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Tuesday, March 21, 2017

Engelsma reviews Clark bio

This is a biased review, but worth reading all the same:

https://douglasdouma.wordpress.com/2017/03/03/david-engelsma-reviews-the-presbyterian-philosopher/

2 comments:

  1. A biased review, perhaps, but is Engelsma off target? One needn't be a partisan of either Clark or Van Til (I certainly have no dog in the fight)to observe that Clark was shafted. The central issue is not one of competing theological positions but simple justice. After having watched Machen get the same treatment from the PCUSA, one would have thought that the OPC would know better.

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    Replies
    1. I'm no expert, but to my knowledge, the qualifications for ordination in the OPC, besides basic competence, would be subscription to the Westminster Confession–plus subsequent official policies promulgated by the General Assembly.

      Of course, the WCF subject to interpretation. At the time, the OPC was a new denomination, so it didn't have precedent. It might have leaned on the Old Princeton tradition.

      In any event, the issues raised in the Clark Controversy went well beyond the WCF, so I think raising those issues in the context of an ordination exam was an abuse of power.

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