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Gordon Clark

Gordon Haddon Clark (August 31, 1902 – April 9, 1985) was an American philosopher, Calvinist theologian, and Presbyterian minister who advanced a rigorous rationalist approach to Christian apologetics, emphasizing the Bible's propositional revelation as the sole axiomatic source of truth and knowledge.^[1]^[2] Born in Philadelphia to a devout Presbyterian family, Clark earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1922, followed by a master's in 1924 and a Ph.D. in philosophy in 1926, focusing on ancient philosophy including pre-Socratics.^[1] He taught philosophy at institutions such as Butler University and the Reformed Theological Seminary, while serving as a pastor in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, where he engaged in key doctrinal defenses.^[1] Clark's seminal contribution was Scripturalism, an epistemological system rejecting empirical sensory data as unreliable for certain knowledge and positing that genuine understanding consists exclusively in the logical comprehension of Scriptural propositions, with the Bible as the ultimate authority tested by internal coherence rather than external evidence.^[3]^[4] A prolific author of over forty books, including Religion, Reason, and Revelation and A Christian View of Men and Things, he critiqued secular philosophies like empiricism and existentialism while upholding strict Calvinist doctrines such as divine incomprehensibility limited to human finitude and the total depravity of unaided reason.^[1] His career was marked by controversies, notably the 1940s Clark-Van Til debate within the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, where opponents accused his emphasis on rational comprehension of divine knowledge of undermining God's transcendence, leading to his temporary denial of ordination and contributing to denominational schisms.^[5] Despite such opposition from figures like Cornelius Van Til, Clark's insistence on logical consistency in theology influenced Reformed thinkers, prioritizing deductive reasoning from Scripture over probabilistic evidentialism in defending Christianity's intellectual superiority.^[1]^[6]

Early Life and Education

Childhood and Family Background

Gordon Haddon Clark was born on August 31, 1902, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as the only child of Rev. David Scott Clark, a Presbyterian minister who graduated from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1887, and Elizabeth Yates Haddon, from English Presbyterian stock.^[7]^[8] His paternal grandfather, James Armstrong Clark, had emigrated from Scotland in 1854 and served as a minister in the United Presbyterian Church of North America, embedding a multi-generational commitment to Old School Presbyterianism in the family.^[8] The Clarks resided modestly near Bethel Presbyterian Church, where David Clark pastored until 1939, without electricity in their home until approximately 1914.^[8]^[7] Clark's early years were shaped by his father's rigorous instruction in Reformed doctrine, including memorization of the Westminster Shorter Catechism, and access to David Clark's personal library containing works by John Calvin, B.B. Warfield, and Charles Hodge.^[7] This environment fostered an early immersion in Calvinist thought, contrasting with the secular cultural currents of early 20th-century urban Philadelphia.^[1] At age 13, during evangelist Billy Sunday's 1915 revival campaign in the city, Clark professed personal faith in Christ, marking a formative spiritual milestone amid his Presbyterian household.^[8] Signs of intellectual curiosity emerged in Clark's youth, as he engaged with classical languages and theological texts available through family resources, prioritizing scholarly pursuits over contemporaneous popular entertainments.^[7] His peers nicknamed him "Clerg," reflecting the pervasive ministerial influence of his upbringing.^[8] These elements established a foundation of disciplined inquiry and doctrinal fidelity that informed his lifelong rejection of superficial trends in favor of axiomatic reasoning rooted in Scripture.^[1]

Academic Training and Influences

Gordon H. Clark completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Pennsylvania, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in French in 1924. He pursued graduate work in philosophy at the same institution, focusing on ancient philosophy, and obtained his Ph.D. in 1929, with a dissertation centered on Aristotle. Clark also spent time studying at the Sorbonne in Paris, broadening his exposure to European intellectual traditions. His dissertation advisor was William Romaine Newbold, a philosopher at Pennsylvania who guided Clark's examination of classical ethical and metaphysical systems. During his graduate training, Clark engaged deeply with rationalist and idealist philosophies, including those rooted in ancient thinkers like Aristotle, as well as broader modern variants. This period marked his growing disillusionment with non-Christian philosophical frameworks, which he viewed as ultimately incoherent in addressing epistemological foundations without recourse to divine revelation. Empirical approaches, in particular, came under scrutiny for their reliance on sensory data that could not guarantee universal truth or escape skepticism, prompting Clark to question secular methodologies from an early stage. The doctoral research on Aristotelian ethics proved pivotal, as it highlighted the limitations of pagan philosophy in deriving moral absolutes, leading Clark to affirm Scripture as the ultimate epistemic authority. This conviction, emerging amid his academic pursuits, underscored his rejection of empiricism and positioned the Bible not merely as a theological text but as the axiomatic basis for all coherent knowledge, influencing his lifelong philosophical trajectory.

Academic and Professional Career

Teaching Positions and Institutions

Clark's initial academic appointments included instructing in philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania following his doctoral studies.^[1] In 1936, he accepted a professorship in philosophy at Wheaton College, an evangelical institution, where he taught until 1943.^[1] His tenure there was marked by rigorous engagement with philosophical questions in a Christian academic environment, though brief relative to his later roles.^[9] From 1945 to 1973, Clark served as chairman of the Department of Philosophy at Butler University, a secular liberal arts institution in Indianapolis, Indiana.^[1] In this capacity, he led the department for nearly three decades, advocating for theistic philosophy amid dominant secular paradigms, including critiques of empiricist and pragmatist approaches prevalent in mid-20th-century American academia.^[1] This extended period represented his primary defense of Christian intellectual commitments within a non-confessional setting, where he published works challenging naturalistic worldviews while fulfilling administrative duties.^[7] Following retirement from Butler, Clark transitioned to explicitly Reformed institutions, teaching at Covenant College from 1974 to 1984.^[10] Covenant, affiliated with the Presbyterian Church in America, provided a confessional context aligned with Clark's Calvinist commitments, allowing focused instruction in philosophy and theology.^[11] He later contributed to Sangre de Cristo Seminary, extending his influence in seminary-level education oriented toward orthodox Presbyterian training.^[1] These later positions underscored a shift toward environments supportive of his presuppositional framework, contrasting his earlier secular engagements.^[12]

Involvement in Theological Institutions

Gordon H. Clark pursued ordination in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC), receiving licensure to preach and a waiver of formal seminary education requirements from the OPC General Assembly in 1944, affirmed by a vote of 34 to 10.^[11] On August 9, 1944, the Presbytery of Philadelphia ordained him as a minister, though this decision prompted immediate complaints from faculty at Westminster Theological Seminary, including Cornelius Van Til, who challenged Clark's views on divine incomprehensibility and the nature of human knowledge of God.^[13] The dispute escalated to the OPC General Assembly, which in 1948 upheld Clark's ordination, rejecting efforts to declare it null and thereby vindicating his ecclesiastical standing despite the opposition rooted in philosophical differences over rational deduction versus analogical reasoning in theology.^[1] Clark's OPC service primarily involved roles as a ruling elder at Redeemer Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, where he intersected pastoral duties with his emphasis on logical precision in doctrinal exposition, even as he maintained academic positions elsewhere.^[14] He briefly taught at Reformed Episcopal Seminary in Philadelphia for one year, applying his Scripturalist epistemology to seminary-level instruction on philosophy and theology, countering trends toward experiential mysticism in pastoral formation by advocating deductive reasoning from biblical axioms.^[14] Later affiliations included teaching at Sangre de Cristo Seminary in the 1970s, where he trained ministers in rigorous logical analysis of Scripture against subjectivist interpretations prevalent in broader evangelical circles.^[1] Through associates like John W. Robbins, who founded The Trinity Foundation in 1977, Clark's influence extended to theological periodicals such as The Trinity Review, which reprinted his essays and promoted the integration of formal logic into church doctrine, critiquing experientialist deviations in Reformed institutions.^[1] This effort underscored Clark's dedication to ecclesiastical reform via philosophical rigor, as seen in his opposition to the OPC's partial alignment with Van Til's views during the 1940s controversies, which he argued diluted scriptural propositionalism in favor of paradoxical or analogical knowledge inaccessible to precise deduction.^[15] Despite limited full-time pastoral roles, Clark's ordination and seminary contributions reinforced his commitment to equipping church leaders with tools for defending orthodoxy through axiomatic logic rather than sensory or emotional appeals.^[5]

Philosophical Foundations

Epistemology: Scripturalism

Gordon Clark's epistemology, termed Scripturalism, asserts that the Bible constitutes the foundational and exclusive source of all human knowledge, with truth accessible solely through its propositional content or valid logical deductions therefrom.^[6]^[3] This view rejects any epistemological role for autonomous human reason or external authorities, positioning Scripture as the self-authenticating axiom from which all coherent beliefs must derive.^[6] Clark emphasized that epistemology undergirds every philosophical and theological system, framing the central question as "How can we know anything?" with the answer rooted in divine revelation rather than empirical observation.^[3]^[16] Central to Scripturalism is the propositional nature of knowledge: all that is known must consist of propositions identical to those in Scripture or necessarily implied by them through deductive inference.^[16]^[6] Clark argued that sensory data fails to produce genuine propositions, serving at best as a stimulus for recollecting innate ideas implanted by God, akin to invisible ink revealed only by divine illumination.^[3]^[16] This aligns with an Augustinian emphasis on innate knowledge derived from divine revelation, but Clark maintained that Scripture provides the comprehensive and authoritative framework, rendering extra-biblical sources superfluous for certainty.^[3] Scripturalism critiques empiricism as inherently flawed, highlighting induction's logical invalidity—where unobserved instances cannot be guaranteed by observed ones—and the skepticism induced by unreliable senses, evidenced by optical illusions, hallucinations, and perceptual variance.^[6]^[3] Empiricists, Clark contended, cannot demonstrate causality or universal truths from particulars, as observation yields mere correlations without necessity.^[3] By contrast, deduction from Scripture's axioms yields infallible knowledge, untainted by probabilistic fallacies or sensory deception, ensuring coherence within a closed system bounded by biblical propositions.^[6]^[16]

Axiomatic Deduction and Logic

Gordon H. Clark regarded logic as the eternal structure of the divine mind, identifying it with the Logos of John 1:1, which he translated as "In the beginning was the Logic, and the Logic was with God, and the Logic was God."^[1] This view posits logic not as a human invention or a creation ex nihilo, but as uncreated and co-eternal with God, reflecting the immutable principles by which the divine intellect operates. Clark argued that since God is rational and thinks logically without process or change, human logic mirrors this divine archetype, enabling coherent thought only insofar as it conforms to God's self-revelation.^[17] Central to Clark's epistemology was axiomatic deduction, where Scripture serves as the foundational axiom—"The Bible, consisting of the sixty-six books of the Protestant canon, is the written Word of God, and therefore inerrant in the autographs"—from which all knowledge derives through valid logical inference.^[18] Propositions are known either as axioms or as theorems logically deduced from them via syllogisms, rejecting empirical induction or autonomous reason as sources of certainty.^[19] This method yields a systematic theology, expanding the singular biblical axiom into interconnected doctrines, such as deriving the Trinity from verses like Matthew 28:19 without circularity, as the axiom's coherence validates its truth.^[6] Clark emphasized traditional Aristotelian syllogistic reasoning as the most reliable tool for this deduction, critiquing modern symbolic logic for abstracting from language and failing to capture ordinary propositionality.^[20] In his 1985 book Logic, he defended Aristotle's categories and forms—such as the syllogism "All men are mortal; Socrates is a man; therefore Socrates is mortal"—as essential for biblical exegesis and apologetics, arguing they align with Scripture's propositional structure over Boolean or Russellian alternatives that prioritize symbols over material terms.^[21] Accusations of rationalism against Clark's system were countered by his insistence that logic presupposes and is validated by Scripture alone, not vice versa; autonomous reason leads to skepticism, whereas biblical grounding ensures logic's non-arbitrary application. He refuted rationalist autonomy by noting that non-Christian systems collapse into contradiction, while Scripture's logical consistency—evident in fulfilled prophecies and doctrinal harmony—confirms its axiom status without external proofs.^[6] Thus, Clark's logic remains theocentric, defending against charges of elevating reason above revelation by subordinating all deduction to God's propositional word.^[19]

Critiques of Alternative Philosophies

Clark rejected empiricism as inherently self-defeating, arguing that it reduces to skepticism, as exemplified by David Hume's philosophy, which denies the possibility of universal laws or inductive knowledge because sensory impressions provide no necessary connections between events.^[22] He contended that empiricists like Hume start with a "blank mind" filled only by sensations, yet these sensations yield no propositions or logical necessities, leaving no foundation for certain knowledge and contradicting everyday assumptions of uniformity in nature. This critique extended to the historical trajectory from John Locke to Hume, where attempts to ground knowledge in sense data inevitably undermine rationality itself.^[22] In addressing Immanuel Kant's transcendental idealism, Clark highlighted the antinomies of pure reason as evidence of internal contradiction, where Kant's categories of the mind impose structure on phenomena but fail to bridge the noumenal realm, rendering ultimate reality unknowable and epistemology arbitrary.^[23] He viewed Kant's system as an attempted escape from Humean skepticism through a priori forms, yet one that presupposes synthetic a priori judgments without justification, ultimately subordinating reason to unknowable "things-in-themselves" and collapsing into agnosticism.^[24] Clark dismantled John Dewey's instrumentalism—or pragmatism—as relativistic, denying fixed truths or ethical principles in favor of experimental hypotheses tested by consequences, which undermines any criterion for verifiability since success depends on contingent outcomes rather than logical coherence.^[24] He argued that Dewey's rejection of absolutes in favor of adaptive "warrants" for belief renders knowledge provisional and self-referential, incapable of distinguishing truth from utility, thus devolving into subjectivism where no proposition can claim universality.^[25] Against Thomistic epistemology, Clark criticized the doctrine of analogical knowledge as equivocal, asserting that Thomas Aquinas's Aristotelian reliance on abstraction from sensory data yields only probable opinions about God rather than univocal propositions, violating the law of contradiction by allowing terms like "good" to mean both similar and dissimilar in God and creatures.^[26] This approach, he maintained, conflates divine incomprehensibility with unknowability, preventing clear predication and importing pagan empiricism into theology, which Aquinas himself admitted limits human understanding to "effects" rather than God's essence.^[24] Clark opposed evidentialist apologetics for presupposing empiricist foundations, where arguments from miracles, design, or history depend on sensory evidence that cannot justify induction or logical inference without circularity, as non-Christian axioms fail to account for the uniformity of nature or the reliability of perception. He argued that such methods concede neutral ground to unbelievers, allowing them to dismiss evidence on their own inconsistent standards, whereas non-Christian worldviews cannot coherently explain the preconditions of intelligibility, such as laws of logic or causal order, without implicitly relying on theistic presuppositions they deny.^[19]

Apologetic Method

Presuppositionalism and Its Distinctives

Gordon H. Clark's presuppositional apologetics maintains that all reasoning presupposes an ultimate axiom, and only the Christian worldview, grounded in the existence of the Triune God and His self-revelation in Scripture, provides a coherent foundation for epistemology, logic, and ethics.^[3] Without this presupposition, alternative systems fail to justify universals such as the laws of logic or moral obligations, as they lack an absolute standard from which to derive consistency.^[6] Clark argued that knowledge derives axiomatically from Scripture, which serves as the self-attesting source of truth, tested not by external evidence but by its internal logical coherence and explanatory power.^[3] A core distinctive of Clark's approach is the rejection of any neutral common ground in apologetics, asserting that unbelievers operate from incompatible presuppositions that suppress truth in unrighteousness, rendering autonomous reasoning futile. Instead of conceding shared starting points like sense experience or evidential proofs, Clark insisted that debates must proceed by comparing worldviews on their own terms, exposing inconsistencies within non-Christian axioms through deductive analysis.^[6] This method employs reductio ad absurdum, demonstrating that opposing systems—such as empiricism or rationalism divorced from revelation—implode into skepticism or contradiction when their presuppositions are rigorously applied, as they cannot account for induction, uniformity of nature, or ethical imperatives without borrowing from the Christian framework.^[16] Unlike Cornelius Van Til's version, which accommodates a creator-creature distinction allowing for analogical knowledge and apparent paradoxes as reflective of divine incomprehensibility, Clark emphasized univocal propositional revelation and the absolute rational coherence of Scripture as the criterion of truth, rejecting any tolerance for mystery or irrationality within God's thoughts made known.^[27] Clark viewed the Bible's propositions as fully comprehensible on their own terms, forming a deductive system where truth is attained through logical inference from axioms, not probabilistic accumulation or transcendental arguments that risk equivocation.^[28] This Scripturalist framework prioritizes the Bible's self-consistency as the ultimate test, positioning Christianity not as one option among equals but as the sole precondition for intelligibility in any domain of thought.^[3]

Applications Against Secularism and Other Worldviews

Clark employed presuppositional apologetics to expose the internal contradictions of secular philosophies, arguing that they presuppose logical absolutes and uniformity in nature—elements derivable only from the Christian axiom of divine revelation—while failing to justify them coherently.^[19] In works such as Religion, Reason, and Revelation, he contended that atheism and humanism collapse into skepticism or arbitrariness, as they deny any ultimate authority for truth, rendering their claims self-refuting.^[18] Secular systems, lacking a transcendent ground, cannot account for the preconditions of intelligibility, such as the laws of logic, which Clark viewed as reflections of God's rational mind rather than human inventions or brute facts. Against evolutionary theory, Clark maintained that it asserts descent from prior forms without verifiable transitional evidence, particularly for life's origins, and fails to predict biological order without presupposing a divine blueprint that evolutionists implicitly borrow from theism.^[29] He critiqued attempts to harmonize evolution with creationism, noting the absence of empirical data supporting macroevolutionary claims and their reliance on philosophical assumptions incompatible with scriptural historicity, such as a non-literal Genesis.^[30] This lack of predictive power, Clark argued, stems from evolution's materialistic framework, which cannot guarantee the rational order observed in nature.^[18] Clark's rejection of behaviorism centered on its reduction of mind to observable stimuli and responses, denying the existence of an immaterial soul or introspective knowledge, which he deemed essential for human accountability and incompatible with biblical anthropology.^[31] By equating thought with physical mechanisms, behaviorism, as exemplified in John Watson's formulations, eliminates volition and ethics, leading to deterministic absurdities that undermine science itself, since it precludes non-empirical propositions like moral imperatives.^[32] Clark insisted that only a scriptural epistemology, affirming innate knowledge from God's image, avoids this reductionism and provides a basis for distinguishing truth from mere conditioning.^[33] In addressing Freudianism, Clark targeted its irrationalist tendencies, portraying the subconscious as a deterministic force overriding reason and truth, akin to Nietzschean biologism where cognition serves instincts rather than objective reality.^[34] He viewed Freud's model as elevating emotion over intellect, fostering a view of faith as non-cognitive hysteria, which erodes propositional revelation and aligns with secular existentialism's denial of universal standards.^[35] Such theories, Clark argued, presuppose ethical norms they cannot validate, exposing their incoherence when pressed on issues like self-deception or moral evil. Clark defended Christianity's monopoly on justifying induction—the inference from past observations to future expectations—by rooting it in God's covenantal faithfulness, as in Genesis 8:22, which promises nature's uniformity under divine sovereignty.^[36] Secular empiricism, he reasoned, assumes this uniformity dogmatically without warrant, falling into Humean skepticism or infinite regress, whereas non-Christian worldviews cannot escape circularity in validating scientific method or universal laws.^[37] Only the axiom of Scripture coheres with logic and experience, enabling prediction and knowledge that alternatives borrow illicitly.^[19]

Theological Doctrines

Soteriology and Calvinist Orthodoxy

Gordon H. Clark adhered strictly to the five points of Calvinism, as codified at the Synod of Dort (1618–1619), deriving them through axiomatic deduction from biblical propositions rather than empirical observation or probabilistic inference. He viewed these doctrines as interlocked components of a coherent system where God's sovereignty in salvation precludes human autonomy, rejecting Arminian modifications that introduce conditional elements into election, atonement, or perseverance. Clark's soteriology emphasized monergism—God alone effecting salvation—consistent with his broader commitment to divine determinism in all events, including human responses to the gospel.^[1]^[38] Clark affirmed total depravity as extending comprehensively to human nature post-fall, corrupting the intellect such that unregenerate persons suppress divine truth in unrighteousness and cannot apprehend spiritual realities savingly without regeneration (Romans 1:18; Ephesians 4:18). This noetic corruption implies epistemological inability in soteriological contexts: the natural man lacks the capacity for genuine faith or repentance apart from the Holy Spirit's illumination, rendering all human merit illusory and necessitating unconditional divine election. Arminian views, by positing resistible prevenient grace enabling free-will cooperation, dilute this depravity into partial impairment, which Clark rejected as logically inconsistent with scriptural depictions of human enmity toward God (Romans 8:7).^[39]^[40] On limited atonement, Clark argued its logical necessity for preserving God's sovereign efficacy: Christ's death secures actual redemption for the elect alone, as a hypothetical universal sufficiency without particular efficiency would imply divine intention frustrated by human refusal, contradicting immutability and omniscience. Drawing from texts like John 10:11, 15, 26–28, he critiqued universalist atonement schemes as undermining the gospel's assurance, since only definite propitiation guarantees salvation's accomplishment rather than mere potential. Irresistible grace follows deductively as the means by which this atonement applies infallibly, with the Spirit effectually calling the elect (John 6:37, 44), overcoming depravity without violating moral accountability under divine decree. Arminian resistibility, Clark contended, introduces uncertainty into predestination, portraying God as dependent on creaturely will.^[41]^[38]^[42] Clark upheld perseverance of the saints as divine preservation grounded in the immutability of God's electing decree, not contingent human faithfulness or conditional security models that permit apostasy. Believers endure because God sovereignly maintains their faith (Philippians 1:6; 1 Peter 1:5), with apparent falls serving providential purposes without nullifying eternal security. He dismissed Arminian conditionalism—tying continuance to ongoing cooperation—as eroding assurance and implying salvific instability, whereas Scripture presents perseverance as the inevitable outworking of irresistible regeneration and union with Christ. This doctrine, for Clark, completes the TULIP framework by ensuring the elect's glorification, free from self-dependent efforts.^[42]^[43]^[44]

Doctrine of God, Incomprehensibility, and the Trinity

Gordon H. Clark maintained that human knowledge of God is univocal, sharing the same qualitative content as divine knowledge, though quantitatively limited by the finitude of the human mind.^[27] In his view, propositions revealed in Scripture—such as God's existence, attributes, and decrees—are known truly by believers because they correspond identically to God's own eternal thoughts, rejecting any analogical mediation that would introduce equivocation or mere approximation.^[26] This univocity ensures that biblical descriptions of God, like "God is love" (1 John 4:8), convey precise truth without dilution, as the same proposition holds in both divine and human cognition.^[45] Clark defined God's incomprehensibility not as an ontological gap preventing true knowledge, but as the impossibility of exhaustive comprehension due to the infinite scope of divine propositions.^[19] Humans know God partially through Scripture's finite revelation, grasping select truths such as immutability (Malachi 3:6; James 1:17) or omnipotence (Jeremiah 32:17), but never the full divine essence, which encompasses all logical possibilities eternally.^[46] This distinction avoids apophatic negation, where God's attributes are described only by what they are not, insisting instead on positive, propositional revelation as the sole epistemic bridge.^[47] Clark argued that denying univocal knowledge would render theology skeptical, as no proposition could be affirmed identically of God and understood by man.^[26] Regarding the Trinity, Clark defended the doctrine's logical coherence by conceptualizing the three Persons as distinct subsistences within one divine mind, each characterized by a unique set of eternal propositions.^[46] The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit possess numerically identical attributes—such as omniscience and immutability—but differ in their self-conception: the Father knows himself as unbegotten, the Son as eternally begotten (John 1:14, 18), and the Spirit as proceeding (John 15:26).^[19] This framework upholds monotheism by positing a single, indivisible divine intellect comprising all truth, avoiding modalism's collapse into sequential manifestations or tritheism's multiplication of gods into separate centers of consciousness.^[46] Clark derived this from Scripture's explicit triadic formulas (Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14) and inferred distinctions via logical deduction, emphasizing that God's self-knowledge is comprehensively propositional and unchanging.^[46] Clark's scripturalism extended to deducing divine attributes like immutability, asserting that God thinks only true, timeless propositions, precluding any real change or response to creation's flux.^[46] Texts such as Numbers 23:19 ("God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should repent") and Psalm 102:26-27 ground this, contrasting with process theology's depiction of a dynamic deity evolving through interactions, which Clark critiqued as incompatible with biblical aseity and sovereignty.^[46] Immutability ensures the reliability of revelation, as God's counsels (Ephesians 1:11) remain fixed eternally, forming the axiomatic basis for all theological inference.^[19]

Biblical Inerrancy and Hermeneutics

Gordon H. Clark affirmed the verbal plenary inspiration of the Bible, asserting that every word in the original autographs was divinely dictated without error, encompassing historical, doctrinal, and scientific details as propositional truths.^[48] He maintained that inerrancy pertains strictly to these autographs, where the entire text—without omission or addition—constitutes God's complete revelation, rejecting any notion of partial inspiration that dilutes divine authority.^[49] Apparent discrepancies, such as numerical variances in parallel accounts, demand resolution through logical consistency inherent in the text rather than external harmonization techniques that impose unverifiable assumptions, as the axiom of Scripture's self-attesting truth precludes factual contradictions.^[50]^[51] Clark's commitment to inerrancy extended to a rejection of neo-orthodox views, exemplified in his critiques of Karl Barth, whom he charged with undermining Scripture's propositional clarity by treating it as a mere witness to revelation rather than revelation itself, thus eroding its sufficiency for knowledge.^[52] Similarly, he dismissed liberal higher criticism—methods reliant on hypothetical sources, form analysis, and evolutionary dating—as axiomatic denials of biblical authority, arguing that such approaches presuppose naturalistic uniformitarianism and empirical reconstruction over the text's internal testimony, leading to subjective reconstructions incompatible with divine inspiration. These methodologies, in Clark's analysis, fail causal tests of epistemology by prioritizing uncertain historical conjectures over deductively verifiable propositions, thereby subordinating Scripture to human reason rather than vice versa.^[19] In hermeneutics, Clark advocated a deductive approach rooted in the literal-grammatical method, wherein interpretation begins with the plain propositional meaning of terms, informed by scriptural usage and logical inference, to derive doctrines systematically from the axiom of revealed truth.^[53]^[50] This prioritizes Scripture's self-interpretation—cross-referencing verses to resolve ambiguities—over historical-critical tools or allegorization, ensuring that all knowledge claims remain tethered to the Bible's exhaustive propositional content without supplementation from extrabiblical data.^[53] Doctrinal formulation thus proceeds axiomatically: starting from explicit statements, theorems are deduced via syllogistic reasoning, rejecting probabilistic or inductive methods that introduce fallibility and contradict the certainty of divine revelation.^[50] Clark's framework thus safeguards hermeneutical rigor by demanding internal logical harmony, wherein any interpretation failing deductive consistency evidences misunderstanding rather than textual defect.

Major Controversies and Debates

Clark-Van Til Controversy

The Clark-Van Til controversy emerged within the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC) in 1944, primarily during Gordon H. Clark's ordination process by the Presbytery of Philadelphia, which approved his ordination on June 13, 1944.^[5] Opponents, including Cornelius Van Til and faculty from Westminster Theological Seminary such as R. B. Kuiper and Ned B. Stonehouse, filed a formal complaint on June 22, 1944, alleging that Clark's views on divine incomprehensibility and human knowledge of God deviated from Reformed orthodoxy.^[5] The dispute hinged on epistemological differences: Clark advocated univocal knowledge, asserting that propositions known by humans—such as "God exists" or "2+2=4"—are identical in content to those known by God, though humans possess only a finite subset without exhaustive comprehension.^[5] ^[47] Van Til, conversely, maintained an analogical view, positing that human knowledge (ectypal) is qualitatively distinct from God's archetypal knowledge, resembling it but never coinciding univocally, to preserve divine transcendence.^[47] ^[54] Clark defended his position by arguing that without univocity of propositions, human knowledge reduces to skepticism, as no truth claim could align with divine truth, rendering apologetics irrational.^[5] He viewed Scripture's propositional revelation as directly intelligible, rejecting any "point of coincidence" denial as undermining the law of contradiction and biblical clarity.^[5] Van Til and his supporters charged Clark with rationalism, claiming his univocity eroded God's incomprehensibility by implying humans grasp divine thoughts on the same terms, thus compromising the Creator-creature distinction and inviting anthropomorphism.^[47] ^[54] Clark countered that Van Til's analogy implied irrationalism, as differing qualitative knowledge bases preclude certain agreement with Scripture, effectively making God's revelation unreliable for finite minds.^[5] The debate invoked the Westminster Confession's affirmation of God's "incomprehensible" nature (Chapter 2.1), which Clark interpreted as non-exhaustive rather than non-propositional, while Van Til emphasized a deeper ontological gap to safeguard mystery.^[5] ^[47] A special OPC committee investigated the complaint, producing a majority report in 1945 that found no substantial error in Clark's views sufficient to bar ordination, upholding the presbytery's action.^[5] ^[55] A minority report, aligned with Van Til's perspective, urged further examination of Clark's doctrines on incomprehensibility before full approval, highlighting risks to Reformed theology.^[55] The 1945 OPC General Assembly adopted the majority report, sustaining Clark's ordination, though the minority's concerns fueled ongoing factionalism.^[5] This resolution did not quell the divide, as Van Til's supporters viewed Clark's propositional emphasis as diminishing divine mystery, while Clark's allies saw the analogical approach as epistemologically untenable, contributing to a schism where some, including Clark, later affiliated with the Bible Presbyterian Church in 1948.^[5] The controversy underscored irreconcilable tensions between logical deduction from Scripture and analogical qualifiers in Reformed apologetics.^[47]

Ordination Dispute in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church

In 1943, Gordon Clark sought ordination as a teaching elder in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC) through the Presbytery of Philadelphia, where he underwent initial examinations despite lacking formal seminary training, relying instead on his PhD in philosophy from the University of Pennsylvania.^[55] The presbytery's vote on his licensure and ordination fell short of the required three-fourths majority, with a 15-13 tally, prompting further proceedings.^[55] On July 7, 1944, the presbytery convened a special meeting—contested as improperly called without demonstrable emergency under the OPC Form of Government (Chapters X and XIX)—to sustain Clark's theological examination, waive the standard two-year seminary prerequisite, license him to preach, and ordain him just two days later on August 9 in the same service, violating norms for sequential steps in the ordination process.^[56]^[55] These actions ignited objections centered on procedural adherence to Presbyterian polity's regulative principles, as outlined in the church's Form of Government, which mandates strict ecclesiastical order without unwarranted innovations or expedients.^[56]^[55] Thirteen presbytery members, including Cornelius Van Til and Ned B. Stonehouse, filed a formal complaint in 1944, arguing the irregularities invalidated the ordination and questioning whether Clark's responses to the ordination vows—particularly his affirmation of sincerely receiving and adopting the Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechisms as containing the system of doctrine taught in Scripture—adequately demonstrated compatibility with the standards, given perceived tensions with his academic philosophical framework.^[56]^[55] The complaint emphasized that ordination vows require not mere verbal assent but substantive alignment, and procedural lapses undermined the presbytery's authority to examine confessional fidelity rigorously.^[56] The dispute ascended through OPC courts: the presbytery rejected the complaint, but appeals progressed to the 1945 General Assembly, which identified procedural flaws yet sustained the ordination via a majority report deeming Clark's views sufficiently harmonious with Westminster Standards, while a minority urged deeper scrutiny.^[13]^[55] Subsequent committees appointed in 1946 and 1947 extended hearings into 1948, exposing factional divides between those prioritizing academic credentials and philosophical precision against advocates for traditional Reformed emphases on ecclesiastical discipline and confessional orthodoxy.^[55] The 1948 General Assembly ultimately affirmed the ordination's validity, rejecting calls to nullify it, though the prolonged conflict exacerbated internal tensions and led to withdrawals by Clark and allies, including his transfer to the United Presbyterian Church of North America later that year.^[13]^[55] This episode illustrated broader challenges in reconciling scholarly expertise with presbyterian standards of ministerial qualification, including vows of strict subscription and regulative governance, fostering lasting caution in the OPC toward expedited ordinations.^[55]

Responses to Arminianism and Modern Theology

Gordon H. Clark critiqued Arminian and semi-Pelagian views on human will and divine providence, arguing that assertions of libertarian free will contradict exhaustive divine foreknowledge and sovereignty. In his analysis, if God infallibly foreknows an action, that action must occur as foreknown, eliminating genuine alternative possibilities required for indeterminate freedom; thus, Arminian free-will defenses fail logically to preserve human responsibility without undermining predetermination.^[57]^[58] Clark maintained that responsibility derives not from autonomous volition but from divine decree and knowledge of moral law, rejecting semi-Pelagian compromises that posit human initiative as cooperating with grace prior to regeneration.^[56] Clark's polemic against Karl Barth and neo-orthodoxy centered on their embrace of paradox as a theological method, which he deemed an irrational evasion of logical consistency. In Karl Barth's Theological Method (1963), Clark demonstrated that Barth's dialectical affirmations—such as the Bible being both God's Word and errant human testimony—result in epistemological incoherence, where propositions affirm and deny themselves simultaneously, akin to a cognitive contradiction.^[52] He labeled this "neo-orthodox" approach, with its rejection of propositional revelation in favor of paradoxical encounter, as suicidal for knowledge claims, since it forfeits verifiability and reduces theology to subjective assertion without rational defense.^[59] Clark warned against ecumenical movements that diluted Reformed confessional standards through alliances with Arminianism and modernism, viewing them as concessions to relativism. He specifically targeted figures like Billy Graham for promoting semi-Pelagian soteriology in evangelistic efforts, where human decisionism overshadowed divine election, as noted in Clark's discussions of predestination.^[60] Against mainline Protestant drifts toward cultural accommodation—such as Barthian influences eroding inerrancy—Clark insisted on logical fidelity to Scripture's axioms, arguing that ecumenism's unity-at-all-costs epistemology prioritizes experiential consensus over truth, betraying Reformation solas.^[61] His defenses upheld Westminster standards against such syncretism, emphasizing that theological compromise invites doctrinal apostasy.^[52]

Publications

Philosophical Texts

Gordon H. Clark's philosophical texts articulate Scripturalism as a system where Scripture serves as the axiom from which all knowledge is deductively derived, rejecting empirical and sensory data as sources of certainty due to their fallibility.^[3] These works prioritize logical deduction over induction, viewing inconsistencies in non-Christian philosophies as evidence of their incoherence.^[6] In A Christian View of Men and Things (1952), Clark provides an introductory overview of Christian axiomatics, contending that human knowledge originates solely from propositional revelation in Scripture rather than observation or innate ideas.^[62] He applies this framework to domains such as history, science, ethics, politics, and metaphysics, arguing that secular alternatives lead to skepticism or contradiction because they lack an infallible starting point.^[63] Clark illustrates deductive rigor by deriving ethical norms and historical interpretations directly from biblical propositions, dismissing empiricist histories as unverifiable reconstructions. Religion, Reason, and Revelation (1961) extends this critique by examining major non-Christian epistemologies—empiricism, rationalism, irrationalism, and mysticism—and demonstrating their internal failures through logical analysis.^[64] Clark argues that reason presupposes revelation, as autonomous rationalism collapses into subjectivism and empiricism cannot justify universals or induction without circularity.^[65] He defends Scripturalism's coherence by showing how Scripture alone provides consistent propositions amenable to logical deduction, refuting alternatives like logical positivism for their self-defeating verification principle.^[66] Clark's Logic (1980) defends classical Aristotelian syllogistic reasoning as the essential tool for philosophical and theological deduction, contrasting it with modern symbolic logics that he views as overly formalized and detached from substantive truth.^[67] He outlines the five rules of the syllogism—such as the requirement for exactly three terms and no undistributed middles—as necessary for valid inference, arguing that deviations in contemporary systems undermine certainty and align poorly with biblical argumentation.^[67] Clark maintains that logic reflects divine thought patterns, making classical forms indispensable for axiomatic systems like Scripturalism, while modern alternatives prioritize quantification over qualitative deduction.^[68]

Theological Works

Clark's theological writings systematically derive doctrines from the logical implications of biblical propositions, viewing Scripture as a coherent axiomatic system rather than a source for mystical or experiential insights. He critiqued pietistic emphases on personal religious experience, insisting that true theology demands propositional revelation interpreted through rational deduction to avoid contradictions.^[69] In Biblical Predestination (first published 1961, revised 1974), Clark articulates the Reformed understanding of divine sovereignty, asserting that God's eternal decree encompasses all events, including human actions, without compromising divine justice or rendering God the author of sin. He grounds predestination in texts like Romans 8:29–30 and Ephesians 1:4–5, rejecting libertarian free will as incompatible with omniscience and immutability.^[38] This work was later combined with Predestination in the Old Testament (1993), which traces foreordination through Hebrew Scriptures, such as Deuteronomy 32:39 and Isaiah 46:10, to demonstrate scriptural unity on election and reprobation.^[70] What Is Calvinism? (1984) provides a concise deductive exposition of the five points of Calvinism (TULIP), deriving total depravity, unconditional election, limited atonement, irresistible grace, and perseverance of the saints from foundational biblical axioms like human inability in Romans 3:10–18 and divine initiative in John 6:44. Clark contrasts this with Arminian views, emphasizing logical necessity over probabilistic interpretations of texts.^[71] The Atonement (1987, revised 1996) defends the penal substitutionary theory, arguing that Christ's satisfaction of divine justice through imputed sin (Romans 4:7–8; 2 Corinthians 5:21) resolves the antinomy between God's holiness and mercy, rejecting governmental or moral influence theories as insufficiently scriptural.^[69] In The Holy Spirit: Who He Is and What He Does (1993), Clark delineates pneumatology propositionally, affirming the Spirit's personhood and deity via texts like Acts 5:3–4, while subordinating charismatic experiences to the sufficiency of Scripture, critiquing continuationist claims of ongoing revelation as undermining propositional authority.^[69]

Biblical Commentaries and Expositions

Gordon H. Clark's biblical commentaries prioritize exegetical precision, deriving doctrines directly from the propositional content of Scripture while subjecting texts to logical scrutiny. Unlike devotional or narrative-focused expositions, Clark's works emphasize the systematic implications of verses, particularly in advancing Reformed soteriology such as unconditional election and divine foreordination. His approach rejects empirical or experiential interpretations, insisting that knowledge of God derives solely from the axioms and deductions within the biblical text itself.^[72] In his commentary on Ephesians, Clark provides a verse-by-verse analysis that underscores the epistle's foundational assertions on predestination. He interprets Ephesians 1:4–5 as teaching that God chose specific individuals "before the foundation of the world" according to his sovereign purpose, independent of foreseen faith or works, thereby establishing election as an eternal, unconditional decree. Clark argues this doctrine permeates the letter's structure, linking divine adoption to Christ's redemptive work while critiquing Arminian views that condition salvation on human response. The commentary, part of The Works of Gordon Haddon Clark, Volume 12, integrates Greek grammatical analysis to support these conclusions, rejecting variant textual emendations that dilute Pauline predestinarian language.^[73]^[72] Clark's exposition of Colossians, titled Colossians: Another Commentary on an Inexhaustible Message and published in 1989 by the Trinity Foundation, counters Colossian heresies by affirming Christ's absolute supremacy and the believer's union with him through predestined grace. He exegetes passages like Colossians 1:15–20 to demonstrate Christ's preeminence in creation and redemption, deriving from them the implication that salvation rests on God's electing purpose rather than ascetic or mystical practices. Clark's translation and commentary highlight logical tensions in opposing views, such as proto-Gnostic elements, and reinforce perseverance as grounded in divine preservation, not human effort.^[74]^[72] The First Corinthians: A Contemporary Commentary, first issued in 1975 and revised in 1991, applies similar hermeneutics to address Corinthian disorders through Pauline correctives rooted in God's predestining wisdom. Clark examines chapters 1–2 on divine folly versus human wisdom, positing that true knowledge begins with God's elective revelation, and extends this to soteriological themes in 1 Corinthians 1:26–31, where election selects the weak to nullify boasting. His analysis of resurrection (chapter 15) and spiritual gifts integrates predestination by viewing the church's unity as ordained from eternity, dismissing charismatic excesses as incompatible with scriptural propositions.^[75]^[76] Clark's posthumous New Testament Warning Passages (1989) exegetes pericopes like Hebrews 6:4–6 and 10:26–29, interpreting them as hypothetical admonitions to professing believers rather than indicators of true apostasy. He maintains that these passages, when harmonized with perseverance texts (e.g., John 10:28–29), affirm the security of the elect, whose salvation God irresistibly preserves, contra interpretations positing conditional endurance. This work exemplifies Clark's method of resolving apparent contradictions through deductive consistency across Scripture.

Personal Life

Family and Relationships

Gordon H. Clark married Ruth Schmidt in March 1929, a union that lasted until her death in 1977.^[7]^[77] The couple had two daughters, Lois Antoinette and Nancy Elizabeth.^[7] Clark's academic career involved frequent relocations, including positions at institutions such as the University of Pennsylvania, Wheaton College, and Butler University, which necessitated the family's adaptation to new environments while supporting his scholarly commitments.^[1] Public records of Clark's family life remain sparse, consistent with his emphasis on intellectual and theological pursuits over personal exposition in his writings and public statements.^[12] Biographical accounts note that Ruth Clark contributed to the household's stability amid these transitions, though detailed personal anecdotes are limited to family-held materials not widely disseminated.^[78] In Reformed theological networks, Clark fostered close ties with students and correspondents, treating them as an extended intellectual kinship that complemented his immediate family.^[79] These relationships, documented in preserved letters, reflected mutual respect for doctrinal rigor rather than emotional intimacy, aligning with Clark's axiomatic approach to knowledge and ethics.^[79]

Later Years and Death

Clark retired from his position as chairman of the philosophy department at Butler University in 1973, after serving in that role for 28 years.^[1] Following retirement, he continued teaching philosophy at Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, Georgia, and later at Sangre de Cristo Seminary in Westcliffe, Colorado.^[80] He maintained an active schedule of writing and correspondence, producing works on theology, philosophy, and biblical exegesis during this period. Clark's wife, Ruth, predeceased him in 1977.^[7] In his final years, he resided in Westcliffe, Colorado, where he focused on completing manuscripts amid declining health. On April 9, 1985, Clark died at the age of 82 following a brief serious illness.^[7] Several of Clark's unfinished or unpublished works appeared posthumously, including Clark Speaks from the Grave, an essay he prepared in the months preceding his death to address ongoing critiques of his views.^[81] The Trinity Foundation, established to promote Clark's writings, facilitated the publication and dissemination of these materials, compiling essays, lectures, and responses into volumes that preserved his intellectual output.^[1]

Legacy and Influence

Impact on Reformed Apologetics

Gordon H. Clark's axiomatic approach to apologetics, which posits Scripture as the foundational axiom from which all knowledge is deduced logically, has profoundly shaped Reformed presuppositionalism by rejecting neutral evidential grounds and emphasizing rational coherence over empirical concessions.^[19] Unlike evidentialism, which often grants autonomy to sensory data and historical probabilities to build a case for Christianity, Clark insisted that all reasoning presupposes the truth of divine revelation, rendering non-Christian worldviews internally incoherent through logical deduction.^[37] This method prioritizes the law of contradiction and systematic theology, arguing that apologetics must demonstrate the impossibility of the contrary without compromising biblical authority.^[6] Clark's influence endures through disciples such as John W. Robbins, who founded The Trinity Foundation in 1977 to republish and defend Clark's works, including edited editions like Aurelius Augustine, Concerning the Teacher (1994) and numerous theological texts that elucidate his Scripturalist epistemology.^[19] Robbins, explicitly identifying as a follower of Clark, promoted his rationalist framework in critiques of alternative Reformed apologetics, ensuring Clark's writings remained accessible and applied to contemporary debates on epistemology and faith.^[82] The Foundation's efforts, including journals and books like Lord God of Truth (1986), have preserved Clark's emphasis on propositional revelation against fideistic tendencies, fostering a tradition that views apologetics as logical defense rather than probabilistic persuasion.^[19] In recent decades, Clark's ideas have seen revival within online Reformed communities, where proponents defend his logic-centric presuppositionalism against perceived fideism in other systems, such as those conceding analogical limits to human knowledge of God.^[83] Forums and digital ministries, drawing on republished materials, apply Clark's axioms to critique evidential concessions to natural theology, arguing for a strictly rational, Scripture-bound epistemology that aligns with Reformed confessional standards like the Westminster Confession's stress on Scripture's sufficiency.^[84] This resurgence underscores Clark's role in equipping apologists to challenge secular rationalism on its own deductive terms, maintaining presuppositionalism's commitment to the absolute primacy of divine propositions.^[19]

Ongoing Debates and Criticisms

Critics aligned with Cornelius Van Til's presuppositional tradition have persisted in arguing that Gordon Clark's emphasis on univocal propositional knowledge between God and humans undermines divine transcendence by implying that human logic exhaustively comprehends divine thought.^[47]^[27] Van Tilians contend that knowledge of God must be analogical to preserve the Creator-creature distinction, avoiding what they see as Clark's reduction of theology to a univocal system where Scripture's propositions are known identically by God and man.^[18] In response, Clark maintained that Scripture's perspicuity ensures univocal truth in its propositions, allowing deduction without collapsing divine mystery, as God's thoughts are expressed clearly in inspired words rather than veiled analogies.^[5] Clark's epistemology has faced charges of hyper-rationalism for prioritizing deductive logic from scriptural axioms over empirical or sensory data, potentially subjecting God to autonomous human reason.^[18] Detractors argue this leads to a limited knowledge base, confining certainty to deduced propositions while dismissing non-propositional awareness, thus risking skepticism about broader reality.^[85] Conversely, Clark rejected such labels, asserting that true knowledge is comprehensively propositional and axiomatic—beginning with Scripture as self-authenticating—countering fideism by defining faith as rational assent to understood truths, not blind leap.^[19]^[18] Modern biographical assessments, such as Douglas J. Douma's 2017 authorized account, continue to debate Clark's views on the Trinity and divine incomprehensibility, which fueled his 1948 denial of ordination in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church.^[78]^[86] Critics in these evaluations question whether Clark's insistence on propositional comprehension of God's essence aligns with Reformed confessions emphasizing God's essential unknowability beyond revelation, potentially implying a rationalistic overreach in Trinitarian formulation.^[11] Supporters, however, highlight that Clark's ordination struggles reflected institutional resistance to his scriptural primacy rather than doctrinal heresy, sustaining discussions on his exclusion's impact on Reformed apologetics' diversity.^[78]

References

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An Introduction to Gordon H. Clark - The Trinity Foundation
It is his philosophy that makes his biography both interesting and important, for his battles were intellectual battles. Clark was a Presbyterian minister, and ...
[2]
Gordon H. Clark - Monergism |
Gordon Haddon Clark (August 31, 1902 – April 9, 1985) was an American philosopher and Calvinist theologian. He was a primary advocate for the idea of ...<|separator|>
[3]
Scripturalism: A Christian Worldview - The Trinity Foundation
A Scripturalist maintains that epistemology (the theory of knowledge) is the key tenet of any theological or philosophical system. Gordon Clark stated it this ...
[4]
Scripturalism of Gordon H. Clark, The - Trinity Foundation Online Store
Gordon Clark was one of the clearest thinking and clearest writing theologians and philosophers of the twentieth century, yet one of the least influential.
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The Clark-Van Til Controversy - The Trinity Foundation
Gordon H. Clark, who was to become the foremost Christian philosopher of the twentieth century, sought ordination in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, a small ...
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An Introduction to Gordon H. Clark by John W. Robbins - Reformed.org
Clark's life was one of controversy – theological and philosophical. He was a brilliant mind, and his philosophy continues to be a challenge to the prevailing ...<|separator|>
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Dr. Gordon Haddon Clark [1902-1985]
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[PDF] THE PRESBYTERIAN PHILOSOPHER - Douglas Douma
Among the children born to James Armstrong Clark and his first wife. Margaret Scott was the father of Gordon Clark, David Scott Clark (1859–. 1939). Although ...
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Gordon H. Clark and His Correspondents - ReCollections
Apr 4, 2018 · Leaving Wheaton College, Clark secured employment as the Head of the Department of Philosophy at Butler University in Indiana from 1945-73.Missing: teaching | Show results with:teaching
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Gordon H. Clark – Readings and Analysis
May 3, 2025 · Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Clark was raised in a devout Presbyterian household that instilled in him a deep appreciation for the ...
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Ordained Servant: “Now Then …” A Review Article
Gordon Haddon Clark was born on August 31, 1902, to Presbyterian parents. His father, David, was a minister who attended Princeton Theological Seminary and the ...Missing: childhood family background
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An Introduction to the Life and Work of Gordon H. Clark
Apr 8, 2018 · A semi-retired man of seventy-one years of age coming to teach philosophy of all subjects. Why was this noteworthy? And why are we still talking about him and ...
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August 9 Today in OPC History: Gordon Clark
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Van Til the Controversialist - The Orthodox Presbyterian Church
Perhaps the most well known display of Van Til's Reformed militancy was his dispute with Gordon Clark in the 1940s. The so-called Clark Van Til debate over the ...
[16]
Elements of Gordon Clark's Theory of Knowledge - Douglas Douma
Sep 28, 2016 · This post seeks to clarify Gordon Clark's theory of knowledge by first evidencing how he defined some of his terms and then enumerating key elements of his ...
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God and Logic [Gordon H. Clark] – A : A - Involuted Genealogies
Jun 16, 2012 · First of all, Scripture, the written words of the Bible, is the mind of God. What is said in Scripture is God's thought. In contemporary ...
[18]
Gordon H. Clark's problematic rationalism - Anthony G. Flood
Oct 1, 2020 · The only rationally defensible axiom is: the Bible is the Word of God and therefore every proposition affirmed or taught in it may be taken as true.
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Reflections on the Christian Apologetics of Gordon H. Clark
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God and Logic - The Trinity Foundation
The discussion will begin with the relation between God and logic. Afterward will come the relation between logic and the Scripture.Missing: pastoral training
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Logic and Language by Gordon H. Clark
May 11, 2015 · Aristotle wishes to show that the predicate term, odd, man, or b. has a single, definite meaning. Of course, words in any language bear several ...Missing: pastoral training
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The Nature of Truth by Gordon H. Clark
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Questions on Kant | The Gordon H. Clark Foundation
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Ethics by Gordon H. Clark
Jun 28, 2015 · Then here is a fourth virtue, justice, which consists in each part minding its own business and not interfering with or disobeying the ...Missing: WP Montague
[25]
GHC Review 10: Dewey - Douglas Douma
Nov 19, 2018 · Most books on John Dewey focus on his views on education. Gordon Clark however critiques Dewey's underlying philosophy.
[26]
Aquinas by Gordon H. Clark
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A List of Differences Between the Thought of Gordon H. Clark and ...
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Clark - Van Til | The Puritan Board
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A Fresh Look at the Hypothesis of Evolution by Gordon H. Clark
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Review of Creation and Evolution | The Gordon H. Clark Foundation
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Mindless Men: Behaviorism and Christianity - The Trinity Foundation
Behaviorism denies the existence of any immaterial soul or spirit; and if it uses the word mind, it means only the functioning of the bodily parts. To establish ...
[32]
C. Jay Engel's First Place Essay - The Trinity Foundation
And thus, as a psychology, Behaviorism rejects the utilization of any introspection, the method of the earlier psychologists. Clark quotes John Watson to say ...
[33]
[PDF] Can a Christian be a Good Behavior Analyst? Yes, Indeed!
Mar 4, 2019 · Is behaviorism “an anti-Christian theory” and a “denial of the gospel,” as Gordon Clark claims in an article for the Trinity Review?1 Does.
[34]
Irrationalism by Gordon H. Clark
Jun 22, 2015 · Irrationalism was a nineteenth century reaction against Hegel that has grown into the secular existentialism.
[35]
Faith and Reason by Gordon H. Clark
Jun 20, 2015 · Granted the Freudian division may have an evil odor, but its very recognition of an evil nature in man could be closer to the biblical view ...
[36]
Gordon H. Clark Discussions | There is no logical place for induction in
Dec 13, 2015 · Is the Christian God the answer to the problem of induction? ... Clark responds by pointing out that this issue is not unique to Christianity ...So Gordon Clark's Scripturalism says that the axiom - FacebookWould Gordon Clark make the transcendental argument for God? I seeMore results from www.facebook.com<|separator|>
[37]
Presuppositionalism, Evidentialism, and Gordon H. Clark
Dec 26, 2007 · (In Response) Just to measure carefully, if one is using arguments, one is providing evidence. Sometimes the best evidence for something is ...
[38]
Predestination - Trinity Foundation Online Store
It is difficult to discern which Christian doctrine is the most hated by the world - predestination, total depravity, justification by faith alone, or the wrath ...Missing: unregenerate suppresses truth
[39]
[PDF] EFFEC,'LQF TOTAL DEPRAVITY AND REr-t - PCA Historical Center
total depravity of the intellect because one holds that the unregenerate man can understand the meaning of spiritual truth. The soul is totally depraved, and.
[40]
[PDF] the image of god in man . . . gordon h. clark
The difference between naturalism and theism-between the latest. "scientific" opinions on evolution and creation; between the Freudian animal and the image of ...
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Sermon – Calvinism in John's Gospel by Gordon H. Clark
Jan 3, 2015 · Limited Atonement is the most unpopular of Calvinistic doctrines. Perseverance of the Saints is the most popular and is most easily accepted by ...
[42]
Gordon H. Clark: Predestination and Regeneration Guarantee the ...
Sep 10, 2015 · John 6:37-44, 65 teaches irresistible grace and effectual calling, not free will. 44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath ...<|separator|>
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Gordon Clark and the Salvation of Arminians - Douglas Douma
Oct 3, 2016 · ... Gordon Clark was an ardent Calvinist. In fact ... They leave man in uncertainty and despair.” Excerpt From Predestination Gordon H. Clark
[44]
Gordon Clark on the salvation of Arminians.
Jun 12, 2019 · In contrast the Calvinist, the Confession, and the Bible teach (1) that election is unconditional and that sovereign grace is irresistible; (2) ...
[45]
God's knowledge and man's knowledge | thereformedmind
Jun 20, 2011 · Gordon Clark. Clark asserted that human knowledge is limited in quantity from God's, but not necessarily in quality. That is, we can't know ...
[46]
The Intellectual Triunity of God - The Trinity Foundation
Perhaps the best solution offered to date to the problem of the Trinity is that proposed by the late Gordon H. Clark. He defined a person as a set of thoughts.
[47]
Analogical knowledge of God, and the Clark-Van Til controversy
Jun 14, 2022 · Gordon Haddon Clark (August 31, 1902 – April 9, 1985) was an ... In 1943, Dr Gordon H. Clark, who was to become one of the foremost ...<|separator|>
[48]
[PDF] The Inerrancy of the Bible - The Gordon H. Clark Foundation
The conclusion is that the. Bible itself teaches verbal and plenary inspiration. One is nonplussed when a theologian like. Brunner says that the Bible itself ...
[49]
[PDF] GORDON H. CLARK, Ph.D. - Evangelical Theological Society
Plenary inspiration is important: we must insist that the Bible in its entirety is the Word of God. But what sometimes escapes notice is that the emphasis could ...
[50]
The Bible As Truth - The Trinity Foundation
Now, the simple thesis of this paper is that the Bible is true in the literal sense of true. After a thorough understanding of the literal meaning is acquired, ...<|separator|>
[51]
Gordon H. Clark on the Inerrancy and Infallibility of Scripture – A : A
Dec 17, 2010 · The inerrancy of Scripture, as Quenstedt so carefully detailed it, is of fundamental importance. Nowhere else can we learn of salvation. Nowhere ...Missing: verbal plenary inspiration
[52]
Gordon Clark and Other Reformed Critics of Karl Barth
Various Reformed theologians have argued that Barth's theology is incompatible with the orthodox Reformed faith.<|separator|>
[53]
Scripturalist Hermeneutics and Extra-Biblical Information
Gordon H. Clark in that he never wrote a piece specifically addressed to the topic of hermeneutics or Biblical interpretation. Though indeed no individual ...
[54]
Cornelius Van Til: An Analysis of his Thought - The Trinity Foundation
He taught that all human knowledge is (and can only be) analogical to God's knowledge; there is no univocal point, no point of coincidence, between God's ...
[55]
Fighting the Good Fight - The Orthodox Presbyterian Church
The controversy began in 1943 when Clark sought ordination by the OPC's Presbytery of Philadelphia. From 1936 until 1943, Clark had been professor of philosophy ...
[56]
The Complaint | The Gordon H. Clark Foundation
Jan 10, 2015 · The following is the full text of a complaint signed by a minority in the Presbytery of Philadelphia of The Orthodox Presbyterian Church against ...
[57]
Clark & Calvin on Determinism & Responsibility
Jan 17, 2011 · The following quotes are taken from Gordon H. Clark's ... As to theology, I have no problems with believing in absolute predestination ...
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How free will does not solve the problem of evil: Gordon H. Clark
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Ferre, Barth, and Neo-orthodoxy by Gordon H. Clark
Nov 3, 2014 · “Ferre, Barth, and Neo-orthodoxy” is a previously unpublished article from Dr. Gordon H. Clark's papers. It is presented to the public for ...
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A Scripturalist Critique of Billy Graham's Theological Ecumenicalism
Feb 23, 2018 · Also controversial was Graham's blatant semi-pelagianism. In his book on predestination Gordon H. Clark names Billy Graham and remarks that ...
[61]
Questions on Barth's Theology | The Gordon H. Clark Foundation
Jul 4, 2017 · American evangelics view with anxiety the shift of theological initiative from Karl Barth's “neo-orthodoxy” to Rudolf Bultmann's “neo-liberalism ...
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A Christian View of Men and Things – by Dr. C. Matthew McMahon
The following article is a summary of the book, “A Christian View of Men and Things”. Chapter 1: Introduction. The idea of God does not dominate the culture ...
[63]
GHC Review 7: A Christian View of Men and Things - Douglas Douma
Nov 10, 2018 · A Christian View of Men and Things is Gordon Clark's magnum opus and seminal work. It covers many topics which he will later expand upon in ...
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Religion, Reason and Revelation - Trinity Foundation Online Store
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GHC Review 11: Religion, Reason, and Revelation - Douglas Douma
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The Clark Reviews. A Biographical Overview of Gordon H. Clark. Gordon Haddon Clark (August 31, 1902 – April 9, 1985) was a prominent American philosopher, ...
[67]
[PDF] Summary of Major Concepts, Principles, and Functions of Logic
Jan 3, 2008 · Five Rules of the Syllogism (following Gordon H. Clark) ... Grand Rapids: Baker, 1988; Clark, Gordon H. Logic, 2d ed. Jefferson ...
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Clark's arguments for traditional logic over modern - Facebook
Aug 13, 2015 · Traditional logic has 24 valid syllogisms, modern logic only 15. ... Today, classical logic, which includes propositional and first-order logic ...Classical logic limitations in temporal contexts - FacebookLogical classification in scripture and Aristotelian - FacebookMore results from www.facebook.com
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The Gordon H. Clark Foundation | Reformed Resources
Clark Books ACPE – A Christian Philosophy of Education, 1946, 2nd ed. 1988AT – The Atonement, 1987, 2nd ed. 1996BP – Biblical Predestination, 1974CP – An ...
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Predestination in the Old Testament by Gordon H. Clark
Predestination in the Old Testament by Gordon H. Clark. Sep 3, 2015 | Writings of Gordon Clark ... H. Clark Books · Moses and the Ecumenical Movement by Gordon H. Clark · The Resurrection by Gordon H. Clark ...
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Keyword: theology - Peter and Rachel Reynolds
Image for What is Calvinism? What is Calvinism? By: Spurgeon, Charles Haddon ... By: Clark, Gordon Haddon. Price: £3.75. Publisher: Milford, Mott Media : 1984.
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Commentaries on Paul's Letters, The Works of Gordon Haddon ...
Dr. Clark's commentaries on four of Paul's letters, Ephesians, Colossians, and First and Second Thessalonians, plus his monograph on Logical Criticisms of ...Missing: list | Show results with:list<|separator|>
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Ephesians (E-Book) - Trinity Foundation Online Store
Contents: Foreword; A verse-by-verse commentary on the text. Available Options: Order As: E-Book. Customers who bought this product also purchased ...
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Colossians - Clark, Gordon H.: 9780940931251 - AbeBooks
Colossians: Another Commentary on an Inexhaustible Message. Gordon H. Clark. Published by Trinity Foundation, 1989. ISBN 10: 0940931257 / ISBN 13 ...
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First Corinthians : a contemporary commentary : Clark, Gordon ...
Jan 3, 2012 · First Corinthians : a contemporary commentary. by: Clark, Gordon Haddon. Publication date: 1991. Topics: Bible.
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GHC Review 23: First Corinthians, A Contemporary Commentary
Jan 1, 2019 · First Corinthians, A Contemporary Commentary, by Gordon H. Clark, Nutley, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1975, Second Edition 1991, 349 pp.
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Gordon Haddon Clark Manuscript Collection - PCA Historical Center
Content Summary: The Gordon H. Clark Papers consist of Dr. Clark's ... Gordon Haddon Clark was born on August 31, 1902, the only son of the Rev. David ...
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The Presbyterian Philosopher by Douglas J. Douma - A Review
Gordon Clark was born into and raised in the Old School Presbyterian tradition. The chapter not only traces his Presbyterian roots through his parents, but ...
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Clark and His Correspondents: Selected Letters of Gordon H. Clark
This volume contains selected letters of Gordon H. Clark (1902–1985) from among those collected and compiled during research for The Presbyterian Philosopher: ...
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A Calvinistic Presuppositional Theologian Gordon H. Clark
Jan 28, 2019 · Gordon H. Clark was against the idea of irrationalism. He also sees ... Gordon Clark was bon August 31, 1902 an American philosopher and a ...Missing: born | Show results with:born
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Clark Speaks from the Grave - The Trinity Foundation
Editor's note: More than a year before he died in April 1985, Dr. Gordon H. Clark had prepared an essay entitled Clark Speaks from the Grave, intending it ...Missing: cause | Show results with:cause
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John W. Robbins on Head Faith vs Heart Faith
Aug 10, 2017 · Robbins was a disciple of Gordon H. Clark. He ran the Trinity Foundation, which publishes Clark's books, including Faith and Saving Faith.
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Knowledge, Faith, and the Marks of a “True" Clarkian
Apr 5, 2017 · The goal of the Gordon Clark Foundation is to get Clark's writings, published and unpublished out into the open. One issue that surfaces when ...Missing: rationalism | Show results with:rationalism
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Scripturalism and the Senses: Reviving Gordon H. Clark's Apologetic
This book seeks to rehabilitate Gordon H. Clark's apologetic. It suggests some minor revisions to Clark's system that can help make Scripturalism more robust ...
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The Clark-Van Til Controversy | Cavman Considers - WordPress.com
May 19, 2006 · So, though HH is firmly behind Gordon Clark, I see some huge problems with Clark's theology. Clark thought we could perfectly understand ...
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The Authorized Biography of Gordon H. Clark By Douglas J. Douma
Oct 3, 2024 · The controversy in 1946 had to do with the ordination and theology of a notable professor of philosophy from Wheaton College, Dr. Gordon Clark.