Athens, Jerusalem, and Gerald Lewis Bray -- By: Charles G. Dennison
Journal: Westminster Theological Journal
Volume: WTJ 45:1 (Spring 1983)
Article: Athens, Jerusalem, and Gerald Lewis Bray
Author: Charles G. Dennison
WTJ 45:1 (Spr 1983) p. 145
Athens, Jerusalem, and Gerald Lewis Bray*
Reformed and Presbyterian orthodoxy in its American expression bears a questionable legacy as far as its competency in the patristic period is concerned. To blame are not the early spokesmen for the Reformed church. Calvin, for example, was extraordinarily well-versed in the Fathers. Most likely the difficulty arises from an Americanization of an originally broad-visioned perspective. Fear of Catholicism, historical short-sightedness, and evangelical preoccupation with the instantly relevant have taken their toll. Also, it has not been uncommon to hear Reformed and evangelical scholars depreciate the ancient church for its general disregard of Pauline doctrine, e.g., justification by faith.
Despite the general mood, notable attempts have been made to grasp at the larger picture. For instance, both Warfield and Van Til worked in more than a cursory way with the Fathers. One figure particularly fascinating to them was Tertullian.1 This is not without reason since Tertullian is thought to have anticipated many Reformed convictions.
Modern study of Tertullian may seem unconcerned with either Warfield’s or Van Til’s assessment. A major work has appeared, however, which offers Reformed orthodoxy no little encouragement and much food for thought. The book is Gerald Lewis Bray’s Holiness and the Will of God. Some interaction with the contemporary study of Tertullian will help us appreciate Bray’s contribution.
I. History and Method
Until the last century, there had been agreement about the general features of Tertullian’s life. The chief source for the portrait was
* Gerald Lewis Bray, Holiness and the Will of God: Perspectives on the Theology of Tertullian (Atlanta: John Knox, 1979).
WTJ 45:1 (Spr 1983) p. 146
Jerome’s De viris illustrious. This was supplemented by bits and snatches from Eusebius together with what could be surmised from Tertullian’s writings.
His story began as early as AD 150 and ended as late as 240. He was raised a pagan in Carthage, his father being an officer in the Roman army. In his youth he rebelled against his family’s militarism; eventually he went to Rome and studied law. During the last decade of the second century, he became a Christian. As part of the church he returned to Carthage and was ordained a priest. Before long, however (maybe shortly after the turn of the century), he parted ways with the ecclesiastical authorities and consequently gave himself to the sectarian Montanists. But he even outgrew them and, before his death, gathered about him a group of discip...
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