Trinity College Dublin: where dispensationalism is treated as an extinct theology

[JoelH]

I'm surfing the net and found the Trinity College Dublin (which is where J.N. Darby studied, ironically) has a cross-disciplinary research focus on dispensationalism treated as an extinct historical theological thought.

It seems dispensationalism has now completely disappeared from UK Christian scene, other than a few fundamentalist Baptist modelled on American IFBs, some Plymouth Brethrens, and American Calvary Chapel or conservative Baptist church plants. All studies are purely academic in tone and just a historical curiousity.

What do you think?



The Trinity Millennialism Project

The Trinity Millennialism Project

What We Do

The Trinity Millennialism Project, which operates under the auspices of the Centre for Irish-Scottish and Comparative Studies at Trinity College Dublin, investigates the intellectual history of protestant millennial belief, and particularly the history of the “dispensational premillennialism” that emerged in circles associated with Trinity in the early nineteenth century.

The Trinity Millennialism Project has organized a series of international colloquia in Dublin, Oxford and Liverpool. These conferences, and their resulting research inititives, have resulted in the publication of a number of volumes, including Left Behind and the Evangelical Imagination (in preparation), Expecting the end: Millennialism in social and historical context (Baylor University Press, 2006), Protestant millennialism, evangelicalism and Irish society, 1790–2005 (Palgrave, 2006), and Prisoners of hope?: Aspects of evangelical millennialism in Britain and Ireland, 1800–1880 (Paternoster, 2004).

[JoelH]

J. N. Darby Project « The Trinity Millennialism Project

John Nelson Darby, a Trinity graduate and Gold Medallist (1819), is arguably one of the most important but least well known of Irish thinkers. Darby was a principal architect of “dispensational premillennialism,” an evangelical end-of-the-world-view to which an estimated 100 million Americans subscribe and which underpins Left Behind, the best-selling series of novels in American literary history, and, arguably, a series of presidential administrations. The Trinity Millennialism Project aims to emphasise the importance of Darby’s Irish context in a series of key events and publications, including a significant digitization project and the first intellectual biography of Darby. The first fruits of this project is an article on “J. N. Darby and the Irish origins of dispensationalism,” by Crawford Gribben and Mark S. Sweetnam, Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 52:3 (2009), pp. 569-77. The Project has also raised funding for the digitisation of Darby’s four-volume interleaved Greek New Testament, currently in the Christian Brethren Archive of the John Rylands University Library, Manchester. Over 600 of these digitised images are available here. We wish to thank the Trinity Start-Up Fund and the Panacea Society for their generous support of this activity.

The Darby Project advisor is Professor Terence Brown, author of a number of important studies of Darby’s contexts, including “The Church of Ireland and the climax of the ages” (in Ireland’s Literature: Selected Essays, 1988).

[mattfivefour]

I am not sure the specific thing about which you are asking me "what do I think?"

First, from what I read on their site, I do not see them discussing dispensational premillennianism as an extinct theology (though they most certainly are suggesting it is recent). In fact they refer to the tens of millions of North Americans who believe it. (Not to mention Central and South Americans, Africans, and South and East Asians who also hold this doctrinal position.) Perhaps the theologians at this school view it as extinct, but that does not make it so. Frankly one of the worst things that has ever blighted Christianity is the creation of seminaries modeled after secular institutins of learning rather than based solidly—and solely—upon God's Word, where all academic freedom is given and all intellectual pursuit is tolerated regardless of its outcomes. God is very clear in his word that "the secret things belong unto Him" (Deuteronomy 29:29) and that we are to cast down reasonings and every puffed up concept that exalts itself against the knowledge of God and bring into captivity every like thought. (2 Corinthians 10:5) Unfortunately most seminaries today actually encourage reasonings, concepts and thoughts that exalt themselves against the knowledge of God as revealed in "the faith once delivered", for which faith we are urged by Jude to "earnestly contend" (ἐπαγωνίζομαι).

But second, even if they were stating that dispensational premillennianism is an extinct theology, so what. Their saying so does not make it so, any more than their claims that it is a recent doctrine. It was, in fact, held by the early Church. Please be aware that in observing these things and concerning ourselves with what they are saying within their academic walls is to distract us from what is important. Our focus should be on Jesus Christ and His gospel. And nothing else. The ragings of the heathen, like the ragings of the nations, are of no consequence to God's Church. These people are irrelevant to me. Their teaching is irrelevant. Were God to lead me to them or to lay them upon my heart, then that would be different. And should this type of teaching manifest among any of those whom God has placed into my path and/or my care then I will deal with it according to Scripture. But, I repeat, until that happens our focus MUST be on Jesus Christ and the proclamation of His gospel. It is an old trick of Satan's to get men looking at errors and trying to combat them academically. We serve God, not man. And His will must always direct us. I enjoy a good intellectual argument. It is very satisfying to the flesh. But God did not call us to satisfy our flesh: He called us to humbly serve Him according to His wisdom.

If God has specifically called you to confront the academics of this institution over their theology then by all means go, and go in the power of Almighty God. But if He has not, then I urge you to take your eyes off the error being espoused there and off the generality of the various errors being propagated in various places around the world today and focus, rather, on the specific of proclaiming the gospel wherever you are, contending for the faith where it is particularly threatened in your ministry and, if God has called you to this, feeding the flock around you.

I do not mean any of this harshly or by way of rebuke, brother. Simply as a word of caution and advice from a brother on the front lines. But, above all, do what God tells you.