B. B. Warfield
Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield, also known as BB Warfield; (* November 5, 1851 in Lexington, Kentucky, † February 16, 1921 in Princeton, New Jersey) was from 1887 to 1921 Rector of the Princeton Theological Seminary and one of the most influential conservative theologians of his time.
Life
Warfield came from a very good family. His parents, William and Mary Cabell Warfield came from Virginia and were wealthy. His mother came from the American political family Breckenridge: His maternal great-grandfather was John Breckinridge (1760-1806), a senator and United States Attorney General, his uncle John C. Breckinridge was Vice President of the United States, and a general in the Confederate States Army during the Civil War. A distant relative of his was also Wallis Simpson, who married Edward VIII, who renounced the throne because of this marriage.
How many children of rich families in those days Warfield was privately educated. In 1868, he joined the Princeton University, where he took mathematics and science and graduated in 1871 with an excellent degree. From a trip to Europe, he decided to study theology, to the surprise of his friends and family and joined in 1873 at the Princeton Theological Seminary to prepare for the profession of a Presbyterian pastor. He graduated in 1876.
During the short time he preached as an assistant pastor in Concord (Kentucky) and Dayton (Ohio ). In August 1876, he married Annie Pierce Kinkead. End of the year he moved with her to Germany, where he studied under Ernst and Franz Delitzsch Lüthardt. During this stay in Germany Annie was struck by lightning and was paralyzed as a result. Benjamin she used until her death in 1915 in addition to his work as a theologian.
Back in the United States Warfield was for a short time assistant pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Baltimore (Maryland) and then taught at the Western Theological Seminary (now Pittsburgh Theological Seminary ). On April 26, 1879 he was ordained as a pastor.
1881 Warfield wrote together with AA Hodge an article about the inspiration of the Bible who drew attention to itself because of its scientific and energetic defense of the inerrancy of the Bible. Warfield sought to show that the doctrine of Biblical inerrancy was simply orthodox Christian doctrine and not an invented in the 19th century concept.
Warfield sat passionately committed to refute the liberal element in Presbyterianism and within Christianity. Throughout his life he continued to write articles and books, which are still widely read in the English language today.
1887 Warfield was the rector of the Princeton Seminary in the wake of AA Hodge and his father Charles Hodge. He remained until his death in this position.
Works (selection)
- The Lord of Glory: A Study of the Designations of Our Lord in the New Testament with Especial Reference to His Deity, (1907 ) London: Hodder and Stoughton
- Counterfeit Miracles, (1918 ) New York: C. Scribner's - "The Thomas Smyth lectures for 1917-1918, delivered at the Columbia Theological Seminary, Columbia, South Carolina, October 4-10, 1917. " Modern edition: Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, ISBN 0-85151-166 -X
- Perfectionism - Articles reprinted from periodicals, etc. edited by Ethelbert D. Warfield, William Park Armstrong, and Caspar Wistar Hodge. (1931 ) New York: Oxford University Press.
- Calvin and Calvinism (1931 ) New York; London: Oxford University Press Chapter 1: John Calvin: His person and work