Table Of Content

REVIVAL AND RENEWAL OF THE MIND: THE LIFE AND THOUGHTS OF CARL F. H. HENRY A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GORDON-CONWELL THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE DOCTOR OF MINISTRY BY C. RONALD RILEY MAY 2012 GODDARD LIBRARY . Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary 130 Essex Stresi South Hamition, MA 01982-2361 Copyright ©2012 by C. Ronald Riley. Ali Rights Reserved. To pursue knowledge for its own sake is vain and unprofitable. To labour for it only to furnish matter of discourse that you may be applauded by others is still worse and argues a vain-glories, weak, and childish temper. Such knowledge puffeth up and is directly opposite to divine charity which alone edifieth, buideth up, or establisheth the soul in all Christian virtues. ‘Tis the end that sanctifeth and crowns the work. We must know that we may love; we must love that we may cheerfully obey; and we must obey that may we may please our Lord. —Susanna Wesley: the Complete Works, ed. Charles Wallace Jr. CONTENTS List of Hlustrations Acknowledgements ADSUFACE. oie ccc cccccccceneccerssecevsseecuseccuueeceseeecessesccseeseeeesesesesessecetseeeeieseeiseeeeseeensea vii Tmtroduction. 2.0.0... ccc cee cee cee cee cee ee cee bee cee bee bee cee ben cee tne tne tae gee cee geseeeeeees Chapter One Two Antecedents to Carl Henry’s Life...................00...0065 A Biblical Antecedent... 00.20.0000... cc cee cece eee eee es A Theological Antecedent... 0.0... 00.0.0... eee Chapter Two The Historical Context of Carl Henry’s Life.........0....0.000.. 27 The Setting: 1850.. 27 From Prayers to Awakening: 1857 to 1870 bescee tee tee tenes 31 From Detente to Divergence: 1871 to 1918...........0...... 34 From Divergence to Dispute: 1919 to 1939... 00... 41 From Dispute to Division: 1940 to 1947............ Licences 49 Chapter Three The Life of Carl Henry... 1 4 Beginning Life: 1913 to 1928. 54 Developing Roots: 1929 to 1946... Bearing Fruit: 1947 to 1967 ooo ceececcescssesessesescesveseeven 61 Sowing Seeds: 1968 to 19870.0.0.... ..00 89 Maturing Life: 1988 to 2003......0.0... 000 bees eenens 93 Chapter Four The Thoughts of Carl Henry.... 2..0.0..0. .. 00.0.0ce. cece .96 Teacher and Educator............ 0.0... 0c. cee cee cee eee eee eee ..98 Ethicist and Philosopher... ............ 0.0... c00 cee ee eee eee 105 Journalist and Author....0.0.0..0.. ..00. c cc ce cee cee cee cee ees .116 Pastor and Leader... 2.0.0... 000 ce. ccccee cee cee cee cee cee etee es 124 Theolanod gApoiloagisnt.. . ...........0 005.0c ece eee eee es ..134 .164 Chapter Five Conclusion... eccccccec ee ce cc ee cee cee cee cee teens bee ben ene teas 167 Appendix Historical Timeline... ...... 200.000.0000 00000 ccc ec cece ee eee ee 181 Bibliography...... 00.00.0000 cece cee eee cee ee cee ne en te bee nee ne tne tee en een beeen 186 VICI cece cee cee cee cee cee bbe ced see bee deb ee bie see cates see vee ceatnees tee eeeaen arenes 197 IV ILLUSTRATIONS FIGURES Figure 1. Lamphier’s Notice... 000.0000. eet tetera 32 Figure 2. Historical Timeline for Chapters Two, Three, and Four............... 182 TABLES Table 1. Literary Works Complbey Ptereiodd.. ............. 0.0.0.2 cette 123 Table 2. Annual Rates of Completion........ .... 0.0... 000 cee cee ee cee eee eee es 123 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS During my early spiritual journey, I was cursed by Tertullian’s cry, “What has Athens to do with Jerusalem?” At times, I believed the answer was “Nothing!” kaa So in faith, 1 worshipped God in Jerusalem. On other occasions, my mind informed me that the answer was “Everything!” Thus, I worshipped God in Athens. My journeys between the capitals cities of my heart and mind were frequent and frustrating. Following my early readings of Paul, Wesley, and Augustine, I promised God and myself that I would find time in my busy, young life to properly address this matter. But as I matured, I discovered that Christ was the perfect answer to life’s problems and I almost forgot about the intellectual pursuit of this spiritual question. As aresult when God called me to leave corporate life, attend seminary, and prepare for the ordained ministry, I discovered that my theological foundation was incomplete. By grace, I had the opportunity to study under three men who demonstrated they were denizens of both Athens and Jerusalem. It was impossible to distinguish which venue they inhabited at any given moment because they lived an integrated life-style. They were no longer Gentile or Jew, but thinking and loving sons of the living God. Each contributed significantly to my theological education. Dr. Tim S. Laniak instilled in me a respect for biblical theology that I was missing. Dr. Garth M. Rosell increased my appreciation for theological history and creedal theology. Dr. Wayne E. Goodwin demonstrated a pastoral theology that included the roles of pastor, preacher, priest and pedagogue. Given their efforts, encouragement, and examples, I acquired a theological foundation that made the preparation of this thesis-project possible. vi ABSTRACT With the mid-twentieth century Great Awakening as the historical context, Carl F. H. Henry’s life and thoughts serve as the focal point for an analysis of the relationship of “revival” and “renewal of the mind.” The relationship is examined biblically, theologically, and historically. The results are then applied to Henry’s life and works for evidence regarding the hypothesis or its proxy that faith and reason are related. It is concluded that the biblical, theological, and historical dimensions of the relationship are coherent and consistent with Henry’s life and works. Henry’s contribution to the evangelical movement is best understood as redeeming souls and redeeming minds. Vii INTRODUCTION The genesis of this thesis begins at the confluence of two courses—‘The History of Evangelical Theology” taught by Dr. Douglas A. Sweeney using the text The Remaking of Evangelical Theology by Gary Dorrien, and “Revival and Reform Traditions” taught by Dr. Garth Rosell using his text, The Surprising Work of God: Harold John Ockenga, Billy Graham and the Rebirth of Evangelicalism.’ With regard to the courses and texts, the intersection of interest was the twentieth century theologian, Carl F. H. Henry, who captivated my mind and heart with the magnitude of his person, the intensity of his spirituality, and the majesty of his theology. Thus, it was easy to choose Henry as the subject for this research project. But the development of a suitable research question and working hypothesis proved more elusive. After some reading and reflection, those problems were resolved. The research question is simply stated: what is the relationship between “revival” and “renewal of the mind?” This generated the parallel hypothesis: the relationship between “revival” and “renewal of the mind” can be defined biblically, theologically, and historically. Immediately, | faced the question, “Where do I begin?” Henry published thirty- seven books, edited an additional eighteen texts, and wrote approximately seven hundred scholarly articles plus a myriad of editorials in his twelve years at Christianity Today. In addition, there are more than three hundred articles describing or evaluating Henry’s work written by others. But there is one major item missing; to date no biography has ' Gary Dorrien, The Remaking of Evangelical Theology (Louisville,KY: Westminster, 1998). Garth M. Rosell, Zhe Surprising Work of God: Harold John Ockenga, Billy Graham, and the Rebirth of Evangelicalism (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2008). Dr. Sweeney’s course was part of the MDiv program in 2000 and Dr. Rosell’s course is part of DMin program at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Charlotte, NC. been written. However, Henry wrote an autobiography, Confessions on a Theologian, when he was in his early 70s.” In reading it, I discovered a series of personal relationships that were significant to Henry. I then read their writings concerning Henry, and, more importantly, gained access to a collection of letters, the Ockenga Papers, maintained at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, that involved several of these relationships. These several sources afforded me a reasonable picture of Henry’s life and his values. With an understanding of Henry’s life, relationships, and values, I began to research his thoughts and work. Such represented a Herculean task. I have presented his thoughts from five different professional contexts—Teacher, Philosopher, Author, Pastor, and Theologian—with the unifying principle that his life-purpose remained unchanged in each context. I have tried to organize his major books according to these contexts. Next, I undertook the detailed biblical, theological, and historical analysis that the research hypothesis required. I found that these diverse analyses yielded a set of coherent conclusions. After considerable reflection, I examined Henry’s life and work with these lenses in search of evidence to test the research hypothesis. Finally, I was able to begin the summing up process. In the process, I decided to listen again to the Memorial Service for Henry celebrated at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. One of the testimonials gave me a fresh insight on how best to understand the remarkable life and work of Carl F. H. Henry, and I have included this in the conclusion. In the final analysis, Henry’s life and thoughts demonstrate that “revival” and “renewal of the mind” are richly related. ? Carl F. H. Henry, Confessions ofa Theologian: An Autobiography (Waco, TX: Word, 1986). 2 CHAPTER ONE TWO ANTECEDENTS TO CARL HENRY’S LIFE The 1966 World Congress of Evangelism in Berlin was chaired by Carl Henry. Noting the importance of revival, Henry wrote that the Congress assumes “the Reformation principle of the final authority of the Bible and the apostolic emphasis on the evangelization of mankind as the primary mission of the church.” The Congress represented an effort by many evangelists “to restore the responsibility for revival” to the local church.! Several years later in April 1972, Henry, reflecting on his experience in Berlin, wrote Rev. A. J. Dain, the incoming Chair of the International Congress on Evangelism at Lausanne in 1974. Henry described his vision of revival, “The Congress, it seems to me, must say something to the nations, and not simply to individuals in the emptiness of their personal lives.” Henry always acknowledged that the authority for revival was a gift of grace bestowed by the Holy Spirit, because no one becomes an evangelist on the basis of oratorical skills alone. On another matter Carl Henry wrote, “Human reason is not a source of infallible truth about ultimate reality, since human intelligence is not infinite.” Human reasoning left to itself always reflects human finitude. This is evident when several brilliant minds consider the same data, employ the same rules of logic, but interpret reality in vastly diverse ways, and then explain their conflicting views with compelling force. Yet according to Henry, reason is the only test of truth available to humanity. Truth means nothing more or less than the truth as God knows and reveals it. Thus, the basic ! Carl F.H. Henry, “Good News for a World in Need,” Christianity Today, Oct. 14, 1966, 34. ° Henry to Dain, April 1972. _http:/Awww2.wheaton. edu/bgc/archives/memorial/carlhenry/ henry 15.html [accessed Aug. 2, 2011].