1998 Issue 3 - Rebirth of the Old School - Counsel of Chalcedon

8/12/2019 1998 Issue 3 - Rebirth of the Old School - Counsel of Chalcedon

1/3

Len,Auton is a ruling elder at

Covenant Presbyterian Church, He is

married? has two sons; and is a

material planning manager at the

Boeing Co Along with

the

editor he

shares

the blessing of having married

into

the

same

family.

Be

sure that the former issueS

are

really

dead

before you bury them."

- R L Dabney

Introduction

On March

12, 1998, in

a quiet

suburb

just

outside Greenville,

South

Carolina,

an

event.

took

place

that

may

one

day mark

the rebirth of

Old

School Theology

in

the South.

On

that date,

Greenville

is committed to (1) the Word of God,

(2) a strict subscription to the

Westminster Confession

of

Faith o

the

part

of

all faculty members, 3)

the centrality of the Gospel, (4)

the

diScipline

of

rigorous scholarship, (5)

the inculcation of a vital biblical

piety,

(6)

providing doctrinally

consistent practical training and

7)

ecclesiastical accountability. These

are

worthy

commitments

and

if

observed faithfully will distinguish

GPTS from the vast majority of

seminaries currently in existence

for

years to come.

The

afternoon lectures provided"

preach the doctrines of the Bible as

set forth in

the

Westminster Confes

sion

of

Faith."

Notice the similarity of the old

Columbia preamble to GPTS's

Statement of Purpose:

"GPTS exists

to

form

men

for

the

Gospel ministry,

who

shall truly

believe,

and

cordially love,

ahd

therefore endeavor to propagate

and

defend,

in

its genuineness, simplicity,

and

fullness, that system of religious

belief and practice

known as

the

Reformed Faith which is set forth

in

the Westminster Confession

of

Faith,

.

Presbyterian Theological

Seminary (CPTS) installed

their fiist

p"resident, Dr.

joseph A Pipa,jr. So what

does that have

to

withOld

School Theology?

In

its

Rebirth

of

the

Old

School

If GPTS aspires to

follow

in the

path of "Old

Columbia" she conld not

have selected a more

appropriate role model.

Any seminary that

produced ministers of

the

short 10 2 years of

existence, GPTS has stood

unwaveringly on the side

of

ortho-

doxy

and

in

the

historical stream

of

Old

School Theology.

The

seminary's unabashed emphasis on

Old

School Theology was

borne out

by the lecture

series topic. The

i n a u g ~ t a t i o n

service was preceded

by

a

seriesoflectures on Old

School

versus New

School Theology,

t

was

impossible

to come

away from

the

event without

a deep appreciation

that this school, like

no other of

its

kind

today, is firmly

grounded in Old

School Theology.

We

live

in

a

day in

which the spirit of

com promise

reigns

supreme and no

place has this

spirit been

)lore evident

than in

the

once great .reformed seminaries of

our

land.

The

installation

of

a

pr ;ident not n l y signifies a major

milestone in the history

of

GPTS but

it markS

another

significant step

toward a

return

to biblical Christiah

ity in

the

South.

Commitment

to

Old

School Theology

In his

inaugural address, Dr. Pipa

identified

seven

commitments

that

GPTS's faculty seeks to uphold

and

follow. According

to

Dr. Pipa,

GPTS

much

more

than

simply a backdrop

to

the

inauguration. The lectures

brought focus to

the

historical

Significance

of

the even\. There was

no

more fitting way to begin

the

lectures

than

for Dr. Morton Smith

to

provide an introduction to Old

School Theology

and

the division of'

1837.

Dr.

Smith

is arguably the

greatest authority on southern

theology

and

particularly the south

ern

strand of

Old School Theology.

. FollOwing Dr. Smith was a lecture on

Old School Theology and the

Southern Seminaries given by Dr.

David B Calhoun, Professor of

Church

History at Covenant Theo

logical Seminary, St. Louis, Mo,.

Both Dr.

Smith and

Dr. Calhoun

reminded

us of the

South's commit

ment

to

Old

School Theology

in the

last century

and

the specific role that

Columbia Seminary played.

in

promoting

the

orthodox faith. The

old Columbia Bible College'S pre

amble reflected a strong commitment

to maintaining a confessional

seminary:

"To educate young

men

for the

gospel ministry that believe, live

and

70 THE COUNSEL

of

Cbalcedon

Jtllle{July 1998

Gospel under the tutelage

of

ames Henley Thomwell, Benjamin

M

Palmer, Thomas Goulding,

George Howe,

W.

S Plumer, and

john L Girardeau is worthy o f

emulation.

The Importance of

Old School

Theology

for the

Church Today

In

his historical survey of Old

School Theology; Dr, Smith spoke

convincingly of

our

faithful fathers'

binding adherence to

the wa

Starting with the Adopting Act of

1729

through every subsequent

decade

of

the eighteenth

and

nine

teenth centuries there existed a

consistent and ~ n r e l e n t i n g adherence

to the

w

as the standard for

Reformed Presbyterians. The brief

split within conservative Presbyterian

Theology during the Great Awaken

ing was not over doctrine but over

experiential issues.

In 1758 the

two

sides reunited

thus

proving that

biblical doctrine does

not

necessarily

divide

but can indeed unite. The real

controversy between

Old

School

and

New School Theology

did not

manifest itself openly un til much

later. The seeds

of

this controversy,

as pointed

out

by Dr. Gregg Singer in

his lecture, were planted with the rise


2/3

of Transcendentalism between 1810-

1855 B Transcendentalism gained

favor from the civil government and

infl llenc.e within society. this had

a

leavening effect upon the church.

This gave rise to abolitionism, the

temperance movement and social

engineering. No place did this leaven

have a greater impact than in the old

northwest, Ohio, Michigan and Iowa.

For the most part, the southern states

remained immune to this influence.

Along with this social upheaval came

"democratic" ideas that threatened

not only society but the church as

well. Out of this influence grew New

School Theology. In describing the

New School Controversy, Dr.

B.M.

Palmer states in his biography on

James Henley Thornwell, The

cardinal issue, in the

whole

dispute,

was that of strict or lax construction

of the acknowledged standards; ...

The evidence, however,

is

cumula

tive, that, up to the beginning of the

present century, through a period of

nearly one hundred years, no

subscription of the Westminster

Confession was tolerated which did

not accept it in its entirety. The

ingenious artifice of receiving it only

for "substance

of

doctrine", was the

invention

of

a later and more

degenerate age."

Old School Theology stands

squarely against the New School

notion that a person can hold to the

"substance of the doctrine" but reject

key elements of the doctrine.

B

Palmer

explains, for substance of

doctrine , means simply to get all the

substance out of

the

doctrine, and to

hold to the shell, which is harmless

from

its

emptiness".

It is

at this

very

point that the Old School versus New

School controversy has relevance for

us today. We are all familiar with

ureformecl

denominations

or

churches that state as part of their

confessional or constitutional

documents an adherence to the

WCF. How many of these denomi

nations truly abide by and uphold

their confession? Many of these

denominations, while listing

in

their

statement of faith the WCF, under-

mine their confession by either

expressed or implied clarifications

that totally subvert the weight and

authority of the WCF. These

clarifications come

in

the form of

mottoes

such

as

In

essentials, unity;

in non-essentials, liberty; in all

things, charity or in pithy statements

Le., creed) like We seek to major

in

the majors and minor in the minors."

Such slogans undermine the author

ity

of

our confession and act

as

a

slippery slope that eventually

subverts the orthodox faith. These

clarifications are merely comfort

valves that are tapped into the

reservoir of pure doctrine.

Once

attached, the purity of the confession

is

qUickly

drained off

as

the ever

increasing "non-essentials win out

over the ever shrinking essential

doctrines. Of course all such

Siphoning is readily justified as being

necessary for the peace and unity of

the church. Most so called reformed

churches today hold to this thor

oughly New School position and as a

result are at risk of going the way of

all other New School churches.

Palmer's words ring as true today as

they did over 100 years ago: His

tory does not afford a better illustra

tion of the evil wrought by good

men

whenever. from motives

of

policy, they swerve from principle.

The imprint of New School

Theology

upon

the face of modern

Presbyterianism is all too obvious.

Among the many departures from

strict subscription are: 1) repudia

tion of the

doctrines

of

grace; Dr.

Singer kicked off his lecture on The

Impact of New School Thought on

the Modem Church with a quote

from

ohn

Owen, the great puritan;

No doctrine of Election, No Gospel,

No Church . The drift toward

Arminian Theology is a New School

trend that will ultimately lead to the

destruction of the church. This

destruction

does not

necessarily

result in the denomination disappear

ing.

The

denomination may continue

to exist under the guise of Christian

ity yet cease to exist as the bride of

Christ. (2) retreat from church

discipline; B Palmer so powerfully

yet succinctly stated, In the history

of the Church, laxity in doctrine is

always sure

to accompany contempt

of discipline and order. (3) aban

donment of the Regulative Principle

of Worship and the trend toward

running the church like a corpora

tion;

B

Dr. Pipa pointed

out

in

his

inaugural address, Pressures abound

within the modern church to develop

theological MBAB who are slick

managers

who

can market, cultural

gurus who are up on the latest fads

and trends, where conflict resolution

replaces pastoral theology, corporate

leader replaces selVant-shepherd,

technology replaces theology,

entertainment replaces evangelism

seeker sensitive services replace

spiritual worship and all the while

the Church is losing ground despite

these advances . (4) denial of the

binding duty to the fourth command

ment; There has been growing

trend

among some "Reformed> Presbyterian

Churches toward downplaying the

importance and the role of the

Christian Sabbath in the life of

believers. Some have added Saturday

evening services

which give members

the option of putting other activities

ahead of Sabbath day worship. These

are but a few of the fruits of New

School Theology that we see today.

For that reason, GPTS's commitment

to strict subSCription should be

hailed by all reformed people as a

welcomed bulwark against the ever

present tide of New School Theology

and a significant step toward recap

turing Southern Presbyterianism and

the Church beyond to biblical

Christianity.

hat About

Old

School

Eschatology

Strangely absent from this lecture

series

was

any reference to

the

eschatological views within Southern

Old School Theology. Although it is

understandable that time may not

have allowed for a separate lecture on

this subject, it is interesting that this

subject

was not given even

a passing

comment in

any of

the

lectures.

The

only mention of eschatology was by

JWlef.July

1998

THE COUNSEL

of Chalcedou

71


3/3

Dr. T. David Gordon in his explana

tion of the sources

bf current

New

School thought. Dr. Gordon cited

Postmillennialism along

With

Revival

ist

Evangelicidism as the

two

sources

of

turrent

New School thought. The

only

reason offered

as

to why

Postinillenrtialism is a

sourcewas. .

according to Dr. Gordon, its affinity

With

the

New England Theocracy .

Or

as Dr. Gordon explained, the view

that

to be part of society is to be part

'of the church. Given the overWhelm

ing

historical evidence that the

Yast

majority of

Old

School adherents

in

the

eighteenth

and

nineteenth

centuries held to some form of

Postmillennialism,

it

seems rather

odd

that

the

charge of New School

thought

should be

laid upon Postmil

lennialism. The reader is strongly

encouraged to refer to Chris Strevel's

article to gain a better understanding

of

the

strong influence of Pdstmillen

nialism

on

Old School thought.

The Character afSouthern Old

School Preaching

The concluding lecture was given

by Dr. Douglas F. Kelly of Reformed

Theological Seminary. Dr. Kelley

provided keen insight into the nature

of Southern

Old

School preaching.

According to Dr. Kelley, at the center

of Old School Theology and practice

was vital perso al piety or vital heart

religion coupled with an emphasis on

the highest use of the intellect to

understand God's Word. Dr. Kelley

went on to cite five characteristics

that marked

Old

School preachingirt

the

South. The first characteristic

was

its God certteredness. The Old

School preacher put the glory and

wonder of

God above all else. Dr.

Kelley let the words

of

one of the

gz-eat

Old School preachers,

Thornwell,

to

explain this focus,

The spirituality of God is the

foundation of all

religiOUS

worship

and

of all

the

divine attributes .

Integral

to

this foundation is the

recognition that God is love, that He

is

a holy God

and

that His righteous

indignat ion is upon sin. Equally

important to 'the Old School preacher

was the glory of the cross and the

necessity of justification by grace

through faith alone. The second

characteristic was the consistent

teaching of the Calvinist view of the

order of salvation. The third charac

teristic of southern

Old School

preaching was its emphasis on the

nearness of eternity. The fourth was

its puritan-like insistence on practical

application of God's Word.

The most compelling aspect of

Dr.

Kelley S

lecture was his repeated

admonitions and encouragement for

the Church to place more emphasis

and reliance tipon prayer. In vividly

describing the revival of 1858-1859

that took place in Charleston, South

Carolina inJohn Giradeau's 1200,

mostly black, member church, Dr.

Kelly pointed out that the faithful

prayers of God's people were crucial

to bringing this about. In summariz

ing

this portion of his lecture, Dr.

Kelley stated, I cannot understand

how

a southern Presbyterian Church

that adheres to the WCF can fail to

have a weekly prayer service. Dr.

, Kelley's words should serve as a

wake-up call to all of us who claim to

be the spiritual heirs of Old School

7

THE COUNSEL of Cbalcedon

Juneauly 998

Non-Profit

Org.

U.s.

Postage

PAID

Permit # 553

Greenville,

SC

29602

Southern Presbyterianism.

f

our

churches were to take Dr.

Kelley S

challenge to heart and returned to

regular faithful congregational prayer

meetings, what marvelous works

would God do among

His

people

today? Could

it

be that the Lord

lingers because

we

have been

so

faithless

in

our personal and corpo

rate prayer

life?

Yet you o not

have because

you

do

not

ask. James 4:3

GPTS: Worthy o our

Support and

Prayers

GPTS, With

its staunch commit

ment to Old School Theology, s tands

as

a beacon on the vast landscape of

American seminaries.

All

those who

identify themselves

With

Reformed

Theology should enthusiastically

support the work of this seminary.

Pray for Dr. Pipa and the faculty of

this seminary that our Lord would be

pleased to use them to train and

eqUip

ministers of the Gospel so that

our nation may once again acknowl

edge Christ as King and Sovereign

over

all

men

and

nations.

For who

has despised the

day of

small

things?

- Zechariah 4: 10

Documents

1998 Issue 3 - Rebirth of the Old School - Counsel of Chalcedon