# Confessing the Faith by Chad van Dixhoorn



## MW (Nov 10, 2014)

Review: Chad van Dixhoorn, Confessing the Faith: a reader’s guide to the Westminster Confession of Faith (Edinburgh, The Banner of Truth Trust, 2014), xxvi., 484 pages. ISBN 978-1-84871-404-5. Review by Matthew E. Winzer.

The author is well known for his work on the Minutes of the Westminster Assembly and in bringing to light some of its lesser known writings. This expertise adds to the interest in a volume which aims to be a reader’s guide to the Westminster Confession of Faith. He writes as one who identifies very closely with the Confession‘s teaching, and sees the Confession as occupying an important place because it “holds out a large faith for us to own” amidst the dangerous situation of doctrinal minimalism in mainstream evangelicalism (xii.). His target audience does not only include ministers, elders, and deacons, but also church members and young people. To make the work accessible it has been divided into small portions which can be read in ten to twelve minutes each.

The work aims to be popular and historical. As a popular introduction it has much to commend it. Truth is often stated in an uncomplicated manner and supported by plain Scriptural reasoning. Exegetical difficulties and dogmatic systems are passed over in favour of allowing the Confession to speak for itself. A first reader will find this method helpful and the doxological tone will reinforce the connection between doctrine and devotion. For those who are already acquainted with the Confession, however, this straightforward manner of statement might appear shallow. There is an occasional step into the exegetical or dogmatic merits of a position but nothing like adequate argumentation to support the position adopted.

Matters of historical interest are touched upon but rarely explored. There is an introduction to the Westminster Assembly in its original setting which provides a glimpse into its reforming agenda. The Minutes of the Assembly are barely mentioned. They receive no attention at points where one would expect some notice of the differences of opinion which were expressed on certain doctrines, e.g., on the decrees of God. The Confession is sometimes contrasted with a doctrinal error of the time but with no regularity; and the writings of the divines are referenced on occasion to echo the sentiments of the Confession. On a popular level these notices help to provide a sense of the historical context and introduce the reader to some of the resources at his disposal if he desires to engage in further study.

The text of the Confession is included in two forms, an historical text and a modern version, which are placed in parallel columns. Regrettably the historical text has been updated to reflect current spelling and grammar, so the reader is not permitted to see the Confession in its complete original form. Moreover the modern version often adds substantive content which is not part of the original meaning of the Confession. There is also a third column which includes the American revisions where relevant.

The author supports the American revisions of the Confession. He misunderstands the original intention of the Westminster divines with respect to the power of the civil magistrate and fails to recognise the limitations placed on civil authority concerning religious matters. The American revision itself is questioned with respect to its claim that civil power should serve as protector of the church (316). For a sound explanation of the original Confession the reader might consult Robert Shaw on 20.4, 23.3, and 31.2. Other revisions relate to the imposition of an oath by authority, forbidding marriage with a deceased spouse’s sibling, and the identification of the pope as antichrist. Very little argumentation is offered to support these revisions and what is offered does nothing to alter the force of the Scriptural proofs given by the Assembly for its position.

Besides the revisions there are a number of positions adopted in this work which are contrary to the Confession. Some of these are stated as disagreements while others appear to be the result of false assumptions. Among the stated disagreements the most serious occurs on 6.3, which refers to the first parents as the root of all mankind in connection with the conveyance of guilt. The author misconstrues the statement of the Confession by making this connection a causal one. In a footnote he says this idea of a “dual source of human guilt … is comparatively unusual in English theology before and after 1646” (89). The Confession, however, never speaks of both parents as the cause of guilt, but merely as the occasion and means of conveying it. As Anthony Burgess wrote, “on our parts, there is no other way of conveying it, but by natural descent from him” (Original Sin, p. 59), and natural descent requires two parents. Besides mistakenly interpreting the Confession, the author appeals to Jeremy Taylor to suggest the Confession’s “fault” was detected at the time; but Taylor himself was at fault on the doctrine of original sin and cannot be relied upon as a competent witness.

Among the false assumptions are the following. The doctrine of the providential preservation of Scripture in 1.8 is said to be “more a comment on the survival rates of manuscripts than on textual exactitude” (23), although there is not a word about manuscripts in the Confession. On the days of creation it is claimed that the divines did not elaborate on the words of Scripture, but the words “in the space of” are a temporally limiting elaboration. It is acknowledged, however, that “some” of the members regarded these days as twenty-four hour periods (61-62). At 21.5, “psalms” is taken to include hymns other than the canonical book of psalms (285), though the author recognises the Assembly only made provision for the singing of the canonical book of psalms.

There also appear to be some simple misunderstandings and unguarded statements in the book. On behalf of Scriptural sufficiency it is claimed that “the Bible alone contains the law of God as well as all the general principles to which we need to adhere to live before the face of God” (17). The Confession makes no such assertion but contradicts it with appeals to the light and law of nature. Under 3.6, the author addresses his readership with the inclusive “we” and sometimes fails to qualify his statements in terms of the elect alone. At one point he makes the unqualified statement that “God always makes his call to salvation an effective and successful one” (54). On providence, second causes are mistakenly called necessary, free, or contingent causes (71), whereas the Confession uses these terms to describe the way events falls out in connection with second causes. Touching liberty of conscience in 20.2, the difference between being “contrary to” and “beside” the Word is understood as if the latter meant paying “close heed to God’s Word, for there we most clearly hear his voice” (264). The Catechisms make it apparent that such heed is to be given to the word of God in all of life. In matters of faith and worship, however, divine institution is required. Under the same chapter the author states, “It is impossible to secure both ‘the approval of man’ and ‘of God’” (264). This is a negative generalisation which would make it impossible to be a law-abiding citizen or a peaceful church member.

When the author follows the Confession he provides instructive and edifying comment. His theology is classic Trinitarian and Christological, and is firm in the Reformed doctrines of Scripture and grace. Church, ministry, and sacraments are soundly discussed and applied. The perfections of God could have been explained in greater depth, but this might have involved a systematic development which the work sought to avoid. At one point the Westminster Assembly is found wanting in relation to “realized eschatology” (443). This is surprising given the purpose of the book to avoid systematic development. The criticism, however, is without foundation, as the Confession has a clearly stated typology, and Larger Catechism answer 83 provides clear outlines for understanding communion in glory with Christ in this life. Moreover the rejection of the Confession’s statements relative to the civil magistrate and the antichrist demonstrate that the author has in fact preferred his own realised eschatology to that of the Westminster divines.

The anthropomorphism, “God wants,” is commonly used throughout the book, and suggests a lack of sufficiency in God, which would be contrary to the author’s contention that God is perfectly sufficient in Himself and needs nothing from His creatures. It would be well if this kind of phrase were omitted from Christian discourse.

The proof-texts of the Confession receive a mixed response. In general the proofs are utilised to good effect and show the strong biblical foundation on which the Confession is built. An attempt is sometimes made to explain the way the proofs were utilised to establish particular propositions. On occasion the use of particular verses is ruled out on the basis of modern text-critical assumptions with no comment as to why the divines themselves considered these verses to be genuine. At times it is apparent the author is using a version of the Scriptures which differed from that employed by the divines and the sense can become lost in translation. When the Confession adopts direct Scriptural expressions which are not in the author’s translation of choice, it can become an awkward task to explain how these expressions still have any meaning, e.g., “testament” in 7.4, “only begotten Son” in 8.1, and “the Lamb slain from the beginning of the world” in 8.6.

The Scripture index and general index are very useful. A recommended reading list or annotated bibliography could have enhanced this reader’s guide.

Reactions: Informative 1


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## Backwoods Presbyterian (Nov 10, 2014)

Thank you for this thorough review.


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## Dearly Bought (Nov 10, 2014)

Thank you for the very helpful review, Rev. Winzer.


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## C. M. Sheffield (Nov 10, 2014)

Thank you brother. A friend of mine recently bought this book for me and I haven't had the opportunity of getting into it. I am very thankful for your review.


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## Ask Mr. Religion (Nov 11, 2014)

I bought the book hoping to find Mr. Dixhoorn relying heavily upon his studies of the Assembly, expecting to see useful references to the Assembly's discussions on relevant aspects of the WCF. I was disappointed to see but a few hand waves, as Rev. Winzer noted above. As also noted above, Mr. Dixhoorn has no qualms of weighing in with his own opinion on the reason for revisions made in the WCF, albeit absent any substantive support for his opinions, contra the author's own preface:

"That is not to say that the Westminster assembly got it all right, and this commentary does, from time to time, first state the assembly's own perspective on an issue and then argue against it."

I knew I was in for some disappointment after reading:

"The Presbyterian Church in the USA rewrote chapter 16.7 on the good works of unbelievers, it removed the last sentence of chapter 22.3 and thus softened the requirements for taking oaths, it helpfully rewrote chapter 25.6, and removed a reference to the Pope of Rome as the antichrist, and it added two new chapters, one on the Holy Spirit and the other on the love of God and missions." (emphasis mine)

That said, Mr. Dixhoorn does note:

"The addition of two new chapters and the revisions to chapter 16.7 were changes leaning towards an Arminian, rather than a distinctively Reformed, presentation of doctrine."

Apparently, Bower's critical text of the 1640's Confession is used in the book ("only the spelling and capitalization of the critical text is standardized for ecclesiastical use").

Introductory material from the book can be downloaded here:
http://www.wtsbooks.com/common/pdf_links/9781848714045.pdf

It is my hope Rev. Winzer will also post his excellent review of the book at the WTS site for the text and/or at Amazon.com.


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## M_Scott (Nov 11, 2014)

Bummer, I wish this review was up before I spent the $27 @ WTS bookstore.

If anyone is interested, here's Van Dixhoorn's interview about the book @ ReformedForum - Confessing the Faith - Reformed Forum

I wanted a few books on the various creeds so I picked up The Creedal Imperative, Reformed Confessions Harmonized, The WCF and Catechisms (OPC) Hardcover, and Confessing the Faith. WTS Books was back ordered on White's French/English Translation Of The Institutes so I added CTF in its place, I kinda wish I'd waited.


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