Howard Evan Runner (January 28, 1916 in

Oxford, Pennsylvania Oxford is a borough in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. Oxford is the closest town to Lincoln University. The population was 5,733 at the 2020 census. History The borough was once called Oxford Crossing and Oxford Village during the ...

– March 14, 2002) was professor of philosophy at Calvin College,

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is the ...

, from 1951 until his retirement in 1981. He was a graduate of Wheaton College in Wheaton,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

Westminster Theological Seminary Westminster Theological Seminary is a Protestant theological seminary in the Reformed theological tradition in Glenside, Pennsylvania. It was founded by members of the faculty of Princeton Theological Seminary in 1929 after Princeton chose to ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, (where he was deeply influenced by the thought of Professor

Cornelius Van Til Cornelius Van Til (May 3, 1895 – April 17, 1987) was a Dutch-American reformed philosopher and theologian, who is credited as being the originator of modern presuppositional apologetics. A graduate of Calvin College, Van Til later receive ...

), and The Free University of

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

, Netherlands. It was at the Free University that he was taught by

Herman Dooyeweerd Herman Dooyeweerd (7 October 1894, Amsterdam – 12 February 1977, Amsterdam) was a professor of law and jurisprudence at the Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam from 1926 to 1965. He was also a philosopher and principal founder of Reformational phil ...

and D. H. Th. Vollenhoven, whose ideas relating to the construction of a whole new way of doing philosophy Christianly from a biblical basis radically changed the direction of his life, and whose teachings he later brought to North America. Runner's dissertation applied D. H. Th. Vollenhoven's problem-historical method to

Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of ph ...

's ''Physics''. Runner had also studied at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

, where he was a Junior Fellow of the

Society of Fellows The Society of Fellows is a group of scholars selected at the beginnings of their careers by Harvard University for their potential to advance academic wisdom, upon whom are bestowed distinctive opportunities to foster their individual and intell ...

, and at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

, where he engaged in intensive studies in Greek and philosophy. Early in his career at Calvin College he organized the Groen van Prinsterer Society (known popularly as the 'Groen Club'), which brought him together with students specifically interested in discussing issues relating Christianity to culture, and the necessity Runner saw of Christian cultural organization. He was also greatly influential in the setting up of the Association for Reformed Scientific Studies (ARSS) in 1956 – which later became the Association for the Advancement of Christian Scholarship (AACS). The AACS eventually became the

Institute for Christian Studies The Institute for Christian Studies (ICS or ICS Toronto) is a private, graduate-level Reformed philosophical and theological school in Toronto, Ontario. At ICS, students and faculty take part in shared learning through participatory seminars, m ...

(ICS). The ICS's first senior members were all students of Runner. His influence extended to the UK, through the work of

Elaine Storkey Elaine Storkey (''née'' Lively; born 1944) is an English philosopher, sociologist, and theologian. She is known for her lecturing, writing and broadcasting. Early years and education Born Elaine Lively on 1 October 1944, Storkey is the eldest of ...

and Richard Russell who had studied with him in Canada, and through David and Ruth Hanson, who set up the West Yorkshire School of Christian Studies. Currently, both

Redeemer University College Redeemer University is a private Christian liberal arts and science university located in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, in the community of Ancaster. Founded in 1982, Redeemer stands in the Reformed Tradition and offers Bachelor of Arts, Bachelo ...

(RUC) and the ICS have chairs in Runner's honor. RUC has the H. Evan Runner Chair in Philosophy, currently held by

Craig Bartholomew Craig G. Bartholomew (MA, Potchefstroom University, PhD, Bristol University) is the director of the Kirby Laing Centre for Public Theology. Formerly, he was senior research fellow at the University of Gloucestershire and recently the H. Evan R ...

, while the ICS has the H. Evan Runner Chair in the History of Philosophy, currently held by Robert Sweetman.

Works

*''The Relation of the Bible to Learning'' Reprint: Toronto: Wedge, 1974. *''Scriptural Religion and Political Task'' Reprint: Toronto: Wedge, 1974. *'ARSS and its reorganization' ''Calvinist Contact'' 1962: 5-7 *'Dooyeweerd's Passing: An Appreciation' ''The Banner'' April 22, 1977: 20-23. *'Interview with Dr. H. Evan Runner' by Harry Van Dyke and

Albert M. Wolters Albert Marten "Al" Wolters (born 1942) is an emeritus professor of religion at Redeemer University College in Ancaster, Ontario (near Hamilton). He has been described as a "towering figure" in the Kuyperian neo-Calvinist pantheon. Early life and e ...

in ''Hearing and Doing'' pp. 333–361 *''Vollenhoven's History of the Presocratic Philosophers'

*''Verbonds-geschiedenis'' (''Promise and Deliverance'') by S.G. De Graaf; Translated by H. Evan Runner and his wife Ellen.

Festschrifts

* Bernard Zylstra, "Preface to Runner," In ''The Relation of the Bible to Learning'' (Paideia Press, 1982, 5th edn
extract
*John Kraay & Anthony Tol (eds), ''Hearing and Doing: Philosophical Essays dedicated to H. Evan Runner'' (Wedge, 1979) *''Life Is Religion: Essays in Honor of H. Evan Runner'' (Paideia Press, 1981)

References

External links

*Al Wolter
The importance of H. Evan Runner
*Theodore Planting
H. Evan Runner: Man of Passion, Man of Conviction
* H. Evan Runner Blo
Lecture notes etc.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Runner, H. Evan 1916 births 2002 deaths Harvard University alumni Westminster Theological Seminary alumni Calvin University faculty Calvinist and Reformed philosophers Wheaton College (Illinois) alumni