This is no lite read. It will stretch and challenge you to rigorous clarity in thinking. It is orderly and systematic in its dismantling of every secular approach to reality. I urge all those in ministerial positions to order this text and to patiently wade through it. Clark is a sure guide. Many have never been exposed to Gordon Clark, even though they have had formal theological (sometimes questionable) training. I remember in my own M.Div days how many of my fellow students graduated without an inkling of who Athanasius was and had never read him directly. This awful predicament is nothing but a crying shame. Let us get back to reading the great theologians! Gordon Haddon Clark is in that rare category and does not deserve the anonymity he has today, and certainly did not merit the ignominy hurled upon him by Cornelius Van Til (see Herman Hoeksema, The Clark-Van Til Controversy [Trinity Foundation: Unicoi, TN, 1995]).

Here is a sampling from Clark: “The macrocosmic world with its microcosmic but thoughtful inhabitants will not be fortuitous aggregation of unrelated elements. Instead of a series of disconnected propositions, truth will be a rational system, a logically ordered series, somewhat like geometry with its theorems and axioms, its implications and presuppositions. And each part will derive its significance from the whole. Christianity therefore has, or, one may even say, Christianity is a comprehensive view of all things: It takes the world, both material and spiritual, to be an ordered system.”

Clark goes from the philosophy of history to the philosophy of science. He attacks the question of ethics and politics. Clark addresses the question of Religion and wraps up with a compelling chapter on epistemology, in one sense his forte. There is a comprehensive world view that emerges from the defense of Christianity as the only system that warrants belief. However, Gordon Clark does not start with a mythical notion of neutrality. Clark is not about providing possibilities. If that were his aim he would stick to the evidentialist approach. Clark’s goal is far higher: it aims for the certainties of God’s Word, and as such, the only way to arrive at certainties in the conclusion is to have certainties in the foundation or beginning. From its inception, Clark’s theological philosophy is grounded in God’s Revelation in the canonical scriptures. So like St. Bonaventure, he borrows from philosophers but never leans on them. For Clark, as for St. Augustine before him, faith seeks understanding, and so philosophy is governed by faith.

For those daring enough to listen to Clark carefully, they will be awakened to new vistas. They will rise to new levels of both understanding the Christian Faith, and being able defenders of the same. I hope and pray that a new generation of reformed pastors will give Clark a hearing. It will be to their great loss if they ignore him.

You will need to go to the Trinity Foundation site for this, and other resources, to strengthen your apologetic arsenal. Please visit:

http://www.trinityfoundation.org/