The Inspiration and Authority of the Bible: Revised and Enhanced (The Classic Warfield Collection)

“I am thrilled to see these new editions of B. B. Warfield’s classic works. Even for someone as brilliant and as influential as Warfield, his best writings have been hard to find gathered in one place, or in print at all. I hope every pastor, theological student, and interested layperson will get hold of these volumes. If they do, they will benefit from Warfield’s scholarly precision, biblical fidelity, and deep personal piety.”

“This book is the classic trenchant exegetical defense of inerrancy and inspiration. No one who is interested in this topic should leave this book unread.”

“B. B Warfield’s meticulous exegesis of biblical texts in support of systematic theology has had a lifelong impact on my life, both in the example of his careful method of argument and also in the way in which his Inspiration and Authority of the Bible deepened my conviction of the complete divine authorship and unfailing truthfulness of the entire Bible. I highly recommend this new edition of Warfield’s work.”

“I’m delighted that P&R is doing a new edition of this important work. When I was working out my own view of Scripture, B. B. Warfield, of all human authors, was most persuasive. Great that this can be made available to the next generations. I think P&R’s add-ons are wonderful ideas for updating the format and making it more useful.”

“John Hughes has performed a significant and staggering service for the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. In editing and reformatting B. B. Warfield’s The Inspiration and Authority of the Bible, along with adding study questions and citing sources for further study, Hughes has produced a scholarly work that should prove to bear much gospel fruit. There are very few intellects, biblical scholars, and faithful churchmen of Warfield’s stature. Those of us who have drunk deeply from his well have discovered him to be an endless reservoir of devotional edification and scholarly stimulation. Yet for a variety of reasons, Warfield has been misunderstood and marginalized. Hughes’s work seeks to remedy this. All who love the Bible, love serious reflection upon it, and want to grow intellectually, as well as in devotion to the Lord Jesus, will find this work of inestimable value. Along the way, they may discover that the often-misrepresented Warfield is one of the greatest gifts that God has given his church. If so, they can, at least in part, thank John Hughes for the discovery.”

“I’m thrilled that P&R is breathing new life into B. B. Warfield’s classic book on Scripture, The Inspiration and Authority of the Bible. Every Christian generation needs to digest his robust, careful, and wise analysis of Scripture’s conviction that the words of the Bible are the words of God.”

“B. B. Warfield was one of the first authors I was encouraged to read when I was converted to Christ. He was without peer in his ability to show me the depth and richness of biblical Christianity. Throughout my Christian life, along with Calvin, Warfield is one author that I return to time and time again. He was a tremendous gift to Christ’s church, and this new edition will continue that gift for years to come. Thanks to John Hughes for giving us the best of Warfield in a more useful way. No doubt more new Christians will experience what I did because of these enhanced works.”

“Few theologians of the last century can match the biblical faithfulness, theological depth, wide-ranging scholarship, and warm piety of B. B. Warfield. In particular, Warfield’s writings on revelation and inspiration set the mark for a Reformed exposition and defense of the doctrine of Scripture. So we may be grateful for this new and enhanced edition of The Inspiration and Authority of the Bible. With full and updated bibliography, helpful editorial notes, and reader-friendly abstracts and study questions, The Inspiration and Authority of the Bible is poised to inform the minds and stir the hearts of a new generation of readers.”

“I discovered B. B. Warfield’s Inspiration and Authority of the Bible while idly browsing a college library shelf. It did not look like anything special—until I opened and began to read it! For years afterward, it set the scholarly bar that I wanted to jump in my own theological reflections on Scripture. I therefore welcome this new edition, and am confident that it will not languish, unread, in some library. The new section headings and chapter abstracts, along with the ‘For Further Study’ sections, make what is already a classic an even more useful tool.”

“Epistemology must begin somewhere, and for God’s people, the beginning of knowledge is the Word of God. For nearly thirty years at Covenant College and Reformed Theological Seminary, I have been teaching Christian epistemology as an essential foundation for biblical apologetics. B. B. Warfield’s work on the inspiration and authority of Scripture has been a vital part of that teaching because Warfield explains in detail how and why God’s Word is (and alone can be) the essential, self-authenticating ground of all our knowledge. Having studied epistemology under Gordon Clark, John Frame, and Alvin Plantinga, I have had Calvin’s claims about the authority of Scripture hammered into me. Warfield’s account of Scripture builds on Calvin’s teaching and answers the objections to a Reformed understanding of Scripture’s inspiration that were current in his day (and have changed very little since then). By providing abstracts, summaries, subheadings, and a glossary, this new edition of Warfield’s work, edited by John Hughes, makes Warfield’s pivotal work dramatically more accessible to readers today. To the modern church, still wrestling with attacks on the authority of Scripture, Warfield’s work deserves to be better known. P&R’s new edition of The Inspiration and Authority of the Bible makes it more likely that Warfield will be read and understood.”

“Three historic streams of Reformed theology followed the early Reformation led by Luther’s and Calvin’s defense and advancement of historic Christian orthodoxy. These were England’s Puritanism from William Perkins to John Owen, Holland’s Dutch Reformed movement with Kuyper and Bavinck, and the culmination of a conservative, confessional American Presbyterianism. This last stream was fueled by the prolific teaching of Old Princeton Seminary professors, among them Archibald Alexander, Charles Hodge, A. A. Hodge, and the fierce apologist and theologian Benjamin B. Warfield, known as the ‘Lion of Princeton.’ Now, more than a century after Warfield’s death, John Hughes brings us this timely revised and enhanced volume of Warfield’s incisive scholarship that equips the church with the original power and clarity needed to defend and advance historic Christian orthodoxy in this generation and the generations to come. Hughes has done an excellent job of making Warfield more accessible, readable, and practical. I highly recommend it.”

“I cannot overstate the timeliness, the thoroughness, the importance of the helpful study guides, and the amazing bibliographies of the volume. What an achievement. Van Til’s appendix alone is worth the price of the volume.”

“This looks like a superb edition. In the past, I’ve had students read bits and bobs of essays from these gems, but the style can be off-putting. Many students today find B. B. Warfield’s prose to be turgid and difficult to follow. This new edition will make his writings accessible to a new generation. The additional elements, especially SBL/Chicago style, discussion questions, and contemporary works, enhance the relevance of Warfield’s enduring achievement. This is a gift to the church. I look forward to seeing it in print.”

“Ideas often develop under controversy. As attacks against a unified divinely inspired Bible grew in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Old Princeton theologians such as B. B. Warfield rose to the challenge. Defending, clarifying, and even expanding the Protestant doctrine of Scripture, Warfield devoted meticulous attention to the Bible’s witness to itself. For modern Christians, this volume is essential reading on the doctrine of Scripture, providing them with a full and satisfying account of the Bible’s divine character and self-attesting witness. John Hughes’s additions to the text make this volume even more valuable, promoting easier reading and group study of a modern Christian classic.”

“During his tenure at Princeton Theological Seminary, B. B. Warfield represented the pinnacle of biblical and theological understanding, and his defense of biblical authority was unparalleled. I am thrilled to know that P&R is republishing the best of his articles. The Inspiration and Authority of the Bible shaped my understanding as a young ministerial student, and I hope that many young theological minds will likewise be shaped by these volumes.””

“I bought the original set of B. B. Warfield’s works by P&R in 1973. For me at the time, it was a lot of money, but I quickly found that they were pure gold. My copies today are worn out from constant use over the years. It’s hard to praise these new editions too highly. The Inspiration and Authority of the Bible, because of our cultural moment, may be even more important than it was when I first read it almost fifty years ago. These enhanced editions will make Warfield’s writings more useful than ever. Needless to say, I highly recommend them.”

“The timeless relevance of the theological contributions of B. B. Warfield, the towering figure of Old Princeton, is reason enough for his works to remain in print. But this new edition offers numerous improvements that make his work more accessible, useful, and up to date. Reinvigorate your teaching and preaching through a renewed engagement with the precision, passion, and power of the theologian whom J. Gresham Machen described as ‘the greatest man I’ve ever met.’”

“There are very few authors whose works are so good, so important, and so timeless that they deserve to remain in print decades or even centuries after their first publication. Yet there is no doubt that Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield qualifies for this rarest of honors. For that reason I am thrilled to see this new series that will put his works before a whole new generation that, I trust, will read them, treasure them, and derive great benefit from them.”

“Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield was a skilled exegete and careful theologian. He was once a household name in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and well known for his voluminous writings on a wide range of topics, including exegesis and systematic, historical, and practical theology. Whether on Scripture, Christology, Calvin, the Westminster Assembly, perfectionism, evolution, eschatology, or his many book reviews, Warfield wrote with clarity, insight, and exegetical rigor. John J. Hughes has breathed new life into the works of Warfield so that the great ‘Lion of Princeton’ roars once again for a new generation.”

“What an incredible gift John Hughes and the P&R team have provided with this new edition of the works of B. B. Warfield! These volumes from the pen of the one who was arguably the greatest English-speaking Reformed theologian of all time still speak with power and relevance to today’s theological challenges, just as they did a century ago. The additional study notes, reference material, and other editorial additions have made the volumes more user-friendly for those reading Warfield for the first time, as well as for those who have previously learned from and benefited from these valuable works. I heartily recommend this entire series, while joining with countless others in expressing my immense gratitude for this twenty-first-century edition of the Warfield collection.”

“B. B. Warfield was a towering theologian of his day, and his work has stood the test of time. By republishing Warfield’s best work in a format that makes his work more accessible than ever, P&R offers a priceless contribution to the theology, faith, and intellectual life of the church.”

“Some theologians are so significant in the history of the church that their writings have an enduring value for decades and even centuries. Yet a modern audience would be well served to engage these writings in a form that does not change the substance of these classics, but makes them more accessible and readable. P&R Publishing has rendered an invaluable service to the body of Christ by republishing these classic works of B. B. Warfield in a revised and updated form. We dare not lose the influence of this theological titan. P&R has helped ensure that we won’t.”

“Many of us first encountered B. B. Warfield through the five Warfield volumes published by P&R from 1948 to 1958. My own Warfield volumes are thoroughly highlighted and well worn. I have purchased duplicate volumes over the years to mark up all over again. All but one of the Warfield volumes had fallen out of print, so I was thrilled to learn of the republication of this new and entirely updated version of the five-volume set. I cannot recommend these volumes highly enough or sufficiently thank the folks at P&R for bringing the ‘Warfield set’ back into print. May a new generation of readers discover America’s greatest theologian as I once did.”

“Few books draw notice in their own age. Fewer last beyond the lifetime of the author. Magnificent exceptions—the works of Augustine, Calvin, and Bavinck, for example—persevere for generations. Their writing is timeless precisely because it remains timely. As P&R has correctly discerned, B. B. Warfield rightly finds a place among this distinguished class of enduring theologians. Characterized by breathtaking breadth and depth of understanding, Warfield’s works render insights as fresh today as when they were written. Read and reread each of these five compelling volumes.”

“The project is in all respects an excellent one. Among the additions, I am especially enthusiastic about the fulsome abstracts and ‘For Further Study’ sections. The decision to break B. B. Warfield’s excessively long paragraphs was wise, and certainly aids the reader. All in all, I am very enthusiastic about what I have seen. Warfield has always been underestimated as a theologian with few peers, perhaps because he never wrote a systematic theology of his own. The publication of his masterful essays in this new format will, I hope, be a great blessing for Reformed theology and churches in our time.”

“We owe a great debt of gratitude to P&R Publishing for once again offering to the public the writings of Benjamin B. Warfield. Yet these are not simply the old volumes repackaged, which would have been service enough! These volumes have been supplemented with introductions, new footnotes, and sections for further reading and reflection. But despite the useful additions, the content itself would be warrant enough to claim that these books should be on the shelf of every pastor and every other serious believer who wants to train in the spiritual gymnasium of one of the faith’s giants. If you read Warfield, you will admire his thoughtful theological analysis, smile at his cutting wit, marvel at his endless insight into the Scriptures—and you will find yourself more in love with your God and Savior, Jesus Christ. I pray that these volumes find a warm and wide welcome among God’s people.”

“I applaud this new edition and congratulate P&R on the improvements.”

“More than a century after B. B. Warfield’s death, his writings are still read for their combination of profound insight into systematic theology, skill in defending the orthodox faith against attacks, and meticulous care in biblical exegesis. This new edition of his most important articles will serve as an excellent tool for the student, the scholar, the pastor, and the educated layman who aim to plunge deeply into the thought of one of Reformed Christianity’s greatest theologians. Highly recommended—‘take up and read.’”

“I am delighted to see this new, updated edition of the works of B. B. Warfield. His contributions should not be forgotten because they remain relevant for today’s exegetical and theological discussions. This new edition will make reading Warfield much easier to follow for a new generation, not least because of the many explanatory notes for more difficult references (including translation of foreign and obscure terms), the abstracts for each chapter, and the built-in headings to help readers find their way in Warfield’s detailed discussions. These updates are most welcome, and will enable interested readers of all levels to follow Warfield’s keen arguments more readily. John Hughes and his team have done yeomen’s work, and we are in their debt.”

“B. B Warfield stands head and shoulders above his contemporaries in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. He is perhaps the greatest theologian ever to teach at Princeton and one of the leading defenders of the inspiration and infallibility of the Bible in any age. His written works are voluminous; they cover an incredibly wide range of topics and disciplines; and they are accessible and eminently helpful for everyone who takes them up. That is what makes this new edition of his works so meaningful and so timely, because it seeks to enhance the accessibility, readability, and helpfulness of many of Warfield’s best theological contributions—including two of his most significant works, The Inspiration and Authority of the Bible and The Person and Work of Christ. It does this in a variety of ways, ranging from the addition of an abstract at the beginning of every essay to the addition of discussion questions at the end. Scholars, pastors, students, and educated laypeople will want to take advantage of these resources and add them to their libraries.”

“B. B. Warfield’s writings are among the most significant—some would argue the most significant—in the last century and a half. His essays on Scripture are still landmark works. It is a pleasure to see them reissued in this new edition, together with a range of helpful aids. John Hughes and his team are to be congratulated on this important contribution for students, ministers, scholars, and the church.”

“Two things are true at once: We need to read B. B. Warfield, and we need help reading B. B. Warfield. I have seen it in the classroom over and over: the very same students who find Warfield’s work immediately appealing, richly nourishing, and mentally stimulating nevertheless misread him at key points or lose the thread of his argument while trying to sort through the details. These refreshed editions of Warfield’s works have all the right features to lead readers into the good stuff.”

“B. B. Warfield’s writings are a milestone in the history of Reformed theology. His writings on God’s revelation, in particular, have blessed the church as she faithfully confesses the authority of holy Scripture. These new enhanced editions of Warfield’s works will make even more accessible Warfield’s crucial contributions to Reformed theology to a new generation of readers.”

“In an age characterized by increasing academic specialization and intellectual skepticism (a description as true of the nineteenth century as it is of the twenty-first), B. B. Warfield towered as a unique blend of exegetical skill, theological insight, discerning engagement with historical criticism, and robust commitment to the Bible and to historic orthodox and Reformed theology. This revised edition of P&R’s original Warfield collection retains the great Princetonian’s precise argumentation and powerful language, adding features that make these essays more accessible to readers and more stimulating to students of Scripture and theology.”

“P&R’s original editions of B. B. Warfield have informed and encouraged a generation or two of Christians. This new edition improves it in several ways, and it will doubtless prove to be indispensable to all serious students of theology.””