Ho'-V J:=>abney

Looked
At the -W-odd:
The Worldvicw of Robert L. Dabney
PART ONE
Rev. Joseph c:. Morccraft. III
It is written of Abel, the son of Adam,
that though he is dead, he still speaks ,
Hebrews II :4. By his example of faith '
and righteousness Abel still speaks to us
today, although he ,has been de.ad for .
almost six millennia. "The spectacle of
his trustfulintegrity, .even in the face of
violence, should inspire us to persevere
and to overcome. by the same means. "1
The purpose of my paper is to be a mouth-
piece for Robert t. Dabney, so that he
who is in the grave can still speak to us
and inspire us to persevere and to over- .'
comeby our trustful integrity, even in the
face of a violent, anti-Christian culture.
Another 'reason for letting Dabney
speak for himself is not orily 'soyoucan
see the kind of men a'nd viewpoint that
was dominant in the Old South, but also
so you can see that Dabney'S character
and viewpoint, although on it scholarly
level, represented the. character and
worldview of the rank and file Southerner
from all levels of society.
I make this poiht becallse many today
who prOfess to love the South and who
have battleJlagdecals on their cars and
trucks have no real' commitment to that
Biblical Christianity that was. the bed-
rock foundation of the Old South as
Richard Weayer has shown in 'his out- ,
standing book, SOUTHERN TRAPITION
ATBAY .. To tho se for wh'om' fove for the
South means racism, . nostalgia,. rifgged ' .
individ.ualism and rebel-attitudes,yo'u "
have Iio idea what thit bloodcs iaine4 . ':
battle" flag represe!'ts. And so I plead
witbyou with .me. abotit that de.-
voted Rob.ei:t ..
with the wjlJingnessto have your' mind'
' til'riJligh him. , ' , ' . ' .
I. WhO was Robert le. D;lbney?
Dabney ' s biogtapher and friend , Tho-
mas Cary Johnson, wrote of this Nine-
teenth Century Titan of the South:
"There' were giants in those days, stars of
m.agnitude, iUl,d among them all not a
greater giant than R.L, Dabney."2
Robert Lewis Dabney was a "man with
penetration and insight to discern be-
tween ,good .and evil and with heroic
boldness to \yarn [people] against an evil
course, and with the thllnderbolt of Thor
to demolish the ramparts of error.
3
- . In
point of intellectual energy and power we
not only regard him as superior to
other man we; have ever seen, ' bllt as
having had no equal so far ashistory has
had anything to say, in the whole history
of Christianity in this country.';' "He
loved not low things. He delighted in
hi.ghthings. He loyed devotedly, and was
a good hater, as every good lover mllst
be. He loved passionately. andhated
passionately the evil. - Men who sat
nnder his teaphing before he had reached
his prime have given expression ... to their
conviction that Dr. Dabney was even then
the most godly man whom they had ever
met. "s
At his funeral, Dr. Moses Drury Hoge
of Richmond gave an address eutitled,
"Regnant Men," incillding Dabney as such
a man. He defined "regnant men" as "the
kingly men of the world, not because of
hereditary rank and power, bllt because
of commanding infiuenpe through services
rendered by which intellectual and
moral progress of mankind has been
advanced. - Such men are the ac-
knowledged leaders in the State, tbey are
the lights and landmarks in tile Chllrch,
they are the grand pillars in the temple
which. God is.rearing in the world to the
glory of His grace. Among the gifts of
God are the gifts of sllch men to the
. . .
Church and to the world. "For they are
the instIllments by which society is moul-
ded, and the moral and spiritual inflllence
of mankind strengthened and advailced
from age to a'ge,. - 'N 0 chmch on this
August/September, 2000 THE COUNSEL of ChalcedoD. - 29
continent has, been mOfe favore,\! of,
heaven in baviJ;i,g at its, very organizatioI)
tbree sl,lch; lI)ep as Tbornwel,l, Palmer"anli ,
Dabney ... "6
Co\. L. S.Mitrye asked',a:professot" of"
Columbia Tbeological Seminary
pario tliree great Southern,Presbyterian'
ministers, two of whom were stillli"ing,
and so tbeir, names were no t mentioneq. ,
" Replying slowly and Illeditatively he
said: ,, ' Dr ___ __ perhaps tbe best
furnished of tbe three .
___________ is the eloquimt
and attractive in 'the pulpit; but for
ing rocks , I Dr. Oablll, y.';7 .
Robert Lewis Dabney was born in
Louisa County, Virginia on March 5,1820
and died in Victoria, Texas on January 3,
1898. He was a.farmer, teacher, scbolar,
tbeologian; pastor, autlior, pbilosopber, .
logician" historian; soldier, ,statesman and,
He taqgbt in Union Theologi-
cal Seminary (1853-1882), was on the
faculty of tbe Universi ty of Texas and
was tbe virtual f,ounder of Austin Thea-'
logical Seminary (1883-1894).
Iie was described by Arcbibald
Alexander Hodge Of Princeton Seminary
as "tbe best teacber of tbeology in tbe
United States, if notin the world." s
Anotber said of bim, "He was a good
practical farmer, a good teacher, a good
pastor, a' capital member of a military
staff. He was a skillful mechanic and
furniture maker ... He bound books well,
drew maps and plans for buildings.'" He
was valued as "one of the greatest stu-
dents of pbilosopby tbat Am,erica had yet
produced," wbose pbilosophical writings
would .be ranked in ,brilliance and impor-
tant, with those of Immanuel Kant,lO A
contem'porary said of bim that:
"Dabney'S writing a entitie bim to tbe first
place amongst tbe theological thinkers
and writers of bis century."" As a con-
vinced CalVinist and Puritan of the 17'h
Century Englisb type; be was in complete
agreement witb tbe Westminster Confes-
sion of Faitb, tbe Lilrger and tbe Shorter
C.atechisms, " of which be was perhaps
, tAe mpst sYQJlRatheti c and,
:in his "He was a ,.p,reemjnent
i preac]:te.r to p):,eacher,s ... ,.,He: is,isaicj to:
, bave lgiViep enough material ina single
,' serJllon :for tbe ,aYera;ge,minister.to de- , ,
from two to ': sh ,,,
- .
'Major Oabney' is m'ost widely r'eme'irt'"'
, heredas Stonewall Jackson's chief-'Of-
: staff for a short dme (1862) 'duri ng the
, War Between ' the States. Jae"kson safd tif
bim th'at he Was "' the most efficient of-
. ficer he knew." "Wben Jackson
pointed him as his
, Colonel Grisby of 'the Stonewall brig'ade
was asked by 'General Jackson what he
tbolIght about his new Adjutant. Gfisb'y '
later cjescrlbed what he thought at tpat ' "
, moment: "Iconc1uded that old Jack must
' be a fatalist sure enough, when he put.in
, an Ironside Presbyterian parson, as his'
cbief of staff, but I bave brigbt hopes of
: beadquarters, seeing they are no longer
, omnisicient."1S But after seeing
Dabney ' s bravery and hearing him preacb
to the soldiers, Grisby said of him: "Our
parson is, not afraid of Yankee builets ,
and I tell you he preaches like hell.""
Jol1n Schildt has poiilted out tbat " at Port
Republic on Sunday, June 8, 1862,Dabney
wasgive'n credit for saving Jackson's
trains. - [and] CoI.G.F.R. Henderson,
in writing on failures at Cedar Run in
mid-summer ,[after the resignation of
Dabney due to illness] states: 'The
absence of Major Dabney, struck down by
sickness, is a possible explanation of
. faulty orders. "'17
So, 'now, we go to tbe distinctively
Christian worldview of the great Dabney,
the champion of liherty and justice for
all.
II. What is a Wo'rldview?
A. The Definition of a World view
Worldviews are inescapable. Every-
body has one. You have one, whether
you are aware of it or not. A worldview
is the. way you look at God, yourself; life,
, the world, and everythin,g that happens
30 THE COUNSEL of Chhlcedon Angust/September, 2000
around you. It is your perspective on life
and those basic assumptions you have
about life which determine the way you
think, live and relate in this world. A
worldview is "a set of beliefs about the ,
most imponant issues of Iife ... a concep-
tual scheme by which we consciously or
unconsciously place or fit everything we
believe and by which we interpret and
judge reality."- Ronald Nash,
WORLDVIEWS IN CONFLICT, p. 16,
(Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan
Publishing House, 1992). "What man
thinks about the world when he is driv,en
back'to his deepest reflections and most
secret promptings will finally determine '
all that he does."- Richard Weaver, THE
SOUTHERN TRADITION AT BAY, p.
375, (Washington, D.C.: Regnery Gate-
way, 1989).
One's view of life and the world grows
out of the presuppositions he has about
God, life, and the world. A presupposition
is "an elementary assumption in one's
reasoning or in the process by which
opinions are formed. :. [It is a1s'o) a ,per-
sonal commitmeI\t that is held at the most
basic )eve1 of one"s network of beliefs.
Presuppositions form a wide-ranging,
foundational perspective (or starting
point) in terms of which everything else
is interpreted and evaluated. As such,
presuppositions have the greatest author-
ity in one's thinking, being treated as
one's least negotiable beliefs and being
granted the highest immiInity to revi-
sion."- Greg Bahnsen, VANTIL'S
APOLOGETIC, p. 2, (Phillipsburg, NJ:
Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing
Company, 1998).
Dabney understood the reality and role
of presuppositions to one's worldview,
although the popular word for a
pr'esuppositionalist in his day was
"abstractionist." He knew that as a
person thinks within himself, so he is,
Proverbs 23:7, that i s, we live like we
live becanse we think like we t4ink.
Therefore, we must guard our hearts and
i. e., what we think and desire
about the world, with all diligence, mak-
ing sure that our thinking" desiring and
conduct are in accord with the Word of
God, for from the heart flow the bask
issues of life, Proverbs 4:23.
Dabney could say that "there are two
ways of reasoning about human affairs. ,
One is , to bring measures to the tes t of
fundamentaj"principles, and abide by their
decisioll firmly. The other is, to inquire:
'What is the dictate of policy, of expedi"
ency, of present utility?' - The former '
looks at general laws; the latter at imme-
diate results. Now the latter class of
people have applied to the former, in
these days of ours, a name, which is at
least new in its present sense:
abstractionists. - An abstraction,
properly nnderstood, meanS, a proposition
considered as naked' and gen'eral, stripped
of all the accidental circumstances which
belong to any individual case under it. -
Among the many good re sults <if popular
government in church and s tate, there is
this u.nfortunate one: that its usages tend
to teach the governing mind,; to de spise
specula'tive thought [presuppositional ,"
thinking],and reason only from present
expediency., - The term [abstractionS]'
is intended to be One of The, ,
'abstractionist' is represented as a man,
fanciful an(l unreliable; who pursues the
intangible moonshine of metaphysical
ideas, until he and his followers 'wander
in devious mazes lost.' - [B'ut) eyery
man of information ought to know that
abstractions are the most practical things
in the world, - The most ab stract
propositions have often divided nations,
and Je(l to wars, revolutions, and convul-
sions: just as that abstraction, 'whether
a man can rightfully own as property, the
labor of a fellow man without his volun-,
tary consent,' now threatens our nation
with fratricidal aud suicidal war. There
is no practicill truth; in the evidence of
which an abstract one is not concerned.
There is no abstract truth which may not
lead, by logical necessity, to practical
results. - Every man is an
August/September, 2000 THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon - 31
abstractionist. And the v'eriest red-
Republican of them all, who thinks he has
trampled down every abstraction, [in the
name of pragmatiSm], still relies on,his
own favorite .ones , to sustain his
ism. ,Says [he] : 'Here is my r,ich rteigh-
bar" who has more than he 'can possibly
use, or even waste. How much better to
take away a part, and give it to me, who
needs a little c apital tn enable me to be a
producing citizen. You will thereby ben-
efit me, the state, and my rich neighbor
himself: , for he is so rich that it.is an
actual i ,njury to him.' You nbje.ct, that the
rights.of property are in, the way; and
that it is of more fundamental impnrtance
to the state, that those rights sh.ould be
pr otected, and that every man should qe
certain of the rewar<\s of his. industry, ,
than that property should be equalJy
distributed. These are in his eyes, noth-
ing but abstractinns. Why should a citi-
zen be kept back from obvi ous and
present advantage, by the gos s amer
threads of those abstract rights? So he
helps himself liberally to his neighbor's
property, alld thus bec.omes a man of
property himself. And now, 10, he forth-
with invokes those abstract rights"nf
property, to defend his new acquisitions
against other red-Republicans, as greedy
as himself, but still poorer.
"But the serious and lamentable point
about all this decrying of abstractinns is,
that where it is intelligently and deliber-
ately uttered, it is thoroughly profligate.
What is it all, but a demand that principle
shall give way to expediency? All the
principles of inorals , in their last analysis,
are abstractions. The distinction between
riglit and wrong is an abstractinn .. . And' in
shnrt; the difference between an honest
man and a scoundrel, is but this: that the
former is governed by a general principal,
which is an abstraction, in nppnsitinn tn
the present conCTete prospect of utility;
while the latter is governed by his view
of present expediency, in opposition to
the general principle. - When next you
hear men using prnpositions, which they
suppose general, in a manner vague' an'd
sophistical , we pray you, in the name .of
intelligence, sound logic, and sou!ld prin-
ciple, dn not express ynur dissent, by
' saying that they. g,ive abstractions, say
simply that they are untrue. "- DISCUS- '
SIONS, Vol. IV, pp. 46-52.
B. The Comprehensiveness of
Dabney's World view
Dabne.y would agr,ee with the. state-
ment that the Bible i s divinely authorita-
tive in everything abnut wl)ich it speaks ,
and it speak,s abnut everythi ng. With h'is
belnved Wes tminster Standards, he could
and did confess that the Bible is of all-
sufficient, all-embracing, comprehensive
authority, that the whol e counsel of
God, "concerning all things ne cessary
for His own glory, man 's salvation;', '
faith and l ife, is either expressly set
down in scripture, or by good 'and
necessary consequence may be deduced
from Scripture : unto which nothing lit
any time is to be added". - Westmin'ster
Confession of Faith, Chapter I, Paragraph
VI. Or, to say this in the wnrds' of ihe '
Bible: 'i n the divine knowledge gi vert us
, in the wrItten Word .of God, His divirie
power has granted toils everything
. pertainlllg tn godHness ; II
Peter 1:3, so thatby the God-breathed
Bible, the man of God may be ad-
equate, equipped fnr every good work,
II Timothy 3: 17. '
Because .of his faith in the sufficiency
and all-embracing authority of the infal- ,
lible Word .of God, Dabney wrote on a
wide range of subjects, endeavoring to
explain each subject in a way that was
based on and consistent with the teach-
i ngs of the Bible. In fact, the vastness ' of
this great man's well-thought-out undei' -
standing of the world is phertomenal.
Beside his extensive writing on theologi-
cal", ethical", ecclesiastica!'o and a host
of philnsophical themes
2
' , he wrote about
such subjects as: educatinn", history" ,
social order", philanthropy'S, war
26
, the
many aspects of politics
27
, labnr unions
and the formation of capital", agritul-
32 - THE COUNSEL of Chalced,;m - August/September, 2000
ture", inflation and the gold standard",
various aspects of economics" , voting
rights", the legal profession", litera-
ture", geology", preaching', science",
the emotions", private corporations" ,
logic", death" , human and civil right s",
motherhood and parenting
43
, life in Eu-
rope", psychology", prosperity',
Church-State relations", music", and the
future". He also wrote several poems,
some of which are in the style of John
Milton" .
Because of Dabney's self-conscious
and comprehensive Biblical view of life
and the world, "he was consequently at
war with much in the world-with the
atheistic and infidel theories of physical
science which have so largely prevailed,
with the various forms of evolution, anti-
Biblical in their essence, with false psy-
chologies and false philosophies, whether
panthei stic or materialistic, with
Jacobinism, and 'mobocracy' in politics,
with Pelagianism in every form and Uni-
tiuianism in every shade ... - Though
Calvinism pure and simple had been on
the wane in his day, he knew that Augus-
tinianism once waned , died ' and was
bUried for a thousalld years, but was
iesurrected at the Reformation, because
itwas largely Go'd's ,truth. He expected
confidently in God's own time the revindi-
cation of Calvinism."'!
C. The "Prophetic" Nature of
Dabney's Worldview
Dabney has been called a prophet and
a Jeremiah, "bequse of his profound
insight of current events of his day and
foresight as to the re sults of these
events upon future generations,"- J.H.
Varner, Editor's Preface, in DISCUS-
SIONS, Vol. V. In fact, he referred to
himself as "predestined to prophesy truth
and never to be believed until too late."-
quoted in THE JOURNAL OF CHRIS-
TIAN RECONSTRUCTION, Vol. XIII,
No.2, 1994, p. 348.
Dr. Douglas Kelly has point ed out in '
his "Preface to New Edition" of THE
PRACTICAL PHILOSOPHY that:
While Thornwell and Shedd probably had
greater literary gifts than Dabney, and Hodge
was perhaps Dabney's superior in organizing
and outlining theological material; while
Archibald Alexander and B.M. Palmer undoubt-
edly exercised greater sway over the popular
mind of their time than Dabney, yet in one
important way-if in no other-the events of
this rapidly concluding twentieth centnry have
shown that Dabney excels them all. Dabney
was a far-seeing prophet in a way that few
theologians of the nineteenth century-or any
other time-have ever been. Like Ezekiel and
Jeremiah, the development of Dabney's pro-
phetic gift was very costly to himself: he
passed through the fires of experiencing the
bitter defeat of his homeland and the conse-
quent breakup of the Southern culture that was
the pride and joy of his heart. Through it all he
worked and fought, wept and confessed,
preached and taught, and above all else-even
at eighty years old-combined the school boy's
sense of wonder with the penetrating eye of the '
learned professor ...
THE PRACTICAL PHILOSOPHY (1897)
was Dabney's last book: the ripest fruit of his
learning and living. It is appropriate tMt his
final work should contain some of his most
remarkable prophecies. Believe it or not,
Dabney foresaw the life and death struggle that
would take place between secular totalitarian-
ism and Christian liberty in America in the latter
part of the twentieth century. Consider these
words [of Dabney]:
"The history of human rights is, that their
intelligent assertors usually learn the true
grounds of them 'in the furnace of affliction;'
that the posterity who inherit these rights hold
them for awhile, in pride and ignorant prescrip-
tion; that after a while, when the true logic of
the rights has been forgotten, ,and when some
plausible temptation presses them to do so, the
next generation discards the precious rights
bodily, and goes back to the practice of the old
tyranny ... You may deem it a strange prophecy,
but I predict that the time will come in this once
free America when the battle for religious
liberty will have to be fought over again, and
will probably be lost, because the people are
already ignorant of its true basis and condi-
tions." (p. 394)
AugusUSeptember, 2000 - THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon - 33
In attackinlli "Anti-Biblical ,Theories 9f
Rights," Dabney sho'ws what would hap"
pen to the United'S tates if the prevalent
view of rights imported from the Ftench
Revolution in contradiction to the view of
our founqing fathers won the ,day., Now,
in the year 2000, we can see that his
words ' were right on the money, He said:
"If the Jacobiri theory be true, then
woman must be allowed access to every
male ,avocation, 'including government',
and war if she wishes it, to suffrage, to
every political office, to as absolute
fr.eed.om fr om her husband in the marriage
relation as she enjoyed before her ullion
to ',him, and to as absolute ,control of her
own property and earnings as th,at'
c1a'imed by the single gentleman, as
against her own husband. " - DISCUS-
SISlNS, Vol. III, p. 501
III. The Presuppositions of
Dabney's .Worldview
Three. of those pre.suppo'sitions that
formed Dabney 's view of the world were:
(1). God is to be fe ared; (2), The Creator
and creature, are distinct; and (3). ' The
Bible is of inerrant and comprehensive
divine authority.
A. The,Fear of God
Dabney also understood that the fear
of God is the starting point for the obtain-
ing of knowledge and wisdom,Proverbs
1:7,9;10 .. If the quest for kno'wledge ;
wIsdom and a true perception' of the
Cieato!" and His Creation i s to ,be s uc-
cessful, a perso.n must begin with rever-
ent and adoring submission to the triune
God and to His.reyealed Word, i.e" the
Bible. ,An ac curate worldview is n9t
based on reason or experience but ,on
divIne revelation and our faith in the
di vine authority of that revelation.
Dabney agreed with Augustine, that we
inust believe in' order to know. True
knowledge is impossible without Biblical
presuppositions, and, the most basic of all
is that the living God is to be feared"
loved, and obeyed in all thought an,d
conduct.
Dabney explains the nature and value
of the fear of God in his descriptions of
his beloved General Stonewall Jackson.
In June, following the death of Jackso
ll
on May 10,1863, in a memorial sermon
by Dabney entitled , "True Courage," he ,
explained that what made Jackson great
and courageous was preeminently his ' fear
of God,
. .. he is the bravest man who is the best
Christian. It is he who truly fears God, who is
entitled to fear nothing else, He whose conduct
is governed by the fear of God is brave, be-
cause the powers of his soul are in harmony,
There is no mutiny or war within, of fear
"If the quest for knowledge,
wisdom and a truc percepl ion of
t he Creator and His Creation is to
be sl1ccessfl1l, a person musr begin
with reverent attd adoring
sl1bmission to the triulle God and
to lIis revealed Word,"
against shame, of duty safety, of '
science and evil desir,e,. by which the bad man
has his beart unnerved. - In conscious recti-
tude there is strength,
This strength General Jackson eminently
possessed. He walked in the fear of God,: with
a perfect heart, keeping all his commandments
and ordinances, blameless: 'Never has it been
my happiness to know one of greater purity of
life, or more regular and devout habits of ,
prayer, As ever in his great taskmaster's eye,
he seemed to devote every hour to the senti-
ment of duty, and only to live to fulfill his charge
as a servant of God. Of this be assured, that all
his eminence and success as a great and brave
soldier, were based on his eminence and sanc-
tity as a Christian. Thus, power of bis
soul was brought to move'in sweet accord;
under the guidance of an enlightened and honest
conscience. How could such a soul fail to be
courageous for the right?
B. The Creator-Creature Distinction ' '
Dabney' s Thinking ' .
"
Dabney believed in the Biblical doc-
trines of creation and providence, 'arid
34 - THE COUNSEL of Cbalcedon - August/September, 2000
because he did so, he understood that a
clear and unequivocal distinction exists
between the infinite and independent
Creator and His finite and dependent
creation. In other words he understood
the implications of creation and provi-
dence.
Dabney held tenaciously to the Bibli-
cal, orthodox and Reformed doctrine of
creation that God created the universe
out of nothing, suddenly, and gave it light,
life and order in six literal days about
6000 years ago." He believed this be-
cause the "creator has uttered His testi-
mony" regarding the supernatural origin
of the universe in the book of Genesis,
.and that divine testimony, of necessity,
takes precedence over all the arguments
of science, because of the fallibility of
science, and because all the books of the
Bible are the very word of the Crealor.
Therefore, unless you are "ready to
surrender the infalliblity of your Bibles,"
you must not follow the theories of anti-
Christian, evolutionary science . Rather,
"you must resist, or you must practically
surrender your Bibles. You will have to
'take sides' for or against your God. -
Unless our Bible-when cautiously and
candidly interpreted by its own light-is
inspired and infallible, it is no sufficient
rule of faith for an immortal soul. Such
the Bible is, notwithstanding all the pre-
tended di scoveries of vain philosophy.
Modern events have not loosened a single
foundation stone of its authority, nor can
any such discoveries, from their very
nature, affect it."- pp. 167, 123, DIS-
CUSSIONS, Vol. III
He WaS so insistent in his repudiation
of even the smallest step away from the
Biblical and Reformed doctrine of cre-
ation toward evolutionism, as was evident
in the writing of James Woodrow of
Columbia Seminary, because he under-
stood clearly that one intellectual step
away from the Bible's doctrine of cre-
ation ex nihilo by God toward evolution-
ary science is one step toward atheism.
He wrote: "And I as k, with emphasis, if
men are not in fact reaching after athe-
ism; if their real design is not to push
God clean out of past eternity, why this
craving to show His last intervention as
Creator so remote? Why are they so
eager to shove God back six billions of
years from their own time rather than six
thousand? Is it that they do not like to
retain God in their knowledge? -
Naturalism is virtnal atheism, and athe-
ism is despair. Thus saith the apo s tle:
They who are without God in the world
are without hOJle. (Eph. 2:12) Young
man, does it seem to you an alluring
thought, when appetite entices or pride
inflates, that this false science may re-
lease you from the stern restraints of
God's revealed law? Oh ! beware, lest it
despoil you thus of hope and immortal-
ity."- DISCUSSIONS, Vol. III, pp.
133,135
The Biblical doctrine of providence"
was also vital to Dabney's worldview.
Again in his memorial to General Stone-
wall Jackson, "True Courage," he pointed
out that , although others had s aid that
Jackson was a fatalist
54
, he most cer-
tainly was not.
[Rather] "he was a strong believer in the
special providence of God ... [which] ... teaches
that the regular, natural agency of second
causes is sustained, preserved, and regulated by
the power and intelligence of God; and that in
and through that agency, every event is directed
by His most wise and holy will, according to His
plan, and the laws of nature which He has
ordained. Fatalism tends to apathy, to absolute
inaction: a belief in the providence of Scrip-
tures, to intelligent and hopeful effort. -
Hence it produces a combination of courageous
serenitY,-with cheerful diligence in the use of
means. My illustrious leader was as labo-
rious as he was trustful; and laborious
precisely because he was trustful. Every-
thing that self-sacrificing care, and preparation,
and forecast, and toil, could do, to prepare and
to earn success, he did. And therefore it was,
that God, without whom the watchman waketh
but in vain, usually bestowed success. So
likewise, his belief in the superintendence of the
August/September, 2000 THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon - 3S
Almighty was a}l;lOst strong and living convic-
tion. In every order,or dispatch, announcing a
victory, he was prompt to ascribe the result to
the Lord of Hosts. - More than once, when
sent to bring one of hi$ old fighting brigades into
action,I had noticed him sitting motionless upon
his horse with his right hand uplifted; while the
war worn column poured in stern silence close
by his side. At first it did not appear whether it
was mere abstraction of thought, or a posture to
relieve his fatigue., BUt at Port Republic, I saw
it again; and watching him more narrowly, was
convinced by his clo$ed eyes and moving lips,
that he was wrestling in silent prayer. I thought
that I could surmise what was then passing
through his fervent soul; the sovereignty of.that
Providence which worketh all thirrgs after the
counsel of His own will, and giveth the battle
not to the strong, nor the race to the swift: his
own fearful and need of that
counsel and sotind wi$dom, which God alone
can give; the crisis of his beloved country, and
the balance trembling between defeat and
victory; the precious lives of his veterans, which
the inexorable necessities of war compelled him
to jeopardize; the immortal souls passing.to their
account, perhaps unprepared; the widowhood
and orphanage which might result from the
orders he had just beeu compelled to issue.
And as his beloved men swept by him to the
front, into the storm of shot, doubtless his great
heart, as tender as it was resolute, yearned over
them in unutterable longings and ihtercessions,
that the Almighty would cover them with
His feathers, and that His truth might be their
shield and buckler.- DISCUSSIONS, Vol. IV,
pp.442-444. [Such is the effect of the doctrine
of providence on one's view of the world.]
C. The Divine Authority of the Bible
Thomas Cary Johnson said of Dabney
that "he planted himself oh Scripture
teaching as upon a rock. No man has
shown a more devoted allegiance to the
Word of God. - It is easy to speak of
the Bible as the Universal Book, touching
and inspiring human life and action every-
where, giving tone and color at every
never so happy as when all his thinking
was consciously shaped by God.'s
Dabney strove to toot his worldview in
the Bible, because he considered the
Bible the inerrant, compre'hensive and
complet()d revelation of the way God
looks at the world. He said: "I hold the
Scriptures to be, in all its ,parts, of ple-
nary inspiration; ... This havin'g been
settlea, we may proceed to assume them
as inspired and infaIIible,"- Smith, p.202,
And so he bowed before the Bible as his
final and absolute authority for under-
standing God, life, the world' and himself.
As one scholar has said of him: This
final, unassailable aI1d absolute authority
of both, the Old Testament and the New
Testament was the basis of the structure
and viewpoint of his view of the world.
No human being is without fault in his
character and his reasoning, because we
remain sinners until we die. Dabney was
nO exception. He, as most theologians of
the 19
th
Century, was committed to a
Scottish school of philosophy known as
, "Common SenSe Philosophy," which had
confidence in the power of human reason
unaided by revelation and Spiritual en-
lightenment to attain valid kJi6wledge,
thus ' gi ying a primacy to human reason,
, without consistently taking into account
the effects of moral qepravity on the
, human mind, I Corinthians 4:3f, "Insofar
as Dabney's thought was affected with
this form of 'rationalism' there is an
inconsistency with Biblical thought, which
insists on the blindness of natural reason,
which must be enlightened by the Holy
Spirit before it can see truly. That such
an inconsistency existed in Dabney and
Thornwell ... is eviden,t in their works.
Yet, when expounding the Biblical view of
, the Bible and of man, they both submitted
their thinking to the Bible. Whether they
were aware of their inconsistencies or
not may be questioned."- Smith, 203
point, bUI. .. few men have so realized this It is his worldview as influence,d con-
as Robert L. Dabney' ' He brought everY7' sistently by 'the written Word of God that
thing to this Divine touch"stone, and was we are considering. Dabney's own testi-
36 - THE COUNSEL of Chalced()n - August/September, 2000
many as to the dependence of reason
upon divine revelation to understand the
world is this: "Let the student, from the.
first, discard all the false and mischie-
vous ideas. generated by the slant of 'the
contest between reason and faith. '-of
the propriety of having 'reason conquer
faith, or faith conquer reason.' There is
no such contest. The highest reason is to
believe implicitly what God's word says,
as soon as it is clearly ascertained to be
God' s word. The dictate of reason her-
self is to believe; because she sees the
evidence to be reasonable."- Smith, p .
204
He summarized his view of the Bible
with these words: "It is our doctrine that
'the Bible alone is the religion of Protes-
tants.' - We admit no title to do any-
thing as a part of public, religious service
of God, except those things which He
hath appointed in His word .... It is also
the creed of Protestants , as of the Bible,
that this book is 'all given by inspiration
of God,' and is our divine and supreme
rule of faith and life ... . But this word is
only made effectual to the calling and
sanctification of any rational adults, by
the almighty in working of God's Holy
Spirit."- Smith, 204. From this statement,
Morton 'Smith makes this assessment:
"From this we see first the basic rule of
all our faith and life is none other than
the Bible. On the other hand, because of
our depravity and blindness, we are un-
able to appropriate the Scripture without
the work of God's Spirit enlightening our
minds and enabling us to receive the
teaching of His Word."- p. 204-205
Dabney said that "the highest reason is
to believe implicitly what God's word
says , as soon as it is clearly ascertained
to be God's word."- p. 204. What is that
"reasonable evidence" by which the Bible
is "clearly ascertained" to be the very
Word of God? In a sermon entitled, "The
Bible, Its Own Witness," Dabney answers
that question. His text for this sermou
was John 4:41-42: And many more
believed because ,of His Word; and
they were saying to the woman, "It is
no longer because of what you said
that we believe, for we have heard for
ourselves and know that this One is
indeed the Savior of the world." His
answer from this text was this:
To him who reflects, the claim with which
the gospel presents itself must appear exceed-
ingly remarkable. Wherever it comes it de-
mands immediate belief, as the first duty, and on
pain of damnation ... To the unlettered laborer,
as to the laborious antiquary, she [the gospel)
says alike, "Believe, and thou shalt be saved,"
and, "He that believeth not shall be damned."
On the other hand, the gospel demands an
intelligent and rational faith; it condemns and
sternly rejects the pretended assent of igno-
rance, prejudice, and subserviency, requiring us
to be "able to give a reason for the hope that is
in us." - Vol. I, p. 115
Since Christ demands of us an intelligent
faith, and that irrespective of our possession or
lack of literary culture, it appears plain that He
regards His gospel as containing its own self-
evidencing light. The literary evidence of its
divine origin, drawn by the learned from antiq-
uity, have their value; but wherever the Bible is
read with honesty, it presents, within itself,
sufficient proof to evince that its claims are
reasonable.- p. 117
So the gospel brings its own self-evidencing
light. (p. 118) - And here is the answer to the
sneer, that the faith of such Christians is but
senseless prescription or prejudice. To the right
. heart, the gospel is its own sufficient witness.
From this point of view you will see it to be a
reasonable proposition, that the best book to be
read by him who is inquiring into the evidence
of the Bible is the Bible itself. - Search the
. Scriptures honestly and diligently, and you will
find out whether they are from God ... - p. 131
His confidence in the self-authenticat-
ing divine authority of the Bible is the
outworking of his faith in the Biblical
nature of the teachings of the Westmin-
ster Confession of Faith, to which he
committed himself in his ministerial ordi-
nation vow, and of which "he was perhaps
the most sympathetic and able expounder
August/September, 2000 - THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon - 37
in his century'::. (Smith, p. 194). That
Confession states:
The authority of the Holy Scripture, for it
ought to be believed and obeyed; 'dependeth
not upon the testimony of any man or church,
but wholly upon God; (who is truth itself) the
author thereof; and therefore it is to be
received, because it is the word of God.
We may be moved and induced by the
testimony of the Church to an high tind
reverend esteem of the holy scripture, and the
heavenliness of the matter, the efficacy of the
doctrine, the majesty of the style" the consent
of all the parts, the scope of the whole,
(which is to give all glory to God,) the full
discovery it makes of the only way of man's
salvation, the many other incomparable
excellencies, and the entire perfection
thereof, are arguments whereby it doth, abun-
dantly evidence itself to be the word of God;
yet, notwithstanding, 01fT full persuasion and
assurance of the infallible truth, and divine
authority thereof, is from the inward work of
the Holy Spirit, bearing witness by and with
the Word in our hearts.-Chapter J. paragraphs
IV and V.
Because the Bible for Dabney was
God's revealed truth, he love'd it with all
his heart and so he would defend it at all
costs. Johnson said of him: ' "Loving
truth for herself, he sought her as one
might seek to win his bride; and so i ~
convictions went down into the substance
of his whole being. ' His holy reverence
for truth wrought in him a holy intoler-
ance of error; and he fonght for the one,
and against the other, with a passionate
earnestness which many mistook for
bitterness of spirit.""
Dabney strove with every fiber in his
being to be faithful to the teachings of
the Bible and to think and live cop.sis-
tently in their light. Because he believed
those teachings to be God's truth, he
would expose, refute and correct contra-
dictions to that divine truth.in the philoso-
phies and theologies of his day with
"great strength ... and most delicate analy-
sis. " He firmly believed that some things
were true and some were false, some
were good and some were evil, and t ~ t
falsehood and evil led away from God and
life, and so he was always prepared to
answer falsehood and to resist evil for
the benefit of mankind and to the glory of
the God of truth. As Thomas Cary
Johnson said of him: "It is not often that
the same hand can wield the sledge ham-
mer the scalpel and the, microscope ... He
found the weak spot in a system of er-
rors, and hurled his missile with the same
precision and power as when David over-
threw Goliath, and then ... he decapitated
error with its own sword, and exposed the
bleeding trophy so relentlessly that some
people thought him cruel, and most of all
the errorist.
"As a teacher, in the pulpit and in the
classroom, he was a dogmatist. - Away
with that namby pamby courtesy and
politeness that smirks and bows and
extends its mantle of charity to falsehood
and sin, and concedes to heresy equal
rights and standing with truth under the
deceitful plea of honest conviction and
the right of private judgment. He always
treated the errorist courteously and never
allowed his denunciation of the false in
theory or practice to degenerate into
personalities. And yet his denunciations
often remind us of Him who took a
scourge of small cords and drove out of
the temple those who profaned it, crying,
The zeal of Thy house hath eaten me
Up ... " S7
TO BE CONTINUED
(FOOTNOTES ON PAGE 40)
38 THE COUNSEL of Chl\lcedon - August/September, 2000
I Bughell. A COMMBNTARTY ON 'rRE
TO THE HEElREWS, (Gl ud Rapids,
WilliamB. Eerdman5 Publishing CompDny,
1977), p, 451:
Z Quoted by HeilJ"y M. Woods in a memorial
booklei, ROBERT LEWIS DABNEY 1820-1898,
writt<:a In 1936.
, II'( MEMORIAM: ROBERT LEWIS DABNEY,
(Kno.wille:. 'The University of TenOlSssee Press, "1899),
"Robert Lewis Daboey-A Sketell
n
by C.
10lln&oo, p. 15,
Ibid., p. 8.
, Ibid .. p. 10.
'. ' IN MEMORIAM: ROBERT LEWIS DABNBY,
"Regolot .eo" by Moses I? HOle, pp.26-27.
1 IN MEMORIAM, "A Light Gooe" by Col. L.S.
Marye. p. 3L
I Mortotl"H. Smilh, STUDIES IN SOUTHERN
PRB$BYTBRIAN THEOLOGY, (/aekson, Miuisslppi:
Pi:elbyterlDn Reformation Soeiety, 1962), p. 183.
- Ibid., p .. 187.
I' Ibid .. p. 19t.
Il Ibid., .p . 191.
Non-Profit Org.
US.PQStage
PAID
Permit # 1553 .
Greenville, SC
29602
11 Ibid., p. 194.
IJ Ibid., .pp. 187- 188.
" l oh!! W. Schildt, JACKSON AND THE
PREACHERS, (Panons, West Virginia: McClain
[ lit It:\ (l'\\ VOUI 11' l'lt'lg l.d It I ,1'1(1 it \ (JUI d.lte 11(.,'4([1..'> \\ til ,[ 9 O. _<, {'[[ el\\ "'l'
'I\\L'} U,\ \ 1( SO I t'n, '\\ \ QUI .... lLst npt 01' '.)\\ r..' I\. Ym I
Printinl Company, 1982), p. 113.
" Jtild., p. 112.
Ibid., p. 112.
llibld., pp. 112 113.
11 LECTURES IN SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY, (Grand Rapids, Michi lan:
Zolulervan Publisbing Comp:my, 1975 rrprint, lirsl publisheo:l in 1878).
19 DISCUSSIONS: EVANGELICAL AND THEOLOGICAL, Vol. I, (London,
Engilwd: The Banner of Truth TfUSl, 1967 reprint, pllbli $hed in 1890).
2' DISCUSSIONS: EVANGELICAL AND Tl:{EOLOGlCAL, Vol. II, (London,
England: The Banner of Truth Trust, i967 r_ep'rlot, li u l published in 1891).
11 THE PRACTICAL PHILOSOl"HY, (Harri.onburg, VA: Sprinkle Publica-
tions, 1984 reprint, fiut published in 1897).
21 In DISCUSSIONS: SECULAR, Vol. IV, (Harrisonburg, VA: Sprinkle
PnblielltioJa, 1979 reprillt, first published in 1897), "The Negro and Ibe Common
Scbool," ' 'The State Free School System Imposed upon Vir&ini a," "Secularized
Education," "State Free Schools." In DISCUSSIONS: EVANGELICAL AND
THEOLOGICAL, Vol. n, "Memorill on- Theologienl Educlltion," In DISCUSSIONS:
MISCELLANEOUS, Vol. V., ''The Necessity of Christian Education in our Mi"ion
Fields."
l.J DISCUSSIONS: SECULAR, Vol. IV, aod LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF
LEUT. GEN. THOMAS J. JACKSON. (Sprinkle Pnblications, 1976 reprint, originally
printed In 1865), and "U&es lind Results of Church History" in DISCUSSIONS, Vol.
II.
l-I A DEFENSe OF VIRGINIA AND THE SOUTH, (Sprinkle Publicillioos,
1977 reprint, firat published in 11161), and DISCUSSIONS: SECULAR, Vol IV.
" "Crimes of Philanthropy," In DISCUSSIONS, Vol. IV.
l' LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF LEUT. GeN. THOMAS J. JACKSON, and
anicles ip DISCUSSIONS, Vol . IV. .
"Civil Ethics" in DISCUSSlONS, Vol. Ill., and THE PRACTICAL
PHILOSOPHY, pp. 372ff and LECTURJ!S IN SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY, pp.
862ff.
11 "Labor VUlOUS, Ihe Strike and the Commune,ft in Vo\, IV,
and welpita) and Llbor'" in DISCUSSIONS, Vol. V.
- '" "Dep'ression of American Fuming Interests" and EffeclS of the
Former Labor System of the Southera United States" in DISCUSSIONS, Vol, IV.
J' "The tbe Daddies" in DISCUSSIONS, Vol. IV, .
'I wPdndples nf Christian EcoDomy" in DISCUSSIONS. Vol. I.
n "Women's Rilhts Women" in ' DISCUSSIONS; Vol. rv, and "Women 's
Suffra,e,:'i n DISCUSSIONS, VoLVo
n "Morality of the Legal Profellion" in DISCUSSIONS, Vol . Ill.
U "On, Dangerous Reading" in DISCUSSIONS, Vol. 2, Iud Literature
and Educi tiol).':' in DISCUSSIONS, Vol. III.
n "Oeoiogy alld Ibe Bible" in DISCUSSIONS, Vol. Ill.
H L;CTURES m SACRED RHETORIC, (Richmond, VA: Presbyterian
Commit!ee of Plibllcalioli., 1870) and "The of Preaching" in
DISC;USSIONS.,Yol.I" nnd "Simpllelty of PUlpit Styl e" in DISCUSSIONS, Vol. Ill.
11 "A Caution Alainst Anti-Christian Science" in DISCUSSIONS, Vol. III.
JI "The Emotions" and "SpuIious Reli , ioas RlIeitemenu" in DISCUSSIONS,
Vol . m, and ia THE PRACTICAL PHILOSOPHY, pp. It .
Ill.
" "The Phllnsophy Reillinting Corporations" in DISCUSSIONS, Vol:
u "Induct!,e Logic Discus.s ed" and: ApplicatiOn! of and Analocy".
in DISCUSSIONS, Vol. III.
H "The Immortality nf the Sou!: in DISCUSSIONS, Vol. III, Bnd "Annihilation"
in DISCUSSIONS, Vol. IV, and "Our Comfort in Dyillll" in DISCUSSiONS, VoL I,
aDd LECTURES IN SYSTEMA.TIC THEOLOGY, pp. 81n
n "'i'be New South
W
in DISCUSSIONS, Vol. IV, "Liberty and. Silvery" and
Theories of R1sht'W in DfSCVSSIONS, Veo!. III.
U "Paretl lBl Respondb!Uties" in DISCUSSIONS, Vol. I and in THE ,
CAL PHILOSOPHY. pp. 335fr, and" A Mother's Crowolng mory" In DtSCUS- .
SIONS, Vol. V.
U WLetlers from in DISCUSSIONS, Vn! . V, ,,
"Bibl e PsychOIOIY: Dichotomy vs. TrichotOiny" in DISCUSSIONS, Vol. V.
.ft. "The Dallger from the ACCDUlUlation of We.4I th in Ec::clell iastical Hands" ia
DISCUSSIONS, Vol. V.
41 "The New State-Church" in DISCUSSIONS, Vol. V and in LECTURES IN
SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY, pp. 873f.
.. "Iostrumcot al Musie in Public Worship" io DISCUSSIONS, Vol . V._
4. LECTURES IN SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY, pp. 829ff.
His poems lire found In Volurne9 IV and V of his 'DISCUSSIONS.
" IN MEMORIAM: ROBERT LEWIS DABNBY, p. 14.
II For support for thi ; s tatement su Dabney'S LECTURES IN SYSTE.MATIC
THEOLOGY, pp. 247-263, (Grand Rapid" Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House,
1975 reprint). See alSo hi s "A Caution Agains t Anti-ChrIStian Science," pp,
116ff, in DISCUSSIONS, III. Harrisonburg, .VA: Sprinkle PubHcations, 111110).
n Por Dabney's Iyslemillic of the Biblical doctrine of pro,idcnce
. see his LECTURES -IN SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY, pp. 276-291.
,. Fatali sm tea_ches "thllt a)leveii(s er!:. fixed-by an 'immanent ' physical .
necessity in Ihe serie! of causes IIlid -effects thcin!ehes; II. neceui ty U ' blind, and
unreasoaina u Ihe lendency of .the sJone tOwllrd-the ea.rlh, when unsupported rrom ;.
beneuh; a nect,$sity as mueh coolmllinl tha -roiell ricnce and will of God as of
cre:lI11reS; II necessity ,whlch admits no modjfication results through the agency of
causes, but ren-ders them inoperalive .and non-essential, s,aVill 111 the mere, ' '.
passive stepping stones in the Dabney, '.'True ....
DISCUSSIONS. Vol. HI, p. 442, '.
n IN MEMORIAM: ROBERT DABNEY, p. 19.
,. IN MEMORIAM: ROBERT LEWIS DABNEY, "The Christian Warrior" by
Benjamin M. Palmer, p. 2'0. '
J1 IN MEMORIAM: ROB'Efrr LEWIS DABNEY, " Rohen A..' "
Sk. etch, " Thomas C. Juhnson, p. 19. \.:
40 THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon August/September, 2000