The theologian B. B. Warfield was a scholar. One of the best. And he refused to separate theology and spirituality.
I write this in Let Go and Let God? A Survey and Analysis of Keswick Theology (p. 283, numbering added):
Pitting doctrine against devotion is a false dichotomy because God intends them to go together. They are not mutually exclusive; one without the other is incomplete.
[Note 199] Warfield strikes an outstanding balance in five articles reprinted in his Selected Shorter Writings
, 2 vols., ed. J. E. Meeter (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 1970, 1973), listed here chronologically:
- “Authority, Intellect, Heart,” 2:668–71;
- “The Indispensableness of Systematic Theology to the Preacher,” 2:280–8;
- “Spiritual Culture in the Theological Seminary,” 2:468–96;
- “The Religious Life of Theological Students,” 1:411–25;
- “The Purpose of the Seminary,” 1:374–8.
See also Andrew J. B. Cameron and Brian S. Rosner, eds., The Trials of Theology: Becoming a “Proven Worker” in a Dangerous Business
(Fearn, Scotland: Christian Focus, 2010).
Those five articles by B. B. Warfield profoundly influenced me when I was in seminary. Hugely helpful and motivating.
Here’s a sample from “The Religious Life of Theological Students” (1:411–12): [Read more…] about Warfield the Affectionate Theologian