Description: "Were Machen and his predecessors at old Princeton Seminary really the purveyors of an essentially humanistic philosophy rather than the champions of Reformed orthodoxy? Was the driving force behind their theological labors, in other words, an understanding of religious epistemology that supplants the epistemological assumptions of the Reformed tradition with those of an 'alien philosophy'? The study...is grounded in the conviction that the reigning (or 'orthodox') interpretation of the Princeton theology cannot stand because it ignores the moral rather than the merely rational nature of the Princetonians' thought. The author suggests that old Princeton's religious epistemology is compatable with the assumptions of the Reformed tradition because its emphasis on 'right reason' is moral rather than merely rational" -- Book Introduction.
Brief description: Paul K. Helseth (MA, Wheaton Graduate School; PhD, Marquette University) is associate professor of Christian thought at Northwestern College in St. Paul, Minnesota, where he has taught for nine years.
Review Quotes: "I have followed Paul Helseth's development of this research for almost 15 years. His abilities and analysis remain, even if we quibble over a few matters, among the most impressive in this field. In Right Reason, he attempts, and I believe largely succeeds, to rehabilitate an important aspect of Reformed epistemology in America. Rather than repeating the often incorrect caricatures of some of the strongest Princeton leaders, Helseth has cut through the mist in order to clearly present their thinking on key epistemological matters. He does for these Princetonians what Richard Muller has done for Calvin's successors! We need this corrective; and I am deeply thankful for Dr. Helseth's research and fine work in this needed volume."--David W. Hall, Executive Director, Calvin 500