Westminster Theological Seminary

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This article is about the Presbyterian seminary. For the United Methodist seminary formerly located in Westminster, MD, see Wesley Theological Seminary.

Westminster Theological Seminary is a Presbyterian and Reformed Christian graduate educational institution with campuses located in Glenside, Pennsylvania (a suburb of Philadelphia), and Dallas, Texas, and programs of study in New York City, and London. In 1982, the California branch of Westminster became an independent institution, Westminster Seminary California.

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[edit] History

Peter Lillback, president of Westminster Theological Seminary
Peter Lillback, president of Westminster Theological Seminary

The seminary was formed in 1929, largely under the leadership and funding of J. Gresham Machen, with the vision of continuing the theological tradition of Princeton Theological Seminary, from which the Westminster founders felt Princeton was departing. Though independent, it has long had a close relationship with the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, which Machen founded in 1936. The first president of the seminary was Edmund Clowney, who served from 1966 until 1984. He was followed by George Fuller and Samuel T. Logan. The current president is Peter Lillback.

The seminary was accredited in 1986 by the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada[1] and received "specialized accreditation" in 1954 by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools.[2]

[edit] Academics

Pastoral training is the primary focus of the Seminary, and the seminary has historically prized its stringent academic standards, requiring that students who do not arrive with ability in biblical Greek and Hebrew spend a year on each language, that is followed with a heavy focus on the languages in upper-level classes. Students are required to master a wide range of topics in not only theology and biblical studies, but also history, philosophy, and sociology.

All trustees and faculty members are required to affirm their agreement with the theological perspective presented in the Westminster Confession of Faith and the Larger and Shorter Catechisms, the core doctrine of all conservative Presbyterian churches.

Distinctives of the seminary include a commitment to presuppositional apologetics[3] as developed pre-eminently by Cornelius Van Til, the biblical-theological approach of Geerhardus Vos, redemptive-historical preaching as taught and practiced by Edmund Clowney and Tim Keller, and urban mission.

Westminster’s approach to counseling was developed in cooperation with the Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation (CCEF),[4] located near the Westminster campus. The seminary's biblical counseling classes are taught by CCEF faculty.

Westminster has a worldwide reputation,[citation needed] drawing roughly a third of its student body from Korea, with numerous other countries of Asia, Europe and Africa well represented. Recently, the seminary has reorganized its PhD program in an effort to bolster its academic reputation by requiring rigorous scholarship from its students.

The seminary currently offers Master of Divinity, Master of Arts in Religion, Master of Arts, Master of Theology, Doctor of Philosophy, and Doctor of Ministry degrees.[5]

Westminster publishes the semi-annual Westminster Theological Journal.

[edit] See also


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Colleges and Universities in Metropolitan Philadelphia
The American College • Arcadia University • Art Institute of Philadelphia • Bryn Mawr College • Cabrini College • Chestnut Hill College • Cheyney University • Curtis Institute of Music • Delaware Valley College • Drexel University • Eastern University • Gratz College • Gwynedd-Mercy College • Haverford College • Holy Family University • Immaculata University • La Salle University • Lincoln University • Manor College • Moore College of Art and Design • Neumann College • Peirce College • Penn State Abington • Penn State Brandywine • Penn State Great Valley • Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts • Pennsylvania College of Optometry • Philadelphia Biblical University • Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine • Philadelphia University • Reconstructionist Rabbinical College • The Restaurant School • Rosemont College • Rutgers University • Saint Joseph's University • Swarthmore College • Temple University • Thomas Jefferson University • University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey • University of the Arts • University of the Sciences in Philadelphia • University of Pennsylvania • Ursinus College • Valley Forge Christian College • Villanova University • West Chester University • Westminster Theological Seminary • Widener University

[edit] External links