Tag: B. B. Warfield

Reread Project: Faith & Life by B.B. Warfield: 41 Brief Bursts of Profundity

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On January 1, 2023

In Non-Fiction, Theology/Christian Living

Faith & LifeFaith & Life

by B. B. Warfield

DETAILS:
Publisher: Banner of Truth
Publication Date: Dec 1, 1974
Format: Clothbound
Length: 458 pg.
Read Date: January 2-December 25, 2022
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N.B.: I’ve revamped and slightly updated this from the last time I reread this.

What’s Faith & Life About?

Back when Princeton Seminary was the crown jewel of biblical Presbyterian training in the US, notable professors like Archibald Alexander, Samuel Miller, and Charles Hodge would have informal addresses for students on Sunday afternoons. B. B. Warfield, the lion of Princeton, continued this practice. These 41 chapters come from some of these addresses to the students.

They are roughly 10 (+/-2) pages long (the pages are on the small side, it should be noted), short, and to the point. They’re expositions of small pericopes of Scripture (primarily one or two verses, but he’ll often address the immediate context). Three chapters are from the Old Testament, with the rest from the New—the chapters are organized by canonical order, not by any particular themes or lines of thought.

So, what did I think about Faith & Life?

I went skimming over the Table of Contents to pick out a few highlights—and I’m having a real problem. Almost every one is a gem. “Prayer as a Means of Grace” and “Prayer as a Practice” were very helpful—the latter was slightly better. “New Testament Puritanism” was great. Despite the reputation men like Warfield have, the chapters involving the work of the Holy Spirit were all tremendous. “God’s Holiness and Ours” was fantastic. I could keep going here, but it wouldn’t be long before I copied the Table of Contents.

For being the exemplar of “old Princeton,” with all the rigor and scholarship that entails—these addresses help us remember that even stalwarts like Warfield, who are known for strong stances on doctrinal issues—were men with vibrant faith, even a sense of humor.

With a couple of breaks for illnesses, travel, etc. I read a chapter each Lord’s Day. It was like sitting down with a trusted friend to talk about the Bible for a couple of minutes. I’m going to miss doing that going into the next year. I last did this back in 2013, and won’t let myself wait as long for the next time through.

Faith & Life is everything Christian scholarship should be—warm, Christ-centered, practical, and doxological. It’s also everything that Christian devotional material should be—careful, sound, and deliberately orthodox. Highly recommended.

5 Stars

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Crossway Short Classics: Warfield, Ryle, and Edwards

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On August 21, 2022

In Non-Fiction, Theology/Christian Living

Crossway Short Classics SeriesCrossway Short Classics Series

DETAILS:
Publisher: Crossway Books
Format: Paperback
Read Date: July 2022

Some Thoughts on the Series as a Whole

The point of this series is to take classic short works—sermons, tracts, articles—package them attractively, edit a bit (modernize language, eliminate footnotes, tweak grammar, etc.) and make them widely available. Each is given a short introduction to help the reader get the context and a bit of information about the author.

I think this is a great idea, and I don’t know how I didn’t hear about this until a few weeks ago. I do hope they put out new books in the series (at least one of the books on the original list isn’t out yet, but they did publish one not on that list, so maybe they exchanged the titles).

I wonder a bit about the cover design—I wonder if the floral theme is a bit off-putting (Evangelical publishers usually reserve that for books marketed for women, and I don’t get the impression that this series is designed for that).

I don’t want to try to cover the whole series in one post, so I’m going to do this in chunks. This is the first in the series of posts I’ll be doing.

The Emotional Life of Our LordThe Emotional Life of Our Lord

by B.B. Warfield, Sinclair Ferguson (Foreward)

DETAILS:
Publication Date: May 10, 2022
Length: 110 pg.
Read Date: July 10, 2022
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This is the book in the set I was most excited about—I’ve read this a few times, but I’ve only had a photocopy from someone who owned a set of Warfield’s shorter works to use (I’m sure it’s online now, but…). Now I have a nice, attractive, bound copy.

This look at Christ’s emotions—and how they demonstrate his humanity—is a fantastic piece of Christian scholarship. There’s a warmth to the writing, a sense of bringing assurance and comfort to the reader, along with the discussion of the texts. I just loved it.

Also, an Introduction by Sinclair Ferguson? Doesn’t get better than that.

5 Stars

Fighting for HolinessFighting for Holiness

by J. C. Ryle, Andrew Atherstone (Foreward)

DETAILS:
Publication Date: May 10, 2022
Length: 74 pg.
Read Date: July 17, 2022
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The original title of this was Are You Fighting?, and I guess the editors thought that since it wasn’t going to be republished in a series with similar questions, they needed a new title. I think the new title didn’t do it any favors. Fighting for Holiness shouldn’t be seen as Fighting to obtain Holiness or to display Holiness, but on account of Holiness, or in Holiness’ Cause. It may be nit-picking, but to me, the title just didn’t fit.

The fact that I stopped to think about that mid-way through this short work says something about how gripping it was.

This was a description of several of the passages using military metaphors from the Bible, calling readers to be fighters for the Faith. (in a spiritual sense, I should add, because too often today that would be understood as a more physical combat)

I just don’t get why this was picked—Ryle wrote a lot that were this length, and most of them would’ve been better. I can’t say that the work wasn’t well-written or anything, I’m just not sure this is the best work for the use.
3 Stars

Heaven Is a World of LoveHeaven Is a World of Love

by Jonathan Edwards, Sam Storms (Foreward)

DETAILS:
Publication Date: October 13, 2020
Length: 115 pg.
Read Date: July 24, 2022
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This is one of the several examples of sermons that demonstrate there’s more to Edwards than the caricature of a hellfire and brimstone preacher that’s so prevalent. And you have to think that’s at least part of the reason it was selected.

It’s a typical Edwardsian sermon in that he approaches the subject from several angles—maybe too many (or at least it feels that way a time or two). The focus here is on the love of God, as shown to His creation both in this world and the next (although the emphasis is on the next, hence the title).

Unlike the Warfield book above, I didn’t get the warmth in this one—odd considering the subject. It felt more like a scholarly treatise than a sermon, but that’s typical of Edwards and it’s clearly a sign that it’s been too long since I’ve read Edwards sermons.

It’s a nice sermon, a helpful sermon, and a nice bit of analysis, too.

3.5 Stars

This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase from them, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, the opinions expressed are my own.

Reposting Just ‘Cuz: Faith & Life by Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield

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On May 23, 2021

In Non-Fiction, Theology/Christian Living

I ran out of gas while trying to finish a post for today, so I thought I’d take a moment to revisit a favorite from a few years ago. I’ve been thinking of picking it up again, recently, and reading this just might have sealed the deal for me. You might want to give it a look, too.

Faith & Life:
Faith & Life: by Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Back when Princeton Seminary was the crown jewel of biblical Presbyterian training in the US, notable professors like Archibald Alexander, Samuel Miller, and Charles Hodge would have informal addresses for students on Sunday afternoons. B. B. Warfield, the lion of Princeton, continued this practice. These 41 chapters come from some of these addresses to the students.

I went skimming over the Table of Contents to pick out a few highlights — and I’m having a real problem. Almost every one is a gem. “Prayer as a Means of Grace” and “Prayer as a Practice” were very helpful — the latter was slightly better. “New Testament Puritanism” was great. Despite the reputation men like Warfield have, the chapters involving the work of the Holy Spirit were all tremendous. “God’s Holiness and Ours” was fantastic. I could keep going here, but it wouldn’t be long before I copied the Table of Contents.

For being the exemplar of “old Princeton,” with all the rigor and scholarship that entails — these addresses help us remember that even stalwarts like Warfield, who are known for strong stances on doctrinal issues — were men with vibrant faith, even a sense of humor.

I spent a few months reading 1 or 2 of these each Lord’s Day morning between breakfast and heading out for church — it was a great way to get my head (and heart) in the right frame of mind for worship. It’s everything Christian scholarship should be — warm, Christ-centered, practical, and doxological. It’s also everything that Christian devotional material should be — careful, sound, and deliberately orthodox. Highly recommended.

Faith & Life by Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield

By

On August 11, 2013

In Non-Fiction, Theology/Christian Living

Faith & Life:
Faith & Life: by Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Back when Princeton Seminary was the crown jewel of biblical Presbyterian training in the US, notable professors like Archibald Alexander, Samuel Miller, and Charles Hodge would have informal addresses for students on Sunday afternoons. B. B. Warfield, the lion of Princeton, continued this practice. These 41 chapters come from some of these addresses to the students.

I went skimming over the Table of Contents to pick out a few highlights — and I’m having a real problem. Almost every one is a gem. “Prayer as a Means of Grace” and “Prayer as a Practice” were very helpful — the latter was slightly better. “New Testament Puritanism” was great. Despite the reputation men like Warfield have, the chapters involving the work of the Holy Spirit were all tremendous. “God’s Holiness and Ours” was fantastic. I could keep going here, but it wouldn’t be long before I copied the Table of Contents.

For being the exemplar of “old Princeton,” with all the rigor and scholarship that entails — these addresses help us remember that even stalwarts like Warfield, who are known for strong stances on doctrinal issues — were men with vibrant faith, even a sense of humor.

I spent a few months reading 1 or 2 of these each Lord’s Day morning between breakfast and heading out for church — it was a great way to get my head (and heart) in the right frame of mind for worship. It’s everything Christian scholarship should be — warm, Christ-centered, practical, and doxological. It’s also everything that Christian devotional material should be — careful, sound, and deliberately orthodox. Highly recommended.

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