R. C. Sproul | |
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Born | Robert Charles Sproul February 13, 1939 |
Died | December 14, 2017 (aged 78) Altamonte Springs, Florida, U.S. |
Cause of death | Complications from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease |
Theological work | |
Tradition or movement | Reformed |
Main interests | Classical apologetics Systematic theology Biblical Inerrancy |
Robert Charles Sproul (/sproʊl/ SPROHL; February 13, 1939 – December 14, 2017) was an American theologian, author, and ordained pastor in the Presbyterian Church in America. He was the founder and chairman of Ligonier Ministries (named after the Ligonier Valley just outside Pittsburgh, where the ministry started as a study center for college and seminary students) 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 of which Sproul, alongside Norman Geisler, was one of the chief architects.[3] [4] Sproul has been described as "the greatest and most influential proponent of the recovery of Reformed theology in the last century."[5][6][7]
Sproul was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, as the second child of Robert Cecil Sproul, an accountant and a veteran of World War II and his wife, Mayre Ann Sproul (née Yardis).[8][9] Sproul was an avid supporter of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Pittsburgh Pirates as a youth, and at the age of 15, he had to drop out from high school athletics in order to support his family.[9] He held degrees from Westminster College, Pennsylvania (BA, 1961), Pittsburgh-Xenia Theological Seminary (M.Div, 1964), the Free University of Amsterdam (Drs., 1969), and Whitefield Theological Seminary (PhD, 2001). He taught at numerous colleges and seminaries, including Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando and Jackson, Mississippi, and Knox Theological Seminary in Ft. Lauderdale.[1]
One of Sproul's mentors was John Gerstner, one of his professors at Pittsburgh-Xenia Theological Seminary. The two of them, along with another of Gerstner's students, Arthur Lindsley, co-authored the book Classical Apologetics in 1984. Dr. Sproul's ministry, Ligonier Ministries, made recordings of Dr. Gerstner teaching various courses on theology and the Bible.
Sproul was a passenger on the Amtrak train that derailed in the 1993 Big Bayou Canot train wreck and sometimes gave firsthand accounts of the story.[10]
He married Vesta (née Voorhis) in 1960 and had two children, Sherrie Dorotiak and Robert Craig Sproul.[8]
Ligonier Ministries hosts several theological conferences each year, including the main conference held each year in Orlando, FL, at which Sproul was one of the primary speakers.[11] Sproul served as co-pastor at Saint Andrew's Chapel, a congregation in Sanford, Florida.[1][12] He was ordained as an elder in the United Presbyterian Church in the USA in 1965, but left that denomination around 1975 and joined the Presbyterian Church in America. He was also a Council member of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals.
Sproul was an ardent advocate of Calvinism in his many print, audio, and video publications, and he was also known for his advocacy of the Thomistic (classical) approaches to Christian apologetics, less common among Reformed apologists, and his rejection of presuppositionalism in favor of Thomistic apologetics, often called "Classical Apologetics." A dominant theme in many of Sproul's Renewing Your Mind lessons is the holiness and sovereignty of God.
Sproul, a critic of the Roman Catholic Church and Catholic theology, denounced the 1994 ecumenical document Evangelicals and Catholics Together.[13]
In 2003, a Festschrift was published in his honor. After Darkness, Light: Essays in Honor of R. C. Sproul (ISBN 0875527043) included contributions from Robert Godfrey, Sinclair Ferguson, O. Palmer Robertson, Michael Horton, Douglas Wilson, John F. MacArthur, and Jay E. Adams.
On April 18, 2015, Sproul suffered a stroke, and was admitted to a hospital.[14] Five days later, on April 23, Dr. Sproul went home from the hospital, suffering no ill effects. He was, however, diagnosed with a diabetic condition "that will be addressed through diet and regular medical attention."[14]
Sproul had long suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and on December 2, 2017, he was hospitalized when his respiratory difficulties were exacerbated by the flu.[15] Despite medical efforts to restore respiratory function, he died on December 14, 2017, at the age of 78.[16][17]
Some of Sproul's best known books were The Holiness of God, Essential Truths of the Christian Faith, and What Is Reformed Theology?[18] His book, Not a Chance: The Myth of Chance in Modern Science and Cosmology,[19] was highly praised by those who reject the materialism advocated by most in the scientific community.[20]
Through Ligonier Ministries and the Renewing Your Mind radio program and conferences, Sproul generated numerous audio and video lectures on the subjects of history of philosophy, theology, Bible study, apologetics, intelligent design, and Christian living. In addition, Sproul wrote more than 100 books and many articles for evangelical publications.[21] He signed the 1978 Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy, which affirmed the traditional view of Biblical inerrancy, and he wrote a commentary on that document titled Explaining Inerrancy. He also served as the general editor[22] of the Reformation Study Bible (ISBN 0-87552-643-8), which has appeared in several editions and was also known as the New Geneva Study Bible. In addition, Sproul was executive editor of Tabletalk magazine.[23]
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