Quotations About

Quotations Positive and Negative about Gordon H. Clark

 

1. Quotations Positive:


Carl F.H. Henry


"A Wide and Deep Swath" (1968):

"Among articulate Christian philosophers on the American scene, none has addressed the broad sweep of contemporary concerns from an evangelical Protestant view more comprehensively that Gordon H. Clark."


Reference: Henry, Carl F.H. 1968. A wide and deep swath. In The Philosophy of Gordon H. Clark, ed. Ronald H. Nash. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: The Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company.



John W. Robbins


"America's Augustine: Gordon Haddon Clark" (1985):

"Some may think it an exaggeration to refer to Clark as America's Augustine, but those who have studied his works will not. Not only did he consider himself an Augustinian (he repeatedly and modestly emphasized that he was simply restating, refining, and developing insights Augustine had originated), but he was the equal of the African doctor in breadth of learning, and his contributions to theology and philosophy are both original and brilliant."

"A philosopher by education and profession, and a theologian by preference, Clark was surrounded by critics ignorant of philosophy and heretical in theology."


Reference: Robbins, John W. 1985. America's Augustine: Gordon Haddon Clark. The Trinity Review (April): 1-3.



Robert L. Reymond


"The Justification of Theology" (1987):

"The highly esteemed American philosopher-theologian of revered and recent memory, Dr. Gordon Haddon Clark, begins his 1984 book, In Defense of Theology, with the following statement ..."


Reference: Reymond, Robert L. 1987. The justification of theology: With a special application to contemporary Christology. Scottish Bulletin of Evangelical Theology 5, no.1 (Spring): 82-104.



Ronald H. Nash


"Clark and Contemporary Thought" (1989):

"Gordon Clark was one of the premier Christian thinkers of the twentieth century. Few Christian thinkers defended the cause of biblical Christianity with as much determination and as much skill as Clark. It is important to remember that much of Clark's important work occurred during the deep theologically valley that marked the lowest point in the fortunes of American fundamentalism. It is also important to note that evangelicalism was led out of that pit largely through the efforts of Clark and two of his philosophy students at Wheaton College, Carl Henry and E.J. Carnell. From the year when J.Gresham Machen died (1937) to the first publications of Henry and Carnell after World War II, Clark stood almost alone for the set of essential beliefs that came to serve as the foundation of evangelical scholarship in the 1950s. Others who may have shared Clark's convictions neglected the vital matter of getting those views into print."


Reference: Nash, Ronald H. 1989. Clark and contemporary thought. In Gordon H. Clark: Personal Recollections, ed. John W. Robbins, 87-91. Jefferson, Maryland: The Trinity Foundation.



W. Gary Crampton
 

The Scripturalism of Gordon H. Clark (1999):

"Gordon Clark, like so many of the great thinkers of history, has been greatly misunderstood, maltreated, and heavily criticized. He has been denounced as a fidest, rationalist, pantheist, and an absolute idealist. Still others have seen him as a "theological giant" (Harold Lindsell), "one of the premier Christian thinkers of the twentieth century" (Ronald Nash), "a man profoundly influenced by a sense of the holiness of God" (John Sanderson), and "one of the profoundest evangelical Protestant philosophers of our time" (Carl Henry)."


Reference: Crampton, W. Gary. 1999. The Scripturalism of Gordon H. Clark. Unicoi, Tennessee: The Trinity Foundation.



2. Quotations Negative:


D.A. Carson


(Carson 2007, 96):

"Gordon H. Clark (2nd ed.; /Trinity Foundation 1989, $10.95) tends to treat the text in a historical vacuum and sometimes reveals more about himself and his beliefs than his ostensible subject, but occasionally there are insightful remarks."

-- (Carson's remark pertains to Clark's Commentary on 1 Corinthians.)



(Carson 2007, 119):

"Gordon H. Clark (/Presbyterian & Reformed 1989, $6.95) oscillates between insightful and the ill-informed."

-- (Carson's remark pertains to Clark's Commentary on Philemon.) 



(Carson 2007, 139):

"Gordon H. Clark on the Petrine epistles (1980, op) can be thoughtful, sometimes frustrating, almost never humble, but occasionally a useful supplement to the standard works."

-- (Carson's remark pertains to Clark's Commentary on 1 and 2 Peter.)



(Carson 2007, 143):

"Gordon H. Clark, on 1 John alone (Presbyterian & Reformed 1992, $10.95), is better on these epistles than on some others, but he shapes quite a bit of his argument against Bultmann, and on these epistles I doubt if Bultmann is influential enough to be worth the trouble."

-- (Carson's remark pertains to Clark's Commentary on 1 John.)


Reference: Carson, D.A. 2007. New Testament Commentary Survey. 6th ed. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic.


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