Daniel_Cheung
10-13-2011, 10:20 AM
October 10, 2011Arthur F. Holmes (1924-2011): Influential Christian Philosopher
Dr. Arthur F. Holmes, a noted Christian philosopher who inspired generations of
Wheaton College students and the broader Christian community through his
thoughtful scholarship, died Saturday, October 8. He was 87.
Holmes, who left his native England to study at Wheaton College, completed
bachelor's and master's degrees in Bible and theology at Wheaton in 1950 and
1952. Holmes earned a Ph.D. in philosophy from Northwestern University in 1957.
He began teaching theology and philosophy at Wheaton in 1951, while completing
his graduate studies, and invested his entire professional career at Wheaton.
He served as chairman of the Philosophy Department for 37 years, among many
other roles, and continued to teach occasionally even after his retirement in
1994. Holmes was designated Alumnus of the Year for Distinguished Service to
Alma Mater in 1978.
Holmes authored several influential articles and books that encouraged a broad
understanding of and commitment to the task of distinctively Christian
scholarship. His courses taught students to think systematically and deeply as
Christians about human thought and experience.
"The Christian, of all people, we have observed, has good reasons for believing
in truth," he wrote in All Truth is God’s Truth (Eerdmans, 1977). "He has good
reasons for believing it to be universal and unchanging, and good reasons for
being concerned about the unifying truth of a biblical worldview. He has good
reasons also for emphasizing sound logic, for testing what he hears by rational
means. And he has good reasons for doing this in whatever field he is engaged.
For all truth is God’s truth, and the believer is called to attest to it by
both his life and his thought."
Other seminal works included The Idea of a Christian College; Contours of a
Worldview; Ethics: Approaching Moral Decisions; War and Christian Ethics; Fact;
Value and God; Shaping Character; and Building the Christian Academy. A
frequent speaker on the campuses of other colleges, Holmes' influence was
national and international. He provided formal and informal inspiration and
encouragement to Christian philosophers, vastly expanding the number of
Christians in the discipline.
"It would be hard to think of anyone who has had a greater impact on Christian
higher education than Arthur Holmes," said Dr. Philip Ryken, President of
Wheaton College. "Everywhere I go, college and university leaders mention his
book The Idea of a Christian College as foundational to their thinking about
faith and learning."
"Wheaton College will long remember Art Holmes as the complete Christian
philosopher: a careful scholar, a rigorous thinker, a wise mentor, a warm
friend, and a champion for the integration of faith and learning," Ryken
continued.
In a chapel address he gave at Wheaton in the 1960s, Holmes spoke about his
vision for rigorously educating a large group of philosophy majors from Wheaton
and other Christian colleges who could affect the world of ideas. He believed
that, no matter a student’s major or eventual profession, having a Christian
perspective that integrated faith and learning was critical.
Dr. W. Jay Wood, Chair of the Department of Philosophy, said Holmes will be
remembered for the way he mentored students, and for the way he challenged
evangelicals to explore the relationship between Christianity and the full
spectrum of the arts and sciences.
"Arthur influenced an entire generatiseriously about the life of the mind, and his influence endures in the lives of
his many students who carry his teaching into their various careers and
callings," Wood said. "We who worked alongside him are grateful for his life,
and that portion of it in which we shared."
Holmes was the recipient of several awards, including the 1987 Illinois
Professor of the Year, presented by the Council for Advancement and Support of
Education.
Holmes' survivors include his wife, Alice; his sons, Paul (Laura) and Mark
(Jennifer); and six grandchildren.
A memorial service for Dr. Holmes will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday, October 23.
The service will take place in Pierce Memorial Chapel, located on the southeast
corner of Washington and Franklin streets in Wheaton. Following the memorial, a
reception will be held across campus in Anderson Commons, located at 421 Chase
Street.
================================
Christina Van Dyke
Director of Gender Studies
Executive Director of the Society of Christian Philosophers
Associate Professor of Philosophy
350 Hiemenga Hall
Calvin College
3201 Burton SE
Grand Rapids, MI 49546
616.526.6676
Dr. Arthur F. Holmes, a noted Christian philosopher who inspired generations of
Wheaton College students and the broader Christian community through his
thoughtful scholarship, died Saturday, October 8. He was 87.
Holmes, who left his native England to study at Wheaton College, completed
bachelor's and master's degrees in Bible and theology at Wheaton in 1950 and
1952. Holmes earned a Ph.D. in philosophy from Northwestern University in 1957.
He began teaching theology and philosophy at Wheaton in 1951, while completing
his graduate studies, and invested his entire professional career at Wheaton.
He served as chairman of the Philosophy Department for 37 years, among many
other roles, and continued to teach occasionally even after his retirement in
1994. Holmes was designated Alumnus of the Year for Distinguished Service to
Alma Mater in 1978.
Holmes authored several influential articles and books that encouraged a broad
understanding of and commitment to the task of distinctively Christian
scholarship. His courses taught students to think systematically and deeply as
Christians about human thought and experience.
"The Christian, of all people, we have observed, has good reasons for believing
in truth," he wrote in All Truth is God’s Truth (Eerdmans, 1977). "He has good
reasons for believing it to be universal and unchanging, and good reasons for
being concerned about the unifying truth of a biblical worldview. He has good
reasons also for emphasizing sound logic, for testing what he hears by rational
means. And he has good reasons for doing this in whatever field he is engaged.
For all truth is God’s truth, and the believer is called to attest to it by
both his life and his thought."
Other seminal works included The Idea of a Christian College; Contours of a
Worldview; Ethics: Approaching Moral Decisions; War and Christian Ethics; Fact;
Value and God; Shaping Character; and Building the Christian Academy. A
frequent speaker on the campuses of other colleges, Holmes' influence was
national and international. He provided formal and informal inspiration and
encouragement to Christian philosophers, vastly expanding the number of
Christians in the discipline.
"It would be hard to think of anyone who has had a greater impact on Christian
higher education than Arthur Holmes," said Dr. Philip Ryken, President of
Wheaton College. "Everywhere I go, college and university leaders mention his
book The Idea of a Christian College as foundational to their thinking about
faith and learning."
"Wheaton College will long remember Art Holmes as the complete Christian
philosopher: a careful scholar, a rigorous thinker, a wise mentor, a warm
friend, and a champion for the integration of faith and learning," Ryken
continued.
In a chapel address he gave at Wheaton in the 1960s, Holmes spoke about his
vision for rigorously educating a large group of philosophy majors from Wheaton
and other Christian colleges who could affect the world of ideas. He believed
that, no matter a student’s major or eventual profession, having a Christian
perspective that integrated faith and learning was critical.
Dr. W. Jay Wood, Chair of the Department of Philosophy, said Holmes will be
remembered for the way he mentored students, and for the way he challenged
evangelicals to explore the relationship between Christianity and the full
spectrum of the arts and sciences.
"Arthur influenced an entire generatiseriously about the life of the mind, and his influence endures in the lives of
his many students who carry his teaching into their various careers and
callings," Wood said. "We who worked alongside him are grateful for his life,
and that portion of it in which we shared."
Holmes was the recipient of several awards, including the 1987 Illinois
Professor of the Year, presented by the Council for Advancement and Support of
Education.
Holmes' survivors include his wife, Alice; his sons, Paul (Laura) and Mark
(Jennifer); and six grandchildren.
A memorial service for Dr. Holmes will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday, October 23.
The service will take place in Pierce Memorial Chapel, located on the southeast
corner of Washington and Franklin streets in Wheaton. Following the memorial, a
reception will be held across campus in Anderson Commons, located at 421 Chase
Street.
================================
Christina Van Dyke
Director of Gender Studies
Executive Director of the Society of Christian Philosophers
Associate Professor of Philosophy
350 Hiemenga Hall
Calvin College
3201 Burton SE
Grand Rapids, MI 49546
616.526.6676