Evangelical Tensions over Biblical Inspiration in the Twenty-first Century: A Case Study on the Views of Peter Enns and John Frame

Avondale University ResearchOnline@Avondale Theses PhD Theses 12-2019 Evangelical Tensions over Biblical Inspiration in the Twenty-first Century: A Case Study on the Views of Peter Enns and John Frame Graham Bernard White Avondale College of Higher Education, bernardsda@hotmail.com Follow this and additional works at: https://research.avondale.edu.au/theses_phd Part of the Religion Commons This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License Recommended Citation White, G B (2019) Evangelical tensions over biblical inspiration in the twenty-first century: A case study on the views of Peter Enns and John Frame (Doctoral dissertation, Avondale College of Higher Education, Cooranbong, Australia) Retrieved from https://research.avondale.edu.au/theses_phd/15/ This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses at ResearchOnline@Avondale It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses PhD by an authorized administrator of ResearchOnline@Avondale For more information, please contact alicia.starr@avondale.edu.au EVANGELICAL TENSIONS OVER BIBLICAL INSPIRATION IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY: A CASE STUDY ON THE VIEWS OF PETER ENNS AND JOHN FRAME Bernard White BA (Theology; Avondale College) Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy Faculty of Theology Avondale College of Higher Education Principal Supervisor: Dr Ray Roennfeldt Associate Supervisors: Dr Peter van Bemmelen Dr Cedric Vine 2019 Statement of Original Authorship I declare that the work contained in this thesis has not been submitted previously for a degree or diploma at this institution, an Australian or overseas university or any other institution of higher education To the best of my knowledge and belief, this thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made Signed: G B White Date: September, 2018 Statement of Copyright I grant to Avondale College of Higher Education the rights to archive in the College library, and to make available my thesis in whole or in part for study now and in the future I retain all propriety rights I also retain the right to use in future works all or part of this thesis Signed: G B White Date: April, 2019 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative 4.0 Unported licence, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ i ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Writing a dissertation can be a lonely pursuit Yet it does not occur alone Indeed, it cannot and should not Other minds and personalities alternately drive, exhort, correct, guide and support the writer throughout the journey It was my wife, Anna, who encouraged me to extend my education, who reminded me frequently of the goal towards which I was striving, who listened with unfeigned interest to my expansive musings on my chosen subject, and who, for a period, worked long hours to provide the bulk of an income while her husband sat, seemingly idle, in front of a computer screen She deserves, and has, my love and gratitude My principal supervisor, Dr Ray Roennfeldt, President of Avondale College of Higher Education (after referred to as Avondale College), somehow found time to oversee my studies At the very beginning, he encouraged me to follow God’s leading and guided me towards an eventual dissertation topic Thereafter he was consistently generous in his comments, wise in his advice, rigorous in his reviews, and gentle in his corrections and criticisms How, as the College’s chief officer, he found time to fulfil an additional role as PhD supervisor, remains a mystery to me For his sacrificial support, I am deeply grateful I am grateful, too, to Dr Peter van Bemmelen, professor emeritus of Andrews University, and to Dr Cedric Vine, professor of New Testament at Newbold College and then at Andrews University, who functioned as associate supervisors Both agreed to assist a student they had never met To Dr van Bemmelen, who readily yielded so much of his retirement time and who provided wise and godly counsel and encouragement, I offer heartfelt thanks To Dr Vine, who critiqued my work so carefully and so ably in the little time available to him, I am also very much indebted For the most part, I worked on this dissertation as a distance student This necessitated a dependence upon the Avondale College library support staff Special mention must go to Michelle Down, who so cheerfully and efficiently provided me with chapter scans and ii answered various research queries Her successor, Tracey Cox, continued in similar vein, eager always to assist in any enquiry In the early stages of my research I had frequent need to ask for help from Marion de Berg, Administrative Assistant at the Avondale College Ellen G White Seventh-day Adventist Research Centre, who assisted with her customary willingness and good humour To each of these three I wish to record my deep appreciation To Avondale College itself I am greatly indebted for the Fee Waiver Scholarship that was offered me and which continued throughout the course of my studies I deeply appreciate the College’s commitment to supporting my work My life would have been immeasurably more difficult without such financial support The issue of biblical inspiration first drew my interest as an undergraduate student in the late 1980s The conviction that we have in the Scriptures what is “in truth, the word of God” (1 Thess 2:13) has, for me, only deepened over the years Preparation of this dissertation has afforded me the opportunity to reflect more deeply on a matter that continues to be of vital and, sadly, divisive interest to the Christian church If my reflections might at any point provide some illumination for God’s people, individually or corporately, I will feel amply rewarded for my efforts I will, indeed feel gratitude, for I gladly acknowledge that “a man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven” (Jn 3:27) To him who has been and remains my Saviour and Sustainer, I reserve my deepest thanks iii ABSTRACT Divergent views of inspiration have increasingly characterised the evangelical branch of Christianity since the middle decades of the twentieth century Specifically, a divergence between inerrantist and non-inerrantist understandings has arisen, sharply dividing evangelical scholarship in its discussions on the doctrine of Scripture This case study examines two contemporary Reformed theologians who represent significantly divergent views in this field: Peter Enns, a progressive evangelical, and John Frame, an inerrantist evangelical The study focusses largely, though not exclusively, on one representative work from each author, through which their broad positions are revealed An evaluation and comparison identifies and closely examines two specific themes as found in each author’s work: the incarnational analogy as it may be applied to the doctrine of inspiration and the inductive-deductive approaches to understanding the biblical phenomena The evaluativecomparative study exposes areas of strength and weakness in both authors’ systems, from which areas requiring further study are suggested in some detail The general purpose of the study is to further scholarly understanding on inspiration, and in particular to endeavour to expose the basic issues that nourish a seemingly intractable and widening scholarly divide within evangelicalism iv CONTENTS STATEMENTS OF ORIGINAL AUTHORSHIP AND COPYRIGHT i ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ii ABSTRACT iv INTRODUCTION Statement of the Problem Justification for this Study Purpose of the Study Scope and Delimitations of the Study Significance of the Study Presuppositions of the Researcher Methodology 1 10 10 11 13 13 CHAPTER ONE Historical Background Introduction The Wider Background 2.1 The Protestant Reformation 2.2 The Confessional Period 2.3 The Enlightenment 2.4 Theological Liberalism 16 16 18 18 21 22 25 The Nineteenth Century–The ‘First Wave‘ 3.1 B B Warfield 3.2 The Battle for the Bible Since Warfield 27 27 30 The Twentieth Century–The ‘Second Wave‘ 4.1 Evangelicalism and Fundamentalism 4.2 Neo-Evangelicalism 4.3 Lindsell’s The Battle for the Bible and the Aftermath 31 31 34 38 The Twenty-first Century–The ‘Third Wave‘ 5.1 Hermeneutics and Postmodernism 5.2 Kevin Vanhoozer: Pointing a Way Forward for Evangelicals? 5.3 Theological Interpretation 44 45 52 55 Summary 57 v CHAPTER TWO Peter Enns: Challenges to the Traditional View Introduction 1.1 Peter Enns: Publications and Professional Career 1.2 Methodology 60 60 60 67 Enns’s Publications Prior to Inspiration & Incarnation Inspiration & Incarnation: Brief Synopsis The Challenge of Theological Diversity 4.1 Diversity in the Wisdom Books 4.2 Diversity in Chronicles 4.3 Diversity in the Law 4.4 God and Diversity 4.5 Summary 69 71 72 74 77 78 80 84 The Challenge of the Old Testament in the New 5.1 Second Temple Literature and Hermeneutics 5.2 Second Temple Hermeneutics in the New Testament 5.3 Summary 85 86 90 98 The Challenge of Biblical History and Historiography 6.1 Genesis and the ANE Texts 6.2 Laws, Proverbs, and the ANE Texts 6.3 Biblical History and the ANE Texts 6.4 Summary 98 101 103 104 111 Chapter Summary 111 CHAPTER THREE John Frame: An Orthodox Reformed Doctrine of Scripture Introduction Biographical Sketch, Theological Influences, and Reformed Perspective 2.1 Biographical Sketch 2.2 Theological Influences 2.3 Frame’s Reformed Perspective 2.4 Summary 114 114 116 116 118 121 125 Chapter Methodology Frame’s Doctrine of Scripture 4.1 Setting the Scene 4.2 God's Word in Modern Theology 4.3 The Nature of God's Word 126 128 128 132 136 4.4 How the Word Comes to Us: Events, Words, and Persons 4.5 God's Revelation Through Words 4.6 The Inspiration of Scripture Assessment I vi 137 140 143 147 4.7 The Authority, Inerrancy, and Phenomena of Scripture 4.7.1 The authority of Scripture 4.7.2 Inerrancy and the purpose of Scripture 4.7.3 Inerrancy and the phenomena of Scripture 4.8 Bible Problems 4.9 Confessions and Traditions 4.10 The Interpretation of Scripture 4.11 The Aspect of ‘Person-Revelation‘ Assessment II 150 150 152 157 159 165 168 169 172 Frame’s Appendix J: Review of Peter Enns, Inspiration and Incarnation Chapter Summary 6.1 General Observations 6.2 Frame’s Bibliology in The Doctrine of the Word of God 174 179 179 180 CHAPTER FOUR Comparison and Evaluation Introduction Methodology 2.1 Outline of the Chapter 184 184 185 185 2.2 Finding Common Themes 186 Scripture as the Word of God The Incarnational Analogy 4.1 Enns and the Incarnational Analogy: I 4.2 Enns and the Biblical Flood Story 4.2.1 The concept of ‘myth‘ 4.2.2 Modern versus ancient standards of historiography 4.3 Enns and the Incarnational Analogy: II 4.4 Summary of Enns’s Treatment of the Incarnational Analogy 4.5 Frame and the Incarnational Analogy 4.6 Frame’s Objections to the Incaranational Analogy: Some Implications 4.7 More from Frame on the Divine-Human Aspects of Scripture 4.8 Summary of Frame’s Treatment of the Incarnational Analogy 188 195 195 202 203 206 211 218 220 223 230 233 The Inductive-Deductive Approaches to Biblical Phenomena 5.1 Enns and the Inductive Approach 5.2 Frame and the Deductive Approach 5.3 Frame and the Phenomena of Scripture 5.4 Comparative Evaluation of the Two Methodologies 236 237 243 246 251 Summary of Findings 6.1 The Inspired Word of God 6.2 The Incarnational Analogy: The Broad Concept 257 257 259 vii 6.3 The Incarnational Analogy: The Question of Detail 6.4 The Locus of Inspiration in the Text 6.5 The Inductive-Deductive Methodologies, Presuppositions, and ‘Precommitments’ 260 262 263 CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH General Summary of Findings Suggestions for Further Research 2.1 The Incarnational Analogy 2.2 The Role of the Holy Spirit in the Inspiration of the Person 2.3 The Prophet Aspect of Inspiration 266 266 269 269 270 272 Concluding Remarks: The Concept of Mystery 273 BIBLIOGRAPHY 276 viii ... of the Incarnational Analogy 4.5 Frame and the Incarnational Analogy 4.6 Frame? ??s Objections to the Incaranational Analogy: Some Implications 4.7 More from Frame on the Divine-Human Aspects of. .. http://www.normgeisler.com/articles/Bible /Inspiration- Inerrancy/2009-ReviewOfBookInspirationAndIncarnationPeterEnns.htm (accessed 22 January, 2017); (5) Paul Helm, ? ?Inspiration and Incarnation: Evangelicals and the Problem of the. .. in contemporary evangelical understandings of inspiration The views of progressive evangelical theologian Peter Enns as contained in his Inspiration will be compared and contrasted with the views