Dr. William Dennison, pastor of Emmanuel OPC in Kent, Washington, speaks about J. Gresham Machen’s theological method as disclosed through his radio addresses just a few years prior to his death. Machen understood that the modern world and the church were in a state of emergency. While many of Machen’s listeners would have thought about the economic volatility of the depression or perhaps the political unrest of fascism and communism. Moreover, many of these listeners would have expected Machen to discuss solutions to these ailments along the lines of those advocated by progressive modernists. Yet, Machen called his listeners to Christ and his kingdom, which transcends this visible world.

Machen speaks often about the benefits of reason, experience, and common sense. In these radio addresses, however, he states clearly that all these elements are to be viewed in subordination to the truth of God’s Word. Specifically, they function in the manner that God, the Creator and Ruler over all things has created them to function. We know this from the Bible.

Dennison, “J. Gresham Machen’s Theological Method”

Machen rejected a general appeal to categories such as reason, experience, empirical facts, common sense, and rhetoric as a means of establishing common ground because of his deep understanding of the effects of sin upon all of man’s faculties. Dennison connects this aspect of Machen’s theology to that of his colleague at Westminster Seminary, Cornelius Van Til.

As a man whose theology appears to still be under development, Machen was neither blindly following the evidentialist tradition of Old Princeton leaning upon Thomas Reid and Scottish Common Sense Realism nor that later mature apologetic system of Van Til.

Further Reading

• William Dennison, “J. Gresham Machen’s Theological Method” (PDF article)
• Machen, J. Gresham. Things Unseen: A Systematic Introduction to the Christian Faith and Reformed Theology. Glenside, PA: Westminster Seminary Press, 2020.
• Bahnsen, Greg L. “Machen, Van Til, and the Apologetical Tradition of the OPC.” In Pressing Toward the Mark: Essays Commemorating Fifty Years of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, edited by Charles G. Dennison and Richard C. Gamble, 259–94. Philadelphia: The Committee for the Historian of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, 1986.
• Hart, D. G., and John R. Muether. “Why Machen Hired Van Til.” Ordained Servant 6, no. 3 (July 1997): 65–68.

Participants: Bill Dennison, Camden Bucey, Lane G. Tipton

Thank you to everyone who visited reformedforum.org/donate throughout the year. We are tremendously grateful for your generous support. Be assured that we’re setting the stage for another big year as our board continues to think and pray about our next steps.

We’re looking forward to another full year of Christ the Center. January 25 marked our 10th anniversary. Jeff, Jim, and I recorded that first episode during my first year in seminary—three homes and three children ago. Things have changed over the years, but our goal has stayed the same. Our mission is to present every person mature in Christ (Col. 1:28).

Episodes

• 524 — Marcus Mininger, Uncovering the Theme of Revelation in Romans 1:16–3:26
• 533 — Michael Kruger, How the Second Century Shaped the Future of the Church
• 540 — The Nature of Apostasy in Hebrews 6
• 542 — Bill Dennison, Karl Marx
• 551 — The Impeccability of Jesus Christ
• 555 — Darryl Hart, Still Protesting
• 556 — The Deeper Protestant Conception
• 566 — Glen Clary, The Liturgies of Bucer, Calvin, and Knox
• 570 — Danny Olinger, Geerhardus Vos: Reformed Biblical Theologian, Confessional Presbyterian
• 571 — Cory Brock and Nathaniel Gray Sutanto, Bavinck’s Philosophy of Revelation

Participants: Adam York, Bill Dennison, Camden Bucey, Cory Brock, Dan Ragusa, Danny Olinger, Darryl G. Hart, Glen Clary, Jared Oliphint, Jeff Waddington, Jim Cassidy, Lane G. Tipton, Marcus Mininger, Michael Kruger, Nathaniel Gray Sutanto

Bill Dennison speaks about Karl Marx, leading us through his biography, influences, and his intellectual effects upon social and political history. Dr. Dennison is Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies at Covenant College and the author of Karl Marx in P&R Publishing’s Great Thinkers series.

Participants: Bill Dennison, Camden Bucey, Jeff Waddington

In June 2011, we spoke with Bill Dennison, Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies at Covenant College, about Transformationalism and Christian Higher Education. In that episode, we touched upon his article, “Dutch Neo-Calvinism and the Roots for Transformation: An Introductory Essay” from the Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 42/2 (June 1999). We only had a few minutes to discuss the article in episode 180, and so today, we pick up where we left off. Dennison contends that while Dutch neo-Calvinism sought to transform culture in response to the threat of the Enlightenment, they stood upon a foundation of Enlightenment principles to do it. Many of the themes discussed in this episode were developed and applied in our twelve-part series on Christ and Culture, in which Dennison debated Darryl Hart, Nelson Kloosterman, and Doug Wilson.

Previous Episodes with Bill Dennison

• In Defense of the Eschaton
• Transformationalism and Christian Higher Education
• Machen and Bultmann at Marburg
• Paul’s Two-Age Construction and Apologetics

Participants: Bill Dennison, Camden Bucey, Glen Clary, Jim Cassidy

Bill Dennison brings together the worlds of apologetics and biblical theology just as Cornelius Van Til did with the teaching of his beloved professor Geerhardus Vos. Dr. Dennison serves as Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies at Covenant College. Listen as we discuss Dr. Dennison’s collection of essays, In Defense of the Eschaton, edited by James Baird.

Previous Episodes with Bill Dennison

• Transformationalism and Christian Higher Education
• Machen and Bultmann at Marburg
• Paul’s Two-Age Construction and Apologetics

Participants: Bill Dennison, Camden Bucey, Jeff Waddington, Jim Cassidy

Dr. William Dennison discusses transformational eschatology and Christian higher education. Dr. Dennison’s has written two articles that become the subject of discussion. In The Christian Academy: Antithesis, Common Grace, and Plato’s View of the Soul, Dennison uses Plato’s view of the soul as a test case in the need for a fully biblical approach to higher education, and in Dutch Neo-Calvinism and the Roots for Transformation: An Introductory Essay Dennison provides a helpful introduction into the roots and early history of Dutch neo-Calvinism. Dr. Dennison is Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies at Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, GA and Professor of Apologetics and Systematic Theology at Northwest Theological Seminary in Lynnwood, WA. Dennison is the author of The Young Bultmann: Context for His Understanding of God, 1884-1925.

Participants: Bill Dennison, Camden Bucey, Jeff Waddington, Jim Cassidy

Bill Dennison discusses the possibility of a personal acquaintance between J. Gresham Machen and Rudolf Bultmann. Both men are key figures in opposing wings of Protestantism. Machen being the figurehead of conservative Presbyterianism in the early 20th c. as he founded Westminster Theological Seminary and led the movement to begin the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. Rudolf Bultmann, on the other hand, pioneered the Second Quest of higher biblical criticism. Dr. Dennison is Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies at Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, GA and Professor of Apologetics and Systematic Theology at Northwest Theological Seminary in Lynnwood, WA. Dennison is the author of The Young Bultmann: Context for His Understanding of God, 1884-1925.

Links

• Comparing J. Gresham Machen and Rudolf Bultmann: Reflections upon the Marburg Experience, 1905–06
• Rudolf Bultmann’s Review of J. Gresham Machen’s, The Origin of Paul’s Religion
• J. Gresham Machen’s Letters Home from Marburg, 1905–1906
• Christ the Center episode 53 with Dr. Dennison on The Young Bultmann
• Photo of the University of Marburg by maywaskind

Participants: Bill Dennison, Camden Bucey, Jared Oliphint

Participants: Bill Dennison, Camden Bucey

• Paul’s Two-Age Construction and Apologetics
• The Young Bultmann: Context for His Understanding of God, 1884-1925

Participants: Bill Dennison, Camden Bucey

This is part four of our series entitled Christ and Culture and marks the end of our first round. Bill Dennison, Darryl Hart, Doug Wilson and Nelson Kloosterman each speak about their views of common grace, natural law, and eschatology. This series of programs strays from the typical Christ the Center format. This project is an asynchronous debate in the vein of the Counterpoints series published by InterVarsity Press. In future episodes each participant will have the opportunity to criticize the other views. post photo by vermin inc

Books and other media from the participants

Bill Dennison

• Paul’s Two-Age Construction and Apologetics
• The Young Bultmann: Context for His Understanding of God, 1884-1925

Darryl Hart

• A Secular Faith: Why Christianity Favors the Separation of Church and State
• Defending the Faith: J. Gresham Machen and the Crisis of Conservative Protestant
• Deconstructing Evangelicalism: Conservative Protestantism in the Age of Billy Graham

Nelson Kloosterman

• The Ten Commandments: Manual for the Christian Life by Joachim Douma (Kloosterman trans.)

Doug Wilson

• Collision: Is Christianity Good for the World?: Christopher Hitchens vs. Douglas Wilson
• Five Cities that Ruled the World: How Jerusalem, Athens, Rome, London, and New York Shaped Global History
• The Deluded Atheist: A Response to Richard Dawkins’ The God Delusion

Participants: Bill Dennison, Camden Bucey, Darryl G. Hart, Doug Wilson, Nelson Kloosterman

This is part three of our series entitled Christ and Culture. Bill Dennison, Darryl Hart, Doug Wilson and Nelson Kloosterman each speak from their unique perspectives. Today the participants address the issues of vocation, education and engagement in the fine arts. This series of programs strays from the typical Christ the Center format. This project is an asynchronous debate in the vein of the Counterpoints series published by InterVarsity Press. In future episodes each participant will have the opportunity to criticize the other views. post photo by Craig Stevens

Books and other media from the participants

Bill Dennison

• Paul’s Two-Age Construction and Apologetics
• The Young Bultmann: Context for His Understanding of God, 1884-1925

Darryl Hart

• A Secular Faith: Why Christianity Favors the Separation of Church and State
• Defending the Faith: J. Gresham Machen and the Crisis of Conservative Protestant
• Deconstructing Evangelicalism: Conservative Protestantism in the Age of Billy Graham

Nelson Kloosterman

• The Ten Commandments: Manual for the Christian Life by Joachim Douma (Kloosterman trans.)

Doug Wilson

• Collision: Is Christianity Good for the World?: Christopher Hitchens vs. Douglas Wilson
• Five Cities that Ruled the World: How Jerusalem, Athens, Rome, London, and New York Shaped Global History
• The Deluded Atheist: A Response to Richard Dawkins’ The God Delusion

Participants: Bill Dennison, Camden Bucey, Darryl G. Hart, Doug Wilson, Nelson Kloosterman

Books and other media from the participants

Bill Dennison

• Paul’s Two-Age Construction and Apologetics
• The Young Bultmann: Context for His Understanding of God, 1884-1925

Darryl Hart

• A Secular Faith: Why Christianity Favors the Separation of Church and State
• Defending the Faith: J. Gresham Machen and the Crisis of Conservative Protestant
• Deconstructing Evangelicalism: Conservative Protestantism in the Age of Billy Graham

Nelson Kloosterman

• The Ten Commandments: Manual for the Christian Life by Joachim Douma (Kloosterman trans.)

Doug Wilson

• Collision: Is Christianity Good for the World?: Christopher Hitchens vs. Douglas Wilson
• Five Cities that Ruled the World: How Jerusalem, Athens, Rome, London, and New York Shaped Global History
• The Deluded Atheist: A Response to Richard Dawkins’ The God Delusion

Participants: Bill Dennison, Camden Bucey, Darryl G. Hart, Doug Wilson, Nelson Kloosterman

• General/Introductory
• Politics
• Vocation
• Education
• Fine Arts, Etc.
• Theological Undercurrents
  • Common Grace
  • Natural Law
  • Eschatology
• Conclusion

This introductory episode includes each participant’s opening and closing comments. The entire series is conveniently grouped under one page.

Books and other media from the participants

Bill Dennison

• Paul’s Two-Age Construction and Apologetics
• The Young Bultmann: Context for His Understanding of God, 1884-1925

Darryl Hart

• A Secular Faith: Why Christianity Favors the Separation of Church and State
• Defending the Faith: J. Gresham Machen and the Crisis of Conservative Protestant
• Deconstructing Evangelicalism: Conservative Protestantism in the Age of Billy Graham

Nelson Kloosterman

• The Ten Commandments: Manual for the Christian Life by Joachim Douma (Kloosterman trans.)

Doug Wilson

• Collision: Is Christianity Good for the World?: Christopher Hitchens vs. Douglas Wilson
• Five Cities that Ruled the World: How Jerusalem, Athens, Rome, London, and New York Shaped Global History
• The Deluded Atheist: A Response to Richard Dawkins’ The God Delusion

Participants: Bill Dennison, Camden Bucey, Darryl G. Hart, Doug Wilson, Nelson Kloosterman

Links

• Northwest Theological Seminary
• Christ the Center 53 – The Young Bultmann with Bill Dennison

Bibliography

Other Formats

• Zotero RDF
• Dublin Core RDF

Participants: Bill Dennison, Camden Bucey, Jim Cassidy, Nick Batzig

Panel

• Dr. William Dennison
• Jeff Waddington
• Jim Cassidy
• Camden Bucey

Bibliography

Participants: Bill Dennison, Camden Bucey, Jeff Waddington, Jim Cassidy