BB Warfield is one of my heroes

BB Warfield loved his Lord and his wife. Warfield was one of the greatest theologians of ‘Old Princeton’ seminary – before it finally fell to outright liberalism in the 1920s. And his writings on the Trinity, the doctrine of God, Scripture, inspiration and inerrancy, and more are still taken seriously today. So much so, that when GW Bromiley revised the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia in the 1970s-80s, he seems to have retained all of Warfield’s articles from the original. Not bad for a guy who died in 1921.

But Warfield is not one of my heroes for his theology, substantial and sustaining as it is. Rather, he is a hero to me because of his love for his wife. Annie Warfield was never a very well woman after their honeymoon (combined with his further studies) in Europe. It seems that her health and nerves were such that BB often worked from home and looked after her. He never spent long times away from her, and by some accounts only left her for a couple hours at a time in their later years. He loved and cared for her as a Christian husband should, as she grew ever more frail and unwell.

Such faithful love was sustained, I presume, by a profound understanding of the providence of his Lord. It was the love of a faithful man of God, not overcome by his career or his ministry, but carrying them out within the constraints given him.

However, Warfield is also a hero of mine because of his profound devotion to his Lord. He observed and perhaps experienced the challenges of studying the Holy Scriptures in an academic setting. It is all too easy to engage with our studies as only an academic or intellectual exercise, and allow our love for the Lord who saved us to grow sterile.

And so in 1911, with nearly 60 years under his belt, Warfield address the seminarians, exhorting them to study God and his Scriptures with their heart and soul.

Now as you commence this year of study at College, let me urge you to take 20-30 minutes and read “The religious life of theological students.” He assumes we will engage our minds – after all, this was not mere mindless enthusiasm. And he reminds us to engage our whole hearts in our studies as well.

This little article will do you good and remind you how to study as a man or woman of God all your life. It may even save you from the stale and cerebral routines we can all fall into when studies fill our horizon.

So gwaaan! Sit down and read “The religious life of theological students” now, and then chew it over with a friend or even your spouse.

A couple of notes:

In 2004 I downloaded this from the Princeton Library website. I can no longer find it there, though that hopefully is my fault and not their decision. At any rate, the Gospel Coalition has rightly republished it for all.

And at Princeton in 1911, not every student worked in a church. In fact, it seems that most (all?) attended church, followed by Sunday afternoon chapel at the seminary. This will help explain parts of this address.

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