B. B. Warfield's Theological Legacy

It is, of course, extremely difficult to estimate with any precision the extent of B. B. Warfield's impact upon subsequent theological developments after his death.  Nevertheless, there are several important indicators that clearly indicate Warfield's powerful and lasting influence upon the American theological scene.  One such indicator is that Warfield himself was responsible for the primary theological training of over 2700 students during his tenure at Princeton (Noll, The Princeton Theology, 19).  Since the classroom was his domain of sorts, his personal influence upon his students was, no doubt, quite significant and certainly lived on for at least one generation subsequent to Warfield's death in 1921.  This particular legacy can be seen most clearly in the work of Warfield's successor of sorts, J. Gresham Machen, and the eventual split in the Presbyterian church leading to the founding of Westminster Theological Seminary.  While Machen was the most notable minister trained by Warfield, nevertheless, his influence upon a whole generation of clergymen trained in his classroom is certainly a significant reason why Warfield’s legacy has survived.

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Comments

[Chris]

One other thing that comes to mind with respect to Warfield was his penchant to engage other thinkers across the theological spectrum. Where are the (conservative) Reformed folks today who read and write with such breadth and depth?

[Chris Duncan]

A few links relevant to Machen and his book, “Christianity and Liberalism”:

http://agrammatos.wordpress.com/2010/04/08/machen-and-paul-a-fictional-dialogue/

http://www.calvinism.us/machen2.htm

http://www.outsidethecamp.org/review101.htm