The Biblical Doctrine of Man

by Gordon H. Clark

The Biblical doctrine of man - what is man?, where did he come from?. why is he here?; and, where is he going? - by the late Reformed scholar and philosopher, Gordon Haddon Clark.

Genres: Theology, Anthropology, Philosophy

127 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1984

About the author

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 system of philosophy is sometimes called Scripturalism.

The Trinty Foundation continues to publish his writings.

Reviews

[Steven H]

A FAMED CALVINIST PHILOSOPHER/APOLOGIST DISCUSSES THE DOCTRINE OF MAN

Gordon Haddon Clark (1902-1985) was an American philosopher and Calvinist theologian, who was chairman of the Philosophy Department at Butler University for 28 years. He wrote many books, such as 'A Christian View of Men and Things ,' 'Thales to Dewey, An Introduction to Christian Philosophy,' 'Religion, Reason and Revelation,' 'God and Evil: The Problem Solved,' 'God's Hammer: The Bible and Its Critics,' etc.

Clark wrote in a prefatory section, "The main topics discussed here are the creation of man, the nature of man as given in creation, the propagation of the soul to Adam's descendants, the religious relation of Adam as the first man to his posterity, and the effects of sin, noetic and otherwise." (He supports Traducianism---the notion that "children derive not only their bodies from their parents, but their souls also"; pg. 52)

After noting the growing influence of behaviorism, Clark suggests, "Christians should not sit idly by in ignorance or disinterest. But there are several ways of reacting. One is to preach the gospel without taking any notice of its antagonists. This is not what Paul did. Not only in 1 Corinthians and Galatians did he explicitly attack the enemies of Christ, but so also even in his shorter epistles." (Pg. 28)

He states that "Devotional, emotional, practical anti-intellectual Christianity, if indeed it is Christianity, cannot meet present realities." (Pg. 33) He asserts that "What a seminary student must learn and keep in mind... is that Christianity is a SYSTEM of doctrine. Truth forms a system. Doctrines interlock." (Pg. 44) He notes that "Where there is no law, there is no sin to impute. Had God given Adam no commands, Adam would have been as free as the animals. They cannot sin; but Adam could and did. There was a covenant of works." (Pg. 62)

While not one of Clark's "major" works, this book will be of interest to those who are studying his philosophy.

[Felipe Sabino]

Muito bom.

[Thomas Bracken]

Very informative