These introductory posts have tried to lay some of the Biblical foundations for a
Christian philosophy. While it may overlap with theology, what is covered is
perhaps better described as ‘worldview’. In his book The Relation of the Bible to Learning, Evan Runner lay great
emphasis on the fact that “the Word of God is one,” a living and active power that speaks to and redirects the
heart and so provides guidance for the whole of life. This directing power must
also guide theology and so should be distinguished from it. Runner’s book and
its sequel Scriptural Religion and Political
Task, can be found in Walking the Way
of the Word: The collected writings of H. Evan Runner Volume 2, (Paideia
Press, 2009.)
One
book that was drawn on for much in these sections and which covers similar
topics is Albert Wolter’s classic Creation
Regained: Biblical basics for a Reformational Worldview, (Eerdmans,
1985/2005.) From Wolters is taken the claim, made in section 4, that “There is
nothing in human life that does not belong to the created order” (p.25). His
short paper “The Foundational Command:‘Subdue the Earth!’” is very
helpful in understanding the cultural mandate. Also The Transforming Vision: Shaping a Christian Worldview by Brian
Walsh and Richard Middleton, (IVP, 1984), deals with creation, cultural mandate
and the dangers of dualism. Richard Middleton’s recent A New Heaven and a New Earth: Reclaiming Biblical Eschatology,
(Baker Academic, 2014), is a rich resource and was especially helpful for
section 4; the quote there is from pp.101-102. The claim that God’s Word is
“first published in creation, then republished in Scripture” is helpfully
explained in Society, State, and Schools:
A case for structural and confessional pluralism, by Gordon Spykman et. al.
(Eerdmans, 1981) pp.151-155. Andre Troost has covered “The relation between the
revelation of creation and Word-revelation” in chapter 2 of his book The Christian Ethos, (Patmos, 1983.)
The
table of aspects and questions in section 1 is adapted from Science in Faith: A Christian Perspective on
Teaching Science edited by Arthur Jones pages 18-19. The reference to Oscar
Cullmann in section 2 is to his “Immortality of the soul or resurrection of the dead?” Herman
Dooyeweerd’s summary of the cultural mandate in section 3 is from Roots of Western Culture, (Paideia
Press, 2012), p.30. This is a good place to start getting an insight into the
worldview or “religious ground-motive” that propels reformational philosophy.
The social perspective hinted at in section 3 is based on the principle of
“sphere sovereignty” articulated by the Dutch statesman Abraham Kuyper in
“Sphere Sovereignty” (1880) see pp.461-490 of Abraham Kuyper: A Centennial Reader edited by James D. Bratt, and
chapter 3 of Lectures on Calvinism,
(Eerdmans, 1931.) Dooyeweerd discusses sphere sovereignty in chapter 2 of Root of Western Culture. Some of the
implications of this principle for society will be explored in the later
sections; however, it will also become apparent that the basic principle is
fundamental to the whole working out of a reformational philosophy. The quote
from Vollenhoven in section 6 comes from §13 of his Introduction to Philosophy Edited by
John J. Kok and Anthony Tol, ‘being-subject’ as the ‘point of orientation’
comes from §17, and Tol’s
gloss is from Anthony Tol Philosophy in the making: D.H.Th.
Vollenhoven and the emergence of reformed philosophy page xvii fn23. Johan
van der Hoeven’s "In memory of Herman Dooyeweerd. Meaning, time and law" Philosophia Reformata
43: 130 -144, is helpful in understanding the key idea of meaning in
Dooyeweerd.
To understand the reformational
approach to reading the Bible, as well as the books already mentioned, one
should consult Calvin Seerveld’s How to
read the Bible to hear God speak, (Dordt Press, 2003.) Cornelis Veenhof described the atmosphere in the
Netherlands surrounding the birth of reformational philosophy as “When the Scriptures Fell Open”. Prominent
among those he mentions is the Amsterdam preacher
S.
G. de Graaf whose four volume Promise and
Deliverance (Paideia Press, 2012) was deemed significant enough to
be the only major translation project undertaken by Evan Runner. An important
historical account of how evangelicalism has repeatedly fallen for a reduced
understanding of Biblical faith is Keith Sewell’s The Crisis of Evangelical Christianity: Roots, Consequences, and
Resolutions (WIPF & Stock, 2016.)
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