Bible During his tenure, his primary thrust (and that of the seminary) was an authoritative view of the Bible. This view was held in contrast to the
emotionalism of the
revival movements, the
rationalism of
higher criticism, and the heterodox teachings of various
new religious movements that were emerging. The seminary held fast to the
Reformed confessional tradition — that is, it faithfully followed the
Westminster Confession of Faith. Warfield believed that
modernist theology was problematic, since it relied upon the thoughts of the Biblical interpreter rather than upon the divine author of Scripture. He therefore preached and believed the doctrine of
sola scriptura — that the Bible is God's inspired word and is sufficient for the Christian to live his or her faith. Much of Warfield's work centered upon the Bible's "
inspiration" by God — that while the
authors of the Bible were men, the ultimate author was God himself. The growing influence of modernist theology denied that the Bible was inspired, and alternative theories of the origin of the Christian faith were being explored. After comparing
grammatical and
linguistic styles found within the Bible itself, modernist scholars suggested that because the human authors had clearly contributed to the writing of the biblical text, the Bible was written by people alone, not God. Warfield was a central figure in responding to this line of thinking by arguing that the supernatural work of the
Holy Spirit did not lead to a form of "mechanical" inspiration (whereby the human authors merely wrote down what God dictated to them), but one in which the human author's intellect was fully able to express itself linguistically, while at the same time being supervised by the Holy Spirit to ensure its inspiration. This approach is essential to understanding the view of inspiration held by many Reformed and
Evangelical Christians today. '
Verbal plenary inspiration' is the term that has come to describe this view.
Studies in religious experience Warfield was a conservative critic of much religious
revivalism that was popular in America at the time. He believed that the teachings and experience of this movement were too subjective and therefore too shallow for deep Christian faith. His book
Counterfeit Miracles advocated
cessationism over and against
miracles after the time of the
Apostles. Such attacks did not go unnoticed, and even today Warfield is criticized by proponents of revivalism in the
Pentecostal and
Charismatic movements. For example,
Jack Deere wrote
Surprised by the Power of the Spirit with the intention of refuting
Counterfeit Miracles. Warfield's book was published before the worldwide spread of
Pentecostalism and addressed the issue of claims to the possession of miraculous gifts under the headings, "
Patristic and Mediǣval Marvels", "Roman Catholic Miracles", "
Irvingite Gifts", "
Faith-Healing" and "
Mind-Cure".
Calvinism Underpinning much of Warfield's theology was his adherence to
Calvinism as espoused by the
Westminster Confession of Faith. It is sometimes forgotten that, in his battles against
modernism on the one hand, and against
revivalism on the other, he was simply expressing the Calvinist faith when applied to certain situations. It was Warfield's belief that the 16th century Reformers, as well as the 17th century Confessional writers, were merely summarizing the content and application of Scripture. New revelations, whether from the minds of celebrated scholars or popular revivalists, were therefore inconsistent with these confessional statements (and therefore inconsistent with Scripture). Throughout his ministry, Warfield contended that modern world events and thinking could never render such confessions obsolete. Such an attitude still prevails today in many
Calvinist churches and Christians who embrace
Calvinism.
Evolution Warfield's views on evolution have been a source of dispute. Scholars
David N. Livingstone and
Mark A. Noll highlighted Warfield's statements on evolution to demonstrate his acceptance of the theory in their article
A Biblical Inerrantist as Evolutionist. Theologian
Fred G. Zaspel argues that these statements have led Livingstone and Noll to assume too much about Warfield's views on the subject. Zaspel writes "That Warfield actually committed himself to a doctrine of evolution seems impossible to affirm simply because although there are some indications that he entertained the idea, he never admits to accepting it." Warfield studied and wrote about
Charles Darwin's religious views. In an article on Darwin's religious life, he concluded that Darwin's doctrine of evolution directly expelled Darwin's Christian belief. Warfield writes, "Thus the doctrine of evolution once heartily adopted by him (Darwin) gradually undermined his faith, until he cast off the whole Christianity as an unproven delusion." Warfield did not believe that evolution required such a rejection of faith. His 1889 review of
The Life and Letters of Charles Darwin included this statement: "There have been many evolutionists who have been and have remained theists and Christians." In his 1915 article ''Calvin's Doctrine of Creation'', Warfield wrote "It should scarcely be passed without remark that Calvin's doctrine of creation is, if we have understood it aright, for all except the souls of men, an evolutionary one. The 'indigested mass,' including the 'promise and potency' of all that was yet to be, was called into being by the simple fiat of God. But all that has come into being since- except the souls of men alone – has arisen as a modification of this original world-stuff by means of the interaction of its intrinsic forces. Not these forces apart from God, of course…" And further more he says, "What concerns us here is that he [Calvin] ascribed the entire series of modifications by which the primal 'indigested mass,' called 'heaven and earth,' has passed into the form of the ordered world which we see, including the origination of all forms of life, vegetable and animal alike, inclusive doubtless of the bodily form of man, to the second causes as their proximate account. And this, we say, is a very pure evolutionary scheme." In that same article, Warfield adds a significant footnote: "H. Bavinck in the first of his Stone Lectures ('The Philosophy of Revelation,' 1909, pp. 9–10) remarks: 'The idea of a development is not a production of modern times. It was already familiar to Greek philosophy. More particularly Aristotle raised it to the rank of the leading principle of his entire system by significant distinction between potentia and actus... This idea of development aroused no objection whatsoever in Christian theology and philosophy. On the contrary, it received extension and enrichment by being linked with the principle of theism.' Calvin accordingly very naturally thought along the lines of a theistic evolutionism." This led to Warfield, when he was principal of the seminary, to allow a black student to live in white university halls, an action which was met by opposition from fellow faculty members. Warfield termed segregation a "wicked
caste system" and wrote a number of theological treaties and essays to undermine the segregationist position. == Influence and legacy ==