Recovering the Reformed Confession: Our Theology, Piety, and Practice

by R. Scott Clark

Much of what passes as Reformed among our churches is not. As a class of churches that profess allegiance to Reformed theology, practice, and piety, we have drifted from our moorings. This book is written to facilitate change, specifically reformation according to God's Word as summarized in the Reformed confessions.

Genres: Theology, Church History, History, Christianity, Christian, Church, Religion

384 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2008

About the author

Dr. Clark was educated at the University of Nebraska (BA), Westminster Seminary California (MDiv), and St Anne’s College, Oxford University (DPhil). He was a minister in the Reformed Church in the United States (1988–1998) and has been a minister in the United Reformed Churches in North America since 1998.

He has taught church history and historical theology since 1995 at Wheaton College, Reformed Theological Seminary, Jackson, Concordia University, Irvine, and Westminster Seminary California.

Reviews

[Eric Chappell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Introduction:
What does it mean to be 'Reformed?' Clark makes case that word denotes a confession, a theology, piety, and practice that are well known and well defined and summarized in ecclesiastically sanctioned and binding documents (3). Clark's thesis: "It is the argument of this book that the Reformed confession is the only reasonable basis for a stable definition of the Reformed theology, piety, and practice (4).

Schaff said Rationalism and Sectarism plagued American church. Clark thinks rationalism is QIRE (Quest for Illegitimate Religious Certainty) and sectarism is QIRE (Quest for Illegitimate Religious Experience).

Discussion of magisterial and ministerial authority pertaining to confessions (5-17).

Quote: 'it seems that just as we began to speak about bringing everything under Christ's dominion, we were really in the process of bringing less of Reformed theology, piety, and practice under Christ's dominion' (18).

Great quote by Luther on the way he used commentaries: "For I know that none of theme attempted to read a book of Holy Scripture in school, or to use the writings of the fathers as an aid, as I did. Let them take a book of Holy Scripture and seek out the glosses of the fathers; then they will share the experience I had when I worked on the letter to the Hebrews with St. Chrysostom's glosses, the letter to Titus and the letter to the Galatians with the help of St. Jerome, Genesis with the help of St. Ambrose and St. Augustine, the Psalter with all the writers available, and so on...(23).

Quote: Not every appeal to Scripture is Reformed or reforming (25).

Quote" Becoming familiar and friendly with our own tradition is an important part of recovering the Reformed confession (35).

Part 1:
QIRC: is the pursuit to know God in ways he has not revealed himself and to achieve epistemic and moral certainty on questions where such scrutiny is neither possible nor desirable (39).
This is demonstrated in contemporary Reformed discussions on creation, theonomy, and covenant moralism.

QIRE: this chapter is a 50-page bash on pietism and revivalism. Reformed has its own piety.

Part 2:
Recovery (1): first chapter in recovery deals with going back to the categorical distinction between Creator and creature. Archetypal/ectypal distinction is essential.
Recovery (2): deals with what it means to be confessional. This chapter also addresses subscription issues helpfully.

Joy of Being Confessional: Confessions are biblical, catholic, vital, evangelical, churchly.

Recovering Reformed Worship: a big long chapter on how the confessions and RPW demand exclusive psalmody. Good thoughts, but I don't necessarily buy all the conclusions.

Whatever happened to the Second Service: a theological, historical, and biblical argument for the morning and evening corporate worship of God on the Lord's Day.

Epilogue: Predestination is Not Enough--basically, the Young, Restless, and Reformed guys would not be accepted by Westminster and Dort as being Reformed. You need more than Reformed soteriology to call yourself Reformed in any historic and meaningful sense.

My opinion: Clark's an important and informed voice in the Reformed tent. More people need to hear his thoughts and read this book. While I don't agree with all the conclusions he draws (exclusive Psalmody, biblical mandate of 2nd service, Whitefield was an actor), Clark is still worth paying attention to in current discussions of Reformed theology, piety, and practice. On a methodological and stylistic note, I thought the book at times had flow-trouble. A lot of it appeared to lack direction and purpose to the overall thesis of the book as stated. I also thought the issues he chooses to address as the most pressing were somewhat eccentric (not sure I buy the case he makes for their importance). I thought the book should be more-accurately titled: Listening to Clark's Mad Ravings. I enjoyed the book, learned quite a bit, would recommend it, probably will refer back to sections, but think he could have had a better methodological presentation.

[Jacob Aitken · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whether intended or not, Dr Clark's book can be focused around three themes: 1) a distinctively Reformed piety flows from a Reformed theology and this piety will be directly counter to the 2) Quest for Illegitimate Religious Certainty (QIRC) and 3) The Quest for Illegitimate Religious Experience (QIRE). The latter two are evident when people want to have a type of infallible knowledge beyond that which human beings are capable of (QIRC) and a religious experience that promises more of heaven than is possible in this present age (QIRE).

Dr Clark has an interesting chapter on confessional subscription and thoroughly summarizes the debates within conservative Reformdom. To be honest, I couldn't follow it, though I suspect it raised an interesting point for Dr Clark: he wants to hold to a thorough and strict confessional subscription, yet he recognizes the he differs from the Confessions on the civil magistrate and creation.

He has a strong chapter on the Regulative Principle and convincingly argues for the singing of only inspired songs (not EP, though).

Analysis and Conclusion

Sometimes God does promise and give heaven

Clark's larger argument is that we should be suspicious of those who claim that we should have spiritual experiences outside the divinely-established means of grace and preaching of the Word. Admittedly, this is a fair point. Clark's antagonist is Martyn Lloyd-Jones (MLJ). MLJ repeatedly urged for a “revival” to come, understanding revival as an experimental outpouring of the Holy Spirit (Clark, 79). Clark rebuts him, noting that MLJ is advocating Calvin's doctrine without Calvin's sacramental piety. Clark does admit, though, that MLJ never used “revival” to manipulate his own people (81).

Clark takes issue with Iain Murray's distinction between “revival” and “revivalism.” In the first category would be Reformed evangelists like Edwards and Whitefield. In the latter category we have the horror of today's evangelicalism. Clark accuses Murray of using providence to justify revivals he likes but ignoring providence on revivals he doesn't like (81-82). Clark concludes his critique of Murray by asserting on Murray's gloss what unites true Christianity is “experience, not doctrine” (82).

Clark does a good job in pointing out some weaknesses in individual Reformed evangelists and in some of the more inane happenings in the First Great Awakening. He also points out what many are now beginning to realize: Jonathan Edwards departed from the Reformed confession on a number of key philosophical points. Clark also establishes that Harry Stout's narrative of Whitefield cannot be so easily dismissed.

There are some inconsistencies and factual errors in Clark's analysis, though. Murray does not simply lump the Arminian and Calvinistic revivals in the same category. He is very critical of the Second Great Awakening towards its end. Further, Murray does not promote experience over doctrine as the basis of unity. Murray is specifically arguing, however, that the communions in North America shared a common, if somewhat broad, doctrinal agreement on soteriological concerns. I would probably side with Clark on this one, since Murray's account downplays important ecclesial issues, but it is not the case that Murray simply compromised doctrinal agreement. Most importantly, however, is that Clark does not come to grips with Iain Murray's distinction between revival and revivalism. The latter is not merely hoping for the Spirit of God to be poured out as an alternative to the means of grace. It is more properly seen as “whooping and hollering” until the decisions come. Revival, on the other hand, is when God sovereignly displays his power among his people in an unusual way. Further, Clark seems to grant that distinction with regard to MLJ (Clark, 81) but not with Murray.

I suspect MLJ overplayed his hand on the importance of revival. Clark is correct on one point: the church's sanctification is through the means of grace and discipline. That is the established norm. I think I can also argue, though, that MLJ's views can be modified and accommodate some of Clark's concerns on this point. MLJ strongly argued “that the New Testament appeal to sanctification is always an appeal to the reason of the believing man” (Murray, The Fight of Faith, 173). Of course, one would need to supplement this statement with a discussion on the Lord's Supper, but it is a good start.

While Clark is correct that MLJ probably doesn't represent good Reformed ecclesiology, MLJ's exegesis is not so easily dismissed. Perhaps MLJ's understanding of the 1859 revival doesn't rest on exegesis (with that I agree with Clark), but MLJ's understanding of the nature of revival and even the continuation of spiritual gifts (and I know this is uncomfortable with many) does rest upon carefully-reasoned exegesis (cf. MLJ, Prove all Things, 32-33; Joy Unspeakable, p. 21, 23; The Sovereign Spirit, p. 26, 120, pp. 31-32). In any case, MLJ does encourage his congregation to delight in the day of small things and to be careful in seeking “phenomena.” That at least must be granted. I agree with Clark that MLJ was perhaps a bit too dismissive of anyone who disagreed with him. That was not helpful on the latter's part.

I fear that Clark's model of QIRE, while valuable, can be overused to filter out any contrary evidence. Further, it does not account for a lot of the Puritans' experiences where they were in fact met with much of the Spirit of God. At this point if Clark dismisses them and uses Calvin's praxis against them, then it is hard to see how he is not adopting some form of the Calvin vs. Calvinists scheme.

I have had some questions about Clark's analysis. I think I have demonstrated that it is incomplete. I agree with his overall vision for the Reformed church's sanctification through Word and Sacrament and that those who constantly seek revival downplay this. Further, I agree with all of his criticisms of Edwards and most of his criticisms of Whitefield. That said, however, Clark's analysis really can't account for the fact that God indeed does refresh his church in powerful ways from time to time. Admittedly, we are interpreting facts at this point, but they are still facts. While we shouldn't sit on our hands waiting for revival to come, that does not mean that when God sovereignly displays his power in our lives we should say to him, “No God, this isn't how you work.” (Of course, I don't think Clark is saying that).

An Infallible Assurance?

We are grateful that Clark has shown us how to develop a piety around a specifically Reformed epistemology. A proper use of the ectypal distinction can save one from spiritual death. The ectypal distinction is one of the most useful Reformed tools against some traditionalistic apologetics. If we can only know according and within the human limits of knowledge, then we can rest content with a modest certainty on some important issues (election, the canon, etc). I have to wonder, though, if Clark's model can accommodate all the evidence. For example, how can a proper limited certainty coexist with the WCF's affirmation that we can have “an infallible assurance?”

Clark's model is good and should be employed in the Reformed world. I think, however, it might become a victim to its own successes. As when Vos' “already-not yet” model proved very helpful in eschatology, it also unwittingly served to stifle further discussion.

[Joel Davison · Rating 3 out of 5]

First few chapters really good, last few chapters weren’t applicable to me, therefore 3 stars

[Adam Nesmith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Big Idea of Book:
What it means to be Presbyterian and reformed is explicitly defined in the historic confessions. Therefore, to combat the modern church’s quest for illegitimate religious certainty and for illegitimate religious experience, reformed churches need to affirm and apply the historic confessions in their theology, piety, and practice.

Review Proper:

This is not a perfect book by any means. The structure is unclear at points and it reads more like a collection of topical essays united under a broader topic than a cohesive argument. Also, although it is a good thing the author is so well read, the scope of Clark’s critiques can be so far reaching that at times you feel as though his polemic is addressing every theologian both outside and within the reformed tradition with American evangelicalism being an additional target. However, as a challenge for Reformed churches and individuals to actually know and engage with their tradition, this book succeeds. The simple argument that to say one is “Reformed” is a statement that has historical as well as theological implications is certainly a helpful one.

Reformed is not a meaningless label or adjective; it puts one into a tradition that stretches back hundreds of years and includes confessions that define explicitly what it means to be reformed. The book encourages the reader to deeper study of one’s own theological tradition, in contrast to the often shallow way “Reformed” is thrown around and used in a very individualist, subjective way. And after that confession is accepted as defining the reformed identity, the call of the book is to combat the “quest for illegitimate religious experience” and the “quest for illegitimate religious certainty” with reformed theology, piety, and practice.

This book is probably worth a read for ruling elders to help understand what holding to a reformed confession means and how to apply it to their local church. There are whole sections of the book that read like a literature review of historic sources to help you understand better the context of the development of the confessions and their application to reformed churches across different times and countries. The final two chapters on the regulative principle and having an evening service I think were very thought provoking as well. Also thought provoking are Scott Clark’s critiques of revered theologians such as Edward’s, Van Til, John Frame (and the list goes on and on). Honesty one of my critiques of the book is you come away thinking that according to Scott Clark’s definition hardly anyone post-Westminster era could be considered “Reformed”. But it is helpful to have a better understanding of where different thinkers and denominations agree and depart from the historic confessions.

In conclusion, I think this will be a book I rarely recommend other people outside of church leadership spend their time reading cover to cover but a book that I myself will quote and reference quite often. As someone who only recently transitioned to Westminster Presbyterianism, it helped me answer some important questions (like what does it mean to subscribe to a confession?), helped me wrestle with ideas debated within Presbyterianism (like exclusive Psalm singing and no instruments in worship), and gave me more historical context for where the modern American church departs from historic reformation thought. The downsides of the writing style, how dense it is, the hard to extract structure, and the polemics against everyone within and without the reformed tradition shouldn’t keep everyone from reading the book, but if a more concise winsome writer could make a popular version of this book, it would serve the church well.

[Tyler Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

After several years on the shelf, I finally got a chance to read through this book from Dr. Clark, written back in 2008, calling for a return to the Reformed Creeds and Confessions for those who hold on to the label. There was much in the book I liked, and there were many conclusions that I disagreed with, but it was a well-researched and enjoyable read. I think his basic thesis is correct: much of what is categorized as "reformed" today is not confessional. But the joy our tradition has to offer the world is precisely our reformed theology, piety, and practice.

Dr. Clark begins by diagnosing the problem with American Evangelicalism of the calvinistic bent with a "Quest for Illegitimate Religious Certainty" and a "Quest for Illegitimate Religious Experience." I take these to be his strongest chapters. He does a superb job showing how pietism and fundamentalism have set the boundaries of orthodoxy in a way that cuts through the classical Reformed tradition. One thing to point out is that Dr. Clark is very polemical. John Frame, Martyn Lloyd Jones, Iain Murray, Jonathan Edwards, Cornelius Van Til, Thomas Aquinas, Richard Lovelace, and many more get lambasted in this work. Sometimes, the criticism is on point, and other times it does not bolster the argument.

The weaker part of this work was the latter chapters where he calls for inspired-only singing and the necessity for two services on the Lord's Day. While these are not wrong practices, they seemed to contradict his previous call to treat tradition as a way to access timeless Scripture truth.

[Matt Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

The main argument of this book manifests in two complementary threads; one broad and one narrow.

The broad thread of the book addresses the practice of the American Reformed Churches: their theology, piety, and practice. Specifically, how their theology, piety, and practice has deviated away from the Reformed confessions to which they purportedly hold. This particular thread of the book was difficult for me to follow and relate to, in practice, since I do not live in America, much less attend a Reformed church there. RSC distinguishes broadly between three types of churches. There is the ‘borderline’ group of conservatively evangelical churches that sit between the liberal ‘mainline’ and the confessionally Reformed ‘sideline’. It is this latter group of churches that form the focus of the book, yet insight can still be gleaned on confessionalism from this side of the pond, as someone who would personally sit in the ‘sideline’ camp but whose church would be in the ‘borderline’ camp.

The narrow thread of the book is the call for the Church (specifically the American sideline churches, but I think the author would extend this more generally) to recover the means of grace of the modus vivendi for the Christian. In particular, RSC argues the case for the confessional theology, piety, and practice.

Against the Reformed theology, piety, and practice of the confessions (essentially defined as the so-called “6 Forms of Unity” – Westminster Confession of Faith, Shorter Catechism, Larger Catechism, Belgic Confession, Heidelberg Catechism, and Canons of Dordt), RSC posits that the contemporary church has fallen prey to two major errors.

On the one hand, contemporary Christians suffer from a Quest for Illegitimate Religious Certainty (QIRC). RSC argues that this is symptomatic of a type of fundamentalism, that leads to improper boundary markers for orthodoxy. Clark uses 6/24 creation (in the literalistic sense of 24hr periods), theonomic reconstruction, and a faulty view of justification (in particular, the Federal Vision/New Perspective-type covenant moralism) as examples of this theme.

On the other hand, there is the Quest for Illegitimate Religious Experience (QIRE) focussing on ways to circumvent God’s prescribed means of Word and sacrament. Specifically, RSC focuses on the experientialism of the Pentecostal movement within Reformed churches. Not necessarily in charismatic gifts (though they must be included), but also in aberrant ways of discerning God’s moral will. RSC digs deeper, and looks at pietism and revivalism as more foundational causes for the rejection of confessional piety. RSC makes a particular example of Jonathan Edwards’ pietism and makes a good case that such pietism is a return to medieval mysticism. Personally, I found this section the most relatable of the book, since the QIRE that RSC refers to is the dominant error that I encounter within my own context.

RSC seeks to recover a confessional Reformed approach to theology by first propounding the correct meaning of the analogical nature of our language about God, maintaining the Creator/creature distinction, and the categories of archetypal and echtypal theology.

To do this, if we are to retain the label “Reformed” at any rate, must be done within the public and, RSC argues, binding confession of the Reformed faith as expressed in the ecclesiastically sanctioned consensus documents of the confessions.

But how should we use the Confessions to this end? Three historic positions are discussed: “systematic” subscription, “full” subscription, and “good faith” subscription. Ultimately, the first leads to liberalism (since any specifics eventual are lost general themes) and the last is really no subscription at all.

In terms of the confessions themselves, RSC supports the idea of Churches revising the confessions to speak on heresies that have subsequently arisen since the 17th century. He argues this is was the heart of the divines who wrote them, and I agree with him. The confessions are written with anti-heterodox language throughout; specifically against the Papist views but also, of course, the Arminian views in the Canons of Dordt. The Confessions then, must also be in some sense polemic rejections of what the Bible does not teach as well as apologetic summaries of what it does. Since, of course, many errors and controversies have arisen and have become prevalent since the 17th century, it would seem prudent to address these confessionally.

RSC goes on to defend the Reformed tradition more broadly, arguing from the classic Reformed theologians themselves, and the confessional documents, that the Reformed faith is:

1. Biblical
2. Catholic
3. Vital (i.e. living and life-giving)
4. Evangelical
5. Churchly

The final sections essentially address two major areas of contention when it comes to the application in the lives of churches and individual believers of the Reformed confession.

First is a section on the regulative principle of worship (RPW): its definition, and application. A main crux point is about the singing of uninspired songs and RSC claims that the singing of uninspired hymns is not consistent with any historical understanding of the RPW. However, RSC also offers a number of arguments as to why other canonical songs may also be sung a capella.

Within this section, RSC offers an interesting interpretation of “in spirit and truth” from Jesus’s words from John 4. I confess, the interpretation I would have held would be along the lines of Calvin: “worship the true God correctly”. But Clark argues (and I think convincingly) that the verse should be rendered “in the Spirit and the Truth”, pointing to Trinitarian worship in the Holy Spirit and Jesus Himself.

Final section on the Sabbath and its continued place in Christian worship. The Sabbath as a one-day-in-seven rest from labour for the purpose of the worship of God and the attend of Word and sacrament was defended – both historically and exegetically.

These final sections were the most challenging to read for me. As RSC notes, adherence to both the RPW (in its historic sense) and Sabbatarianism is extremely counter – cultural. However, we should always be testing our practices against the Scriptures, not the culture (even church culture). RSC is surely correct that our attitudes to worship must change from the QIRE that dominates the contemporary Church, and instead restore the means of grace to their rightful place as the primary Christian experience.

[Tom F · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dr. Clark gives the reader much to consider in this book. I don't know that I am fully convinced of all of his arguments, or that I even fully understand all of them (likely due to my limitations and distractions as a reader), but he does give the reader a lot to think about. I would like to see the NAPARC churches move more to the Reformed Standards, and for the name "Reformed" to have meaning.

In my own congregation I appreciate the Psalms we sing, not for their music (I think ARP Psalter is often difficult to sing), but because we are singing God's Word. It would be good to see a tighter translation of the Psalms for singing. I would like to see more use of the Psalms in worship, both in song and as prayer and confession.

The quests for illegitimate religious experience and certainty I feel are very relevant and are the biggest problems in evangelicalism, and to a lesser extent the Reformed congregations I have been fortunate enough to attend.

I would definitely recommend this work, and have already bought a copy for a friend and brother.

[Ryan Watkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

R. Scott Clark shows how modern Reformed churches are in crisis and have deviated from reformed theology, piety, and practice. This is due to the quest for illegitimate religious certainty (QIRC), the quest to know what God knows the way he knows it, and the quest for illigitimate religious experience (QIRE), the quest to experience God apart from the ordinary means of grace. Clark continues to show how reformed theology, piety, and practice can be restored in reformed churches by emphasizing reformed doctrines such as the creator creature distinction, the difference between archetypal (the knowledge God has if himself) and ectypal knowledge (the knowledge of God he has revealed to us), quia (because it is Biblical) instead of quatenus (in so far as it is Biblical) confession subscription, a stricter view of the regulative princeple of worship only allowing inspired songs, the confessional view of the Lord’s day, and the importance of the means of grace (the preached word, sacraments, and prayer). The book concludes with a chapter showing how believing in predestination alone isn’t enough to refer to someone’s theology as being “reformed.” This isn’t an easy read and parts will probably be over the head of the average lay person but the main points of the book can still be easily grasped even if you are not familiar with some of the specific theologians and controversies mentioned. I would highly recommend this book for those in reformed churches.

[Alex McEwen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clark’s work here is engaging from page one right through the end of the book. It profoundly challenged my perceptions of Presbyterianism and demanded a reevaluation of what it truly means to embody its principles.

What captivated me most was Clark's invitation to delve beyond mere Calvinistic doctrines and explore the essence of being Reformed. He emphasizes that being Reformed demands a unique understanding creeds, ecclesiology, and piety. Ultimately Clark invites us to ask “are we authentically Reformed or merely Calvinistic Peadobaptists masquerading as reformers?”

Clark's explores the historical trajectories of major Presbyterian denominations to put into perspective how we got to where we are. And then, he offers where we might go in the future. And finally he examines how Calvinistic churches and people might become truly Reformed ones. If you have known me for more than 5 minutes you have probably heard me reference Trueman's “Creedal Imperative.” I think that Clark’s work here fits into the same category of book, although it is probably broader in scope and less academic.

This book strikes a brilliant balance—it would be incredibly accessible to any layperson, and yet is deep enough to really chew on. This was truly the perfect middle ground in terms of accessibility and depth.

Without a doubt, I will be revisiting this thought provoking work.

[Daphyne · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is a ton of information in this book, much of it academic and centered around one controversy or another. I imagine there are those who will find the book a little difficult to get through but it is well worth purchasing for the first three chapters alone.

Clark excels when clearly presenting his thoughts regarding what he calls the quest for illegitimate religious certainty and illegitimate religious experience. His apologetic for the recovery of the Reformed confession is also compelling.

Overall an excellent book on the subject though I would have appreciated him bringing it down just a little by assuming less prior knowledge on the part of his reader.

[Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though at points, a little too hardcore in his approach to recovering the reformed confessions (in my opinion, particularly his work on the RPW), the overall premise and execution of the book was great.

Learning to recover the great tradition of the magisterial reformers - and thus recognising the discrepancy between their understanding of theology and worship, and current non-denominational understanding - was hugely exciting.

To be reminded that our Protestant faith is rooted far deeper in history than the “concert with a Ted talk” model of church would indicate, is refreshing and exciting.

[Peter Day · Rating 4 out of 5]

I largely enjoyed this book. It's target audience seems to be those from reformed presbyterian churches, which isn't me. In particular, the author's concern is that these churches have departed from the confessions, and that this is not good for them.
While, I am not part of the target audience for the book, I still found it interesting and thought provoking to consider the value of the reformed confessions to provide a solid basis for church faith and practice, although I wouldn't go along with all the author's conclusions.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the more challenging books I've read recently, and parts will stick with me. I found Clark's QIRC (Quest for Illegitimate Religious Certainty) and QIRE (Quest for Illegitimate Religious Experience) to be really useful models with broader applicability. I'm still thinking through his arguments about the confessional boundaries pertaining to e.g. creation, but appreciated the case he builds for both the demands and freedoms of confessional adherence.

I'm not sure I followed all his arguments about the Regulative Principle, but came away with a burden for how much of our heritage we've set aside with seemingly little forethought (especially when it comes to the psalms).

He contrasts with medieval mystics the Reformed tradition's "rather modest mysticism [located] in Word and sacrament" (334), which I loved.

[Caleb Blevins · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book for those looking to understand what being Reformed means. The short answer being that it means holding to a historic confession (Heidelberg Catechism, Belgic Confession, Canons of Dort and Westminster Standards). Dr. Clark seeks to debunk the myths that being predestinarian is synonymous to being Reformed, that we can worship God however we choose and that attendance at Sunday services are optional. A big book which requires some hard thinking but overall edifying.

[Alan Giles · Rating 4 out of 5]

If Dr. Clark would have stopped after chapter 6, then this would be a 5-star book. Unfortunately, his arguments in chapters 7 and 8 undermine the beautiful foundation that he lays leading up to that point (especially in chapter 5, "Recovering a Reformed Identity"). That being said, anyone who wants to know more about the creeds and confessions of the historic reformed faith will do well to read the first three-quarters of this book.

[Alexander Proudfoot · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book by an excellent author. He conception of the quest for illegitimate religious experience and the quest for illegitimate religious certainty is enlightening and a great aid to diagnosing the condition of the current trends within not only the URCNA which Clark is a minister in, but all NAPARC churches.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little tedious at times. But overall a great work about why most who call themselves reformed are not reformed.

[Creeds, Confessions, and Catechisms · Rating 5 out of 5]

P&R Publishing was kind enough to provide me with a copy of “Recovering the Reformed Confession: Our Theology, Piety, and Practice” by R. Scott Clark in exchange for an honest review.

All is not well in the Reformed Churches. There are certain problems that have persisted for quite some time. Many key elements of Reformed identity have been eroded in favor of broadly evangelical theology, piety, and practice. Enter this book. In this work, Dr. Clark takes on a twofold task: 1) identify the problems and 2) encourage the recovery of a robust Reformed identity.

The problem can be divided into two parts: the Quest for Illegitimate Religious Certainty (QIRC) and the Quest for Illegitimate Religious Experience (QIRE). The QIRC “is the pursuit to know God in ways he has not revealed himself and to achieve epistemic and moral certainty on questions where such certainty is neither possible nor desirable” (39). This quest has sprung up as a reaction to the uncertainty of “liquid modernity”, seeking certainty in illegitimate places. Clark examines three examples of this: 6/24 Creation as a test of orthodoxy, Theonomy/Reconstructionism, and Covenant Moralism (modern controversies over justification exemplified by the New Perspective on Paul and Federal Vision movements). The QIRE is the pursuit of an unmediated (i.e., apart from Word and Sacrament) experience with God (71-72). The clearest example of this is the Revivalism of the First and Second “Great” Awakenings, though Clark ably demonstrates that this is a longstanding problem in the church.

The first part is riveting, but the second part is where the real meat resides. Clark writes on the grounding of theology, emphasizing the Creator/Creature distinction. He demonstrates the increasing laxity in confessional subscription (to the point, I would argue, that certain Reformed denominations are confessional in name only), and he advocates for a return to a stronger form of subscription. Chapter 6 is one of the best and most important chapters in the book, where Clark offers his argument for the merits of being confessional. Chapter 7 is a personal favorite of mine, in which Clark defends the historic Reformed principle of worship (the Regulative Principle of Worship, RPW) against internal revisionism and subversion. He then ably demonstrates the historicity of singing only inspired songs without instrumental accompaniment. It’s important to note that Clark doesn’t advocate exclusive psalmody, but instead that we sing only inspired texts (an old position, which I refer to as “Inspired Hymnody”). From there, he ends the book by defending the historic Reformed view of the Sabbath.

What makes this book worthwhile is its depth. Clark deals with the history, theology, confessionalism, and exegesis relevant to each topic. It really shows in this book that he is a historian, pastor, and theologian who has his finger on the pulse of the Reformed tradition. I found Clark’s flow of thought easy to follow and he does an excellent job defending his positions. In fact, Clark’s work has been instrumental in changing my mind on several key topics focused on in this book. Anyone who calls themselves Reformed ought to read this book and have a copy in their personal library, even if you find yourself disagreeing with some of Clark’s conclusions.

I want to end this review with a call to action that animates my whole project here. If you are Reformed, know that much of what passes for Reformed is alien to what we officially confess. Our tradition has consistently and historically confessed many things at odds with modern evangelicalism because those things are biblical. We need to fight with everything we have to recover the truths our churches confess. If you are confessional but not Reformed (i.e., Lutheran, some Anglicans, Baptist), this quest for recovery is not unique to the Reformed churches. There are older and better ways than what post-awakening American evangelicalism has to offer. We can all benefit from recovering our tradition’s confession. If you are not confessional, I would encourage you to consider changing that (pay particular attention to chapter 6). Even if you don’t end up confessionally Reformed, I believe it’s simply better to be any brand of confessional Protestant than not to be confessional at all. That’s something I hope you’ve discovered through my content. I want to recover Protestant confessionalism and help non-confessional Christians discover the joy of being confessional. Let’s get to work. Semper reformanda!

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

RECOVER

1. an act of recovering.


2. the regaining of or possibility of regaining something lost or taken away.


3. restoration or return to health from sickness.


4. restoration or return to any former and better state or condition.


5. something that is gained in recovering.


Though all the above definitions would fit quite nicely with what R. Scott Clark is attempting to do in his latest book, Recovering the Reformed Confessions (available here), it seems he specifically means ‘recovery’ as something like #2 above. “This is a book about recovery, by which I mean to say that we have lost something that we can and must apprehend again: what we confess, that is, our theology, piety, and practice” (p.3).

The “we” who “have lost something” are, specifically, “those who identify with the Reformed branch of the Reformation” (p.1). So this is more of an in-house cleaning book, yet Clark notes (hopes?) that one reading from the perspective of another tradition might find the book useful for clarifying their own identity. The book is also not for those who think “all is well” in the Reformed tradition. If you have some kind of inkling that something is not quite right in Reformed churches, then the “book is for you” (p.1). To get more specific, the book is “aimed particularly at pastors, elders, and theology students in the borderline and sideline denominations” (p.2). (I guess Clark missed his mark when this book landed in my lap!) The author stands on the sidelines but doesn’t take a self-righteous stance towards the other denominations, though; warning that those on the sideline “are not as different from the mainline and borderline churches as we sometimes like to imagine” (p.2).

The “what” that has been lost is, of course, what is in need of recovery: the Reformed Confessions. Clark uses the term ‘Reformed’ to “denote the theology, piety, and practice of the Reformed and Presbyterian churches” (p.3). He claims that the word has an “objective referent” and is not merely a convention. This referent is “a confession, a theology, a piety, and a practice that are well known and well defined and summarized in ecclesiastically sanctioned and binding documents” (p.3).

This brings up the next question: what is meant by ‘confession?’ Clark means three things: (1) Narrowly, the sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Reformed confessions; what he calls “the six forms of unity”: BC, HC, CD, WCF, WLC, WSC. (2) More broadly, the understanding of those confessions as articulated by the classical sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Reformed theologians and those who continued that tradition. (3) By ‘confession’ Clark “mean[s] the theology, piety, and practice agreed upon by our churches, held in common by them, which binds us together, by which we have covenanted to live and worship together” (p.3).

Clark structures the book in “good Reformed fashion:” Imperative and indicative, or, law and gospel (p.3). Or, the bad news and then the good news. Or, our problem and our solution. Or, the crisis and the recovery. In other words, there’s two parts.

As a very broad overview of the book, Clark laments the fact that “confessional” has become simply “one adjective among many” that defines what it is to be Reformed. He finds two main reasons for why this is so: The Quest for Illegitimate Religious Certainty (QIRC) and the Quest for Illegitimate Religious Experience (QIRE). It is implicit that the “legitimate” quests are to be found by being “confessional” and so, “It is the argument of this book that the Reformed confession is the only reasonable basis for a stable definition of the Reformed theology, piety, and practice” (p.4). Absent the confessions, Reformed churches “have drifted from our moorings. Some of us have become confused about what it is to be Reformed, while others of us have lost confidence altogether that Reformed theology, piety, and practice are even correct” (p.4). Clark’s aim, then, is to present a way back to home base and to provide some kind of corrective for the “inkling” that some of us have that there’s “something just not right” in Reformed churches. And with this you should have a fairly good idea of the general purpose of Clark’s book, Recovering the Reformed Confession, RCC, and the paths he takes to get there.

I offer a fuller, more critical review here:

http://triablogue.blogspot.com/2008/1...

[Chris Hansen · Rating 5 out of 5]

R. Scott Clark contends that there is much more to being Reformed than the petals on TULIP and encourages Christians to rediscover the authentic theology, piety, and practice of the Reformation. He writes mainly for those that call themselves Reformed, but his book is challenging and thought provoking for Christians of any stripe.

Clark identifies two "quests" that drive believers away from the Reformed (biblical) faith: the Quest for Illegitimate Religious Certainty (QIRC) and the Quest for Illegitimate Religious Experience (QIRE). The QIRC stems from seeking certainty on things not revealed--especially making the Bible a guidebook for matters it never intends to address. This also includes rationalistic attempts to flatten out tensions that exist in Scripture, such as that between the "already" and the "not yet" in eschatology. His main examples in these section that he spends some time with are those that make 24 hr/6 day creationism a boundary marker for orthodoxy, theonomists (those that treat the Bible as a political handbook, even advocating a return to Mosaic civil law), and covenant moralists (who deny the traditional view of justification by faith alone, such as federal visionists or N.T. Wright disciples). I found this section useful, especially the emphasis on the creator/creature distinction and archetypal/ectypal knowledge. He leaves a lot of open questions in the creationism section, perhaps intentionally, and tries to avoid actually taking a position on doctrine. I suppose that this is his point--that we should allow some Christian liberty here. I do think it would have been useful for him to articulate that, even if the length of the days is a matter of liberty, the whole debate over creationism is not. His advocacy for strict confessional subscription suggests a stand must be taken somewhere here since the confessions do have relevant sections.

The QIRE section was excellent. It's central thesis is that God has revealed himself in certain ways (objective divine promises, especially in Word and Sacrament) and that we should not seek to experience him in other ways. The contention isn't so much that God isn't ever experienced subjectively in some sense, but that God has promised to work through certain means (again, the preaching of the Word and administration of sacraments). Those means then should be the emphasis of our piety and practice and we should not have an expectation that God will work otherwise than he has promised. We should have an extrospective faith, focused on the objective revelation of God, rather and introspective one that is focused on the subjective experience. Clark then chronicles the turn to subjectivism and mysticalism via the pietist movement and revivalism.

Finally, he spends the remainder of the book describing how we can turn from these errors and embrace the authentic sola scriptura of the Reformed tradition in piety and practice. He has chapters on the advantages of the Reformed faith (via broad evangelicalism or Romanism/Orthodoxy) the need for confessions and strict ("quia") subscriptionism to those confessions, the importance of the traditional practice of the Christian (Sunday) Sabbath, an exposition of the Regulative Principle of Worship (contending for exclusively a cappella singing of inspired songs), and the need for being faithful to the second, or vespers, service in our churches.

All in all, very thought provoking and highly recommended. In some details I'm not entirely convinced, but I was challenged to spend more time in thought and study in many of these areas.

[Erik Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is coming from a convinced confessionalist.

There are hoards of churches claiming themselves to be Reformed, catching the tide of the YRR (young restless and reformed) rhetoric largely embodied in the disciples of Piper, Keller, and to a broader degree, the Gospel Coalition.

To understand why such youthful enthusiasm can quickly dissipate and lose meaning, read this volume in conjunction with Carl Trueman's The Creedal Imperative and The Real Scandal of the Evangelical Mind. The problem is not that these organizations exist, but that movements such as Acts 29 or the Gospel Coalition tend to dull their distinguishing marks for the sake of creating a network. To the non-Americans, this movement seems no different than a denomination. For example, Keller and Piper disagree on baptism. By allowing church leaders from various denominational backgrounds to join in and as a result, create a far stronger entity than an ecclesiastical bond, those outside the "coalition" can't but see this as a theologically broad, murky territory. Furthermore, back to the issue of baptism, the centuries of debate behind those two positions, wider implications notwithstanding, become a mere hurdle for the members of override by creating a generic statement of faith.

Surely, the movement has expanded the heritage of Reformed theology, but exactly what defines Reformed?

Some have attacked this volume (and I suppose, its author) of safeguarding something that need not be safeguarded. But as Machen would say, this "Reformed" community many speak of today is a "voluntary organization," and thus members dissatisfied with such boundaries are free to leave. Hence, his departure from the liberalizing PCUSA. But I digress.

For Clark, the timely argument hinges on what defines Reformed theology. As the title indications, they are summarized by the major confessions. Combating the contemporary evangelical elasticity, Clark defends the view that Reformed theology is fundamentally one that is confessional in nature. This volume is not necessarily out to attack rock-jamming and arms-extending styles of worship. This book does exactly what it says it does: define the contours of what constitutes Reformed theology. If you disagree with the author's view on Reformed theology, and you yourself are a proponent of such tradition of Christianity, you better be armed with a substantial historical and exegetical ammunition to battle his arguments.

Enjoy reading!

[Russell Hayes · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author presents two significant problems amongst Protestants today: the quest for illegitimate religious experience, and the quest for illegitimate religious certainty (QIRE and QIRC).

QIRE boils down to over subjectivism, stemming from the negative influence of the Great Awakenings, including the first. Clark argues that we should only use the Psalms for music and worship, without instruments, and the catechisms to experience God, rather than any other more emotional ways (lively music, etc.) He derides Jonathan Edwards and D. Martin Lloyd-Jones, as well as the mystics. I can understand the concern for subjectivity, but the author goes too far in my opinion.

While QIRE is too much heart, QIRC is too much mind. QIRC is the injection of rationalism/humanism into Christianity, and the idea that every theological debate can be solved. I appreciated this section more, as I do believe that we should not be dogmatic about everything, cling too dearly to doctrinal eccentricities, or be afraid to say that we are not sure about a particular issue or passage. Again, the author went a bit too far, basically accusing people of heresy if they state with certainty positions that are not clearly defined in the Bible. The reasoning goes something along the lines of: the issue is not clear because God did not fully condescend to show us the correct way. We can only know God and understand his truths through the Bible, which is how he condescended to reveal himself to us. This means that we can never know God as he really is (in se) but only as he has revealed himself to us (erga nos). However, those who step outside this boundary in essence claim to know God as he is, which they cannot. I probably bungled this a bit, but one thing I can agree with is condemning those who accuse others of heresy because they don't agree with their particular interpretation of Scripture ("Scripture says this [IMO], so if you don't believe it, you are heretical.") Several prominent pastors in church history have wrongly adopted this mindset.

Overall, the book is fairly scholarly, and is geared more towards serious students and pastors of Presbyterianism. I might have appreciated it more if I fit into one of the those categories.

[Paul Kurtz · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book gave me a lot to think about, especially the chapter on worship. I found Clark's definition of the Regulative Principle of Worship (We may only worship God is ways God has commanded in the Bible) to be both disturbing and compelling at the same time. I am one who doesn't personally attend a Reformed Church, but wishes he could. (To my knowledge there just aren't any confessional churches in my area that still take their confessions seriously.) I have also been a church musician for many years and it is hard to wrap my head around the idea that we should only sing inspired songs (songs found in the Bible) and without instrumentation. That's the part I found disturbing. From other reading, I gather that not all would define the Regulative Principle as strictly as Clark does, but I found his arguments to be pretty formidable and intend to do some more reading on this topic. The primary reason I also found Clark's definition of the Regulative Principle compelling is that it would go a long way toward eliminating many of the arguments in churches over what kinds of songs to sing and what kind of instrumentation is appropriate. At times I have been frustrated enough with the controversies to wish we didn't bother with music at all.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

I deeply appreciate Clark's call for Reformed Confessionalists to be consistent in "theology, piety, and practice." This is a thought provoking work that calls folks to recover an historical understanding of and return to historic reformed praxis.
Clark seeks to keep his readers from two errors - The Quest for Illegitimate Religious Certainty (QIRC) and the Quest for Illegitimate Religious Experience (QIRE). I found his use of of letter acronyms like QIRC and QIRE along with others to be a drag on reading.
While I appreciated his defense of psalmnody I think he misses the mark in rejecting musical instruments in worship (p. 289), I cannot but wonder if he needs to apply the 'principle of substantial continuity' to musical instruments.
On the whole a good work. I thought the strength of the work was the chapter on reformed worship; the weakest on the 'second service.'

[Aaron Lord · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dude is a militant anti-instrumentalist, which he justifies via the Regulative Principle. However, the Psalms, which he thinks Christians ought to sing (and sing them only) were written for musical accompaniment. You can't sing "Praise Him with the cittern" with a straight face if stringed instruments are forbidden in your religion. Other than that, it's great!

[Alan Rennê · Rating 5 out of 5]

Livro fantástico! O Dr. R. Scott Clark discute a necessidade de recuperarmos o entendimento confessional do que significa ser reformado. Nunca época quando todo mundo é reformado, a leitura dessa obra se torna imprescindível!

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding book. I can't praise this highly enough. Worth a read and re-read--his definition of QIRC especially is spot-on.

[Matt Crawford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great review of reformed history and the challenge to return to the practices that separate us from other aspects of the faith

[Scott Amante · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favorite book. Some of Clark's arguments regarding the RPW seem inconsistent and his attempt to narrowly define "Reformed" is rather annoying. Overall, I enjoyed it, but wouldn't read again.

[Wyatt Houtz · Rating 1 out of 5]

Pedantic argument for psalm singing only, and no mics.