The Riddleblog

Rapture Stuff, Again

It is time for the annual “Rapture Index” check-up. It currently stands at 181, which remains in the “fasten your seat belts” territory. The all-time high was 189 (on October 10, 2016, and again in 2023). With all the culture war unease, political tribalism, and “wars and rumors of wars” currently in the air, I suspect the proprietor must be sympathetic to Trump, which is why the index is as low as it is. If all the typical punditry signs are showing things getting worse, but you like the guy in charge, you probably cannot bring yourself to push the index higher. That is not supposed to happen on his watch.

And I keep asking, why would you want to “fasten your seat belts” if the rapture was near? Wouldn’t that leave a nasty mark when you get snatched away?

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Books Which Shouldn't Change Anybody's Mind!

Roberts Liardon arrived in Orange County CA about the same time Benny Hinn did. “Roberts” Liardon (named for Oral Roberts) was in his early twenties at the time,and was the l'enfant terrible of the word-faith movement. One of our employee’s sisters attended his new and rapidly growing church in Irvine (Embassy Christian Center) and wanted us to sell his book, I Saw Heaven. She gave us a copy to read—thinking this would convince us. Instead it brought howls of laughter.

Between customers, my employees and I would take turns reading sections to each other. There are not words. Liardon recounts being taken to heaven, and then describes what he saw. He claims that Jesus led him into a warehouse which contained all of the organs, limbs, eyeballs, etc., which were waiting for those who were sick and which could be theirs if only they would name and claim them. Liardon was shocked and saddened to the point of tears by the unclaimed healings (and body parts), and announced this as the basis for his burgeoning healing ministry—to motivate God’s saints to claim what God had already provided for them. To buoy his spirits, he describes how Jesus took pity on him and they engaged in a playful splash fight in the River of Life. I’m not kidding.

I laughed at it then, but am now disgusted by the sight of the cover of the updated version of I Saw Heaven which celebrated its 25th anniversary awhile back, bragging of sales of over 1.5 million copies. Yes, this is thoroughly heretical, but my present concern is “how on earth do 1.5 million people find this kind of book worth buying?”

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“We Hold These Truths to Be Self-Evident”

249 Years later, it is always good to go back and read why we celebrate “the 4th of July.”

In CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen United States of America,

When in the course of human Events, it becomes necessary for one People to dissolve the Political Bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the Powers of the Earth, the separate and equal Station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent Respect to the Opinions of Mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the Separation.

We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.

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Current Events, History and CultureKim RiddlebargerJuly 4, 2025Declaration of IndependenceComment

Warfield on Calvin's Doctrine of Natural Revelation

Warfield’s essay summarizing Calvin’s “Doctrine of the Knowledge of God” is important in two respects. One, in this small portion of the essay, Warfield gives us a complete and thorough summary of Calvin’s doctrine of natural revelation. Although some feel this is more Warfield’s understanding than Calvin’s, I think it rather obvious from Warfield’s careful citations of Calvin, the supposed wedge between the two is more imagined than real. Second, when Warfield develops his notion of general revelation as the necessary backdrop and context for special revelation (in his essay, “The Biblical Idea of Revelation,” reprinted in his famous Inspiration and Authority of the Bible), he draws heavily upon Calvin’s view.

This essay was originally published in The Princeton Theological Review, vii. April, 1909, 219-325. It has been reprinted in Calvin and Augustine (P & R 1956), 29-130; and Warfield, Calvin and Calvinism, vol 5., in the Works of Benjamin B. Warfield (Oxford Edition, 1931), 29-130. The essay can also be found here in its entirety: Calvin's Doctrine of the Knowledge of God

We are to contemplate God in his works . . .

The vigor and enthusiasm with which Calvin prosecutes his exposition of the patefaction [manifestation]of God in nature and history is worth emphasizing further. [Calvin] even turns aside (Institutes I.5.9) to express his special confidence in it, in contrast to a priori reasoning, as the "right way and the best method of seeking God." A speculative inquiry into the essence of God, he suggests, merely fatigues the mind and flutters in the brain. If we would know God vitally, in our hearts, let us rather contemplate Him in His works. These, we shall find, as the Psalmist points out, declare His greatness and conduce to His praise. Once more, we may observe here the concreteness of Calvin's mind and method, and are reminded of the practical end he keeps continually in view. So far is he from losing himself in merely speculative elaborations or prosecuting his inquiries under the spur of "presumptuous curiosity," that the practical religious motive is always present, dominating his thought.

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The Battle Cry of the Risen Savior (1 Corinthians 15:21-22)

Three Important Elements in Paul’s “Battle Cry of the Risen Savior”

Christ as “Firstfruits”

There are three important elements found in Paul’s “battle cry of the Risen Savior.” First, Paul speaks of Christ’s resurrection as the “firstfruits,” which is an agricultural term, referring here to a much larger harvest yet to come.[1] When viewed against the background of the Old Testament, when the first sheaf of the harvest was brought to the temple so as to consecrate the entire harvest of grain which had not yet ripened or been harvested,[2] so too, Christ’s resurrection consecrates the entire harvest of those who also will be raised from the dead–that is, all of the elect, who are already seen as “raised with Christ” (cf. Ephesians 2:4-7; Philippians 3:20-21).[3]

The very fact that the resurrection constitutes the “firstfruits” of a future harvest, guarantees that there will be a much larger harvest yet to come. Lest we forget, this includes all those who have “fallen sleep,” that is, those who have died in Christ. As Wright points out, Paul “is arguing for the certainty of the future bodily resurrection of all the Messiah’s people.”[4] Gaffin adds, our Lord’s “resurrection is the representative beginning of the resurrection of believers.”[5] This should give us great optimism as far as the missionary enterprise is concerned, because the multitude before the throne who are raised with Christ is so vast they cannot be counted (cf. Revelation 7:9). The harvest will be huge–beyond all human imagination.

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Pauline StudiesKim RiddlebargerJune 30, 2025Christ as firstfruits, With Christ in th heavenliesComment

June/July 2025 Musings

Riddleblog and Blessed Hope Podcast Updates:

I expect to be traveling a bit this Summer and Fall, so Riddleblog posts may be irregular
I am hard at work on Season Four of the Blessed Hope Podcast, “Life in the Midst of Death,” a deep-dive into 2 Corinthians. Look for new episodes soon
I hope you are enjoying my series on memories of my days in the Christian bookstore industry while I was becoming Reformed. I’ve had much fun working on it
I recently updated my Riddlebarger Family History tab (my cousin finder) with new DNA info. It will explain why I like to draw buffaloes in charcoal on our walls

Thinking Out loud:

Wars and rumors of wars will persist until the Lord returns. It never ceases to amaze me at how prophecy pundits can turn any event in the Middle East which involves Israel—no matter how flawed their understanding of Scripture, or how distorted their interpretation of the facts on the ground may be—into a sensational “proof” that the rapture is at hand. My inner cynic says “follow the money.” The pundits sell books and get clicks. But so far, they’ve also been wrong every time
Iran has been killing and threatening Americans since the 1979 revolution. As the Ayatollah says, “death to America is not merely a slogan, it is our policy.” How close Iran was to constructing a nuclear weapon matters not a wit to me. It is beyond all doubt they were building such a weapon. They have never attempted to build a nuclear power facility—which was the justification for their uranium processing program. Israel took out Hamas, crippled Hezbollah (Iranian proxies posing a serious threat on Israel’s border), and with the fall of Syria there were no Syrian or Russian air defenses blocking Israel’s air corridor into Iran. Trump was vocal in his support for Israel. As the old Jewish saying goes, “if not now, when?” It needed to be done and finally it has been done
I heard a great term to describe Trump’s style of governing —“adhocracy.” There’s no brilliant master plan. He’s making it up as he goes along, and he frequently changes his mind
Oh, the irony . . . Texas Republicans passed a bill requiring that the Ten Commandments be posted in every classroom. The vote was held on Sunday
The Trump - Musk bromance and subsequent feud are over, but I’m still waiting for the ultimate insult from either: “You play ball like a girl!”
Endnotes are still of the devil!

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Christian Books Which Fudged the Truth

Christians are often taken in by those who are less than truthful. It is not a character flaw to expect others to tell the truth, or to assume that their testimonies to the grace of God in Christ are factual. So, it comes as a shock and a disappointment when dramatic conversions and the books which recount them are discovered to be more fictional than factual. Sadly there have been a number of these, but a couple stand out in my memory.

Crying Wind purported to be the account of a young native American girl (whose real name was Linda Davison Stafford) who claimed a dramatic conversion experience as recounted in her compelling and heart-warming autobiography. Crying Wind—both the book’s title and the author’s pseudonym at the time—was published by Moody Press in 1977. She became a popular church and conference speaker, and dressed as a native American as she recounted her dramatic conversion. It was followed by a sequel, My Searching Heart in 1980, published by Harvest House.

We sold cases of them and Crying Wind may have been our best-seller for a time shortly after its release.

But significant factual discrepancies arose regarding her story—enough so that Moody Press changed the original cover in 1978 to the one pictured above. Crying Wind was now a “biographical novel,” which I take to mean, “here’s a book about the stuff I made up about myself.”

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American Religion, Book ReviewsKim RiddlebargerJune 26, 2025Crying Wind, Mike Warnke, Satan sellerComment

“God's Use of Means in Regeneration” -- Article Seventeen, The Third and Fourth Main Points of Doctrine, Canons of Dort

Article 17: God's Use of Means in Regeneration

Just as the almighty work of God by which he brings forth and sustains our natural life does not rule out but requires the use of means, by which God, according to his infinite wisdom and goodness, has wished to exercise his power, so also the aforementioned supernatural work of God by which he regenerates us in no way rules out or cancels the use of the gospel, which God in his great wisdom has appointed to be the seed of regeneration and the food of the soul. For this reason, the apostles and the teachers who followed them taught the people in a godly manner about this grace of God, to give him the glory and to humble all pride, and yet did not neglect meanwhile to keep the people, by means of the holy admonitions of the gospel, under the administration of the Word, the sacraments, and discipline. So even today it is out of the question that the teachers or those taught in the church should presume to test God by separating what he in his good pleasure has wished to be closely joined together. For grace is bestowed through admonitions, and the more readily we perform our duty, the more lustrous the benefit of God working in us usually is and the better his work advances. To him alone, both for the means and for their saving fruit and effectiveness, all glory is owed forever. Amen.

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Article 17 points out to us that the Scriptures themselves connect the divinely appointed ends (the salvation of God's elect) to the divinely appointed means (the preaching of the gospel and the administration of the sacraments).

Therefore, as Christians, we must not only believe the correct things about God and his grace as taught us in his word, but we must also ever be on our guard not to separate that which God has joined together. God does not effectually call his elect to faith in Jesus Christ, nor does he give us the new birth, through any means other than those which he has prescribed in his word.

This means that there is a spiritual marriage between divinely appointed means and ends, a marriage in which we dare not attempt to divide what God has so clearly joined together. This, of course, was the error of the Anabaptists at the time of the Reformation, who sought the guidance of the Holy Spirit apart from the text of Holy Scripture, the same error made by many Charismatics and Pentecostals today. Everything we need to know about how God saves sinners has been revealed in God's word and is confirmed through the two divinely appointed sacraments.

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The Canons of DortKim RiddlebargerJune 24, 2025Ends and MeansComment

“He Was Looking Forward” Hebrews 11:8-16 (An Exposition of the Book of Hebrews–Part Seventeen)

The Importance of Abraham

Three of the world’s great religions (Islam, Judaism, and Christianity) trace their origins back to Abraham. Yet the Genesis account speaks of Abraham as one who believed God’s covenant promise. It is said of him, Abraham “believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness” (Genesis 15:6). This explains why the account of the life of Abraham in Genesis 11-25 fits perfectly within the “catalogue of believers in God’s covenant promise” in Hebrews 11.

That Abraham was justified by faith is the reason why Christians are considered to be the true children of Abraham–much to the chagrin of Jews, and to the disdain of Muslims. Abraham is a man who pitched his tent in the land of promise, yet who also knew that dwelling in the land was not all that God had promised to him–God’s promise included eternal life as well. Therefore, Abraham is regarded as the man of faith, because he believed God’s covenant promise to make him the father of a great nation, and that he would have so many descendants that it would be impossible to count them all–despite the fact that this seemed to be a physical impossibility. It is to the story of Abraham as summarized in Hebrews 11, that we now turn.

Not About “Heroes of Faith” But About God’s Promise

We are working our way through Hebrews 11, the so-called “hall of faith” because so many important Old Testament figures are mentioned here. As we saw last time, the primary point being made by the author of Hebrews in this chapter is not that the people mentioned here are setting examples for us to follow (as people who had faith), but that these Old Testament saints all believed the same gracious covenant promise which God made to his people, and which the author of Hebrews has spent ten chapters unpacking. Rather than speak of Hebrews 11 as the “hall of faith,” it is much better to understand this chapter as a “catalogue of justified sinners,” sinful people who believed God’s covenant promise to save them from the guilt and power of their sin.

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HebrewsKim RiddlebargerJune 19, 2025Hebrews 11:8-16, The Importance of AbrahamComment

Tucker Carlson and Ted Cruz Debate Israel

Needless to say, there is far more heat than light here. Both Cruz and Carlson claim to be Christians, but their debate reveals scant understanding of what the Bible actually says about the future of Israel.

I weigh in on the biblical teaching regarding the future of Israel in an episode of the Blessed Hope Podcast. What Does the Future Hold for Israel? A Look at Romans 9-11

This episode of the Blessed Hope Podcast (part of a larger series entitled “The Future,”) was posted about ten days before the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas upon Israel, so I make no reference to recent events. I address the October 7 attack here.

What I do in this episode of the Blessed Hope Podcast is address Paul’s understanding of the future role of Israel in redemptive history in Romans 9-11 where Paul specifically discusses the matter in great detail. I don’t think God is finished with national Israel, but I reject the dispensational teaching about what this entails and how it will work out.

Calvin on Prayer -- Christ Our Mediator Establishes Intercessory Prayer

19. Christ is the only mediator, even for the mutual intercession of believers

Calvin reminds us of a point he made in the previous section, that turning away from Jesus as our mediator is folly. This how the Lord has constituted our relationship to himself – “through the Son.” Apart from Christ, there is no access to God.

Now, since he is the only way, and the one access, by which it is granted us to come to God [cf. John 14:6], to those who turn aside from this way and forsake this access, no way and no access to God remain; nothing is left in his throne but wrath, judgment, and terror. Moreover, since the Father has sealed him [cf. John 6:27] as our Head [Matt. 2:6] and Leader [1 Cor. 11:3; Eph. 1:22; 4:15; 5:23; Col. 1:18], those who in any way turn aside or incline away from him are trying their level best to destroy and disfigure the mark imprinted by God. Thus Christ is constituted the only Mediator, by whose intercession the Father is for us rendered gracious and easily entreated.

Furthermore, Calvin adds since God has opened the way to the Father (through the mediation of Christ) this also opens the way for us to pray for each other–intercession for others being one of the great blessings of prayer. This is, in part, the reason why confessional Protestants place such stress upon the necessity and benefits of the pastoral prayer during the Lord’s Day worship service. The saints gather to receive the preached word and the sacraments, and to pray for one another.

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John CalvinKim RiddlebargerJune 16, 2025Intercessory prayerComment

I Was a Recent Guest on Cápsulas de Teología Discussing my Book, A Case for Amillennialism

Here’s the link: A Case for Amillennialism (English and Spanish)

The AI generated glamour photo makes me look thinner and younger. I’m not sure what to think of it!

Amillennialism, Biblical TheologyKim RiddlebargerJune 13, 2025Discussion of A Case for AmillenniaismComment

Paul’s Macedonian Call -- When Closed Doors Lead to an Open Door

Paul’s Approach to Preaching the Gospel—The Second Missionary Journey Gets Underway

Preaching first to Jews in local synagogues where Paul could find a “common starting-point in the Jewish Scriptures,”[1] and then preaching to Gentiles in the city’s public spaces, Paul and his associates witnessed the conversion of sufficient numbers of Christian believers that an apparently thriving church had been founded in the Greek city of Thessalonica merely twenty years after the death and resurrection of Jesus.[2] Our Lord’s promise to his disciples in Acts 1:8 comes to mind. “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” In many ways, Paul’s missionary journeys are the means through which Isaiah’s prophecy of Israel’s Messiah serving as a light to the Gentiles (Isaiah 49:6) is fulfilled, as well as our Lord’s promise in Acts 1:8. The gospel was now going to the ends of the earth, largely through Paul’s preaching to Gentiles.

The Macedonian Call – Two Doors Closed While Another Opened

The church in Thessalonica, along with the new churches in Philippi, Berea, and Corinth, all have their origin in the so-called “Macedonian Call,” which is recounted by Luke in Acts 16:6-10. As a result of a vision given Paul while he was still in Asia Minor, the second missionary journey got under way as the gospel came to several prominent Greek cities: Philippi (Acts 16); Thessalonica (Acts 17:1-9); Berea (Acts 17:10-15); Athens (Acts 17:16-34); and Corinth (Acts 18:1-17).

Coming on the heels of the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15), the “Macedonian Call” was a significant event in the early church, and is recounted in Acts 16:6-10,

And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. So, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas. And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

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Pauline Studies, Biblical Events, Biblical TheologyKim RiddlebargerJune 11, 2025The Macedonian CallComment

I Was a Recent Guest on the Distinctive Christianity Podcast, Discussing B. B. Warfield, the Lion of Princeton

Here’s the Link: On B. B. Warfield: The Lion of Princeton

B. B. Warfield, Reformed ResourcesKim RiddlebargerJune 9, 2025Podcast Lion of PrincetonComment

Popular Christian Books With Unintended Consequences

Billy Graham’s book on angels was a best seller—my guess is that we sold more of them than Graham’s popular How to Be Born Again. I knew it back in the day under the title, “Angels, Angels, Angels: God’s Secret Agents.” Graham’s book is light on biblical teaching, but is known for the anecdotal stories of angelic appearances and accounts of miraculous interventions. Nothing heretical here, but the unintended consequence is that when one focuses upon anecdotal stories about angels, that opens the door for folks to recount their own stories about angels. “Billy Graham may have some great stories about angels, but I’ve got a few of my own. If he can tell them, well, so can I.” And how many ministers felt the need or saw the opportunity to follow suit? Angels fascinate people.

The Reformed focus upon God’s providence in directing all things to their divinely appoint ends, and although willing to admit that angels may indeed be agents in accomplishing God’s purpose, Scripture does not say much about them nor reveal when and how they work. This is why we should be guarded when speaking about the angelic world. Ordinarily, angels do not appear to humans except in major turning points in redemptive history. Their work is mysterious. And when they do appear the reaction from human witnesses is fear and terror!

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“By Faith” Hebrews 11:1-7 (An Exposition of the Book of Hebrews–Part Sixteen)

A Catalogue of Fellow Believers

Faith is one of those words Christians often use without definition. Since faith is a biblical word, it has the connotation of being a good thing, and therefore is something everyone should possess. But this understanding is very wide of the biblical mark. The word “faith” has a very technical meaning in the New Testament. Faith is not a generic term for whatever subjective opinion people may or may not have about God. Faith is used either as a verb (“to believe”) or as a noun (“faith”), and is always directed to its object (that which is believed). The author of Hebrews carefully defines the term “faith” and then illustrates that definition by describing how a number of great figures from the Old Testament (Noah, Moses, Abraham, etc.) believed in God’s promise–the same promise which the author of Hebrews has argued in chapters 1-10 was fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Therefore, the Old Testament saints mentioned in Hebrews 11 serve primarily as witnesses to God’s faithfulness in keeping his covenant promises, and only secondarily as examples to us of people who have faith in God’s promise even during difficult times.

We now move into a new (and perhaps the best known) section of The Book of Hebrews, chapter 11. Often described as the “hall of faith” because so many Old Testament luminaries are mentioned here, all of those who make the author’s list are included here because they believed the gracious covenant promise which God made to his redeemed people– “I will be your God and you will be my people.” There is much here in this chapter–the nature and character of faith, as well as a discussion of how the New Testament writers (such as the author of Hebrews) read the Old Testament. So, we will take our time going through it.

Believers In God’s Covenant Promises or Examples to Follow? Or Both?

Many of those who preach through this particular section of Hebrews emphasize the exemplary character of the faith of those who make the list. In taking this approach, the focus falls upon the example these people set for us, and which we should follow. This approach emphasizes that these were great men, they had faith in YHWH during the most difficult of times, so we should imitate them by striving to have the same kind of faith they had. But the obvious problem with this approach is that one of those mentioned, Rahab, was a prostitute. In fact, all those mentioned were sinful individuals, and those who lived during the time of the Judges (Gideon, Barak, Samson, and Jephthah) were all men whose behavior was less then exemplary. Nevertheless, these people are numbered among those who had faith in the promise.

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HebrewsKim RiddlebargerJune 4, 2025Hebrews 11:1-7, Abel Enoch and Noah, Faith in the PromiseComment

“Regeneration’s Effect” -- Article Sixteen, The Third and Fourth Main Points of Doctrine, Canons of Dort

Article 16: Regeneration’s Effect

However, just as by the fall man did not cease to be man, endowed with intellect and will, and just as sin, which has spread through the whole human race, did not abolish the nature of the human race but distorted and spiritually killed it, so also this divine grace of regeneration does not act in people as if they were blocks and stones; nor does it abolish the will and its properties or coerce a reluctant will by force, but spiritually revives, heals, reforms, and—in a manner at once pleasing and powerful—bends it back. As a result, a ready and sincere obedience of the Spirit now begins to prevail where before the rebellion and resistance of the flesh were completely dominant. It is in this that the true and spiritual restoration and freedom of our will consists. Thus, if the marvelous Maker of every good thing were not dealing with us, man would have no hope of getting up from his fall by his free choice, by which he plunged himself into ruin when still standing upright.

_______________________________

In article sixteen we are reminded yet again that without the grace of God acting upon us and in us (when we were dead in sin), we would forever remain unbelievers. Even though the effects of sin are all-pervasive, nevertheless, the imago Dei remains in us, although badly defaced.

That the remnant of the imago remains can be proven from a number of biblical texts. In Ephesians 4:24, Paul speaks of the Christian “putting on the new self”—which is clearly a reference to the regenerate “new man” being restored to the true righteousness and holiness which were lost in the Fall. In Colossians 3:10, Paul reiterates much the same thing, this time mentioning that putting on the new self includes the restoration of true knowledge. In some sense then, regeneration restores particular aspects of the imago Dei which had been lost in the fall. These include true righteousness, knowledge, and holiness. Therefore, “putting on the new-self” is descriptive of the process of restoration of fallen human nature.

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Who Said That? (Updated)

One of the most popular features on the old Riddleblog was “Who Said That?” I thought I would bring it back for a trial run.

I’ll post a quote and you guess who said it in the comments section. Please do not look up the answer—the whole point is to guess! But if you can’t restrain yourself, please don’t post the source and ruin it for everyone else.

_________________________________________

Who Said That?

Where is this place represented by "outer darkness" in Jesus' parables? To be in outer darkness is to be in the kingdom of God but outside the circle of men and women whose faithfulness on this earth has earned them a special rank or position of authority (italics in original).

The "outer darkness" represents not so much an actual place as it does a sphere of influence and privilege. It is not a geographical area in a kingdom where certain men and women are consigned to stay. It is simply a figure of speech describing their low rank or status in God's kingdom. . . . Now, imagine standing before God and seeing all you have lived for reduced to ashes. How do you think you would feel? How do you think you would respond? Picture yourself watching saint after saint rewarded for faithfulness and service to the King--and all the time knowing that you had just as many opportunities but did nothing about them. . .

We do not know how long this time of rejoicing and sorrow will last. Those whose works are burned will not weep and gnash their teeth for all eternity. At some point, we know God will comfort those who have suffered loss.

Follow the link below and leave your guess in the comments section. Answer to follow in a few days

B. B. Warfield's Essay "On the Antiquity and the Unity of the Human Race"

In 1911, B. B. Warfield addressed the theological significance of a growing challenge to the Christian faith. New geological data appeared to demonstrate that the earth was quite old, and this was becoming hugely problematic for those who accepted that the biblical date for the creation of the universe was 4004 BCE. This date was calculated from the biblical chronologies and is often attributed to Archbishop Ussher.

Warfield’s essay, entitled “On the Antiquity and the Unity of the Human Race”, was his effort to demonstrate that the importance of the biblical chronologies was to be found in their demonstration of the unity of the human race as descendants of Adam and Eve, not in their value for dating the creation of the earth. As Warfield explains, the genealogies given us in Scripture are not comprehensive—they are selective. It is wrong-headed to use them to attempt to determine the precise date of creation. Warfield devoted a significant portion of his essay to explain why such is the case.

The scientific evidence Warfield marshals throughout his 1911 essay is now badly outdated, which should be no surprise given how rapidly scientific data from the hard sciences, coupled with human DNA research, has changed the way we now understand human origins. All those cheek swabs and spit sent to DNA ancestry companies from those of us seeking to find out if we descend from royalty, coupled with significant DNA extraction from the skeletal remains collected for the last four centuries across Europe (and to a lesser degree elsewhere) and stored in university repositories are now being tested. These tests have generated a tidal wave of new DNA data. As this data is examined and correlated, it will, no doubt, impact our understanding of the age of the human race and may present a significant challenge to the biblical account of the creation of Adam. But as always, Christians will capably respond, since the two books of general and special revelation will not remain in conflict when all is said and done.

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Books Which Helped Me Make Up My Mind

I was already well along in my journey to becoming Reformed back in 1981 when Sinclair Ferguson’s Know Your Christian Life appeared on the InterVarsity book rack in our store. Now out of print (and replaced by several more recent books from Ferguson on various aspects of the Christian life), this tome offered a succinct and devotional take on the major Reformed doctrines—including justification and sanctification. At the time, I was wrestling with a host of theological issues. I was working full-time, and commuting to Escondido, and I was feeling sort of wrung out from having so much of what I had always believed turned upside down during my studies at Westminster Seminary California. It was nice to read something about these same doctrines in a different context—one framed by John Owen and the Puritans now coming from the pen of someone new on the Christian publishing scene, Sinclair Ferguson. J. I. Packer described Ferguson’s book as, “Reformed theology of the older, riper, deeper sort.” That it was. It was also a great supplement to my initial seminary course work. Ferguson made it clear that in the Reformed tradition head and heart were not at war with each other. This breakthrough came to me at the very time when my anti-Calvinist evangelical friends were warning me that Calvinism was nothing but “head knowledge.”

I was so impressed with the book, I actually wrote to Dr. Ferguson at Westminster Theological Seminary, thanking him for it. I received a very nice reply, and have benefited from his work (especially his preaching) ever since.

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In CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen United States of America,

In CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen United States of America,