God, Revelation, and Authority (6 vols.)

by Carl F. H. Henry

Publisher:

Crossway

, 1999

Overview

God, Revelation and Authority by Carl Henry is one of the most important evangelical theological works of the twentieth century. Published between 1976 and 1983, it shaped the evangelical movement in countless ways and is still widely read, studied, and appreciated as a clear statement of evangelical beliefs contra liberalism and neo-orthodoxy.

What you need to know is that God, Revelation and Authority is a key resource for understanding, teaching and defending many doctrines central to evangelicalism, including biblical inerrancy. It's no accident that the list of endorsers for these books reads like a Who's Who of evangelical Christianity.

If you want to have a better grasp of evangelical theology and its formation, there's no better place to begin than God, Revelation and Authority.

Carl F. H. Henry was a central religious figure of the 20th century. In a 2004 article, Christianity Today stated that Carl Henry, along with Billy Graham and Boston pastor Harold John Ockenga, "practically invented what later became known as evangelicalism." He also helped found and served as the first editor for Christianity Today.

God, Revelation and Authority is Henry's magnum opus. It contains the developed ideas of this prominent thinker on topics that include infallibility and inerrancy, divine revelation in nature, historical criticism, the Holy Spirit, the Church, and biblical history. It also includes the "Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy" which for many years within evangelical circles has been an authoritative declaration regarding inerrancy.

Later in life, Carl Henry spent a great deal of time considering the related concepts of religious knowledge and the doctrine of God. He concluded that, "if we humans say anything authentic about God, we can do so only on the basis of divine self-revelation; all other God-talk is conjectural." This basic premise underlies the entirety of God, Revelation and Authority.

As you read God, Revelation and Authority you will see how many of the ideas in these six volumes have been enormously influential in shaping the beliefs and "distinctives" shared by evangelicals all over the world.

Key Features

Top Highlights

“Dietrich Bonhoeffer points to modern man’s relegation of God to irrelevance; God is ‘increasingly edged out of the world.’ Now that moderns have presumably ‘come of age,’ both ‘knowledge and life are thought to be perfectly possible without him’ (Letters and Papers from Prison, p. 114).” (Volume 4, Pages 8–9)

“2. Human reason is a divinely fashioned instrument for recognizing truth; it is not a creative source of truth.” (Volume 1, Page 225)

“To say that myth relates to what is not historically factual and not literally true assumes a category of representation that can be applied to the scriptural revelation only by destroying its essential claims.” (Volume 1, Page 46)

“4. The very fact of disclosure by the one living God assures the comprehensive unity of divine revelation.” (Volume 2, Page 9)

“Nineteenth-century romanticists—F. H. Jacobi (1743–1819), Friedrich von Schelling (1775–1854), and Friedrich Schleiermacher—contended that contact with ultimate reality is to be made not intellectually or conceptually but intuitionally, mystically, immediately. The Absolute is to be felt, not conceived. As a result, these men wrote not of God as the Religious Object, but of their own religious sentiments. Schleiermacher, founder of Protestant liberalism, in effect substituted the psychology of religious experience for theology, or the science of God.” (Volume 1, Page 72)

Praise for the Print Edition

The most important work of evangelical theology in modern times.

—Kenneth Briggs, New York Times

Establishes Henry as the leading theologian of the nation's evangelical flank.

—Richard Ostling, Time Magazine

A must for every Christian leader.

—Reverend Billy Graham

This great six-volume work confronts the confusion of our age with a clear affirmation and brilliant defense of the Christian faith.

—R. Albert Mohler, Jr., President, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

Carl Henry's keen insights as expressed in God, Revelation and Authority are sorely needed.

—R.C. Sproul, Ligonier Ministries

These volumes are a landmark work, fully biblical, intellectually coherent, powerfully persuasive, and genuinely spiritual.

—David F. Wells, Academic Dean, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary—Charlotte

A sure-footed guide to a great many aspects of evangelical theology.

—D. A. Carson, Research Professor of New Testament, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

God, Revelation and Authority is a biblically faithful rock in the twentieth-century sea of theological experimentation.

—John Piper, Senior Pastor, Bethlehem Bapist Church, Minneapolis

Dr. Henry's God, Revelation and Authority should be on every evangelical pastor's shelf. I recommend it to the upcoming generation of serious, thinking Christians.

—James Montgomery Boice, Senior Minister, Tenth Presbyterian Church, Philadephia

Carl F. H. Henry brings an incredible marriage of scholarship, conviction, and application to the matter of spiritual authority. I am happy to commend this significant work.

—Adrian Rogers, Senior Pastor, Bellevue Baptist Church, Memphis

Henry's six-volume work, God, Revelation, and Authority (1976-1983), his magum opus, covers most of the topics of systematic theology and also delves deeply into philosophical theology, ethics, and contemporary culture. ...Reading the first four of these volumes in 1981 (the final two volumes were released in 1983) in preparation for an intensive summer class on contemporary theology with Carl Henry was one of the highlights of my education; and it has served as a significant foundation for my Christian worldview.

—Douglas Groothuis, Ph.D. (Read the full article in Denver Journal)

...God, Revelation, and Authority is a work of the first magnitude. Here is the most thorough exposition of evangelical orthodoxy in our time. As befits this tradition, questions are raised about theological adventurism that must be faced by all who affirm biblical authority and classical faith.

—read the entire review from Theology Today

Product Details

• Title: God, Revelation and Authority (6 vols.)
• Author: Carl F.H. Henry
• Publisher: Good News Publishing
• Publication Date: 1999
• Pages: 3,054

About Carl F. H. Henry

Carl F. H. Henry (1913–2003) was an evangelical Christian theologian. Henry earned degrees from Wheaton College, Northern Baptist Theological Seminary, and Boston University. In 1942, he helped launch the National Association of Evangelicals and served on its board for many years. Henry assisted Rev. Billy Graham in founding Christianity Today and served as the editor for 12 years. Henry’s six-volume God, Revelation, and Authority has been widely influential in shaping evangelicals’ beliefs around the world.