Remove not the ancient
landmark, which thy fathers
have set" (Proverbs 22:28).
THE HALL OF CHURCH HISTORY
A FRIEND who noticed
my reading habits asked, "Why would anyone want to study
theology by reading A Bunch of Dead Guys? Shouldn't you
focus mostly on current works, or risk becoming an irrelevant
theological fossil?"
My answer: the truth about God is timeless. The last infallible book
of theology was written nearly two thousand years ago. In theology, if
it's new, it probably isn't true.
The best of the men featured here knew that. Though they are
dead, they still speak (cf. Heb. 11:4). Scripture was their supreme rule
of faith. Their theological line of descent is clearly traceable from the
Reformers, to Augustine, to the Apostle Paul, to Isaiah, to
Abraham-all the way back to the first promise God made to Adam in
the Garden (Gen. 3:15).
The entrance is at the top center of the map. Watch your step,
though. As you walk through The Hall of Church History, if you veer too
far to the right or to the left, you'll encounter people whose tendency has
been to enshrine tradition over Scripture, or to pursue what is innovative
and novel at the expense of what is sure and steadfast.
These dark corners of The Hall of Church history can be interesting
and informative. But we encourage guests to spend most of their time in
the central hall, which takes you from the Church Fathers, through the
Medieval Churchmen, down a narrow, treasure-filled hallway devoted to
the Puritan and Reformed writers, to the more recent stalwarts of the
faith. We have named this corridor "Berean Hall," in honor of those
noble recipients of the apostolic message, who "received the word with
all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those
things were so" (Acts 17:11).
Phil Johnson
Curator |
