RamistThomist
Puritanboard Clerk
In other threads it appears as though some have had questions concerning the orthodoxy of CVT and Greg Bahnsen. Such fears need to be put to rest quickly. Their commitment to Confessional Calvinism should not be doubted. Rather than being deviants from the faith, as some might fear, these men were mighty warriors for God who are not allowed to clear up statements made earlier in their careers. In the following I would like to show that CVT and Bahnsen were orthodox, Confessional Calvinists and in the end, while some might question an extremely small example of a few questionable formulations CVT and Bahnsen would not be Auburnites, Shepherdites, or whatever. What I am not trying to do is to convince you that their distinctives (Bahnsen/theonomy and CVT/presup) are correct, so no side-tracking the discussion.
The Confession
CVT: The most absolute God of the Westminster Confession can only be presupposed. from An Introduction to Systematic Theology, p.163 A high, confessional view of God.
Bahnsen: Thus the Confession RIGHTLY says: "The authority of holy Scripture, for which it oug to be believed, and obeyed, dependeth...wholly upon God... (Bahnsen, CVT R & A, 200
Bahnsen: Christ's work as the mediator of the Covenant of Grace encompasses His saving minsitry, not only as priest and King, but also as our prophet (Bahnsen, 197) CVT: R & A)
Bahnsen in his sermon "Law and Disgrace" laments the abandoment of the Westminster Confession of Faith. I realise that some would object and say that he abandoned it on 19.4. That is beside the point here and some on this board have showed clearly that Bahnsen was not at odds with the WCF on this point. In fact, Sinclair Ferguson, who was supposed to critique Bahnsen on theonomy from a Confessional standpoint admitted as much.
There is more but most of my books are at home. Lonn Oswalt notes at the end of his chapter in The Standard Bearer the mainstream-ness of Bahnsen's views in the historic, Reformed world.
The Confession
CVT: The most absolute God of the Westminster Confession can only be presupposed. from An Introduction to Systematic Theology, p.163 A high, confessional view of God.
Bahnsen: Thus the Confession RIGHTLY says: "The authority of holy Scripture, for which it oug to be believed, and obeyed, dependeth...wholly upon God... (Bahnsen, CVT R & A, 200
Bahnsen: Christ's work as the mediator of the Covenant of Grace encompasses His saving minsitry, not only as priest and King, but also as our prophet (Bahnsen, 197) CVT: R & A)
Bahnsen in his sermon "Law and Disgrace" laments the abandoment of the Westminster Confession of Faith. I realise that some would object and say that he abandoned it on 19.4. That is beside the point here and some on this board have showed clearly that Bahnsen was not at odds with the WCF on this point. In fact, Sinclair Ferguson, who was supposed to critique Bahnsen on theonomy from a Confessional standpoint admitted as much.
There is more but most of my books are at home. Lonn Oswalt notes at the end of his chapter in The Standard Bearer the mainstream-ness of Bahnsen's views in the historic, Reformed world.