Fuller Theological Seminary

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Fuller Theological Seminary
Image:FullerSeminarySeal.jpg
Established1947
Type:Seminary
President:Richard Mouw
LocationPasadena, CA, USA
Campus:Urban,
Website:www.fuller.edu

Fuller Theological Seminary, located in Pasadena, California, is the largest multi-denominational seminary in the world. A leading Christian theological institution known for its academic rigor and ethnic and denominational diversity, Fuller has over 4300 students from over 67 countries and 108 denominations.[1]

Through its three schools, Theology, Psychology, Intercultural Studies, and the Horner Center for Lifelong Learning, the seminary offers university-style education leading to 13 different degrees accredited by the Association of Theological Schools[1] and the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.

Fuller is welcoming both to the evangelical conservative and the theologically liberal. The faculty consists of a variety of Christian scholars with equally diverse backgrounds. Students and professors often hold diametrically opposing views and vehemently debate a wide range of religious and ethical issues, yet remain committed to their Christian camaraderie. Fuller's diverse student body and ecumenical persuasion are among its chief strengths. It is also frequently at the center of debate among religious and secular intellectuals on issues ranging from politics, religion, science and culture. Fuller instructors have been cited as seeking ways out of the conservative/liberal debate: "We need to be the voice of a third way that flows out of biblical values, instead of buying into the political ideology of either the right or the left." [2]. Currently, Fuller reports that faculty and students come from over 150 Christian denominations representing a wide variety of theological viewpoints [3].

Contents

[edit] History

Fuller Theological Seminary was founded in 1947 by Charles E. Fuller, a well-known radio evangelist, Harold Ockenga, pastor of Park Street Church in Boston, Carl F. H. Henry, Wilbur Moorehead Smith and Harold Lindsell. It was the first academic institution to be founded by the neo-evangelical movement. It began with the theological vision of reforming fundamentalism from its anti-intellectual and socially isolationist stance of the 1920-40 era. The founders envisaged that the seminary would become the Caltech of Christian scholarship.

Most of the earliest faculty held to theologically and socially conservative views, which later gave way to more progressive (liberal) thinking in the 1960s and 1970s. There were tensions in the late 1950s and early 1960s as some of the conservative faculty members—such as Carl F. H. Henry, Harold Lindsell, Wilbur Moorehead Smith and Gleason Archer; became uncomfortable with staff and students who did not agree with total biblical inerrancy. These tensions are discussed at length in George Marsden's well-known historical account of the seminary and its place in the rise of neo-evangelicalism. Since the 1970s, Fuller has gone through significant transformation and is influential today as a progressive evangelical institution with strong commitment to scholarship and training of Christian leaders, as well as to social justice and mission.


[edit] Extended education

In addition to its main campus in Pasadena, Fuller Theological Seminary offers classes at several extension sites located in the western United States:

  • Fuller Northwest (Seattle)
  • Fuller Northern California (Bay Area and Sacramento)
  • Fuller Southern California
  • Fuller Southwest (Phoenix)
  • Fuller Colorado (Colorado Springs)
  • Fuller Texas (Houston)

Fuller Theological Seminary also offers a full range of distance learning courses, and now offers a Master of Arts in Global Leadership. This degree combines two on-campus cohort seminars with online distance learning courses, and is earned primarily online.

[edit] Notable alumni and faculty members

Fuller Theological Seminary has numerous notable alumni and faculty.

[edit] Notable alumni

[edit] Notable former faculty

  • Gleason Archer, influential Biblical scholar and theologian. Taught at Fuller from 1948-65.
  • Edward John Carnell (1919-1967) was the author of Introduction to Christian Apologetics, A Philosophy of the Christian Religion, and many other books. He served as seminary President from 1954-59.
  • Richard J. Foster, Former Fuller professor. A theologian and author of Celebration of Discipline - named by Christianity Today as one of the 100 Best Religious Books of the 20th Century.
  • Richard Gorsuch, social psychologist, Professor of Psychology and Director of Research in the School of Psychology. He authored the first academic text on factor analysis (Factor analysis, 1st and 2nd edition, 1974 & 1983). Gorsuch has been a major force in the study of the psychology of religion. He published the first recent article on the psychology of religion to appear in The American Psychologist, the official publication of the American Psychological Association. He also co-authored what is often seen as the seminal text in the field (The psychology of religion: an empirical approach, 1983). He taught at Fuller from 1979 - 2006.
  • Lewis B. Smedes (1921-2002), influential theologian and writer. Author of Forgive and Forget. Formerly Professor of Theology and Ethics and taught at Fuller for twenty-five years.
  • Thomas Talbott, a professor of philosophy at Willamette University who is controversial in theological circles for his vigorous defense of the doctrine of Christian universal salvation. Taught at Fuller for three years early in his career.[4]
  • Mel White, former Professor of Communications and Preaching. Infamous within Evangelical Christianity due to his sexuality and ministry to homosexuals following his departure from the Evangelical Protestant movement.
  • John Wimber, pastor and founder of the Vineyard Movement. Wimber directed the Charles E. Fuller Institute of Evangelism and Church Growth from 1974-1978 and later served as an adjunct professor at Fuller.

[edit] Notable current faculty

  • Colin Brown, professor of theology and former associate dean of the Center for Advanced Theological Studies (CATS). A prolific author and editor: he wrote many books, including Miracles and the Critical Mind, and edited a famous multi-volume dictionary, The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology (NIDNTT). Prior to teaching at Fuller, he taught in Germany, Canada, and his native England. His current research on the historical Jesus will be published as a multi-volume monograph.
  • Warren S. Brown, director of the Lee Edward Travis Research Institute and Professor of Psychology in the School of Psychology. He also served as the principal editor and contributor to Whatever Happened to the Soul?: Scientific and Theological Portraits of Human Nature (1998) and was editor and contributor to Understanding Wisdom: Sources, Science and Society (2000).
  • Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen, a creative and prolific theologian with notable influence in ecumenical circles.
  • Richard Mouw, influential Christian philosopher, ethicist and author. Current President of Fuller.
  • Nancey Murphy, notable philosopher of science and Christian theologian. Known for her works on religion and science. Author of Theology in the Age of Scientific Reasoning, winner of prizes from the American Academy of Religion and the Templeton Foundation.
  • Cecil Mel Robeck, ordained with the Assemblies of God, a professor of ecumenics, church history, and Pentecostalism with influence in Roman Catholic circles.
  • David M. Scholer, former Associate Dean for the Center for Advanced Theological Studies and current Professor of New Testament. Scholer is a distinguished authority on ancient Gnosticism and particularly the Nag Hammadi Scrolls. Dr. Scholer is also well-known for his extensive writings and teachings about the role of women in the church and in ministry. His class "Women, the Bible, and the Church", in which he argues from an egalitarian perspective, is one of the most popular classes at Fuller Theological Seminary. Scholer, who has incurable cancer, has been delivering sermons on drawing on religious faith and having a deadly disease. Listen to the sermon Living With Cancer here.
  • Russell P. Spittler, Senior Professor of New Testament, specializing in Corinthian Christianity. Formerly provost at Fuller.
  • Glen Stassen, Christian ethicist and son of Harold Stassen. Currently the Lewis B. Smedes Professor of Christian Ethics at Fuller.
  • Marianne Meye Thompson, George Eldon Ladd Professor of New Testament. Meye Thompson is an expert in the interpretation of the Gospel of John as well as New Testament background. She has also called into question the historic Protestant one-sided emphasis on substitutionary atonement.
  • Richard Peace, an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ and a consultant in church growth and small-group training to church and parachurch organizations. Currently the Robert Boyd Munger Professor of Evangelism and Spiritual Formation at Fuller.

[edit] Trivia

In the movie, Minority Report, character Danny Witwer, played by Colin Farrell, noted that he had attended Fuller Seminary for three years before joining the Attorney General's office as a representative.

Fuller Seminary is also featured in the film Death of a Preacher II: The Western Wall directed by Jerry Grimes, an alumnus of the institution.

[edit] Bibliography

  • George M. Marsden, Reforming Fundamentalism: Fuller Seminary and the New Evangelicalism (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1987).

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.fuller.edu/provost/aboutfuller/
  2. ^ http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002074957_religleft28m.html
  3. ^ http://www.fuller.edu/registrar/catalogs/2005-06/01_Introduction_To_Fuller/3_A_Christian_Community.asp
  4. ^ http://www.bookpump.com/upb/pdf-b/1128312b.pdf

[edit] External links

Coordinates: 34°08′55″N 118°08′24″W / 34.14861, -118.14de:Fuller Theological Seminary nl:Fuller Theological Seminary ja:フラー神学大学

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