I hope this is the right forum for this thread - if not, feel free to move it.

I've noticed in a couple of threads in the past week or so that people are referring to "The Divines." After some puzzling and investigation, I've concluded that that is a reference to the authors of the WCF. (Someone please correct me if I am wrong)

Why is this done? What is the reasoning behind it? What is the meaning of the word "Divine" in this context.

I'll be forthright and say that I have a rather visceral reaction to calling any human individual "Divine." That seems like a term that should only be reserved for God. I'd like to hear the history and reasoning behind the usage though - perhaps you can change my mind.

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Kathleen M
nondenominational
Montana

Because they were men who studied Divinity. The historical context would have thrown out any allusion to these men being more than men.

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Josh Hicks, Chloë's Dad
Christ Covenant Reformed Presbyterian Church, RPCGA
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It is God that multiplies our sorrows.... God, as a righteous Judge, does it, which ought to silence us under all our sorrows; as many as they are, we have deserved them all, and more: nay, God, as a tender Father, does it for our necessary correction, that we may be humbled for sin, and weaned from the world by all our sorrows; and the good we get by them, with the comfort we have under them, will abundantly balance our sorrows, how greatly soever they are multiplied. - Matthew Henry

divine - Definition from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary

Main Entry: 2 divine
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Medieval Latin divinus, from Latin, soothsayer, from divinus, adjective
Date: 14th century

1 : clergyman
2 : theologian

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Ruben
Moderator
F.P.C.I.
Indiana

Vanities and disguises have covered us, and thereby we are naked; licenciousness hath inflam'd us, and thereby we are frozen; voluptuousness hath fed us, and thereby we are sterved, the fancies and traditions of men have taught and instructed us, and thereby we are ignorant.
John Donne

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Teología en Mexico
The Howling Wilderness

Kathleen, it is not a term reserved for the authors of the WCF, but for theologians in general. Mechanics, for instance, are so termed because their business is mechanical things: not because they are, themselves, "mechanical creatures." So those whose business concerns Divine things or the study of Divinity are known as Divines.

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Paul Korte
OPC
Flint, MI

They who perceive in themselves discoveries of the divine goodness, so full and absolutely perfect, and who make them the subject of earnest meditation, will never embrace new doctrines, by which the very grace they feel so powerfully in themselves is thrown into the shade. --John Calvin

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because Diva would have given the wrong impression

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Keith Gorman
Seminary student / ABA
Garland, TX

A minister may fill his pews, his communion roll, the mouths of the public, but what that minister is on his knees in secret before God Almighty, that he is and no more. ~ JOHN OWEN

Ah ha. This makes so much more sense than the direction my mind was going. I was starting to get concerned that the title was an elevating one.

Ruben, I actually looked up the definition earlier, but it still seemed elevating - the dictionary I used had both "supremely good" and "proceeding directly from God" which seemed problematic to me.

Thank you.

-----Added 11/4/2009 at 05:47:32 EST-----

Right - this was part of my confusion. The use of the word "divine" to describe a person seemed a direct contradiction to their beliefs.

Paul, what credentials does one must hold to be called a divine? I know anyone with a ratchet set can be called a mechanic, so I am assuming it takes more than study of the scriptures. It does seem to fall on those who were part of the WCF more than any others though. I have never heard anyone called a divine prior or after.

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N. Robert; Trinity Reformed Church RCA, Holland MI

"Once in a while you can get shown the light, in the strangest of places if you look at it right."

Oh, sure you have. Most pastors today obtain a Master of Divinity degree. Along the lines of Kathleen's original concern, that is pretty exalted too. Most godly pastors I know would be horrified to think that they were called to be masters of "divinity" in the sense that Kathleen originally suggested.

Although, few (if any) holders of the M.Div. are actually people who have "mastered" the subject of theology either! Puritan theologians were often referenced as "Puritan Divines."

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Dennis E. McFadden, Ex Mainline Baptist (in Remission)
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Mr. Harrington, I'm not sure there is really a specific answer to that question (that of qualifications). If the study and profession of Divinity (i.e., if they are a Theologian or perhaps minister -- one who teaches theology/divinity), they are a divine. I am unaware of any more technical or precise meaning than this, though this by no means indicates that there isn't one.

A "shade tree mechanic" is a guy that works out of his house on cars as a hobby, so I suppose a "shade tree divine" would be someone that studies theology at home.

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Brian Withnell
Deacon, OPC
Leesburg, Virginia

You cannot train for war in the midst of a battle. Prepare before the battle starts; if the battle is long and hard, you will wish you had.

The early church had no qualms to say we are deified when we are baptized into Christ.

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Matthew Philip Miller | Reformed Baptist, SBC
Student of Theology at Trinity College of Florida

Iniquities prevail against me; As for our transgressions, You will provide atonement for them. Blessed is the man You choose, And cause to approach You, That he may dwell in Your courts. We shall be satisfied with the goodness of Your house, Of Your holy temple.
Psalms 65:3-4 (NKJV)

I always thought that Jesus was Da Vine and we were only Da Branches.

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Pergamum


"If a commission by an earthly king is considered a honor, how can a commission by a Heavenly King be considered a sacrifice?"
-- David Livingstone

Sure, 350 years ago the word was used to refer to someone who studied theology, but as you note, we seem to use that term a lot more in respect to the authors of the WCF than with anyone else.

My gut tells me we use it because we reverence them.

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Ben
Chaplain, US Army
Ft. Riley, KS
TE Ohio Valley Presbytery, PCA

When Bill Hybels welcomes to Willow Creek a visiting delegation from the South Side, that's true.

Said delegation cannot hang long, for some of them likely have tickets to see Da Bears.



Margaret

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Margaret
Free Church of Scotland [Continuing]
Michigan

They are called divines maybe more than others or maybe even almost exclusively now, because they served on The Westminster Assembly OF DIVINES!

That role and that official name are the reason for the retention of the term regarding the Westminster assemblymen; not some idolizing exaltation of them.

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Chris Coldwell, Lakewood Presbyterian Church (PCA), Dallas, Texas.
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I don't buy it. Not after the fawning after them as being almost supermen - superholy, super pious, super smart, super everything - that can be read in countless posts. Certainly the official name of the Assembly is, as you point out, the Westminster Assembly of Divines. But usually in modern parlance people speak of the members of the assembly as "members" not "Divines." Well... everywhere but here. Nowadays we speak of theologians and Biblical scholars.

But be that as it may, I believe that their work reflects Scripture.

I take it you do not call them 'Divines'. What then do you call them?

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It depends upon the context. When I'm speaking before a crowd and I want to reference them I'll say something like, "... the authors of the Westminster Confession wrote..." or "the consensus at the Westminster Assembly was..." or "the members of the Westminster Assembly agreed that..." or "in the confessional documents produced by the Westminster Assembly, the studied opinion of the assemblymen was..."
Etc.

Only here will I occasionaly refer to them as divines, but even then it is a part of my ongoing effort to connect with others and speak their language.
I'm sure this totally dissatisfies some, but oh well.

Ben,
Members of "what"? Oh Gillespie, he was a member of the Westminster Assembly of members?

Fawning? Your disdain of others on this board is duly noted.

Only here? I'm sorry, but that simply reflects your ignorance.

I don't get it. In modern parlance, when we speak of puritans we say "puritans" not puritan divines (as is common here, as if we are still in the 16th century). In modern parlance, most people don't talk about the Westminster Assembly at all, but when the authors come up and are being spoken of apart from the name of the assembly, they are not simply refered to as "divines."

Please do note with careful diligence that I believe the Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechisms are accurate reflections of Scripture. But that said, this in no way implies that I do - or anyone should - engage in de facto hero worship, which is idolatry. As is the case with any niche group, people on this Board come from all over and they live with the acute realization that they are a distinct minority. So when we come together there is a temptation to inadvertently construe our admiration and respect as borderline reverence. I begrudge no one of the freedom to respect and appreciate the work of the theologians, pastors, and biblical scholars of the Westminster Assembly... but as a Reformed minister, it is my duty to warn others and caution them against the temptation in every human heart to idolize any man or group of men. You can say my concern is unfounded, but the last I heard, you are not an officer of any church and I am, so I'd appreciate if you'd give me the benefit of the doubt and perhaps recognize that sometimes my comments are intended as observations or tongue-in-cheek admonitions and not indications of "disdain of others on this board" as you put it.

Not really.

Ben,

Do you know the hearts of those here who refer to them as divines? You seem to think you do by implying they are engaging in "de facto hero worship." Why not, rather, place the best construction on people's use of said word and assume they merely mean it as the historical label placed on the men of the Assembly at the time? What you gave was not a "warning," but a pretty large blanket accusation.

According to the OED "divine" as a noun can refer either to:

1. A diviner, soothsayer, augur; a prophet, seer.

2. One who has officially to do with ‘divine things’; formerly, any ecclesiastic, clergyman, or priest; now, one skilled in divinity; a theologian.

The first citation for the word given is as far back as Wyclif ca.1380.

3. Applied to non-Christian writers on theology, and to the priests of heathen religions.

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Christopher
Escondido OPC (Escondido, CA)
M.Div. Student at Westminster Seminary California