Carl F. H. Henry

{{short description|American theologian}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2014}}
{{Infobox theologian
| image      = CFHHenry.jpg
| caption    = 
| birth_name       = Carl Ferdinand Howard Henry
| birth_date       = {{birth date|1913|1|22}}
| birth_place      = 
| death_date       = {{death date and age|2003|12|7|1913|1|22}}
| death_place      = 
| alma_mater = [[Boston University]] <br> [[Northern Baptist Theological Seminary]] <br> [[Wheaton College, Illinois|Wheaton College]]
| school_tradition = [[Evangelicalism]], progressive [[Christian fundamentalism|fundamentalism]]
| notable_ideas    = [[Presuppositional apologetics]]
}}

'''Carl Ferdinand Howard Henry''' (January 22, 1913 – December 7, 2003) was an American [[evangelical Christian]] theologian who provided intellectual and institutional leadership to the [[neo-evangelical]] movement in the mid-to-late 20th century. He was ordained in 1942 after graduating from [[Northern Baptist Theological Seminary]] and went on to teach and lecture at various schools and publish and edit many works surrounding the neo-evangelical movement.<ref name=":0" /> His early book, ''The Uneasy Conscience of Modern Fundamentalism'' (1947), was influential in calling evangelicals to differentiate themselves from separatist [[Christian fundamentalism|fundamentalism]] and claim a role in influencing the wider American culture.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last1=Porterfield |first1=Amanda |last2=Marsden |first2=George M. |date=1991 |title=Understanding Fundamentalism and Evangelicalism |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/3710858 |journal=Sociological Analysis |volume=52 |issue=4 |pages=419 |doi=10.2307/3710858 |jstor=3710858 |issn=0038-0210}}</ref> He was involved in the creation of numerous major evangelical organizations that contributed to his influence in Neo-evangelicalism and lasting legacy, including the [[National Association of Evangelicals]], [[Fuller Theological Seminary]], [[Evangelical Theological Society]], ''[[Christianity Today]]'' magazine (of which he was the founding editor), and the [[Institute for Advanced Christian Studies]].<ref name=":1" /> The Carl F. H. Henry Institute for Evangelical Engagement at [[Southern Baptist Theological Seminary]] and the Carl F. H. Henry Center for Theological Understanding at [[Trinity International University]] seek to carry on his legacy.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=http://www.henryinstitute.org/henrys-story/|title=Henry's Story {{!}} Carl F. H. Henry Institute for Evangelical Engagement|website=www.henryinstitute.org|language=en-US|access-date=2018-02-08}}</ref> His ideas about Neo-evangelism are still debated to this day and his legacy continues to inspire change in American social and political culture.<ref name=":3" />

==Early life==
Henry grew up in [[Long Island]], New York as the son of German immigrants, Karl F. Heinrich and Johanna Vaethroeder (Väthröder). After his high school graduation in 1929 he began working in newspaper journalism.

In 1932, at the age of 19, he became editor of ''The Smithtown Times'' and later a [[stringer (journalism)|stringer]] for [[The New York Times]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www2.wheaton.edu/bgc/archives/GUIDES/628.htm|title=Papers of Carl F. H. Henry - Collection 628 (Archival Finding Aid)|website=Billy Graham Center Archives|access-date=2017-05-27|archive-date=November 1, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181101095657/https://www2.wheaton.edu/bgc/archives/GUIDES/628.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> The next year, after becoming a Christian, he decided to go to college to begin a life of Christian service. 

==Family==
His wife Helga Bender Henry wrote a book in 1955 about the [[Union Rescue Mission]] in [[Los Angeles]]. In 1999 she published ''Cameroon on a Clear Day'' about her parents' work in that country.<ref>{{Citation | url = http://www.oakhillcemetery.info/ObitsDir001/Henry,%20Helga.htm | title = Helga Bender Henry | publisher = Oak hill cemetery | access-date = September 20, 2009 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090106072840/http://www.oakhillcemetery.info/ObitsDir001/Henry,%20Helga.htm | archive-date = January 6, 2009 | url-status = dead }}.</ref>

Their son [[Paul B. Henry]] was a [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. Congressman]] from [[Michigan]] from 1985 until his death in 1993.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/08/01/obituaries/representative-paul-b-henry-51-dies-after-battling-brain-cancer.html|title=Representative Paul B. Henry, 51, Dies After Battling Brain Cancer|last=Lambert|first=Bruce|date=1993-08-01|work=The New York Times|access-date=2017-05-24|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

==Education==
[[Frank E. Gaebelein]], then headmaster of [[The Stony Brook School]], gave him a catalogue to the evangelical liberal arts [[Wheaton College, Illinois|Wheaton College]].<ref>{{Citation |title=Carl F.H. Henry, Theologian and First Editor of Christianity Today, Dies at 90 |date=December 1, 2003 |url=http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2003/decemberweb-only/12-8-14.0.html |publisher=Christianity Today |accessdate=2015-02-06}}.</ref> He enrolled in 1935, where he was greatly influenced by the philosophical teaching of [[Gordon Clark]]. While at Wheaton, Henry also taught typing and journalism. There he met Helga, a missionary kid, whom he married in August 1940.  He received both bachelor's and master's degrees from Wheaton. He then earned a Doctor of Theology degree from [[Northern Baptist Theological Seminary]]. Henry was [[Ordination|ordained]] as a [[Baptists|Baptist]] minister in 1942. He also earned a PhD from [[Boston University]] in 1949.<ref name=":1" />

==Teaching career==
Henry taught at [[Northern Baptist Theological Seminary]] from 1942 to 1947.<ref name=":0">{{Cite encyclopedia|title=Henry, Carl Ferdinand Howard: theologian, educator|encyclopedia=Who was who in America: with world notables|publisher=Marquis Who's Who LLC|location=New Providence, NJ|date=2016|edition=26th|pages=|isbn=}}</ref> Also in 1942, Henry took part in launching the [[National Association of Evangelicals]], serving on its board for several years and being book editor of their magazine ''United Evangelical Action''.

In 1947, Henry joined with [[Harold Ockenga]], [[Harold Lindsell]], [[Edward John Carnell]], and radio [[Evangelism|evangelist]] [[Charles E. Fuller (Baptist minister)|Charles E. Fuller]] to help establish [[Fuller Theological Seminary]] in [[Pasadena, California]]. He served as acting dean in the seminary's first year and remained there as a professor until he left to establish ''Christianity Today'' magazine.<ref name=":0" />

In 1949, Henry was part of the meeting of evangelical scholars who discussed the need for an organization "to promote serious academic discussion," and suggested the name adopted by the resulting organization: the [[Evangelical Theological Society]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite news|url=http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2004/march/how-late-carl-henry-helped-invent-evangelicalism.html?start=2|title=How the Late Carl Henry Helped Invent Evangelicalism|last=George|first=Timothy|date=March 1, 2004|work=ChristianityToday.com|access-date=2017-05-24|language=en}}</ref>

Henry taught as a visiting professor or guest lecturer at colleges, universities, seminaries, and conferences across the United States and around the world, including in [[Japan]], [[Singapore]], [[India]], [[Liberia]], [[South Korea]], [[Yugoslavia]], the [[Philippines]], the [[Netherlands]], and [[Romania]]. These institutions include the [[Asian Center for Theological Studies and Mission]], [[Bethel University (Minnesota)]], [[Christian Theological Seminary]], [[Columbia Bible College]], [[Denver Conservative Baptist Seminary]], [[Gordon Divinity School]] (which is now known as Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary), [[Hillsdale College]], [[Hong Kong Baptist College]] (which is now called Hong Kong Baptist University), Latin American Theological Seminary, [[Soongsil University]], [[Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary]] (now renamed as Palmer Theological Seminary), The [[Southern Baptist Theological Seminary]], [[Trinity Evangelical Divinity School]], and Winona Lake Summer School of Theology.<ref name=":1" /> He also served as the chairman for international conferences and consultations, including the World Congress on Evangelism in Berlin in 1966.<ref name=":0" />

In the early 1980s Henry was a founding board member of the [[Institute on Religion and Democracy]], with which he remained active until the mid-1990s.

==Writing and editing career==
His first book was {{Citation | title = Remaking the Modern Mind | year = 1946}}. His second book, {{Citation | title = The Uneasy Conscience of Modern Fundamentalism | year = 1947}}, is a critique that rejects modern liberalism and preserves a doctrinal focus on the Bible, but also rejects the rigidness and disengagement of [[Fundamentalist Christianity|Fundamentalists]]. The book firmly established Henry as one of the leading Evangelical scholars.

In 1956, Henry became the first editor-in-chief of the magazine ''[[Christianity Today]],'' which was founded by evangelist [[Billy Graham]] to serve as a scholarly voice for evangelical Christianity and a challenge to the liberal ''[[Christian Century]]''. He was the magazine's editor until 1968.

Henry's ''magnum opus'' was a six-volume work entitled ''God, Revelation, and Authority,'' completed in 1983. He concluded "that if we humans say anything authentic about God, we can do so only on the basis of divine self-revelation; all other God-talk is conjectural." In his ''magnum opus'' he presented a version of [[Christian apologetics]] called [[presuppositional apologetics]].  Henry regarded all truth as [[propositional]], and Christian [[doctrine]] as "the theorems derived from the axioms of revelation."<ref>{{cite book |last=Henry | first =Carl|title=God, Revelation, and Authority|page=234|volume=1}}</ref>

==Influence on neo-evangelicalism==
Henry was one of the most influential figures in the development of Neo-Evangelicalism, which emerged in the 1940s and 1950s as a response to the fundamentalist-modernist controversies of the early 20th century. Henry sought to create a new movement that would combine orthodox Christian theology with broader cultural engagement rather than just within Christianity.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Strachan |first=Owen|author-link=Owen Strachan |title=Awakening the Evangelical Mind: An Intellectual History of the Neo-Evangelical Movement |publisher=Zondervan |isbn=}}</ref>  David F. Wells says Henry's belief in the authority of scripture and the importance of God as the foundation of Christianity helped to recover a more biblically grounded theology in contrast to the theological liberalism of the early 20th century.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last=Wells |first=David |title=God in the Wasteland: The Reality of Truth in a World of Fading Dream}}</ref> Henry's influence would likely not have had as far of a reach if not for his founding of the evangelical magazine Christianity Today and his work in establishing Fuller Theological Seminary and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.<ref name=":3" /> Neo-evangelism in years after Henry's influence has started to become more about conservatism and culture wars, however the legacy of Henry has inspired some neo-evangelists in recent years to promote a shift in emphasis to social justice and a broader assessment of cultural and political issues beyond the concerns of only conservatism.<ref name=":3" />

==Death==
Henry died in 2003 at the age of 90.

==Critical assessments==
As with any theologian, Henry had people who criticized his work and beliefs. One such critic is Stanley Hauerwas, a theologian who believes similarly to Henry that society ought to be formed around Christian ethics but disagreed with the way Henry wants to go about it. Hauerwas writes "Carl Henry, for example, has developed a highly sophisticated model of cultural influence, which assumes that if Christians can only become successful in the worlds of scholarship, journalism, and the arts, then they will be able to reassert the Christian vision in a society that has largely forgotten it. But Henry's vision, no matter how sophisticated, is ultimately one of assimilation, and in the end, that is no more than capitulation to the dominant culture."<ref name=":5">{{Cite book |last=Hauerwas |first=Stanley |title=A Community of Character: Toward a Constructive Christian Social Ethic}}</ref> Hauerwas goes on to argue that the church's main goal is not to change the world, but to be a faithful witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ. He argues that the church's role is to promote a way of life that is characterized by love, hospitality, and forgiveness, rather than by power and success.<ref name=":5" />

Another critic of Henry is David F. Wells, who did agree with some of Henry's theology but also disagreed with Henry's idea of cultural engagement, arguing that Henry's focus on defending Christian truth has not been effective with our current culture. He says that Henry's approach is too narrow and does not address the broader cultural and social issues facing our society.<ref name=":4" />

George M. Marsden critiques Henry's book ''The Uneasy Conscience of Modern Fundamentalism (1947)'', saying it was a good critique of fundamentalism and helped to create a new focus for evangelicalism that emphasized broader cultural engagement. However, Marsden also argues that Henry's critique was limited by his own theological and cultural biases. He says Henry is blinded by his social and cultural context as an outsider to fundamentalism and therefore puts a greater influence on cultural engagement than other evangelicals might.<ref name=":2" />

===Works===
* "The Pacific Garden Mission" (Zondervan, 1942)
* ''Remaking the Modern Mind'' (Eerdmans, 1946)
* ''The Uneasy Conscience of Modern Fundamentalism'' (Eerdmans, 1947)
* ''The Evangelical Pulpit'' (Eerdmans, 1948)
* ''The Protestant Dilemma'' (Eerdmans, 1948).
* ''The Drift of Western Thought'' (Eerdmans, 1951)
* ''Christian Personal Ethics'' (Eerdmans, 1957)
* ''Contemporary Evangelical Thought'' (Channel Press, 1957) (editor)
* ''Evangelical Responsibility in Contemporary Theology'' (Eerdmans, 1957)
* ''Revelation and the Bible'' (Baker, 1958) (editor)
* ''Basic Christian Doctrines'' (Baker, 1962)
* ''Evangelicals at the Brink of Crisis'' (Word, 1967)
* ''Faith at the Frontiers'' (Moody, 1969)
* ''Evangelicals in Search of Identity'' (Word, 1976)
* ''God, Revelation and Authority'', 6 vols. (Word, 1976–83).
* ''The Christian Mindset in a Secular Society'' (Multnomah, 1984)
* ''Christian Countermoves in a Decadent Culture'' (Multnomah, 1986)
* ''Confessions of a Theologian: An Autobiography'' (Word, 1986)
* ''Twilight of a Great Civilization'' (Crossway, 1988)
* ''Evangelical Affirmations'' (Zondervan, 1990) (editor, with Kenneth Kantzer)

==See also==
* [[Evangelicalism in the United States]]
* [[Fundamentalism (sculpture)|Fundamentalism]]

==References==
{{Reflist|35em}}

==Sources==
* Joel A. Carpenter, ed. ''Two Reformers of Fundamentalism: Harold John Ockenga and Carl F. H. Henry'' (New York: Garland, 1988).
* [[D. A. Carson]] and John D. Woodbridge, eds. ''God and Culture: Essays in Honor of Carl F. H. Henry'' (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans/Carlisle: Paternoster, 1993).
* G. Wright Doyle, ''Carl Henry: Theologian for All Seasons'' (Eugene, Oregon: Pickwick Publications, 2010).
* Matthew Hall and Owen Strachan, ''Essential Evangelicalism: The Enduring Influence of Carl F. H. Henry.'' (Crossway, 2015).
* [[George Marsden]], ''Reforming Fundamentalism: Fuller Seminary and the New Evangelicalism'' (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 1987).
* Eric J. Miller, "Carl F. H. Henry and Christianity Today: Responding to the 'Crisis of the West,' 1956–1968," M.A. Thesis, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, 1994.
* James DeForest Murch, ''Cooperation without Compromise: A History of the National Association of Evangelicals'' (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 1956).
* [[R. Albert Mohler, Jr.]], "Carl F. H. Henry," in George, Timothy and David S. Dockery, eds. ''Theologians of the Baptist Tradition,'' 279-96 (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2001).
* Bob E. Patterson, ''Carl F. H. Henry'' (Waco: Word, 1984).
* {{Citation |first=Richard A |last=Purdy |title=The Rational Apologetic Methodology of Carl F. H. Henry in the Context of the Current Impasse between Reformed and Evangelical Apologetics |type=PhD dissertation |publisher=New York University |year=1980}}.
* {{Citation | first = Richard A | last = Purdy | contribution = Carl F. H. Henry | editor-last = Elwell | editor-first = Walter A | title = Handbook of Evangelical Theologians | pages = 260–75 | place = Grand Rapids | publisher = Baker | year = 1993 | author-mask = 3}}.
* William C. Roach, ''Hermeneutics as Epistemology: A Critical Assessment of Carl F. H. Henry's Epistemological Approach to Hermeneutics'' (Eugene: Wipf & Stock, 2015)
* [[R. C. Sproul]], [[John Gerstner]] and Arthur Lindsley, ''Classical Apologetics'' (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1984).
* [[Gregory Alan Thornbury]], ''Recovering Classic Evangelicalism: Applying the Wisdom and Vision of Carl F. H. Henry'' (Wheaton: Crossway, 2013).

==External links==
* {{Citation | url = http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2003/149/15.0.html | title = The Carl Henry that Might have Been | newspaper = Christianity Today | year = 2003}}.
* {{Citation | url = http://www.henrycenter.org/ | title = Carl F. H. Henry Center for Theological Understanding}}.
* ''[http://www.henryinstitute.org/ Carl F. H. Henry Institute for Evangelical Engagement]''

{{Fuller Theological Seminary}}
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[[Category:1913 births]]
[[Category:2003 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American male writers]]
[[Category:20th-century American non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:20th-century Calvinist and Reformed theologians]]
[[Category:20th-century evangelicals]]
[[Category:21st-century American male writers]]
[[Category:21st-century American non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:21st-century Calvinist and Reformed theologians]]
[[Category:21st-century evangelicals]]
[[Category:American Calvinist and Reformed theologians]]
[[Category:American Evangelical writers]]
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[[Category:American people of German descent]]
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[[Category:People from Long Island]]
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