 1965, 18): "The consent or logical consistency of the whole is important; for if the Bible contradicted itself, we would know that some of it would be false."


Reference:

Clark, Gordon H. 1965. What Do Presbyterians Believe? The Westminster Confession: Yesterday and Today. Phillipsburg, New Jersey: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company.

End.

[Glossary] Doctrine and Archaeology

1. (Clark 1965, 17): "Archaeology, of course, can contribute little or nothing toward proving that the doctrines, as distinct from the historical events, of the Bible are true." 


Reference:

Clark, Gordon H. 1965. What Do Presbyterians Believe? The Westminster Confession: Yesterday and Today. Phillipsburg, New Jersey: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company.

End.

[Glossary] The Bible and Historical Proof

1. (Clark 1965, 17): "It also returns us to the notion of proof or demonstration. If, while we are trying to win a man to Christ, he asks us to prove that the Bible is true, what sort of 'proof' does he have in mind? And what sort of 'proof' are we able to give?"

"Presumably it will not be geometrical demonstration. Nor can it be strictly historical. Consider. There may be, say, a thousand historical assertions in the Bible. Fortunately, many of these that the modernists said were false, are now known to be true. For example, the modernists asserted that the Hittite nation never existed. Today the museums have more Hittite books than they have time to translate. The modernists said that Moses could not have written the Pentateuch, because writing had not yet been invented in his day. Well, writing existed over a thousand years before the time of Moses. Still, the fact that the Bible is correct on these points does not 'prove' that it is without error. Obviously there are many historical assertions in the Bible that we cannot check and never will be able to check. Who could hope to corroborate the assertions that Eliezer asked Rebekah for a drink of water, and that Rebekah drew water for his camels also?"

"Nevertheless, to discomfit the critics, we may take full advantage of archaeology. It has been show clearly how very wrong the unbelievers have been."

Archaeology cannot prove all the historical claims of the Bible to be true because many historical assertions in the Bible cannot be check by archaeology.


Reference:

Clark, Gordon H. 1965. What Do Presbyterians Believe? The Westminster Confession: Yesterday and Today. Phillipsburg, New Jersey: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company.

End.

[Glossary] Interpreting the Bible

1. (Clark 1965, 16): "[Chapter 1] Section v even uses the word infallible. It says that our full assurance of the infallible truth and divine authority of these books is the work of the Holy Spirit. Can there be error in infallible truth? To the same end section ix teaches that the infallible rule of interpretation of Scripture is the Scripture itself."

The infallible rule of interpretation of the Bible is the Bible.


2. (Clark 1965, 23): "It seems undeniable that when there are two or more Scripture passages on the same subject, we should compare them for the light they throw on each other. Students of Plato and Aristotle use this method. Why not use it with the Bible also?"

We should compare Bible passages on the same subject for the light they throw on each other.


Reference:

Clark, Gordon H. 1965. What Do Presbyterians Believe? The Westminster Confession: Yesterday and Today. Phillipsburg, New Jersey: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company.

End.

[Glossary] Assurance of the Divine Authority of the Bible

1. (Clark 1965, 16): "[Chapter I] Section v even uses the word infallible. It says that our full assurance of the infallible truth and divine authority of these books is the work of the Holy Spirit. Can there be error in infallible truth? To the same end section ix teaches that the infallible rule of interpretation of Scripture is the Scripture itself."

It is the Holy Spirit that gives full assurance of the divine authority of the Bible.


Reference:

Clark, Gordon H. 1965. What Do Presbyterians Believe? The Westminster Confession: Yesterday and Today. Phillipsburg, New Jersey: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company.

End.

[Glossary] Assurance of the Infallible Truth of the Bible

1. (Clark 1965, 16): "[Chapter I] Section v even uses the word infallible. It says that our full assurance of the infallible truth and divine authority of these books is the work of the Holy Spirit. Can there be error in infallible truth? To the same end section ix teaches that the infallible rule of interpretation of Scripture is the Scripture itself."

It is the Holy Spirit that gives full assurance of the infallible truth of the Bible.


Reference:

Clark, Gordon H. 1965. What Do Presbyterians Believe? The Westminster Confession: Yesterday and Today. Phillipsburg, New Jersey: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company.

End.

[Glossary] Criticism of Neo-orthodox's Containment Theory of the Bible

1. (Clark 1965, 16): "[Chapter I] Section iv says that the authority for which the Scriptures should be believed depends wholly on God, who is truth itself and the author of the books; therefore the sixty-six books itemized in section ii are to be received because they are the Word of God. Here it is to be noted that the authority of God attaches to all the Scripture, not to a part only. Scripture has been defined as the sixty-six books, and God is declared to be the author of them all. God is truth itself, and the Scripture not merely contains but is the Word of God."

According to the Westminster Confession of Faith, all of the Bible is the Word of God.

According to the neo-orthodox's Containment theory, some but not all of the Bible contain the Word of God.

Therefore, the neo-orthodox view of the Bible is inconsistent with the Westminster Confession of Faith's view of the Bible.

If the Westminster Confession of Faith's view of the Bible is true, then the neo-orthodox view of the Bible is false.


Reference:

Clark, Gordon H. 1965. What Do Presbyterians Believe? The Westminster Confession: Yesterday and Today. Phillipsburg, New Jersey: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company.

End.

[Glossary] The Neo-orthodox's Containment Theory of the Word of God

1. (Clark 1965, 15-16): "And today neo-orthodoxy loudly insists that the word of God is found in the Bible, perhaps only in the Bible, but that not everything in the Bible is true. These modernists could appeal to the Shorter Catechism, Question 2: 'What rule hath God given to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him? The word of God, which is contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him.' Does it not say that the word of God is contained in the Scriptures? Somewhere, but not everywhere, between Genesis and Revelation, the word of God is to be found. This is their contention."

According to the Containment Theory, the Word of God is contained in some, but not all, parts of the Bible.


Reference:

Clark, Gordon H. 1965. What Do Presbyterians Believe? The Westminster Confession: Yesterday and Today. Phillipsburg, New Jersey: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company.

End.

[Glossary] Reason for Believing the Bible

1. (Clark 1965, 14): "Some sections of the Confession may be hard to understand. But there is no difficulty at all about the meaning of [Chapter I] section iv. The Bible, the Holy Scripture, is to be believed because it is the Word of God."


2. (Clark 1965, 16): "[Chapter I] Section iv says that the authority for which the Scriptures should be believed depends wholly on God, who is truth itself and the author of the books; therefore the sixty-six books itemized in section ii are to be received because they are the Word of God. Here it is to be noted that the authority of God attaches to all the Scripture, not to a part only. Scripture has been defined as the sixty-six books, and God is declared to be the author of them all. God is truth itself, and the Scripture not merely contains but is the Word of God."

The Bible is to be believed because it is the Word of God.

Reference:

Clark, Gordon H. 1965. What Do Presbyterians Believe? The Westminster Confession: Yesterday and Today. Phillipsburg, New Jersey: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company.

End.

[Glossary] J. Gresham Machen

1. (Clark 1965, 15): "In the early thirties, J. Gresham Machen, a scholar of world renown, tried to halt unbelief in the Presbyterian Church; but he was excommunicated for his loyalty to the Word of God -- and excommunicated without being allowed the simple justice of presenting his defense in any of the three church courts through which his case was carried."


Reference:

Clark, Gordon H. 1965. What Do Presbyterians Believe? The Westminster Confession: Yesterday and Today. Phillipsburg, New Jersey: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company.

End.

[Glossary] Criterion for Judging the Bible?

1. (Clark 1965, 14-15): "But in order to maintain that the Bible is mistaken, not only about some obscure dates, numbers, and names, but about points of theology too, it is necessary to have some other source of information about God. If there is no other such source, how could anyone know that the doctrine of the atonement, for example, is wrong? If there is such a source, we should like to know what it is. By what criterion shall the Bible be judged? This question should be particularly embarrassing to Barth, for he wishes to hold that theology is an independent science without a foundation in philosophy, anthropology, natural science, or any other subject."

If the Bible is mistaken about points of theology, then by what criterion is the Bible judged to be wrong?


Reference:

Clark, Gordon H. 1965. What Do Presbyterians Believe? The Westminster Confession: Yesterday and Today. Phillipsburg, New Jersey: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company.

End.

[Glossary] Definition of the Word of God

1. (Clark 1965, 13): "At any rate, we today, as well as the Reformers, need to know what various writers and various religions mean by the phrase the Word of God. There is no ambiguity in the Calvinistic position. The Word of God is the sixty-six books of the Bible."

In the Westminster Confession of Faith 1.2, the Word of God is defined extensionally by naming each and every one of the sixty-six books of the Bible.


Reference:

Clark, Gordon H. 1965. What Do Presbyterians Believe? The Westminster Confession: Yesterday and Today. Phillipsburg, New Jersey: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company.

End.

[Glossary] Innate Knowledge of Morality

1. (Clark 1965, 10): "Is it not possible that the knowledge of God is innate? May we not have been born with an intuition of God, and with this a priori equipment we see the glory of God upon the heavens? In this way we would be not forced to the peculiar position that the Apostle Paul was giving his advance approval [Romans 1:20] to the Aristotelian intricacies of Thomas Aquinas."


2. (Clark 1965, 11): "Perhaps it would be better to understand the situation in terms of innate or a priori ideas. In the act of creation God implanted in man a knowledge of His existence. Romans 1:32 and 2:15 seem to indicate that God also implanted some knowledge of morality. We are born with this knowledge; it is not manufactured out of sensory experience."

 
3. (Clark 1965, 11): "The Confession on the other hand, from its systematic construction, immediately makes it clear that any knowledge of God's great power displayed in creation is insufficient for salvation."

"Even innate knowledge of morality gives no information how or even whether sin may be forgiven. 'Therefore it pleased the Lord, at sundry times and in divers manners, to reveal himself, and to declare his will unto the Church.' "

We seem to have some innate knowledge of morality.

This innate knowledge of morality is partial and incomplete.

In particular, this innate knowledge of morality gives no information on how or even whether sin may be forgiven.


Reference:

Clark, Gordon H. 1965. What Do Presbyterians Believe? The Westminster Confession: Yesterday and Today. Phillipsburg, New Jersey: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company.

End.

[Glossary] Innate Knowledge of God

1. (Clark 1965, 10): "Is it not possible that the knowledge of God is innate? May we not have been born with an intuition of God, and with this a priori equipment we see the glory of God upon the heavens? In this way we would be not forced to the peculiar position that the Apostle Paul was giving his advance approval [in Romans 1:20] to the Aristotelian intricacies of Thomas Aquinas."


2. (Clark 1965, 11): "Perhaps it would be better to understand the situation in terms of innate or a priori ideas. In the act of creation God implanted in man a knowledge of His existence. Romans 1:32 and 2:15 seem to indicate that God also implanted some knowledge of morality. We are born with this knowledge; it is not manufactured out of sensory experience."

 
3. (Clark 1965, 11): "The Confession on the other hand, from its systematic construction, immediately makes it clear that any knowledge of God's great power displayed in creation is insufficient for salvation."

"Even innate knowledge of morality gives no information how or even whether sin may be forgiven. 'Therefore it pleased the Lord, at sundry times and in divers manners, to reveal himself, and to declare his will unto the Church.' "

We have some innate knowledge of God.

This innate knowledge of God is partial and incomplete.

In particular, this innate knowledge of God is insufficient for salvation.


Reference:

Clark, Gordon H. 1965. What Do Presbyterians Believe? The Westminster Confession: Yesterday and Today. Phillipsburg, New Jersey: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company.

End.

[Glossary] Ideas versus Words

1. (Clark 1993, 10-11): "This short address [1 Peter:1-2], by declaring that Father, Son, and Holy Spirit act unitedly in the salvation of men, substantiates the doctrine of the Trinity and rules out all forms of unitarianism. From a crabbedly literal viewpoint, the Trinity and the Nicene phrase, 'of the same essence' are, as the Arians insisted in their struggle against Athanasius, not mentioned in the Bible. And for that matter neither is the Holy Ghost called a person. But the important point is not the presence or absence of certain words; the important point is the presence or absence of certain ideas. Wolves in sheep's clothing sometimes disguise themselves in a surface loyalty to Scriptural wording in order to deny Scriptural teaching. There is no mention of vicarious or substitutionary atonement -- atonement, yes; substitution, no. Therefore they argue, let us not insist that Christ took our place and suffered in our stead. These words do not occur in Scripture. Correct; but Peter soon emphasizes the ideas and doctrines. And in these first two verses the Trinity is taught. Unless the three Persons are substantially equal in power and glory, how could we account for their conjunction, cooperation, and relationship as taken for granted throughout the New Testament? A mere man and God Almighty could not be so linked. And so it may be said, as others have said before, that God the Father plans salvation, God the Son merits salvation, and God the Spirit applies salvation. Grace unto you and peace be multiplied."

The important point is not the presence or absence of certain words; the important point is the presence or absence of certain ideas.


Reference:

Clark, Gordon H. 1993. New Heavens, New Earth: A Commentary on First and Second Peter. Jefferson, Maryland: The Trinity Foundation.

End.

[Glossary] Expiation and Sprinkling of Blood

1. (Clark 1993, 10):

"This procedure [of sprinkling blood] was designed to teach the people the nature of expiation. The oxen had been offered as a sacrifice to appease God and their blood was sprinkled on the altar. This indicates, as even the heathen tribes know, that a sacrifice first of all is designed not to cause a change of heart in man, for which change God then accepts the worshipper, but a sacrifice is primarily intended to cause a change of disposition in God. A sacrifice is supposed to act on God, not on man. God sets aside his wrath and becomes gracious. Then in the Mosaic ritual, after the blood had been sprinkled on the altar, the law was read and the people voluntarily accepted the covenant God had proposed; and finally the blood was sprinkled on the people to show that they had been forgiven, accepted, and included in the covenant."

"The New Testament naturally throws some light on Old Testament sprinkling. Hebrews 9:13, 19, 21 with the context teach that the sprinklings of blood sanctified the patterns of heavenly things, but in reality true sanctification is accomplished by the blood of Jesus Christ. In the following chapter (Hebrews 10:22) there is a reference to purification from evil by sprinkling and washing (compare Hebrews 12:24)."

"In view of this background, the Jews whom Peter was writing would instantly understand that the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses from all sin, that the sacrifice on the cross satisfied the just demands of the righteous God; and that cleansing and obedience were purposes of election."

A sacrifice is primarily intended to cause a change of disposition in God.

True sanctification is accomplished by the blood of Jesus Christ.

Cleansing and obedience were purposes of election.


Reference:

Clark, Gordon H. 1993. New Heavens, New Earth: A Commentary on First and Second Peter. Jefferson, Maryland: The Trinity Foundation.

End.

[Glossary] Method of Cleansing from Guilt and Pollution

1. (Clark 1993, 9): "It would not be sufficient for God's purpose (even were it a fact, which it is not) that a man obey perfectly from the moment of his conversion onward. He should have obeyed before. God demands perfect obedience at all times, and tomorrow's obedience does not excuse yesterday's disobedience. Therefore, as guilty before God, and as deserving of God's wrath and curse, a man must be cleansed of all guilt and pollution. This also is the purpose of God's election, and the method of cleansing is the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ."

The method of cleansing from guilt and pollution is the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.


Reference:

Clark, Gordon H. 1993. New Heavens, New Earth: A Commentary on First and Second Peter. Jefferson, Maryland: The Trinity Foundation.

End.

[Glossary] Perfect Obedience

1. (Clark 1993, 9): "It would not be sufficient for God's purpose (even were it a fact, which it is not) that a man obey perfectly from the moment of his conversion onward. He should have obeyed before. God demands perfect obedience at all times, and tomorrow's obedience does not excuse yesterday's disobedience. Therefore, as guilty before God, and as deserving of God's wrath and curse, a man must be cleansed of all guilt and pollution. This also is the purpose of God's election, and the method of cleansing is the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ."

God demands perfect obedience at all times.


Reference:

Clark, Gordon H. 1993. New Heavens, New Earth: A Commentary on First and Second Peter. Jefferson, Maryland: The Trinity Foundation.

End.

[Glossary] Aspects of Obedience

1. (Clark 1993, 9): "At the mention of obedience one naturally thinks of an act performed. In the army an officer orders, 'Forward March,' and the soldiers step forward. Or one may think of it negatively as a not-doing. The Scriptures say, 'Thou shalt not steal,' and he who obeys refrains from certain overt actions. Peter has all this in mind when he uses the term obedience, but he has more than this is mind. Obedience, while it may always involve some sort of activity, is not exhausted by ordinary overt action. 'Search the Scriptures' is a command; and while obedience to it may require a sort of action, it is the action of sitting still, reading a book, and presumably, thinking about it. Moreover, after searching the Scriptures and learning what they say, we are commanded to believe them. Believing is even less overt than turning the pages of a book, but it is obedience nonetheless. Mental and physical obedience both come within the scope of Peter's statement."

Obedience to the precepts of God includes both mental and physical obedience, and acting and refraining from acting.


Reference:

Clark, Gordon H. 1993. New Heavens, New Earth: A Commentary on First and Second Peter. Jefferson, Maryland: The Trinity Foundation.

End.

[Glossary] Election and Obedience

1. (Clark 1993. 8): "It is not an entirely unreasonable simplification to say that the theme of the epistle [1 Peter] is found in the words, 'Elect ... unto obedience.' "


2. (Clark 1993. 8-9): "When the epistle [1 Peter] as a whole is considered, the emphasis seems to lie on one of the important purposes of God in election: obedience. Obedience by itself does not exhaust the purpose of election; it is not the ultimate purpose God has in mind; but it is the phase of God's purpose that the recipients of this epistle needed to read about. And all in all, obedience may be more comprehensive that at first appears."


3. (Clark 1993, 9): "Here let us only note that God has a purpose in electing some to everlasting life, and that purpose is to make them obedient to his precepts."


Reference:

Clark, Gordon H. 1993. New Heavens, New Earth: A Commentary on First and Second Peter. Jefferson, Maryland: The Trinity Foundation.

End.

[Glossary] Doctrine -- Length of Exposition and Importance

1. (Clark 1993, 5): "In fact in the New Testament as a whole it is not the most fundamental doctrines that receive the most careful exposition. In Romans and Galatians Paul argues for justification by faith in chapter after chapter; but nowhere can there be found any such argument for the deity of Christ. And yet would not one say that the deity of Christ is more fundamental that justification by faith? But while no exposition of Christ's deity is found, there are many references to it. The deity of Christ is fundamental in that it underlies all New Testament teaching; the particular discussions of the various chapters presuppose rather than explain it. To assume that Christ is not very God of very God would turn half if not all the verses of the New Testament into nonsense."

The importance of a doctrine need not be measured by the length of its expositions in the Bible.


Reference:

Clark, Gordon H. 1993. New Heavens, New Earth: A Commentary on First and Second Peter. Jefferson, Maryland: The Trinity Foundation.

End.

[Glossary] Doctrine and Practice

1. (Clark 1993, 4): "On the contrary, Peter no less than Paul bases practical advice and exhortation on doctrine, or, if it may be so called, on theory. Practical people should not disparage theory. They cannot get along without it. Practical applications must always be applications of some theory; and it makes a world of difference what theory is applied. Consider the difference in application between Hapsburg, Bourbon, or Nazi political theory and that of English constitutional monarchy. Theory is indispensible, and Peter has it. Yet Peter is practical, not theoretical."

Practical applications must always be applications of some theory.


Reference:

Clark, Gordon H. 1993. New Heavens, New Earth: A Commentary on First and Second Peter. Jefferson, Maryland: The Trinity Foundation.

End.

[Glossary] Definition of Expiate

1. (Clark 1993, 2): "To expiate, and this is the word contemporary translators have substituted [for propitiate], means to extinguish guilt, or to atone for, by suffering, by paying a penalty, or in some way or other."

To expiate means to atone for or to extinguish guilt by some means.


Reference:

Clark, Gordon H. 1993. New Heavens, New Earth: A Commentary on First and Second Peter. Jefferson, Maryland: The Trinity Foundation.

End.

[Glossary] Definition of Propitiate

1. (Clark 1993, 2): "To propitiate means to appease the wrath of an angry Deity, and this is exactly what the New Testament means where the word occurs."


Reference:

Clark, Gordon H. 1993. New Heavens, New Earth: A Commentary on First and Second Peter. Jefferson, Maryland: The Trinity Foundation.

End.

[Glossary] Education and Christian Theism

1. (Clark 1988, 21-22): "There is only one philosophy that can really unify education and life. That philosophy is the philosophy of Christian theism. What is needed is an educational system based on the sovereignty of God, for in such a system man as well as chemistry will be given his proper place, neither too high nor too low. In such a system there will be a chief end of man to unify, and to serve as a criterion for, all his activities. What is needed therefore is a philosophy consonant with the greatest creed of Christendom, the Westminster Confession of Faith. In such a system, God, as well as man, will have his proper place. This alone will make education successful, for the social, moral, political, and economic disintegration of a civilization is nothing other than the symptom and result of a religious breakdown. The abominations of war, pestilence, and economic collapse are punishment for the crime, better, the sin, of forgetting God."


Reference:

Clark, Gordon H. 1988. A Christian Philosophy of Education. 2nd ed. Jefferson, Maryland: The Trinity Foundation.

End.

[Glossary] A Criticism of Great Books

1. (Clark 1988, 20-21):

"President Hutchins [University of Chicago] before World War II was the first to bring public attention to the need for a basic philosophy to unify education. Against the prevailing tide he struggled to convict education of a fragmentary, disjointed approach and to urge a unified approach governed by basic principles. Now he has many educators to echo his demands. They have sounded a needed note and deserve our gratitude. But they seem to have failed in one very important point. It will, I trust, not be construed as a lack of appreciation if a single criticism is offered in conclusion."

"The one great flaw in the work of President Hutchins is that while he emphasized the need for a basic philosophy to unify education, he failed to supply the philosophy. For the contents of his ideal curriculum he proposed a series of great books. This program is one of considerable excellence, and it has enjoyed wide popularity. It not only reintroduced some of the great books into college courses, but from 1945 to 1955 adults formed clubs to discuss them. There must have been a dozen, possibly twenty, such discussion groups in the medium-sized city of Indianapolis. Even some of President Hutchins' opponents conceded that these books had been unwisely neglected for many years. Their study and discussion was a great improvement. But, note well, the books proposed do not present a single, unified philosophical system, nor have I been able to discover that President Hutchins provided for their explication on the basis of a definite philosophy. In other words, Hutchins analyzed modern education, diagnosed its disease, said that a remedy is needed, but failed to write the prescription. Now, if someone wishes to unify education, it is not enough to say that a philosophical basis is necessary. To accomplish such a result, it is essential to provide the philosophy."


Reference:

Clark, Gordon H. 1988. A Christian Philosophy of Education. 2nd ed. Jefferson, Maryland: The Trinity Foundation.

End.

[Glossary] What Makes Living Worthwhile

1. (Clark 1988, 18): "Physical means of living have been multiplied, but the purpose and end of life, which alone make the means worthwhile, have faded from view."

(Clark 1988, 18): "These fragments of civilization, Thorndike's thirty-seven fragments, are accepted as valuable in themselves alone without a suspicion that a life of detached fragments has no value at all. Why not commit suicide and save so much bother? Seriously, why not?"

A life of detached fragments has no value at all.

It is the purpose of life that makes the living worthwhile.

The living is the means to achieve the purpose of life.


Reference:

Clark, Gordon H. 1988. A Christian Philosophy of Education. 2nd ed. Jefferson, Maryland: The Trinity Foundation.

End.

[Glossary] Expert Ignoramuses

1. (Clark 1988, 14-15): "On the other hand, the requirements on students intending to enter professional schools were raised so far as their technical subjects were concerned. There were pre-law, pre-medical, pre-engineering, pre-dental courses. These courses on the whole provided excellent technical training, and with the crowding out of the liberal arts they produced expert ignoramuses, efficient cogs in somebody's machine."


Reference:

Clark, Gordon H. 1988. A Christian Philosophy of Education. 2nd ed. Jefferson, Maryland: The Trinity Foundation.

End.

[Glossary] A Reason for War

1. (Clark 1988, 11-12): "This rejection of the very basis of Christianity pervades all their teaching. Suppose they are teaching history: In this case they may give certain economic causes of a war, but they would never think of considering a war as a punishment sent by God on account of national sin. The effect of this naturalistic view on the explanation of the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. is obvious and disastrous."

A war may be a punishment sent by God on account of national sin.


Reference:

Clark, Gordon H. 1988. A Christian Philosophy of Education. 2nd ed. Jefferson, Maryland: The Trinity Foundation.

End.

[Glossary] Education and Morality

1. (Clark 1988, 11): "If there is any possibility that education can be productive of good, that possibility depends on the inclusion of morality in the curriculum. But what is morality? How are moral norms discovered and known? Do they or do they not require a theological foundation? The present volume, as its title suggests, asserts the need of a theological basis for morality; but the sole point intended at this juncture is that a knowledge of child psychology, including of necessity a view of the origin and nature of man, the relation between education and government, and the inclusion or exclusion of morals and theology, requires an intelligent educator to have a rather well-developed philosophy or world-view."

The possibility of education being productive of good in a society depends on including the teaching of morality in school curriculums.

Morality in turn needs a theological basis.


Reference:

Clark, Gordon H. 1988. A Christian Philosophy of Education. 2nd ed. Jefferson, Maryland: The Trinity Foundation.

End.

[Glossary] Politics -- Majority Rule and Minorities Rights

1. (Clark 1988, 7): "American tradition, however, has never favored simple majority rule. Among all governments of the world the United States has been foremost in protecting the right of minorities, and the smallest minority is the individual, and these rights are not regarded as gratuities from the government in power, but as God-given."

Some rights are God-given and are not gratuities from the government in power.


Reference:

Clark, Gordon H. 1988. A Christian Philosophy of Education. 2nd ed. Jefferson, Maryland: The Trinity Foundation.

End.

[Glossary] Education and World-View

1. (Clark 1988, 3): "Education is a respectable subject for study because it is an important human activity having vital relationships with many, if not all, other human activities. It is an essential component of the world. And if it is to be treated adequately, its place in relation to the rest of the world must be accurately located. Education cannot be properly considered in a state of isolation. As an important part of the world, its understanding requires a general view of the world of which it is so important a part."

(Clark 1988, 3): "If education as a subject is to achieve the respect its inherent worth demands, its professors must produce a basic world-view into which their educational theories fit and on which they depend."

Education cannot be considered in isolation but as part of a world-view.


Reference:

Clark, Gordon H. 1988. A Christian Philosophy of Education. 2nd ed. Jefferson, Maryland: The Trinity Foundation.

End.