The Inspiration and Authority of the Bible

Princeton theologian B. B. Warfield was a watchman on the wall of orthodoxy. His temperament, training, and talent—together with his deep love for Christ and amazing breadth of knowledge—shaped him into the twentieth century’s greatest defender of the faith. His writings have been studied with profit for well over a hundred years—a tribute to his clear, careful, cogent, gospel-centered exposition of orthodox Christianity, which he called “the redemptive religion” and which he fearlessly defended.

In The Inspiration and Authority of the Bible, Warfield says that the Bible is "an oracular book . . . the Word of God in such a sense that whatever it says God says" that all its affirmations are "to be esteemed as the utterance of God, of infallible truth and authority." Warfield's incisive scholarship shines in this new and enhanced edition, which has been edited, formatted, and retypeset for modern readers. Its carefully prepared aids include comprehensive abstracts at the beginning of each chapter, intelligent headings, smart paragraph breaks, explanatory notes, definitions of obscure terms, discussion questions, recommended reading, complete footnotes and bibliographies, and more.

Endorsements

"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."

—Guy Prentiss Waters, James M. Baird Jr. Professor of New Testament and Academic Dean, Reformed Theological Seminary, Jackson, Mississippi

"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."

—William Edgar, Professor of Apologetics, Westminster Theological Seminary; Associate Professor, Faculté Jean Calvin, Aix-en-Provence, France

"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."

—Wayne Grudem, Distinguished Research Professor of Theology and Biblical Studies, Phoenix Seminary

“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.”

—G. K. Beale, Professor of New Testament and Biblical Theology, Reformed Theological Seminary, Dallas

“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 M. Frame, Professor of Systematic Theology and Philosophy Emeritus, Reformed Theological Seminary, Orlando

“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.” 

—David P. Smith, author, B. B. Warfield’s Scientifically Constructive Theological Scholarship

“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.”

—Benjamin L. Gladd, Professor of New Testament, Reformed Theological Semi-nary, Jackson, Mississippi

“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.”

—K. Scott Oliphint, Professor of Apologetics and Systematic Theology, Westminster Theological Seminary

“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.”

—Kevin J. Vanhoozer, Research Professor of Systematic Theology, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

“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.”

—Bill Davis, Professor of Philosophy and Coordinator of Faculty Development, Covenant College; Adjunct Professor of Philosophy, Reformed Theological Seminary, Atlanta

“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.”

—Steven L. Childers, President and CEO, Pathway Learning, Inc.; former Associate Professor of Practical Theology, Reformed Theological Seminary, Orlando

“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.”

—Michael S. Horton, J. Gresham Machen Professor of Systematic Theology and Apologetics, Westminster Seminary California

“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.”

—Ryan M. McGraw, Morton H. Smith Professor of Systematic Theology, Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary

“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.”

—Luder G. Whitlock Jr., President Emeritus, Reformed Theological Seminary