Ervin Budiselić’s commendation of D.A. Carson

When I heard in mid-2020 that there was a possibility of D.A. Carson coming to Croatia, I was surprised and excited about it. It is not often that a person of such theological caliber and quality visits our country, but because of COVID it was clear that even this visit will be difficult to come to pass. Unfortunately, Carson will not come to Croatia in 2020, but, God willing, he will come next year. But why should the arrival of this American New Testament theologian be important to evangelical believers in Croatia? Many have hardly heard of, listened to or read his work. 

Carson is the author or editor of about 60 books, and works as an emeritus professor of the New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. You can find more about him, his biography and some of his works through the links provided. But to learn more about Carson, it is not only important to state „how much“ he’s done, but „why“ and „what“?

To answer the question „why“ we need to look in the Bible. In Ephesians 4:11, the Bible testifies that God raises ministers in the Church for special purposes, and some of them on that list are teachers. Unlike other ministries, teachers, by their vocation, are people who spend (should spend) a great deal of time studying the word of God in order to bring biblical truths closer and explain them to those who cannot set aside so much time for it. Thus, it is a kind of symbiosis between the different limbs of the body of Christ that build on each other: they give and take from each other. Why am I mentioning this? Because Carson is an extremely gifted and qualified biblical theologian from whom much can be learned and from whom the Church can take much, only if she recognizes that quality. Reading just one of his works, produced by years of careful study and work is of incalculable value. For example, just reading Exegetical Fallacies, would help many preachers and pastors avoid frequent mistakes in reading and interpreting the Bible and in turn raise the level of their biblical literacy and the quality of preaching and teaching.

This brings us to address the „what“question. Carson is an evangelical conservative biblical theologian – and that is commendable in every sense of the word. Being a theologian means engaging in various theological fields, and Carson is renowned for his New Testament scholarship. But much more important than the field of his study, Carson is a theologian who takes the Bible as the authoritative basis for his work and life. Being a theologian does not automatically mean that someone bases their theology on Scripture. And so Carson belongs to a group of conservative theologians who seek to subordinate themselves to the Scripture, not to subordinate Scripture to themselves or to the „spirit of the times.“ And finally, Carson is one of the evangelical theologians which means he is part of a group of theologians who don’t all think alike on matters of theology. In that regard, someone might disagree with his views on spiritual gifts or with his understanding of the roles of men and women, but still agree on the essentials of the Gospel and gain significantly from his teaching.

If the Lord wills, we will have the opportunity to welcome D.A. Carson to Croatia next year in person. For now, let’s not miss the opportunity to join with brothers and sisters across southeast Europe and tune in to the November 29th livestream service.

dr.sc. Ervin Budiselić, lecturer at the Bible Institute in Zagreb