Arthur Holmes was a great Christian and a fine philosopher. We Christians who value the life of the mind must thank and praise the Lord for Art and his life, and we must do our best to see that his tradition is carried on and developed.

--Alvin Plantinga

I had the privilege to take several classes from Dr. Holmes, including Intro to Philosophy and History of Philosophy. He was a great man, a great teacher, and a great disciple. He had a tremendous influence on many people and will be missed.

Arthur Holmes was one of the greatest mentors of his generation, calling evangelicals to pursue their love of God not merely with their heart and soul but with their mind. A great many students became academics through his influence. I affirm Al Plantinga's suggestion that the best way to honor his memory and show gratitude to the Lord for Arthur's example is to press on with the task of pursuing Truth, and encouraging others to do the same.

In my undergrad program at Trinity Western University, every senior was required to take a course entitled IDIS 400 (all about "developing a Christian world view," which was cutting edge language in 1989). Dr. Holmes' CONTOURS OF A CHRISTIAN WORLD VIEW was our text, and 20+ years later that book continues to influence my thinking. I wonder how many thousands of students have been similarly shaped in some way by Dr. Holmes--a man I personally never met, but for whom I am profoundly grateful.

The integration of faith, learning, and life that was integral to Professor Holmes' teaching (though I never met him) has become so normative that I regard it as only mildly ironic that just this afternoon, before learning of his passing, I had the privilege to counsel a young Christian student (at a state university) to not dichotomize her legitimate interests and her call as a Christian. All Truth is God's Truth and its corollary that all honorable work is an honor to God-- while not redemptive in themselves--are liberating witnesses to the greatness of God and the many ways He calls us to His service. The Church and the Academy are blessed by the life and work of Professor Holmes. Blessings on his family.

It's odd that I was thinking about Prof. Holmes today before receiving an email about his passing today. I particularly recall taking shower with him after swimming in the then newly built sports complex at Wheaton. For an Asian, to face a teacher face-to-face is like facing a king or some high ranking person. But to face a teacher naked before you, talking to you, was truly astonishing. That's what he did. He had no pretension, an honest humble man with penetrating eyes. A man who loved truth, whose passion could only be matched by his devotion for the integration between faith and truth. His passion for search for truth was infectious. What a privilege to have been taught by him!

Like one of the earlier posters, I remember Dr. Holmes at the Wheaton pool, his freestyle graceful, if glacial, and also I remember seeing this, the most dignified person I knew, showering up afterwards with us boys.

Only now that I am also a professor do I appreciate the sheer effort that Dr. Holmes poured into his teaching: traditional lectures, finely crafted, and, with classes of 60-80 students, a steady flow of lengthy writing assignments with three three-hour take-home exams in a semester, all graded by Dr. Holmes personally.

We had all weekend with the exams, but were on our honor to take only three hours after looking at the questions to write the exam. I often ran out of time, but never considered taking an extra minute on it. It was simply unthinkable that anyone would do so.

While at Wheaton, I imagined that Dr. Holmes was a famous philosopher. Not so. He was far too involved in teaching, and in shaping Wheaton College, to lead much of a serious scholarly life, in the way that we now think of it (i.e., a lengthy list of publications).

Dr. Holmes set the tone in the philosophy department -- full of wonderful professors -- and in the college as a whole. His "All Truth..." slogan not only gave us permission to read something other than the Bible, but provided theological incentive to really put our backs into serious scientific work. The integration of faith and learning: an old idea, but sorely needed in our community. All of us Wheaties who went on to excel in academia, law, medicine, benefited from Dr. Holmes.

I was a student of Dr. Holmes. I remember the care that he took with his lectures. They were meaty and symbolic of his devotion to the craft of teaching, and more importantly, to the discipline of conversation. Through the space that he created we entered centuries-old conversations about the nature of things and of the divine. There was nourishment there of a kind I have not often found. His famous dictum that "all truth is God's truth" communicates a faith in the order of things, as well as perhaps a strong preference for order over disorder. His presence was luminescent and a grace in an immediate context dominated by shallow opinion and prejudice. He inspired us to reach for something more, deeper, and lasting.

Arthur Holmes has had an influence on my life in various ways. As President of the Evangelical Philosophical Society, I have written a tribute to him in gratitude for his profound impact on so many:

http://blog.epsociety.org/2011/10/arthur-f-holmes-1924-2011.html

For the summer of 1947, although I had had 3 years of koine Greek, Dr. Tenney insisted(!) I must take the classical course. There were two
classes and I was on one floor and Art was on the other floor. As it happened, he was #1 in his class, I was #1 in my class. That sealed our relatioship. In 1961 I returned for graduate degrees, and it was a pleasure to see Art again, deeply involved in Philosophy and teaching it to many students by his life, his knowledge and his skill. Dr.Schultz had me teach a 301-Theology class for Juniors, and it was
a delight to watch and hear Art in the faculty meetings.
He was one of those who has heard, "Well done, good and faithful
servant. Enter into the joy of your Lord."