R. C. Sproul

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This article is about the founder of Ligonier Ministries. For his son, see R. C. Sproul, Jr.
R. C. Sproul
R. C. Sproul (cropped).jpg
R. C. Sproul
Born (1939-02-13)February 13, 1939
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania[1][2]
Died Script error: The function "death_date_and_age" does not exist.
Altamonte Springs, Florida, U.S.
Theological work
Tradition or movement Reformed
Main interests Classical apologetics
Systematic theology
Biblical Inerrancy

Robert Charles Sproul (/sproʊl/ sprohl;[3]; February 13, 1939 – December 14, 2017) was an American apologist, author, and pastor. 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[4]. Renewing Your Mind with Dr. R. C. Sproul is also broadcast on Sirius and XM satellite radio.[5] In late July 2012, a new Christian internet radio station called RefNet (Reformation Network)[6] was also announced by Ligonier Ministries in an effort to reach "as many people as possible" where Internet access is available.[7]

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.[8]

Sproul was a passenger on the Amtrak train that derailed in the 1993 Big Bayou Canot train wreck and often gave firsthand accounts of the story.[9]

Education

Sproul 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.

Career

Dr. Sproul served as co-pastor at Saint Andrew's Chapel, a congregation in Sanford, Florida.[1][10] 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.[11]

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.[12] 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."[12]

In December 2017, Sproul was again hospitalized due to his chronic obstructive pulmonary disease[13], and died on December 14, 2017 from the disease at the age of 78.[14][15]

Publications

Sproul's work The Holiness of God is considered to be his seminal work on the subject of God's character,[by whom?] and his book Not a Chance: The Myth of Chance in Modern Science and Cosmology [16] was highly praised by those who reject the materialism advocated by some in the scientific community.[17]

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 60 books and many articles for evangelical publications. 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 editor of the Reformation Study Bible (ISBN 0-87552-643-8), a six-year-long project, which has appeared in several editions and was also known as the New Geneva Study Bible.

In 2006 Ligonier Ministries launched Reformation Trust Publishing with an aim to promote the historic Reformed Protestant Christian faith by well known Reformed pastors, educators, and church leaders in the modern evangelical church.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Steven Forst, Resource Consultant, Ligonier Ministries.
  4. ↑ http://renewingyourmind.org/stations
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Train Wreck
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ "Dr. R.C. Sproul, Called Home to the Lord." (Press release). Ligonier Ministries. December 14, 2017. Retrieved December 14, 2017.
  15. ↑ RC Sproul Dies at 78
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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