David Roseland

The father of modern dispensationalism came on the scene of history at a salutary moment, and he read his Bible with rare devotional abandon just prior to and throughout a lifetime of writing. His vast and challenging written record presents volumes of meticulous theological correspondence, popular tract- and pamphlet-writing, and a body of argumentative discourse that would leave little doubt as to his opinion on theological matters from Greek grammatical structures in the New Testament to the application of biblical principles in 19th Century British political life. From this record one can distill a rigorous and thoroughly detailed system of theology, though the desirable task of cataloging and prioritizing said systematic theology was sadly one accomplishment Darby never undertook. Darby would probably remark that the Bible has its own system, and therefore the closest thing we have to his systematic theology is his Synopsis of the Books of the Bible. This magnum opus, originally published in French, took him the better part of twenty years to complete, and in five volumes it presents a system that must be derived inductively. Darby’s priority of the Bible—illuminated to the believer by the Holy Spirit—over human reasoning was his constant appeal.

To the historically-informed theologian steeped in the traditions of his forbears, novelty in theological discourse is generally unwelcome. Systematic ideologies develop in the studies and writings of pastor-scholars, but they tend to assume a fortress-like resilience in the theoretical realm of academe. Proponents of such a system can at times find their schoolhouse to be a fortress under perpetual siege. Any refinements or changes, often proposed as improvements on the traditional system, are met quickly and summarily as though they were the attacks of the Vandal hordes on the bastions of orthodoxy. As the ministry of the Apostle Paul demonstrates, we are indeed responsible to defend the Faith against destructive, false teaching if we would equip others to "hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering. …"