Contemporary Thought on Gordon Clark

Since the start of this blog, I've reviewed many books which interact with the thought of Gordon Clark - in the past year or so, see here, here, here, and here. Among contemporary authors, Doug Douma has probably invested more time into original, primary research on Clark's life than any other. Included in Doug's contributions to the field of Clark research include his biography of Clark's life, transcriptions of Clark's correspondence, and transcriptions of Clark's lesser known or available writings (cf. link). He has also been a kind correspondent, patiently answering various, abstruse questions of mine by email.

His latest book, The Grand Old Doc: Articles on the Thought of Gordon H. Clark, is a compilation of articles and addresses. Excepting a comment here or there in his earlier books, several chapters express Doug's first publication which incorporates philosophical and theological evaluation. Other chapters still contain historical discoveries, research, and analyses for which Doug has been known.

I had read some of the chapters in this book before purchasing it (on Doug's blog or TrinityFoundation review archives) and even engaged one of them this past summer: "Gordon Clark and the Philosophy of Occasionalism" (link). Regarding this chapter, I was hoping to see Doug follow-up on a comment he made to another author who has also discussed Clark and occasionalism. But as The Grand Old Doc may have been in the works for a while and as awareness of new material by and on Gordon Clark has rapidly expanded in the past 10 years, perhaps this was too much to hope for.

In any case, I'll plan to review various chapters in Doug's book in the future. There was much with which I found myself in agreement, areas which I might offer an alternative perspective, ideas I had not considered, and still others I wish were explored more. More than anything else, though, as someone who has also spent much time profiting from reading Clark's work, I appreciate Doug's effort and care to advance the thought of Clark vis-a-vis raising awareness regarding its depth, diversity, and potential for development, which has facilitated my own efforts to that same end.