Because my first years as a Christian were spent in dispensationalist circles, I will always have at least an academic interest in the subject. Dispensationalism has been and remains a strong force within North American evangelicalism. For that reason, understanding dispensationalism remains important for those North American Christians who want to understand the theological context in which they live.
There has never been a shortage of books written by dispensationalists on the system itself, and there has never been a shortage of books written by critics of the system. There has, however, been a shortage of interest in dispensationalism at the highest levels of scholarship. Thankfully, that has begun to change in recent years. Two books published within the last year and a half are a good example of this. In May 2023, Eerdmans released The Rise and Fall of Dispensationalism by Daniel G. Hummel. This book traces the theological and cultural development of dispensationalism from the works of J.N. Darby in the early nineteenth century to progressive dispensationalism in the 20th and 21st centuries.
Others have published histories of dispensationalism, but most of these tend to lack objectivity due to polemical aims. Histories written by dispensationalists tend to anachronistically find dispensationalism even in the writings of the eary church fathers. Histories written by critics can too easily accept any slanderous accusation (e.g. the Margaret Macdonald rapture origin myth) as long as it scores debating points. Hummel's work avoids both pitfalls and is a valuable contribution.
My one question with regard to Hummel's work is his apparent view that dispensationalism is on its death bed. His argument is based on the numerous defections of dispensationalists to other theological camps, the surprising emergence of progressive dispensationalism at Dallas Seminary, which is the academic heart of dispensationalism, and the widespread disillusionment with the repeated false predictions of pop-dispensationalists. I'm not so sure that any of this means dispensationalism is dead or even near death. There is a new generation of young dispensationalist scholars who are carrying the torch of classical dispensationalism. Also, dispensationalism is still alive and well at the lay level in many fundamentalist and Bible churches. Dispensationalism has always thrived as a populist, grass-roots theological movement. It didn't rise to prominence by taking over the academic institutions. The grass may look brown at the moment, but those roots run deep. All it takes is a little rain.
Speaking of roots, in March 2024, Oxford University Press released J.N. Darby and the Roots of Dispensationalism by Crawford Gribben. Gribben's book is now the place to begin a study of Darby. Gribben braves Darby's thousands of pages of prose-challenged primary sources, and in doing so he corrects numerous misconceptions that have been held by both dispensationalists and non-dispensationalists alike.
By revealing the wrong paths previous historical theologians have taken, Gribben sets the stage for more productive and accurate historical study. My own takeaway is that historians should perhaps begin looking for the theological tributaries that converged in the nineteenth century and resulted in the earliest form of dispensationalist theology. Some of these tributaries (e.g. premillenniaism) have a long history in the church. Other tributaries were of more recent origins. Darby, of course, added his own contributions.
Regardless of what one thinks of dispensationalism, it cannot be denied that, measured by influence, J.N. Darby is one of the most significant theologians in the history of the church. My hope is that these two books are just the beginning and that we will see equally objective and non-sensationalistic scholarly work done on the theology of men such as James Hall Brookes, C. I. Scofield, and Lewis Sperry Chafer.
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