Carl Henry—Theologian for All Seasons

An Introduction and Guide to Carl Henry's God, Revelation, and Authority

Doyle

• Publisher: Pickwick Publications
• Year: 2010
• eBook ISBN: 9781498274357
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Religion

Carl F. H. Henry has been called the Dean of evangelical theologians, and the premier theological representative of the evangelical movement in the last half of the twentieth century. When his magnum opus, God, Revelation, and Authority, first appeared, it was hailed as the most important work of evangelical theology in modern times.Carl Henry: Theologian for All Seasons not only introduces contemporary readers to Carl Henry the man, but also demonstrates that his theology possesses striking relevance for our own situation. We are introduced to his place in the complex mosaic of twentieth century theology, his simple but sophisticated doctrine of revelation, and his value for current discussions of a wide variety of issues.Henry's reflections on hermeneutics, philosophy, and faith; the nature of revelation and of God; the social implications of Christianity; and many other vital topics, turn out to be as pertinent now as when they were written.Not everyone agrees with Carl Henry's approach, of course, so this book features an extensive dialogue between Henry and his critics, making the case that his thought has been incorrectly described as outmoded and that he offers clear guidance for twenty-first century thinkers.To make the wealth of material on the many topics in God, Revelation, and Authority more accessible, the book includes a theological index, a macro index, and detailed outline of the entire six volumes.

Part I

one

The Life and Character of Carl F. H. Henry

Early Years1

Carl Ferdinand Howard Henry was born the son of German immigrant parents in New York City on January 22, 1913. He grew up on Long Island where, during his high school years and afterwards, he worked as a reporter for several newspapers, including the New York Times and the New York Herald Tribune. Later, he became for a while the editor of a major Long Island weekly paper.

He was baptized as an infant and brought up in the Episcopal Church, but lived as a pagan until his conversion in 1933. God used a variety of factors in this transformation, including the witness of friends and a violent thunderstorm. He committed himself unreservedly to follow Christ wherever he was commanded to go, and began to seek the Lord’s will for the rest of his life.

Reflecting on this period later, he wrote:

I have always been open to some so-called mystical aspects of the Christian life, if in fact mysticism is really a term appropriate to the New Testament. Too many theologians have hastily dismissed the apostle Paul’s teaching on ‘union with Christ.’ . . . God has revealed his nature normatively to the inspired prophets and apostles as set forth in Scripture. That does not mean, however, that he enters into no significant relations today. New truth about God there is not. . . . But when God becomes my God, when divine revelation penetrates not only the mind but rather the whole self, when the Spirit personally illumines the believer, dynamic fellowship with God opens possibilities of spiritual guidance in which the Holy Spirit personalizes and applies the biblical revelation individually to and in a redeemed and renewed life.2

Sensing God’s leading to pursue higher education, he applied in 1935 to Wheaton College. Then he confronted several obstacles: His father, who had for years been unfaithful and had divorced his mother, left her with a large debt, which Carl Henry then paid. Two weeks before he was to matriculate at Wheaton, he was stricken with acute appendicitis, for which his doctor urged immediate surgery.

But Henry believed that God wanted him in Chicago in less time than full recovery from major surgery allowed, so he asked the surgeon whether he could wait one night while asking God to work a miracle. He and his friends prayed for healing, and the next morning the physician declared him healed. Henry reflected later:

I knew there was a healing power of nature, for the cosmos owed its source and sustenance to a providential Creator. I respected the healing power of doctors and the marvels of medical science. . . . I knew there was a healing power also of mind over matter, and that a patient’s will to recover is sometimes half the battle. But I knew something more, that the great God who is sometimes glorified by the courageous and victorious bearing of one’s thorn in the flesh is, on other occasions, equally glorified in the direct healing of the body no less that of the soul. I left for college in good time, reassured that God would and could supply every need.3

Education

With his meager financial resources, Henry had to work his way through college. While still in New York, he had sensed that God would provide two means of income: “Teaching typing” and “Newspaper work.”4 For the next several years, he supported himself as a journalist, writing for both the college and community newspapers, while majoring in philosophy. Henry gratefully acknowledges the influence that Gordon Clark had upon him, praising Clark for his wide knowledge and careful thinking.

After graduating with a BA cum laude, he began working toward a BD (now called MDiv) from Northern Baptist Theological Seminary and an MA in theology from Wheaton. Living at the seminary, he writes:

I would for some years focus on biblical languages, church history and theological concerns. In my solitary room I explored New Testament Greek, stretched my prayers around the world, and at times sank to my knees and wept, entreating God before an open Bible to forgive my sluggish spirit, redeem the failings of a religious life, and make me a worthy witness to his grace.5

In due time, he earned the MA from Wheaton, BD from Northern, and a ThD from Northern. During the summers, he attended classes at the Winona Lake School of Theology which, though unaccredited, attracted many fine teachers. He also took graduate courses on Roman Catholic theology at the University of Chicago, Loyola University, and the University of Indiana.

During and after earning his doctorate at Northern, Henry served on the faculty there, teaching systematic theology and philosophy of religion. During the summers of the late 1940s, he also taught at Gordon College while pursuing a doctorate in philosophy at Boston University. He spent these years also studying the class syllabi of Cornelius Van Til, the influential professor of theology and apologetics at Westminster Theological Seminary.

Let us pause for a moment to ponder both the unusual diligence of this young man and his devotion to the knowledge of God. Clearly gifted with a first-rate mind, he applied his mental powers to the Scriptures, theology, and church history for a full dozen years, toward the end of which he broadened his scope to include philosophy. Even a casual skimming of God, Revelation, and Authority—especially the last five volumes—will testify to the depth and breadth of Carl Henry’s familiarity with the Bible and with Christian theology, both Protestant and Roman Catholic. With no fewer than four advanced degrees in theology, Henry had laid a solid foundation for his later defense and exposition of scriptural teaching.

Preaching, Teaching, Writing

Though fully occupied with study and teaching, Henry preached on Sundays in different churches and spoke on Saturday nights at Youth for Christ rallies.

He received the PhD in philosophy with a dissertation on Augustus S. Strong’s theology, which had been influenced by personal idealism philosophy. From the beginning, therefore, Henry was critical of theologians who allowed alien philosophical ideas to influence their interpretation of Scripture.

In 1947, he was asked by Harold Ockenga to join the founding faculty of Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. He had already helped to found the National Association of Evangelicals, and his short book The Uneasy Conscience of Modern Fundamentalism had made a powerful impact upon the conservative theological world. This “tract for the times” marked Henry as a leader in the movement that soon came to be known as neo-evangelicalism, or simply evangelicalism.

Carl Henry, Harold Ockenga, Billy Graham, E. J. Carnell, and others sought to adopt a more balanced, irenic, and inclusive stance towards mainline churches, modern biblical criticism, and science than had the fundamentalists they criticized. They also sought to engage both secular society and the academy in ways that fundamentalists had eschewed. As Albert Mohler comments, the evangelical movement “would combine a stalwart defense of the orthodox faith, buttressed by solid academic underpinnings, with careful attention to the a...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• Part I
• Part II
• Bibliography