Gordon Clark was one of the clearest thinking and clearest writing theologians and philosophers of the twentieth century, yet one of the least influential. By engaging the philosophical thought of the past 2,500 years, Dr. Clark achieved what no thinker before him had done: a complete revolution in philosophy. Dr. Gary Crampton is one of the few scholars who understands the significance of what Dr. Clark has done, and he explains it clearly and concisely in this introduction to Dr. Clark's thought.

This is the combined edition of two of Dr. Clark's seminal books: Faith and Saving Faith and The Johannine Logos. Both books deal with the crucial issue of justification by faith alone in a new fashion: by deriving a definition of faith (belief) from the Greek New Testament rather than from Latin theologians. It is both ironic and telling that most Protestants, when asked to define the word "faith," sound like they are exegeting the Vulgate. No one before Dr. Clark has examined, collated, and systematized the wealth of Scriptural material relevant to the definition of faith. The result is a refreshing and exhilarating defense of the doctrine of justification through belief alone.

Horatius Bonar and Charles Hodge, both 19th-century theologians, left us with one of the best popular explanations of the Biblical doctrine of justification by faith alone, and one of the best scholarly discussions of the doctrine and its adversaries. These two books, The Everlasting Righteousness by Bonar and Justification by Faith Alone by Hodge, are here combined into one volume. Not What My Hands Have Done offers not only a primer on justification but an advanced course as well. It is must reading for anyone who wants to understand Christianity.

In the past few years, zealous converts to Roman Catholicism have published books attacking the Reformation doctrine of justification by faith alone, and revelation by Scripture alone. This book is a defense of the Christian doctrine of Scripture against those who assert its unreliability, its insufficiency, and its vagueness.

The doctrine of God has been garbled by church councils and theologians for centuries. Dr. Clark, who never attended seminary but taught at several, clearly explains the doctrine of the Trinity, tracing it from Scripture, and comparing Scripture to what theologians have said through the centuries. He offers his own contribution to the doctrine by suggesting a definition of "person," something no church council had bothered to do. The sole authority in this discussion is the Word of God, and the pronouncements of all councils and creeds are judged by that authority. This is perhaps the best book that has yet been written on the Trinity.

Healthcare for all, education for all, and welfare for all were preceded and made possible by the theology of salvation for all. Universalism - whether of the Roman Catholic or Arminian variety - perverted the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and made possible the modern welfare state. Biblical theology is inegalitarian, and the doctrine of the atonement is the heart of the Biblical message. In this book, Dr. Clark brings an unmatched clarity of thought and expression to a critical Christian doctrine, and his systematic explanation of the atonement of Christ for his people will richly reward the believing reader.

The climax of creation was the creation of man. For five days, God had prepared the stage for his own image. Then, on day six, God breathed his own breath into the body he had made of dust, and made man, the image and glory of God. This view of man - so at odds with the evolutionary view and so fundamental to Christian theology and philosophy - is the basis of civilized society.

Religion, Reason and Revelation is one of the greatest defenses of the Christian faith ever written. It is a model of scholarship and analysis; in it Dr. Clark refutes both the broad philosophical movements that opposed Christianity and the specific contentions of many modern authors. But he does not conclude with the logical destruction of non-Christian philosophies; Dr. Clark goes on to show how Biblical Christianity answers questions and solves problems that all other philosophies leave unanswered and unsolved. It is a classic work in Christian apologetics.

Paul M. Elliott, a former Ruling Elder in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, carefully traces the origin of the spiritual crisis in the OPC and similar denominations to the pernicious teaching of Westminster Theological Seminary. That teaching is that God is unknowable, that Scripture is contradictory, and that salvation is by faith-plus-works. Elliott provides copious quotations from faculty members, from the Westminster Theological Journal, and from pastors in OPC congregations to document his analysis. This book is must reading for all Presbyterians.

For centuries those who have opposed the Christian faith have argued that if God is good, he cannot be all-powerful, since there is evil in the world; and if God is all-powerful, he cannot be good, since there is evil in the world. Either God is good or he is all-powerful, but he cannot be both--or so the argument goes. For centuries, Christian theologians have attempted to refute this argument, and they have failed. Now one American Christian philosopher has succeeded. God and Evil is the masterful solution to the ancient problem of evil. This book is chapter five of Religion, Reason, and Revelation.

It is difficult to discern which Christian doctrine is the most hated by the world - predestination, total depravity, justification by faith alone, or the wrath of God - but predestination must rank right near the top. In this book, Dr. Clark marshals hundreds of verses to demonstrate that the Bible teaches that God is indeed almighty, and that he alone determines the eternal destiny of all men. Predestination is perhaps the best book available on the subject, for Dr. Clark begins with the doctrine of creation, and few other theologians explain the connection between creation and predestination.

This is the story of Gordon Clark (1902-85), respected philosopher and prolific writer, who held that Christianity, as a logically coherent system, is superior to all other philosophies. Clark fought no wars and conquered no kingdoms. Yet he was a leading figure in many theological wars fought for the Kingdom of God. These battles for the minds and souls of men were every bit as crucial as physical wars between nations. In an age of increasing secularization, he put up an intellectual defense of the Christian faith. This faith, he believed, was a system. All of its parts link together, a luxury of no other philosophy. His stance shows a Christianity that is in fact intellectual, not relying on appeals to emotion or experience. In propounding this view, he encountered frequent opposition, not from the secular world, but from within his own denomination. This biography helps explain why his thought was so profound, why resistance mounted against him, and how his struggles impacted American Presbyterianism. Additionally, this book calls for a reappraisal of Clark's views, which have been maligned by controversy. Understanding and applying his views could significantly fortify Christians combating irrational and non-systematic ideas prevalent in today's churches.

This book is a series of editorials written at the time of the so-called Clark-Van Til controversy in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church in the mid-1940's. The essays are some of the best analyses of its meaning we have seen in print, written by the editor of the Standard Bearer. Far from being a sideshow, and far from being dead, the assault on the doctrines of Scripture by the faculty of Westminster Seminary determined the path that the Seminary, and to some extent, the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, would follow for the remainder of the century.

Authoritarianism is an expression of the sinful nature of fallen man. It finds expression in families and businesses, but most cruelly in churches and governments. Today, authoritarianism pervades the professing churches, from the absolute monarchy of the Roman Catholic Church-State and the local Baptist church that has only one pastor and no elders. This sinful authoritarianism has also entered the "conservative" Presbyterian churches, In this essay, Kevin Reed traces the historical and doctrinal roots of Imperious Presbyterianism, and calls Bible-believing Presbyterians to correct the errors of their authoritarian elders.