October 2024 New Horizons

John Murray’s Redemption Accomplished and Applied

by Richard B. Gaffin Jr.

John Murray (1898–1975), a native of Scotland, taught systematic theology at Westminster Theological Seminary (WTS) from 1930 until his retirement in 1965. He was ordained as an OPC minister by the Presbytery of New York and New England, of which he was a member until his death. For many decades, ministers (my father and I were both his students) and others in the OPC and beyond owed their first in-depth exposure to sound doctrine to their times in his classroom. His memorable lecturing radiated a profound love for God and the truth of his Word that made a decisively formative and lasting impression. Murray also wrote extensively, his publications invariably marked by his characteristic clarity and precision of expression. Of these, Redemption Accomplished and Applied , the primary focus of this article, has proven to be the most widely read. Next year will mark the seventieth anniversary of its appearance, and a new edition is being published by Westminster Seminary Press. There is good reason for this ... Read more

George Knight: A Personal Reminiscence

by T. Nathan Trice

My first introduction to Dr. George W. Knight III was courtesy of my college professor, Dr. Henry Krabbendam. Dr. Knight was making a trip to Covenant College to promote a new seminary being founded in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and my esteemed professor invited me to a meal hosted by Dr. Knight. My first impressions of this southern gentleman and scholar were good, I recall, though they did not dissuade me from my original plans to attend another relatively new seminary in the fall of 1991: Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. A year and a half later, however, after a rewarding experience at Greenville, I found myself reaching out to Dr. Knight about a transfer to Knox Theological Seminary, where he served as Professor of Greek and New Testament Studies. He was very gracious in welcoming me into what would become the second graduating class of that institution. Professor and Student Dr. Knight and his wife, Virginia, were, in fact, gracious to welcome me into their very lives. For the first ... Read more

Machen, Modernism, and Art

by William B. Kessler

Virginia Woolf declared, “On or about December, 1910, human character changed.” She was commenting on the Post-Impressionist art exhibit held that year in London, England. A similar comment was made by New York City’s patron of all things modern Mabel Dodge during a similar show of modern art held at the National Guard Armory in 1913, now referred to as the Armory Show. At the same time the Armory Show was drawing crowds, J. Gresham Machen published an article in the Princeton Review entitled “Christianity and Culture.” The opening of the Armory Show and the publishing of Machen’s article converging in the same month of the same year is historical irony. The show’s purpose was, in part, to shake up and change American culture. Machen’s purpose in his article was to sound an alarm over the changes occurring in American culture, which were given a disquieting face in the show’s Post-Impressionist art. Observing the sweeping changes taking place throughout Western culture and perceiving ... Read more