Vern Poythress | |
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Born | Vern Sheridan Poythress March 29, 1946 Madera, California, U.S. |
Occupation | Theologian |
Academic background | |
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Academic work | |
Era | Contemporary |
School or tradition | Calvinist,Van Tillian presuppositionalist |
Main interests | Philosophy of science,philosophy of mathematics,linguistics,hermeneutics,New Testament |
Notable ideas | Multiperspectivalism,scientific law as a form of the word of God,foundation for ontology and epistemology in the Trinity |
Vern Sheridan Poythress (born 1946) is an American philosopher,theologian,New Testament scholar and mathematician,who is currently the New Testament chair of the ESV Oversight Committee. He is also the Distinguished Professor of New Testament,Biblical Interpretation,and Systematic Theology at Westminster Theological Seminary and editor of Westminster Theological Journal. [1]
Poythress was born in Madera,California in 1946 to Ransom H. Poythress and Carola N. Poythress. He graduated from Bullard High School in Fresno,California. [2]
At the age of 20,Poythress earned a B.S. in mathematics with honor (valedictorian) from California Institute of Technology, [3] in the year 1966. While there,he became a Putnam Fellow in 1964. [4] He received his Ph.D. in mathematics from Harvard University, [3] finishing in 1970. Westminster Theological Seminary awarded him both an M.Div and a Th.M in apologetics for work done in the years 1971-74. He earned an M.Litt from the University of Cambridge in New Testament studies during 1974-76. [5] [6] He received a Th.D. in New Testament from the University of Stellenbosch. [7] [8]
In 1983,Poythress married Diane M. Poythress. They have two sons,Ransom Poythress and Justin Poythress. [2] [9]
As of 2016,he was teaching New Testament and occasional courses on the philosophies of science and language at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, [3] work he began in 1976. His blog with John M. Frame was listed in early 2018 as one of the top 50 Christian popular culture sites. [10]
Poythress views scientific law as a form of the word of God. [11] In 1976,Poythress wrote a chapter on "A Biblical View of Mathematics," [12] in which he argued (among other things) that number is eternal because the Trinity is eternal. [13] In a 1983 article,he suggested that mathematics is the rhyme of the universe. [14] His philosophy of science draws on the work of Thomas Kuhn. [15]
Poythress has published a number of books in different fields — Christian philosophy of science,linguistics,theological method,dispensationalism,biblical law,copyright law,hermeneutics,Bible translation,and eschatology and the Book of Revelation [16] including:
Additionally, he has published a number of scholarly articles, including: [17] [16]
Westminster Theological Seminary (WTS) 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 take a liberal direction during the Fundamentalist–Modernist controversy.
The English Standard Version (ESV) is a translation of the Bible in contemporary English. Published in 2001 by Crossway, the ESV was "created by a team of more than 100 leading evangelical scholars and pastors." The ESV relies on recently published critical editions of the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts.
Wayne A. Grudem is an American New Testament scholar, theologian, seminary professor, and author. He is a professor of theology and biblical studies at Phoenix Seminary in Phoenix, Arizona.
John McElphatrick Frame is a retired American Christian philosopher and Calvinist theologian especially noted for his work in epistemology and presuppositional apologetics, systematic theology, and ethics. He is one of the foremost interpreters and critics of the thought of Cornelius Van Til.
Theonomy is a hypothetical Christian form of government in which society is ruled by divine law. Theonomists hold that divine law, particularly the judicial laws of the Old Testament, should be observed by modern societies. The chief architects of the movement are Gary North, Greg Bahnsen, and R.J. Rushdoony.
Robert Charles Sproul was an American Reformed theologian and ordained pastor in the Presbyterian Church in America. He was the founder and chairman of Ligonier Ministries and could be heard daily on the Renewing Your Mind radio broadcast in the United States and internationally. Under Sproul's direction, Ligonier Ministries produced the Ligonier Statement on Biblical Inerrancy, which would eventually grow into the 1978 Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy. Along with Norman Geisler, Sproul was one of the chief architects of the statement. Sproul has been described as "the greatest and most influential proponent of the recovery of Reformed theology in the last century."
The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (CBMW) is an evangelical Christian organization promoting a complementarian view of gender issues. According to its website, the "mission of The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood is to set forth the teachings of the Bible about the complementary differences between men and women, created equally in the image of God, because these teachings are essential for obedience to Scripture and for the health of the family and the church." CBMW's current president is Dr. Denny Burk, a professor of biblical studies at Boyce College and director for The Center for Gospel and Culture at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Its 2017 "Nashville Statement" was criticized by egalitarian Christians and LGBT campaigners, as well as by several conservative religious figures.
Christian apologetics is a branch of Christian theology that defends Christianity.
Multiperspectivalism is an approach to knowledge advocated by Calvinist philosophers John Frame and Vern Poythress.
Richard B. Gaffin, Jr. is a Calvinist theologian, Presbyterian minister, and was the Charles Krahe Professor of Biblical and Systematic Theology at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from 1999 to 2008. He became the Professor Emeritus, Biblical and Systematic Theology in 2008.
David M. VanDrunen is the Robert B. Strimple Professor of Systematic Theology and Christian Ethics at Westminster Seminary California. VanDrunen was the 2004 recipient of the Acton Institute's Novak Award, a visiting fellow at the Center for the Study of Law and Religion at Emory University in 2009, and a Henry Luce III Fellow in Theology for the 2016–2017 academic year.
The ESV Study Bible is a study Bible published by Crossway. Using the text of the English Standard Version, the ESVSB features study notes from a perspective of "classic evangelical orthodoxy, in the historic stream of the Reformation."
C. John "Jack" Collins is an engineer and professor of Old Testament at Covenant Theological Seminary, where he has served since 1993.
Richard Linwood Pratt Jr. is an American theologian, author, and founder and President of Third Millennium Ministries. Third Millennium was launched in response to the lack of training of Christian leaders around the world. Third Millennium recognizes where the church is growing the fastest, those Christian leaders have the least amount of training. Pratt personally witnessed this in the 1980s as he traveled for missions. Helping the church worldwide has become his passion. He believes that any person that has the desire to learn more about the Bible should be given that opportunity in their own land, in their own language, and at no cost.
Cornelius Van Til was a Dutch-American Reformed theologian, who is credited as being the originator of modern presuppositional apologetics.
Carl R. Trueman is an English Christian theologian and ecclesiastical historian. He was Professor of Historical Theology and Church History at Westminster Theological Seminary, where he held the Paul Woolley Chair of Church History. In 2018 Trueman left Westminster and became a professor at Grove City College in their Department of Biblical and Religious Studies.
John Herbert Sailhamer was an American professor of Old Testament studies at Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary in California. He was president of the Evangelical Theological Society in 2000 and made notable contributions to Old Testament studies.
Samuel Talbot Logan Jr. is an American ecclesiastical historian and Presbyterian minister. He is professor of Church history at Biblical Theological Seminary and former president of Westminster Theological Seminary. He served as president from 1991 to 2005. He is an ordained minister in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. Logan's tenure was abruptly terminated in 2005 by the seminary's board of trustees due to their perception that he was too inclusive of liberal scholarship.
P&R Publishing is an evangelical, Reformed, Christian publishing company located in Phillipsburg, New Jersey. P&R publishes books that promote biblical concepts and Christian lifestyle according to the Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechisms.
Willem A. VanGemeren is Professor Emeritus of Old Testament and Semitic Languages at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He is the author of a number of books, including Interpreting the Prophetic Word (Zondervan) and a commentary on Psalms in the Expositor's Bible Commentary series (Zondervan). He was a senior editor of the five-volume work The New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and Exegesis in which ten essays have been compiled to thoroughly explain proper hermeneutics and Biblical interpretation. He is a member of the Society of Biblical Literature, the Evangelical Theological Society, and the Institute for Biblical Research.