8/12/2019 1996 Issue 1 - Greg Bahnsen: A Good and Faithful Servant - Counsel of Chalcedon
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Few
sad
events
inmy life
have
struck
me as hard
as
the
December 11, 1995, death f
Dr. Cireg L. Bahnsen,
my
teacher,
mentor,
and
friend
. I
had long known of his '
congenital heart defect and
his
increasing health
problems.
But
I had seen him, by the
,grace of Ciod, weather many
physical storms
over
the years .
Now, however, (jod
in
His
all-wise
providence
hascaUed
Cireg home to
glory.
s a believer in the '
sovereign Christ of Scripture"
whom
Cireg loved
and ,'
whose will he
vigorousiy
promoted" I have to
remind myself that Paul's
testimony
in
Philippians
1 has two-sides, both
being glorious.
In
applying Paul's
under Cireg Bahnsen
for
two
years at
Reformed
Seminary
in
the
late
1970's. The
three
theologians who have most
influenced
my
personal
life
,
biblical
faith
, and pastoral
practice
are:
John Calvin,
Cornelius Van
Til
, and (ireg
Bahnsen
. They have shown
me that Calvinism is
Christianity come into its own.
And I praise Ciod
for
their '
ministerial
labors.
Paul tells us
of
the victory
associated
with Christ's
entry
into heaven. At that
glOrious
covenantal nature
of
Clods
dealings with
man.
I
can
thank the writihgsof O. T.
Allis and Loraine Boettner, as
instrumehts'in the hand
of
'
Ciod, for initially showing' T e
the light and glorY of reformed
theology
. these
encourage4.
my
disrriissal
'
of
dispensationalism and sparked
in mea desire to
seek a
reformed
theological
education.
n 197{11 transferred' o
Reformeq Seminary
in
Jackson, MississiPpi. And
as
, p ~ v i ~ e ~ c e w o u l d have
it,
I was
there
for
almostthe
entire
tenure
of
Bahnsen with that
institution. But those
two years were
of
dramatic
life-changing
and
comments
to
Cireg's
c;:;================ ministry-encouraging
untimely departure, my
immediate thoughts and
hQpes
were
on
the one
side:
to
'
remain in the flesh is
more
needful for you (v. 24).
Cireg
's
continuing ministry had been
so significant in my own'
personal spiritual growth and
pastoral ministry " and not just
mine but
many,
many others.
Consequently, I had to
struggle
to recognize the greater truth '
for Cireg
himself:
to
be
ith
Christ
is far
better
(v
. 23) .
Cireg has now heard those
glorious words
of
Christ:
"Well done, thou good and
faithful servant.'
I thank Ciod that, by His
providence, I was able o study
event He
poured
out abundant
,and glorious gifts upon men
(Eph.
4:8ff).
One
of those
important
gifts
for the
ongoing
life
and ministry
of
the Church
is
the,gift
of
teacher
(Eph.
4:11). I count Cireg Bahnsen
as
one
of
the great gifts
of
(iod to
the Church in our
tirne.
He
Will be
sorely
missed.
In
my circuitous route
to
reformed theology and the
Presbyterian pastorate, I had
come out
of
a dispensational
household,
through
a
dispensational
college
(Tennessee
Te
mple College)
and seminary (Ciract,
Theological
Seminary), to the
growing conviction
of
the
8 f THE COUNSEL of Chalcedoll f
January
February,
1996
consequence because
of
Cireg
Bahnsen.
Whenl
firsfenrolJed
n
a
Bahnseh
class
, I
admit
that I was noipie
ased:
I was
becoming knoWn as
fable
tennis player of sorts at RTS . I
was spending lnuch
tiine in
the Whife House on theRTS
I
campus challenging fellow
students in this
SP9rt.
But upon
entering Bahnsen's class I
found
rigorous
demands
for
more
diligent
study
laid on
me.
At
first these
were frustrating;
I had fared well with
an
average amount'
of
effort. Now
aU that had changed.
Bahnsen's approach to '
academic
instruction
reqUired
8/12/2019 1996 Issue 1 - Greg Bahnsen: A Good and Faithful Servant - Counsel of Chalcedon
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great
effort
of
the
student. for anyone who would would
like to
relate just one
Table
tennis would
have to
promote qod's Word anecdote regarding
his
wail.
according
to
the Pauline
remarkable cognitive abilities.
But thank
qod
for
the
directive in . 2 Corinthians
While
he,
R. 1. Rushdoony,
mind-expanding,
10:
4-5
.
qary DeMar, Joe Morecraft,
ministry-altering
experience Over
the
years
it has
been Byron
Snapp, I
and others
Initially
I
resisted
Bahnsen's my
joy
and
privilege to
have were
speakers at
the 1994
unusual
positions
of qreg stay
in
my
home
on
Chalcedon Christian
postmillennialism
and several occasions, to
have
him
Leadership
Conference, we
theonomic ethics. In fact, I
set
proclaim
the
Word
of
qod in
witnessed his
remarkable
about
to
challenge those
my two
pastoral charges,
to
intellectual powers. During
positions
among my
fellow
co-author a book with him, one of the question and
students. But
anyone who has and
to
appear on the same answer
sessions
someone
e x p e r i e n ~ d Bahnsen's platform with him
at
asked the simple
question:
instruction,
however,
"Dr. Bahnsen, what
knows
that
he
was so
version of Scripture
careful in
his
'
do you use
and
presentation,
so
logical recommend?"
qreg's
in
his argumentation,
response
sounded
as
so
biblical
in
his
if he were reading a
foundations,
and so well-prepared
lecture
forceful
in
his
on
tex
tual critical
conclusions that all theory, linguistic
hope
of
credible ana
lysis
, and
resistance
was futile. I conferences. And
to
continue interpretation theory. He went
eventually was swayed
by his to
grow
under his ministry.
I through brief
discussions
of
presentations and adopted
his
am
thankful for
the
enonnous each of
these
factors
in
positions.
And I
have
never
influence
he has
had, and
for
choosing a version, then
regretted having done so.
the
large collection of tapes
suggested his own study
Intell
ectually,
he
taught
me
(over
1800) that are and will
preference:
The American
to
study and
to
think,
continue
to
be available and Standard Version of 1901.
pastorally
, he showed
me the
circulating
among
qo s
Moderator Joe Morecraft gc,>t
relevance of Scripture for
all
of
people. My only up after qregsat down and
life; personally, he encouraged
disappointment is that playfully rebuked him for not
me
to
stand
finn in
my
circumstances
did
not allow
being thorough enough il1 ,his
convictions and to trust
in qod
him time to
produce
more ' answer Who could think off
against
all
opposition.
Iwill
books.
the
top
of their head like that?
never
cease to
be amazed
at
I hope and
pray
that Who could respond
With
such
the
incredible breadth of
someone
will
see
that qreg's
insight and
clarity
as
hel
In my
knowledge he
possessed,
at the
notes
are
collected and
experience,
he was without
ease with which he could compiled as books. That his
peer in his intellectual abilities.
analyze and respond to lectures are transcribed
as
t is
my
unshakable
questions
and arguments, both articles. His teaching
ability
conviction
that qo s ways are
phi osophica lyand
was unsurpassed in my
right
and His wisdom
Scripturally. He ,
is
an example experience. In
this regard
I inscrutable.
Therefore,
I
January
February,
1996
THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon 9
8/12/2019 1996 Issue 1 - Greg Bahnsen: A Good and Faithful Servant - Counsel of Chalcedon
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humbly; even
if
sorrowfully,
accept
Ciods
providential
taking
of
Cireg Bahnsen from
toe earth. Ipray that we will
see
and experience
the
wisQ.om
of Qod in all ofthis with a
renewed
interest
in
Cireg's
tapes
and writings.
May the
Lord
bless Cireg's
legacy withfruit.Q
Apologist, Thconomist,
'vVarrioT, [-'riend
Steve M Schli el
I first met Dr. qreg L
Bahnsen on the
phone.
I was .
emerging from
a rather
fathers.
Cireg
became a
personal tutor, instructing
me
in
the
apologetic of
Cornelius
Van Til and the theology of
the
Westminster Confession
and Catechisms.
From
that
phone call
in
1983
until today;
our Father
in
heaven
used
Cireg to feed
me, and a
great
number beside.
Dr.
Bahnsen's
contributions
to
the Kingdom and church
are significant. An
ordained
minister serving the Orthodox
Presbyterian
Church
for the
last twenty
years,
Cireg had '
wide-ranging opportunities to .
serVe
Christ.
Afterrecelving
, '
(simit14lneously)
the
tv\
Div.
and Th. M.degrees from
Westminster Theologi\:al
Cireg's
gifts
and calling; he
told
me that Dr. Bahnsen was the
right man to succeed him as
chair
of
apologetics at
Westminster
.
It
has been rumored
that
when Dr.
Bahnsen
was
interviewed for the job of
teaching Apologetics
and
Ethics
at Reformed Theological
Seminal)' in Jackson, MS at
least one
of the
interviewers
emerged from the room dazed
by the brilliance of the mind
he had just encountered."
Cireg had a
special
gift
from
Ciod in
bringing
illumination
to
some
of the
thorniest
traditional theological
problems
(call Covenant Tape
MinisIJY
to
order the catalog
listing over 1,500 ofhis audio
tapes:
1-800-503-
. . , . . , . , . , . ,= 3938). At times it
seemed as if his mind '
'f....
>'
would
drape
over a
rigid conception of the
supposed
dispensational
structure
of
Ciod's
'
revelation
and dealings,
attempting
to grasp
that
most capaCious of
all
religions,
the RefoTmed
faith. I was
hungJY
for
dark
problem
and
~ ~ ~ i ~ i ~ ~ i l l ~
dissolve it
into light.
or
the last
several
years
he has served as
the
Scholar-in"
residence at the Southern
ruth.
My
chosen
method
in
the
pursuit 6f
it
was
to contact
people
who had a
reputation
fur understanding
it
arid then
"bother" them until they
explained
it
to
me.
Dr. Cireg
L Bahnsen was
not "bothered"
by
my
call.
He
expressed siilcere,' pastoral
concern and a genuine interest
in helping me, and Messiah's
Congregation,
to make
a
smooth
stable transition into
the Reformed faith of our
Seminal)' in Philadelphia,
Cireg
went on to
earn
a
Ph.D.
,
in philosophy
from
the
VnivetSity of
Southern
California,
chOOSing
for his
dissertation
topic,
a
philosophical analysis
of
the
concept
of
"self-deception." He
chose this topic because t
would complement, even
fill
a
space,
in
the
comprehensive
Christian apologetic
of
Cornelius Van
TiL
Dr.
Van
Til
was more than appreciative
of
10 THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon January February, 1996
California Center
fOJ Christian
Studies.
He
traveled
around
the
world preaching,
debating and
lectUring.
Often when he
lectured,
that wonderful
look
of
Now Iunderstand ,"
would
spread across
the faces
in
the room like the "wave" at
a
Pittsburgh
Steelers' home
game.
Though
often
most
closely
associated with the issue of the