The Theology of B. B. Warfield: A Systematic Summary (Zaspel)

Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield (1851–1921) was undoubtedly one of the greatest Reformed theologians in the history of America. As professor of didactic and polemic theology at Princeton University, he wrote extensively in defense of fundamental Christian doctrines. While his writing touched on the full spectrum of theological topics, it was spread over hundreds of periodicals, books, and pamphlets, and a significant portion has never been published in an accessible form. Warfield stands as a dominant figure on the theological landscape, but few have a comprehensive grasp of his theology, largely because of the difficulty of tracing his ideas through numerous sources.

Fred G. Zaspel has spent many years studying Warfield’s published and unpublished writing, and presents here a concise and coherent systematic theology per B. B. Warfield. For the first time ever, readers can, in one volume, access the content of this great theologian’s academic, sermonic, and devotional works. Scholars, pastors, and students will profit from the unique combination of comprehensive detail and devotional warmth in this systematic theology.

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Table of Contents:

1. Historical Context
2. Apologetics and the Theological Enterprise
3. Prolegomena
4. Bibliology
5. Theology Proper
6. Christology 1: The Person of Christ
7. Christology 2: The Work of Christ
8. Pneumatology
9. Anthropology and Hamartiology
10. Soteriology
11. Ecclesiology
12. Eschatology
13. Warfield in Perspective

Appendix: A Brief and Untechnical Statement of the Reformed Faith   

Author

Fred G. Zaspel (PhD, Free University of Amsterdam) is a pastor at Reformed Baptist Church in Franconia, Pennsylvania, and adjunct professor of systematic theology at Calvary Baptist Seminary in Landsdale, Pennsylvania. He is co-author of New Covenant Theologyand has published numerous booklets, articles, and book reviews.

Endorsements

"Serious Christians who have dipped into Warfield find his writings to be a wholly admirable mix of rigorous exegesis, mature theological synthesis, and frank devotion to Christ. Much of his work is known only to specialists, not least because when Warfield first published it, it was scattered over many journals and books. Indeed, a fair bit of it was never published. Zaspel’s Warfield remedies the problem admirably: one hopes and prays that it will entice a new generation of readers to delve deeply into Warfield’s contributions." - D. A. Carson, Research Professor of New Testament, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

"Well before the transdenominational convergence of what we now call the evangelical church, B. B. Warfield spent forty years as the Presbyterian Horatius, holding the bridge that leads into the citadel of the Westminster Standards against those he saw as spoilers from the wastelands of liberalism. A heavyweight academic and a complete player in the fields of systematic, exegetical, historical, and polemical theology, he scattered his wisdom in hundreds of articles, which this book surveys and integrates with great skill. Warfield can now be seen in his full stature as the godly giant that he was, thanks to Fred Zaspel’s labor of love. Best thanks, and hallelujah!" - J. I. Packer, Professor of Theology, Regent College; author, Knowing God

"This work is long overdue. That a theologian of the stature of B.B. Warfield should not have had a comprehensive overview of his entire corpus such as this one by Dr Zaspel says far more about the thinking of Evangelicals and the ranks of the Reformed in the twentieth century than it does about Warfield. This truly excellent and eminently readable work will serve both as a primer to Warfield's thought as well as an outline of the systematic theology he never wrote. Highly recommended." - Michael G. Haykin, Professor of Church History and Biblical Spirituality, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary; Director, The Andrew Fuller Center for Baptist Studies

"Fred Zaspel’s work is the first detailed, readable digest of Warfield’s theology, and it is an immensely helpful volume. Dr. Zaspel puts Warfield’s published writings in clear perspective against the theological issues that dominated that era. He also shows how those same issues—and Warfield’s clear and persuasive teaching—remain relevant to us today. Dr. Zaspel writes with such clarity and simplicity that this volume will be a valuable help and encouragement to lay people and serious theologians as well—a highly recommended addition to anyone’s library." - John MacArthur, Pastor, Grace Community Church, Sun Valley, California

"B. B. Warfield was without doubt the greatest of the theological minds of Old Princeton, and he remains a towering influence within both his own confessional Presbyterian tradition and wider conservative evangelicalism. Nevertheless, while his writings are still in print, clearly written, and very accessible, their occasional nature means that there is no convenient way of gaining from them a good grasp of the overall shape of his theology. Until now, that is. In this volume, pastor-theologian and passionate Warfield aficionado Fred Zaspel has produced a work of historical and theological synthesis that sets Warfield’s thought in context and offers a comprehensive account of his thought on the major loci of theology and the controverted points of his day. In this, Fred has left us all—the veteran Warfield fan and the neophyte—deeply in his debt." - Carl R. Trueman, Academic Dean and Vice President, Westminster Theological Seminary