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God, Revelation, and Authority (Volume 1: God Who Speaks and Shows)

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This magnum opus of Dr. Henry's theology is simply the most thoughtful, incisive, and relevant work in modern theology, evangelical or otherwise.

Henry's basic propositions are at once both simple and profound - that revealed truth must be communicable in propositional form, that is, in complete sentences, with subject, verbs, and objects. Truth is not a commodity for the intellectually or spiritually elite. In other words, if you cannot tell me in plain language what the truth is, then I must question whether or not what you are considering is really the truth. Furthermore, God has set this example by personally revealing Himself in this manner in our own objective, external history - the same history of which we are all now a part. This is not to say that there are truths in the universe that are not communicable verbally, only that the Truth that has been revealed by God must be, and has been, communicated in that manner.

Henry's antagonists are those theologians (Barth, Bultmann and company)who propose that history is of two kinds - the day-to-day, external, objective history with which we are all familiar, and a special, internal "geschichte" history where God reveals himself internally to individuals within gaps in the causal uniformity of external history, and the less extreme theologians (Moltmann, Pannenberg, and company) who propose that there is one, encompassing salvation-history ("heilsgeschichte") within which there is no distinction to be made between the natural and supernatural and hence, no need to distinguish between two different kinds of history.

Although some find the concepts of geschichte and heilsgeschichte intellectually appealing in that the altogether-other God is revealing himself in an altogether-other history that is suitable to His nature, it falls short of the biblical concept of salvation, in which God has revealed Himself personally and powerfully within our own, external day-to-day history, where we live, die, marry, raise children, and work out our lives. The logical conclusion of geschichte seems to be that, if our salvation has been wrought in a different kind of history that stands apart from our own familiar day-to-day history, then so must our Christian life be wrought in a similar fashion. Heilsgechichte hold up slightly better under scrutiny, but still falls short by de-mystifying the supernatural into the realm of the ordinary. Henry demonstrates that these concepts are neither biblical nor Christian.

Once, he told us a story about a press conference he attended with Karl Barth. During the question and answer period, Dr. Barth was engaged in several lively discussions on his theme of geschichte. When it came Dr. Henry's turn to pose a question, he asked, "Herr Barth, what would the newspapers have read on the morning following the resurrection?" The visibly disturbed Barth responded, "Did you say you were the editor of Christianity Yesterday, or was it Christianity Today?" Henry calmly responded, "That would be Christianity yesterday, today, and forever."

I am aware that his detractors use the tired, old, "just another [biased] *evangelical* perspective" argument, as if the mere use of the term dispatches Henry's contribution to the growing body of truly irrelevant theology. I sometimes wonder if these detractors have taken the time to make an honest appraisal of Henry in the same manner as they request the rest of us to do with Pannenberg, Moltmann, Barth, Bultmann, and company? Or even worse, does geschichte and helsgeschichte captivate their attention because they allow salvation to be considered separately from the course of daily life?

I am afraid, however, that you must read Henry for yourself and decide, as I, the student, am not greater than his Master.

Carl Henry was a theologian of great character and insight.
This series is his opus.

A few clarifications: Dr. Henry was an Evangelical theologian not a Fundamentalist (he broke with them in the 40s), a term which is particular to Protestantism from 20th Century America; but which was redefined by a religious studies project at the University of Chicago to defame any conservative religious viewpoint which may effect public values. Also, he wasn't a literalist, as some would coin, but holds that God has communicated with clarity in the text - a similar notion to that of John Wycliff. His view is universal not just American.

It is long. Look through the Indices to see what subject you want to study.

Unfortunately, Dr. Henry was pilloried by many academics and contermporary "evangelicals" who wanted to shed his influence for post-modern presuppositions or post-Bartian notions.

Dr. Henry understood the Lord as above a singular history and greater than one's words, but one who seeks to communicate liberty to those who want to hear.

He passed away on December 7, 2003 in Watertown, WI.

Dr. Henry is "the founder and father and the primary architect" of Evangelicalism in 20th century, and the today's leading think tank among the 20th century intellectuals and scholarship since 1940's. No doubt, He is the living landmark of 20th century. This volume is his masterpiece and his life-time monument. And I dare to say the landmark of the 20th century in Christian philosophy and theory. The volume 1 brings the best academic and philosophical survey and discussion that 20th century could offer. If one can read through carefully, he/she will (1) survey the contemporary philosophy and theology with "the" master, and (2) be able to critique all in the first class scholarship and in "the" Evangelical perspective. I guarantee that this volume enables its faithful reader to be the world-class critical thinker in Christianity. If you want to challenge the top of "the" mountain of today's intellectual and leading scholarship in Christian Philosophy and Worldview, I recommend first of all without any hesitation, this volume! (He is a humble and godly man, and my dear teacher with Father's heart equipped with Grace and Truth of God. He lectured this volume to our class years ago and I was blessed enough to take a few courses from this world-class master).

Henry, Carl F. H. God, Revelation, and Authority. 6 Volumes.
Seeing the incomplete rubble of humanism and a shattered epistemological foundation, Henry attempts to provide a consistently Christian perspective to God, authority, reason, the limits and benefits of systematic theology, etc. Henry argues in the opening books that we are facing the rise of a new Dark Ages. Humanism cannot maintain a long-term vision for civilization, but neither can the modern church, given their inane infatuation with the world and their faulty epistemology (assuming that the church shares a Foundationalistic or Postmodern epistemology). Therefore, the Church must reorient herself around vigorous thinking and a firm commitment to Scripture.

*Focus*
Henry's main sparring partner is Karl Barth. Barth was arguable the most influential voice of the 20th century (if not always the best voice). Therefore, when Barth speaks people listen. Henry listened and responded with 6 volumes. This is where reading Henry gets difficult. Many readers will hear Al Mohler or David Wells (rightly) praise Henry as a clear theological voice in this century. That is true, but one must also know the context in which Henry wrote, otherwise nothing is clear.

Another difficulty in reading Henry is the deep, philosophical well from which he draws. I began Henry with *no* philosophical background whatsoever. I was lost on many of his discussions. Without a basic philosophical framework in mind, I thought Henry was skipping from topic to topic. So, before beginning Henry I would recommend a basic philosophical overview (Colin Brown or Richard Tarnas). While slow going at first, it will pay dividends later.

Also, it wouldn't hurt to know what Barth is saying either. I do not share Barth's worldview. I think it is dangerous and a wolf in sheep's clothing. That being said, Barth appears in almost every chapter. Begin with a small Barthian book (*Humanity of God*, perhaps).

While I can't give a full overview of what Henry said, here are some questions/issues he wrestles with:
*Is human language adequate/sufficient to deal with religious phenomena? Henry takes the affirmative and deals with Langdon Gilkey.
*Can man actually do a systematic theology? If so, what constitutes biblical categories?
*How does God reveal himself to man? When God reveals himself to man, he uses propositions that have corresponding truth-value.
*Is natural theology adequate, or even viable? No. While I agree with Henry's conclusions, I think Greg Bahnsen via Van Til does a better job here. Interestingly enough, and Henry didn't develop this point: deny natural theology and natural law goes out the window. If natural law is not an option, then what is? Think Greg Bahnsen.
*On the practical level, how are evangelicals to do theology and face the crisis of the future? Evangelicalism lacks the intellectual nerve to write a modern day *City of God.* In other words, the Secular West is falling at an alarming rate (as was Rome) and we need, but lack, an Augustine to answer the crisis. (I will address this in my conclusion.)

Now, as to the reviwer who said that Henry ended up arguing for a god as abstract as Aristotle's, I have only to say that he/she did not read Henry. Henry spends 30 pages arguing specifically against such a deity. Oh well, wisdom is justified by her children.

Henry's Method for Theology is as following:

Divine revelation is the source of all truth, the truth of Christianity included; reason is the instrument for recognizing it; Scripture is its verifying principle; logical consistency of a negative test for truth and coherence a subordinate test. The task of Christian theology is to exhibit the content of biblical revelation as an orderly whole."

Carl Henry had an illustrious career, which influenced most theological seminaries and bible colleges, some even unbeknown to today's generation.

In a time of opposing views from differing higher-criticism schools (Bultmann, Barth etc.) his was the lone evangelical voice calling to remain true to the revealed and conclusive, propositional Word of Truth.

'Christianity depicts itself - essentially theological though it be - not as a supremely constructed metaphysical theory, but as a revelation, differing in kind from secular philosophies grounded in rational reflection. Its basic premise is that the living God should be allowed to speak for Himself and to define the abiding role of reason and the meaning of revelation.' p 95

His work is majestic. His grasp is overarching, always worldview-ish, always generational, always God-centered. The 6 Volumes display the journalistic powers he had, and the power to reason and debate. He was the founder of Christianity Today and served as its Editor in Charge for many decades. He passed away recently, but his influence in especially Christian institutions and seminaries will long outlive those of Bultmann or Barth.

A great Christian and an honorable man. I read his work with absolute passion.

The following quotations are from one chapter alone, 'Secular Man and Ultimate Concerns', Book 1:


'The ecumenical movement with its focus on 'what the Spirit is saying to the churches' rather than on what the inspired Scripture ongoingly says, has meanwhile been more open to an emphasis on charismatic renewal than on a recovery of the Reformation.' 1:131

'The universal disclosure of God penetrates deeply into all man's confidences and doubts. Evidence of God's reality and power and truth and goodness is ongoingly refracted into the course of man's daily life.' p 151

'Man is viewed as a creature competent without gods to cope with all problems through social rather than supernatural resources, and all his powers and choices are contingently grounded.' p 137

'Divine being and divine providence are denied.' p 138

'Man creates his own future by exercising inherent powers of mind and will.' p 140

'Man alone is able to decide his life's course, he alone is the source of what truth he affirms and of what good he champions.' Ibid

'With or without science, man is not omnipotent over the cosmos and history.' p 143

'especially man's own nature stands in the way of doing the good that he would.' p 144

'Man's sense of personal worth and peculiar destiny derives from remnants of the created Imago Dei in man, and beyond that from the ongoing universal revelation of the Creator.' p 145

'Modern man's difficulty is not due to the unintelligibility or incredibility of the reality of God, but arises from the secularist's intellectual postulations and commitments which render the biblical view personally powerless.' p 146

'To insist that the living God of the Bible is inescapably an aspect of everyday existence may strike the man 'come of age' as nonsense, since the very possibility is excluded by his definition of reality and his delimitation of experience.' p 149

'If man made for God, will not live by the truth of God, he will nevertheless venture on his own to invest his life with sense and security by serving false gods.' p 150

'Only God's purpose and assurance made known in His Word can displace doubts about man's historical significance...' ibid

'An obituary for God is assuredly always premature.' ibid

'Not a judgment, not a decision, not an action takes place without reference to the Horizon of Ultimate Claims upon man's life. Secular man does not miss out on general revelation, but he misses out on the joy of God and the goal of life.' ibid

The intellectual depth is staggering, the wisdom other-worldly.

Carl F. Henry (1913-2003) was the founding Editor of Christianity Today, and one of the foremost evangelical scholars of the 20th century. In these six volumes (originally released in three sets of two volumes, in 1976, 1979, and 1983), he summarizes a lifetime of research.

In his 1999 "Series Preface," Henry states, "The six volumes ... represent my effort to challenge the course of modern theology..... 'God, Revelation, and Authority' is a challenge to the fluctuating theological outlook of a century that lacked religious compass bearings.... I aimed to exhibit the logical power of truth and the permanent relevance of the scriptural alternative."

The first four volumes are subtitled, "God Who Speaks and Shows." Volume I, "Preliminary Considerations," argues that "the debate in theology today ... is being waged most fiercely over the significance of the competing cultural frameworks and interpretations of human meaning and worth," and asserts that "Christianity professes to supply the enduring conceptuality that alone makes possible an ongoing unity of theology, philosophy, history, and science."

The next three volumes contain Henry's "Fifteen Theses" (which are briefly summarized in ten pages in the Preface to Volume II), such as, "Revelation is ... God's free communication by which he alone turns his personal privacy into a deliberate disclosure of his reality" (#1), "God's revelation is rational communication conveyed in intelligible ideas and meaningful words" (#10), and "The church approximates the kingdom of God in miniature" (#14). The scope expands significantly in volumes III and IV (Vol. II was 334 pages, while III and IV are 487 and 614 pages, respectively).

The last two volumes are subtitled, "God Who Stands and Stays," in which Henry argues, "that divine revelation is rationally given and is to be rationally understood, is a basic presupposition of biblical theology," and "The biblical presuppositions concerning God remain the most significant guideposts for human affairs and for the planet that provides man's temporary dwelling place."

Though fairly comprehensive, GR&A is no "Systematic Theology," summarizing all of Christian doctrine. And Henry is sometimes too prolix in terms of his summaries and commentaries on other theologians (James Barr, author of books such as Fundamentalism in particular seems to receive far too much attention), and somewhat skimpy on Henry's own views. Nevertheless, this series is an indispensable addition to any serious theological library.

I've not had as much opportunity to pore through Dr. Henry's masterful work as I've wished to have. This is a truly scholarly work, not for the shallow of mind, but for the thoughtful reader. It will certainly be found far more worth pondering than either the touchy-feely or pontificating idolized by the destructive reviewers whose only real basis for objection is that "His postions are lucid, logical, and precise."! Oh my! God forbid that positions should be lucid, logical or even make sense, something mindlessly equated with "Aristotelian lenses" (meaning: it doesn't agree with me), as they are predictably blind to their own. His refusal to come down to such a tower of ignorant babble understandably condemns him from the start, but for those few heroic today who still will pursue truth instead of the mindless fantasies of modernism and post-modernism, or even admit there's any to pursue, unlike today's minions too self-centered, narrow-minded & bigoted (intellectually or otherwise), ignorant and lazy to do so, will find a real treasure trove here, pearls unrecognizable to swine (Matt. 7:6), but oh so wonderful to the diligent, noble Berean who dilligently searches to see if these things are so (Acts 17:11).

For a good post-mortem on modern theology, including the "Death of God" "theothanatologists", see John Warwick Montgomery's Suicide of Christian Theology, though any of his works are worthwhile, including his "In Defense of Martin Luther" dealing with those who love to twist and pervert Luther to serve their own ways and ends as badly as they do Scripture.

his volumes may be lengthy, but they are well worth the read. he provides a penetrating account of God and others often mistaken views of him. his theology is evangelical and presuppositionalist and well articulated.

This is not "A" book. This is a collection of Henry's writtings from over his whole life. It is organized into 5 separate softback books. Don't pay attention to that last guy. He hasn't even seen these books.

The greatest book in the century? My, Steinbeck, Ginsberg, and Faulkner might have to move over! This is the best example of fundamentalist scholasticism there is, straining at a gnat and swallowing a camel. If your Christinity comes to you as a mathematical equation (i.e. if you are interested in proving what you believe, sadly), you'll love Henry's book. But don't let the dust of dead orthodoxy choke you.