The Whole Counsel of God: Fifty Years of Theological Studies -- By: Sinclair B. Ferguson
Journal: Westminster Theological Journal
Volume: WTJ 50:2 (Fall 1988)
Article: The Whole Counsel of God: Fifty Years of Theological Studies
Author: Sinclair B. Ferguson
WTJ 50:2 (Fall 1988) p. 257
The Whole Counsel of God: Fifty Years of Theological Studies
When the original faculty of Westminster Theological Seminary committed some of its slender financial resources to the production of a scholarly journal, it was seeking to follow in a great tradition of American Presbyterianism. In the Northern and Southern Presbyterian Churches, Charles Hodge and B. B. Warfield, R. L. Dabney and J. H. Thornwell had recognized the importance of such a forum for the interchange of biblical scholarship and the development of theology marked by the axiom reformata et reformanda. But in 1938 the Reformed journals, which had once furthered this vision, were defunct. With a small and still relatively young faculty, recently bereft of the inspiration and leadership of J. Gresham Machen, the seminary bravely committed itself to the new venture. Now, fifty years later, we salute our fathers and rejoice in the inheritance they have passed on in writing to us their children.
To the casual reader it might seem inevitable that Westminster Theological Seminary would produce the Westminster Theological Journal; but the choice of title was not merely a matter of form. Indeed the first editors, John Murray and Paul Woolley, wrote in their introduction to the journal that its policy would be “To publish contributions which will promote the study of theology and the interests of the Reformed Faith” (l.ii). In the tradition of the seminary, the study of theology as a whole was seen as the culmination of the education it provided; consequently the journal was not envisioned to serve narrow interests. Rather, the broadest panorama of the whole counsel of God was in view. Typical then of the enterprise was the opening article by Ned B. Stonehouse, combining the interests of NT and theology, “Jesus in the Hands of a Barthian: Rudolph Bultmann’s Jesus in the Perspective
WTJ 50:2 (Fall 1988) p. 258
of a Century of Criticism.” It is salutary to notice the language in which the first editors described the faculty’s vision for the journal: “humility” and “responsibility” and” insufficiency” marked the approach; “truth,” “grace,” and “power” marked the conviction behind the enterprise; “battle” described the underlying nature of the task.
To a large extent a scholarly journal is dependent on the contributions it receives from those scholars who identify it as an appropriate vehicle for their articles. It is one thing for editors to outline their vision and policy, another for the community of scholars to participate in it. Looking over fifty years of the Westminster Theological Journal promotes a sense of gratitude that its successive editors have been able to maintain the ear...
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