Gordon Clark
Encyclopedia
Gordon Haddon Clark was an American
philosopher and Calvinist theologian
. He was a primary advocate for the idea of presuppositional apologetics
and was chairman of the Philosophy
Department at Butler University
for 28 years. He was an expert in pre-Socratic
and ancient philosophy
and was noted for his rigor in defending propositional revelation against all forms of empiricism
and rationalism
, in arguing that all truth is propositional and in applying the laws of logic
. His theory of knowledge is sometimes called scripturalism.
with a bachelor's degree
in French and earned his doctorate
in Philosophy from the same institution in 1929. The following year, he studied at the Sorbonne
.
He began teaching at the University of Pennsylvania after receiving his bachelor's degree and also taught at Reformed Episcopal Seminary in Philadelphia
. In 1936, he accepted a professorship in Philosophy at Wheaton College, Illinois, where he remained until 1943, when he accepted the Chairmanship of the Philosophy Department at Butler University
in Indianapolis. In 1973, he retired from Butler University and taught at Covenant College
in Lookout Mountain, Georgia
, and Sangre de Cristo Seminary
in Westcliffe, Colorado
.
In 1944, Clark was ordained
a Minister in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church
. (He had been ordained a Ruling Elder in the Presbyterian Church in the 1920s.) In the years that followed, Clark would change denominations
several times: first to the United Presbyterian Church of North America in 1948 following the Clark-Van Til Controversy, and then to the Reformed Presbyterian Church, General Synod in 1957, where Clark was instrumental in arranging a merger with another Presybterian denomination to form the Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod in 1965. When this last denomination merged with the Presbyterian Church in America
in 1983, Clark refused to join the PCA and instead entered the Covenant Presbytery in 1984.
He died in 1985 and was buried near Westcliffe, Colorado
.
and a one-volume history of philosophy:
Additionally, Ronald Nash edited a Festschrift
The Philosophy of Gordon H. Clark (Philadelphia: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1968), which presented a summary of Clark's thought (viz., the Wheaton lectures mentioned above), critiques by several authors, and rejoinders by Clark.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
philosopher and Calvinist theologian
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
. He was a primary advocate for the idea of presuppositional apologetics
Presuppositional apologetics
In Christian theology, presuppositionalism is a school of apologetics that presumes Christian faith is the only basis for rational thought. It presupposes that the Bible is divine revelation and claims to expose flaws in other worldviews...
and was chairman of the Philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
Department at Butler University
Butler University
Butler University is a private university located in Indianapolis, Indiana. Founded in 1855 and named after founder Ovid Butler, the university offers 60 degree programs to 4,400 students through six colleges: business, communication, education, liberal Arts and sciences, pharmacy and health...
for 28 years. He was an expert in pre-Socratic
Pre-Socratic philosophy
Pre-Socratic philosophy is Greek philosophy before Socrates . In Classical antiquity, the Presocratic philosophers were called physiologoi...
and ancient philosophy
Ancient philosophy
This page lists some links to ancient philosophy. In Western philosophy, the spread of Christianity through the Roman Empire marked the ending of Hellenistic philosophy and ushered in the beginnings of Medieval philosophy, whereas in Eastern philosophy, the spread of Islam through the Arab Empire...
and was noted for his rigor in defending propositional revelation against all forms of empiricism
Empiricism
Empiricism is a theory of knowledge that asserts that knowledge comes only or primarily via sensory experience. One of several views of epistemology, the study of human knowledge, along with rationalism, idealism and historicism, empiricism emphasizes the role of experience and evidence,...
and rationalism
Rationalism
In epistemology and in its modern sense, rationalism is "any view appealing to reason as a source of knowledge or justification" . In more technical terms, it is a method or a theory "in which the criterion of the truth is not sensory but intellectual and deductive"...
, in arguing that all truth is propositional and in applying the laws of logic
Classical logic
Classical logic identifies a class of formal logics that have been most intensively studied and most widely used. The class is sometimes called standard logic as well...
. His theory of knowledge is sometimes called scripturalism.
Biography
Clark was raised in a Christian home and studied Calvinist thought from a young age. In 1924, he graduated from the University of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
with a bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in French and earned his doctorate
Doctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
in Philosophy from the same institution in 1929. The following year, he studied at the Sorbonne
Sorbonne
The Sorbonne is an edifice of the Latin Quarter, in Paris, France, which has been the historical house of the former University of Paris...
.
He began teaching at the University of Pennsylvania after receiving his bachelor's degree and also taught at Reformed Episcopal Seminary in Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
. In 1936, he accepted a professorship in Philosophy at Wheaton College, Illinois, where he remained until 1943, when he accepted the Chairmanship of the Philosophy Department at Butler University
Butler University
Butler University is a private university located in Indianapolis, Indiana. Founded in 1855 and named after founder Ovid Butler, the university offers 60 degree programs to 4,400 students through six colleges: business, communication, education, liberal Arts and sciences, pharmacy and health...
in Indianapolis. In 1973, he retired from Butler University and taught at Covenant College
Covenant College
Covenant College is a Christian liberal arts college in Lookout Mountain, Georgia, United States.-History:Founded in 1955 in Pasadena, California, Covenant College and Theological Seminary moved its campus to St. Louis, Missouri the following year, and, in 1965, separated from the seminary, moving...
in Lookout Mountain, Georgia
Lookout Mountain, Georgia
Lookout Mountain is a city in Walker County, Georgia, United States. The population was 1,617 at the 2000 census. The city is located on Lookout Mountain, home to such attractions as Rock City and Ruby Falls. The city is also home to Covenant College...
, and Sangre de Cristo Seminary
Sangre de Cristo Seminary
Sangre de Cristo Seminary and School for Biblical Studies was incorporated in 1976 as a non-profit organization.It is not affiliated with any denomination, but is reformed in nature. It strongly emphasises Biblical exegesis and the Biblical languages...
in Westcliffe, Colorado
Westcliffe, Colorado
-Nonprofit Cultural Groups:* * * * * -Media:* * * -External links:***...
.
In 1944, Clark was ordained
Holy Orders
The term Holy Orders is used by many Christian churches to refer to ordination or to those individuals ordained for a special role or ministry....
a Minister in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church
Orthodox Presbyterian Church
The Orthodox Presbyterian Church is a conservative Presbyterian denomination located primarily in the United States. It was founded by conservative members of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America who strongly objected to the pervasive Modernist theology during the 1930s . Led...
. (He had been ordained a Ruling Elder in the Presbyterian Church in the 1920s.) In the years that followed, Clark would change denominations
Religious denomination
A religious denomination is a subgroup within a religion that operates under a common name, tradition, and identity.The term describes various Christian denominations...
several times: first to the United Presbyterian Church of North America in 1948 following the Clark-Van Til Controversy, and then to the Reformed Presbyterian Church, General Synod in 1957, where Clark was instrumental in arranging a merger with another Presybterian denomination to form the Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod in 1965. When this last denomination merged with the Presbyterian Church in America
Presbyterian Church in America
The Presbyterian Church in America is an evangelical Protestant Christian denomination, the second largest Presbyterian church body in the United States after the Presbyterian Church . The PCA professes a strong commitment to evangelism, missionary work, and Christian education...
in 1983, Clark refused to join the PCA and instead entered the Covenant Presbytery in 1984.
He died in 1985 and was buried near Westcliffe, Colorado
Westcliffe, Colorado
-Nonprofit Cultural Groups:* * * * * -Media:* * * -External links:***...
.
Philosophy
Clark's philosophy and theology has been summarized as:- Epistemology: propositional revelation in the Bible
- SoteriologySoteriologyThe branch of Christian theology that deals with salvation and redemption is called Soteriology. It is derived from the Greek sōtērion + English -logy....
: faith aloneSola fideSola fide , also historically known as the doctrine of justification by faith alone, is a Christian theological doctrine that distinguishes most Protestant denominations from Catholicism, Eastern Christianity, and some in the Restoration Movement.The doctrine of sola fide or "by faith alone"... - MetaphysicsMetaphysicsMetaphysics is a branch of philosophy concerned with explaining the fundamental nature of being and the world, although the term is not easily defined. Traditionally, metaphysics attempts to answer two basic questions in the broadest possible terms:...
: theismTheismTheism, in the broadest sense, is the belief that at least one deity exists.In a more specific sense, theism refers to a doctrine concerning the nature of a monotheistic God and God's relationship to the universe.... - EthicsEthicsEthics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc.Major branches of ethics include:...
: the superiority of divine law over human law/ Christian egoismEgotismEgotism is "characterized by an exaggerated estimate of one's intellect, ability, importance, appearance, wit, or other valued personal characteristics" – the drive to maintain and enhance favorable views of oneself.... - PoliticsPoliticsPolitics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
: constitutional republicConstitutional republicA constitutional republic is a state in which the head of state and other officials are representatives of the people and must govern according to existing constitutional law that limits the government's power over all of its citizens...
Publications
Clark was a prolific author who wrote more than forty books, including texts on ancient and contemporary philosophy, volumes on Christian doctrines, commentaries on the New TestamentNew Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
and a one-volume history of philosophy:
Philosophy
- An Introduction to Christian Philosophy (ISBN 0-940931-38-9), in which Clark's thought is well summarized in three lectures given at Wheaton College, reissued in Christian Philosophy (ISBN 1-891777-02-5)
- Three Types of Religious Philosophy, reissued in Christian Philosophy (ISBN 1-891777-02-5)
- Thales to Dewey, a history of philosophy (ISBN 1-891777-09-2)
- Ancient Philosophy, Dr. Clark's section of a History of Philosophy, which he co-published with three other authors; also includes eleven major essays, including his doctoral dissertation on AristotleAristotleAristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...
(ISBN 0-940931-49-4) - William James and John Dewey (ISBN 0-940931-43-5)
- Behaviorism and Christianity (ISBN 0-940931-04-4)
- Philosophy of Science and Belief in God (ISBN 0-940931-85-0)
- Historiography: Secular and Religious (ISBN 0-940931-39-7)
- A Christian View of Men and Things, which develops Clark's Christian worldview (ISBN 1-891777-00-9)
- A Christian Philosophy of Education (ISBN 1-891777-06-8)
- Logic, a text book on logic for students (ISBN 0-940931-71-0)
- Essays on Ethics and Politics (ISBN 0-940931-32-X)
- Lord God of Truth printed with Concerning the Teacher by St. AugustineAugustine of HippoAugustine of Hippo , also known as Augustine, St. Augustine, St. Austin, St. Augoustinos, Blessed Augustine, or St. Augustine the Blessed, was Bishop of Hippo Regius . He was a Latin-speaking philosopher and theologian who lived in the Roman Africa Province...
(ISBN 0-940931-40-0) - Selections from Hellenistic Philosophy edited by Clark (ISBN 0-89197-396-6)
- Readings in Ethics edited by Clark and T. V. Smith (ISBN 0-390-19545-6)
- Clark Speaks from the Grave written just before Clark died and published posthumously, responding to some of his critics (ISBN 0-940931-12-5)
Theology
- In Defense of Theology (ISBN 0-88062-123-0)
- Religion, Reason, and Revelation, Clark's major work on apologeticsApologeticsApologetics is the discipline of defending a position through the systematic use of reason. Early Christian writers Apologetics (from Greek ἀπολογία, "speaking in defense") is the discipline of defending a position (often religious) through the systematic use of reason. Early Christian writers...
(ISBN 0-940931-86-9) - God's Hammer : The Bible and Its Critics (ISBN 0-940931-88-5)
- What Do Presbyterians Believe?, a commentary on the Westminster Confession of FaithWestminster Confession of FaithThe Westminster Confession of Faith is a Reformed confession of faith, in the Calvinist theological tradition. Although drawn up by the 1646 Westminster Assembly, largely of the Church of England, it became and remains the 'subordinate standard' of doctrine in the Church of Scotland, and has been...
(ISBN 0-940931-60-5) - Predestination, the combined edition of Biblical Predestination and Predestination in the Old Testament; a study of the idea of electionPredestinationPredestination, in theology is the doctrine that all events have been willed by God. John Calvin interpreted biblical predestination to mean that God willed eternal damnation for some people and salvation for others...
in the BibleBibleThe Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations... - Karl Barth's Theological Method, a book critical of BarthKarl BarthKarl Barth was a Swiss Reformed theologian whom critics hold to be among the most important Christian thinkers of the 20th century; Pope Pius XII described him as the most important theologian since Thomas Aquinas...
(ISBN 0-940931-51-6) - Language and Theology (ISBN 0-940931-90-7)
- The Johannine Logos, on John the EvangelistJohn the EvangelistSaint John the Evangelist is the conventional name for the author of the Gospel of John...
's use of the term LogosLogos' is an important term in philosophy, psychology, rhetoric and religion. Originally a word meaning "a ground", "a plea", "an opinion", "an expectation", "word," "speech," "account," "reason," it became a technical term in philosophy, beginning with Heraclitus ' is an important term in...
(ISBN 0-940931-22-2) - Faith and Saving Faith (ISBN 0-940931-95-8); reissued as What is Saving Faith? (ISBN 0-940931-65-6)
- Today's Evangelism: Counterfeit or Genuine? (ISBN 0-940931-28-1)
- The Biblical Doctrine of Man (ISBN 0-940931-91-5)
- The Incarnation (ISBN 0-940931-23-0)
- The Holy Spirit (ISBN 0-940931-37-0)
- The Atonement (ISBN 0-940931-87-7)
- Sanctification (ISBN 0-940931-33-8)
- The Trinity (ISBN 0-940931-92-3)
Commentaries
- First Corinthians: A Contemporary Commentary (ISBN 0-940931-29-X)
- Ephesians (ISBN 0-940931-11-7)
- Philippians (ISBN 0-940931-47-8)
- Colossians (ISBN 0-940931-25-7)
- First and Second Thessalonians (ISBN 0-940931-14-1)
- The Pastoral Epistles on the firstFirst Epistle to TimothyThe First Epistle of Paul to Timothy, usually referred to simply as First Timothy and often written 1 Timothy, is one of three letters in the New Testament of the Bible often grouped together as the Pastoral Epistles, the others being Second Timothy and Titus...
and secondSecond Epistle to TimothyThe Second Epistle of Paul to Timothy, usually referred to simply as Second Timothy and often written 2 Timothy, is one of the three Pastoral Epistles traditionally attributed to Saint Paul, and is part of the New Testament...
letters to Timothy and TitusEpistle to TitusThe Epistle of Paul to Titus, usually referred to simply as Titus, is one of the three Pastoral Epistles , traditionally attributed to Saint Paul, and is part of the New Testament...
(ISBN 1-891777-04-1) - New Heavens, New Earth on the firstFirst Epistle of PeterThe First Epistle of Peter, usually referred to simply as First Peter and often written 1 Peter, is a book of the New Testament. The author claims to be Saint Peter the apostle, and the epistle was traditionally held to have been written during his time as bishop of Rome or Bishop of Antioch,...
and secondSecond Epistle of PeterThe Second Epistle of Peter, often referred to as Second Peter and written 2 Peter or in Roman numerals II Peter , is a book of the New Testament of the Bible, traditionally ascribed to Saint Peter, but in modern times NT scholars regard it as pseudepigraphical.It is the first New Testament book...
letters of Peter (ISBN 0-940931-36-2) - First John (ISBN 0-940931-94-X)
Additionally, Ronald Nash edited a Festschrift
Festschrift
In academia, a Festschrift , is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during his or her lifetime. The term, borrowed from German, could be translated as celebration publication or celebratory writing...
The Philosophy of Gordon H. Clark (Philadelphia: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1968), which presented a summary of Clark's thought (viz., the Wheaton lectures mentioned above), critiques by several authors, and rejoinders by Clark.
External links
- The Trinity Foundation reprints Clark's works and publishes those of his followers. They have books for sale and articles and audio lectures available for free.
- The Trinity Lectures in MP3MP3MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
format free for download (but not streamingStreaming mediaStreaming media is multimedia that is constantly received by and presented to an end-user while being delivered by a streaming provider.The term "presented" is used in this article in a general sense that includes audio or video playback. The name refers to the delivery method of the medium rather...
), including Clark's Lectures in Apologetics, Lectures on Theology, and Lectures on the Holy Spirit. - The Gordon Clark Papers, archived by the Presbyterian Church in America.