by John A. Battle

            During the last few years a new controversy has come to conservative Reformed circles.  Historically Reformed and Presbyterian writers believed that secular nations should be ruled by natural law, which people can derive from nature, history, and conscience.  This law is basically the same as the “moral law,” the Ten Commandments, especially those commands regarding our duty to our fellow human beings.  According to these early writers, God rules over the nations of the world in his sovereignty, and holds them responsible to obey and uphold this natural law with the power of the sword.  Jesus, as the Son of God, is sovereign in this way, along with the Father and the Holy Spirit.

            On the other hand, earlier Reformed writers recognized Jesus Christ as sovereign over his special kingdom, the church.  The church is guided by the Bible as a whole, and enforces the will of Christ by its spiritual authority, not by physical force.  Jesus, as Messiah and Mediator of the new covenant, is sovereign over this second kingdom.

           According to this traditional understanding, the civil laws of the Old Testament were directed to national Israel under the theocracy.  They were not intended for the other nations, nor are they applicable today, except as they are tied to natural law.

            David VanDrunen believes that this traditional scheme is biblical and correct.  He further demonstrates in this book that this was the view of mainstream theology in the church, from the times of the church fathers, through the Middle Ages, through the Reformation times, and since then through the nineteenth century.

            However, in the last century many Reformed writers have attacked this position, and have taught in a single kingdom of Christ, denying the two kingdom and natural law teachings.  VanDrunen traces the main spokesmen and varying approaches of this movement, including Abraham Kuyper, Karl Barth, Herman Dooyeweerd, Cornelius Van Til, and other writers.  He sees two different lines of development from Van Til: Greg Bahnsen, who denies the two kingdoms and natural law, and Meredith G. Kline, who tends to support those teachings.

           VanDrunen’s book contains a wealth of footnotes to the scholarly literature, and represents a massive amount of study.  His collection and summation of the various writers’ positions seems accurate and well documented.  This book was not designed to support the doctrine biblically (another book of his that will attempt this task, Living in God’s Two Kingdoms: A Biblical Vision for Christianity and Culture, is due out later this year), but the passages and arguments quoted from many Reformed theologians and from Reformed and Presbyterian creeds certainly make his position formidable at the outset.

           One criticism I have is the poor writing style of the book, including unnecessary repetition.  A careful perusal of the classic Elements of Style by William Strunk and E. B. White would greatly aid the author in future works (of which I hope there will be many!).

Natural Law and the Two Kingdoms: A Study in the Development of Reformed Social Thought, by David VanDrunen (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2010).  Pp. 466.

Schedule of Classes

Fall Semester

Classes start Tuesday, September 7

Last day to register or add classes: Monday, September 27

PMP Distance Learning

Register as soon as possible to get started

Deadline: end of December

The Cell’s Design: How Chemistry Reveals the Creator’s Artistry, by Fazale Rana (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2008).  Pp. 332.  Reviewed by John A. Battle. 

During the last decades several books supporting Intelligent Design have appeared.  Their basic argument usually has been this—living components and structures are so complex and specified that they never could have appeared by mere chance.  Therefore, they must be the result of Intelligent Design.  This basically is a negative argument: there is no way to explain this apart from some divine intervention.

Critics call this the “God-of-the-gaps” argument.  If there is a gap in our knowledge, then God must account for what we see.  The obvious problem with the God-of-the-gaps argument is that similar gaps in the past often have shrunk and then disappeared as scientific knowledge has increased.  Now that natural causes are known, we no longer are required to use the “God” explanation.

Microbiologist Fazale Rana, an openly Christian scientific apologist, is keenly aware of this weakness in the traditional ID argument.  Yet, he also is aware of even greater positive evidence for design in living systems.  He seeks a positive argument from the data to design.

Recent science in cellular biology and chemistry has made astounding leaps and discoveries about the inner working of the basic building block of all life, the living cell.  All cells of plants and animals are basically the same in their components and method of operation.  Yet they are ideally suited in their differences for the different kinds of organisms and the different tasks the cells must perform within each organism.

Rather than starting from apparently inexplicable complexity, Rana starts from actual examples and types of human design.  Recently it has become apparent that the cell’s processes are largely mechanical and electrical, as the various proteins interact with each other within the cell.  This is biochemistry at its most basic level.  In the last few centuries humans have developed technology using these same forces on a larger scale.

Rana builds a positive argument, using “abductive reasoning.”  Wikipedia defines this type of reasoning as follows: “Abduction means determining the precondition.  It is using the conclusion and the rule to assume that the precondition could explain the conclusion.  Example: ‘When it rains, the grass gets wet.  The grass is wet, it must have rained.’  Diagnosticians and detectives are commonly associated with this style of reasoning.”  As the definition states, abduction is most useful when explaining why the present circumstance is the way it is.  This is the situation when we wonder about how living things got the way they are.

Rana’s argument is abductive rather than negative.  We see humans designing mechanical and electrical items all the time.  What thinking and processes do they go through when they design and manufacture these items?  The products they make are the actual fruits of design.  Rana describes many of these features of design in the main part of the book, taking one chapter for each main design feature.  He introduces the chapters with paintings by famous artists, each of which makes an interesting and pointed illustration of the design feature being discussed.  Along with mechanical and electrical design, Rana sees artistic expression as well in the cell’s workings (“the Creator’s artistry” is part of the subtitle of the book).

The heart of the book takes these various design features and shows how they are employed in the makeup and workings of every individual cell.  Cells show even more exquisite design and precision than the best human engineering and technology.  Rana writes for a mature reader who can take time and effort to learn some details of microbiology.  He explains these processes as clearly as possible for those of us not trained in biology.  There are many well drawn illustrations.  An introductory chapter helps a lot by explaining the basic parts and workings of the cell, and a glossary in the back is handy for checking the technical terms.  Many of the processes Rana describes are complicated, and sometimes are difficult to follow; but Rana’s explanations are as clear as can be expected in view of the complexity of the subject.  Sometimes I had to read a section several times before getting the main point, but the effort was worth it!

It will be interesting to see how The Cell’s Design will be received.  Will it simply be disregarded as a disguised ID or creationist work, or will evolutionary scholars interact with the actual positive examples of design?  Many think that the very idea of allowing the possibility of God’s design in creation denies the scientific method.  However, if God really exists, how can such a presupposed position lead to the truth about the cell’s design?  To follow the evidence, using sound logic, is the best way to reach the right conclusion.  Rana provides an excellent case for an intelligent, skilled, and artistic Creator.

Register now for classes

• List of  Classes and Times

• Fall Semester residence classes begin September 7

• Distance classes — begin work any time.  Concentrated classes in Tacoma take place May 31 – June 10, 2011

This month’s new church bulletin insert features WRS graduate Allister Stone, M.D. (M.Div., 1995).  Allister writes about “The Problem with Medicine,” looking at life and death through the eyes of a Christian medical doctor.  He is pictured on a medical mission trip to Liberia.

The insert also summarizes the work of the Women’s Auxiliary of the seminary—ladies who labor to make the seminary better for students and faculty alike!

Feel free to download the bulletin insert and print it on two sides of the paper and cut in half.

WRS supplies a new church bulletin insert four times each year.  Previous inserts are available as well.

Friday night, April 30, at 6:00 p.m.
The dinner is free, and there will be a fun program.  An offering will be taken for this year’s special project–equipment for distance learning classes.
If you can come, please RSVP so we will have enough food!

Many years ago Christopher Parkening, the famous classical guitarist, came to perform a concert here, at the newly renovated Pantages Theater in Tacoma.  My wife and I admire Parkening.  He not only is a great artist, but he is an openly evangelical Christian.  Prominent music critics have praised him as “the leading guitar virtuoso of our day, combining profound musical insight with complete technical mastery of his instrument” and “America’s reigning classical guitarist, carrying the torch of his mentor, the late Andrés Segovia” (the Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times).

When we arrived at the theater, the line of people waiting to get in extended all through the lobby area and out onto the sidewalk, several blocks long.  I’d never seen anything like it here.  When the concert began, we saw him modestly walk on stage; there was a single chair on the stage, with a microphone on the floor in front of it.  Parkening sat down to play.  All the pieces were solo.  The music was subdued at first, a piece by Bach.  Gradually the program expanded as he played other works in various styles.  There were no stage gimmicks, yet he held us all enthralled for a lengthy concert, with several encores.  It truly was a memorable evening.  Parkening had a way of playing with perfect fidelity to the piece and a simplicity that made the hardest technical passages seem clear and easy.  The beauty of the music was, if anything, understated.  I was convinced that Parkening was the ultimate guitarist.

A few years later in a class here at seminary I mentioned my estimation of Parkening, and one of my students dared to contradict me!  He said the greatest guitarist was Jimi Hendrix!  I was, and still am, pretty unfamiliar with his music.  I’ve never liked rock music and have very little knowledge of it.  Besides, Hendrix played a different instrument, the electric guitar—so how could he be compared with Parkening?  I remembered what that student said, but thought little about it until a few months ago, when I came across Hendrix’s music itself.

Someone on Facebook sent out a link showing Jimi Hendrix playing at Woodstock in 1969—the national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner.”  Curious, I clicked on the link and watched and listened to the clip on YouTube.  My first reaction was, “This is weird!”  I watched it twice.  I couldn’t process it; it was mesmerizing.  Hendrix used the guitar in ways that broke the mold of guitar literature.  The image and sounds of his version of the anthem have remained with me since.

Walking to seminary this morning, I thought about a famous line from Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights, when Catherine says, “I am Heathcliffe.”  While she loved Linton and planned to marry him, she confessed that her love for Heathcliffe was more basic to her.  Heathcliffe had grown into her heart, had become a part of her.  In the end, her love for Heathcliffe destroyed her and her husband.  Then it occurred to me that the relation of Hendrix to his guitar was like that.  You could say, Parkening mastered his guitar, but Hendrix was his guitar.

How can you compare them?  Each artist is superb, but in a different way.  Parkening shows us the composer’s work.  He is self-effacing; we see the beauty and design the composer intended.  Parkening’s life and career continue, his work continues to grow.  Parkening, as a Christian, lives first for God; his music is not his identity; he can live without it.

Hendrix gave a personal vision of his music.  When he played, people saw him and his vision; the composer was nearly lost in the originality and brilliance of the performance.  Hendrix died at the age of twenty-eight, only a year after his Woodstock performance.  His death under suspicious circumstances ended his brief, tempestuous life.  Hendrix lived for music, for his guitar; it consumed him.  The lives and lifestyles of these two men could hardly be more different.  

They provide an analogy.  Theology professors and preachers—they can be as different as Parkening and Hendrix.  The teacher, like Parkening, calm and disciplined, directs his students to the composer—to God as shown in his Word.  The classroom disappears.  The best teachers are clear, not showing themselves, allowing the students to see through the classroom to the truths of Scripture.  Thoroughness and balance are key.  On the other hand, the preacher, like Hendrix, consumed by God and personal in his faith, shows the work of God in him through his preaching and person.  People see how God changes and makes a man.  The best preachers are moved by God, and move others.  As Paul, they can say, “Be followers of me, as I am a follower of Christ.”

Is there an overlap?  Certainly—teachers preach and preachers teach.  Which is better?  God has made us all different, with different gifts.  We complement each other.  That one is better who uses those gifts best for the glory of God.  God will judge on that account.  May we learn from this analogy of both musicians—may we live for Christ, show him in all his glory, and be wholly consumed by him.

Author and speaker Solano Portela, an expert in Christian education and a leader in the burgeoning Christian school movement in Brazil, will deliver this year’s lectures, entitled “Christian Education–A Reformed Imperative.”  Lectures will be held at the seminary April 19-20 and 22-23, 7:00-9:00 p.m.  Free refreshments will be provided.

Portela has written articles and books in both English and Portuguese dealing with the Reformed faith and its application in the education of our children.  He is a leader in the Association of Christian Schools International in Brazil, and has served in various administrative positions in the Mackenzie Presbyterian Schools and Universities, with 47,000 students.

Here are the topics for each evening:

Monday, April 19: “The Need for a Reformed World and Life View – Guiding our thoughts with Psalm 19″

The Christian Weltanschauung, defining it from Psalm 19; demonstrating the biblical world and life view; this worldview applied to several areas of knowledge (economics, government, history, and so on), showing that there is a difference in how Christians should approach and teach each one of these areas

Tuesday, April 20: “Distinctive Characteristics of Christian Education”

An explanation of Christian school education, building on the biblical worldview, comparing it to secular education, stressing the role of teachers and parents in this process

Thursday, April 22, “Christian Education and Culture”

The Christian view of culture, showing how the Bible uses aspects of human culture as an expression of God’s common grace; demonstrated in the tabernacle, in the temple, and in Revelation; the dilemma between flesh and spirit, not matter and spirit, as an ethical divider; the different  approaches suggested by Niebuhr and Machen (stressing the latter); the relation of Christian education and culture in the role of the Christian School

Friday, April 23, “Doing Christian Education in a non-Christian Setting”

The amazing work of God going on in Brazil; the setting and experiences of Mackenzie Schools and Universities; the progress of Reformed Christian teaching in a non-Christian setting (75% of parents and students are from a non-evangelical Christian background); lessons in developing text-books with a Christian worldview

Through the last few years we have published 1/2 – page church bulletin inserts.  These are well-done, interesting, and timely.  You may download and print up these for your church.

Here is a list of available inserts:

• Featuring John Witherspoon
• Featuring Martin Luther
• Featuring J. Gresham Machen
• Featuring Easter at Westminster Abbey
• Featuring Patrick Henry
• Featuring “Tax Time Again”
• Featuring WRS and Bible Presbyterian Distinctives
• Featuring WRS and Myanmar

For the Spring Semester, the last day to add a course or register for courses is Tuesday, February 16.

For this year’s Pastoral Mentorship Program (PMP) distance learning, the deadline for open registration has passed.  However, still can ask permission to register for a course or courses, which requires faculty approval.  Inquire with the registrar for details.  The concentrated classes for this year will be held on weekdays from Tuesday, June 1, through Friday, June 11.