Charles Rosenbury Erdman Sr. (1866-1960) was an American

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

minister and professor of theology at

Princeton Theological Seminary Princeton Theological Seminary (PTSem), officially The Theological Seminary of the Presbyterian Church, is a private school of theology in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1812 under the auspices of Archibald Alexander, the General Assembly of ...

Early life and education

Erdman was born on July 20, 1866 in

Fayetteville, New York Fayetteville is a village located in Onondaga County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the village had a population of 4,225. The village is named after the Marquis de Lafayette, a national hero of both France and the United S ...

to William J. Erdman, a leader in the premilennialist and

holiness Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

movements of the late nineteenth century. He earned his

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

(1886) from the College of New Jersey (now

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

) and went on to study at

from 1887 to 1891. Erdman was ordained on May 8, 1891 in the Presbytery of

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

North, PCUSA.

Career

Erdman served as pastor of Overbrook Presbyterian Church in

from 1891 to 1897, and then at First Presbyterian Church in

Germantown Germantown or German Town may refer to: Places Australia * Germantown, Queensland, a locality in the Cassowary Coast Region United States * Germantown, California, the former name of Artois, a census-designated place in Glenn County * Ger ...

from 1897 to 1906. He joined the faculty at

in 1905, where he served as professor of practical theology until his retirement in 1936. During that time, Erdman was elected the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America in 1925, and also served as pastor of First Presbyterian Church in

Princeton, New Jersey Princeton is a municipality with a borough form of government in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township, both of whi ...

from 1924 to 1934. Erdman was a major voice for tolerance toward deviation from the

Westminster Standards The Westminster Standards is a collective name for the documents drawn up by the Westminster Assembly (1643–49). These include the Westminster Confession of Faith, the Westminster Shorter Catechism, the Westminster Larger Catechism, the Directo ...

, in opposition to

J. Gresham Machen John Gresham Machen (; 1881–1937) was an American Presbyterian New Testament scholar and educator in the early 20th century. He was the Professor of New Testament at Princeton Seminary between 1906 and 1929, and led a revolt against modernist t ...

, which led to the reorganization of the seminary and some faculty breaking off from Princeton to form

Westminster Theological Seminary Westminster Theological Seminary 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 t ...

in 1929. During his time in Princeton Erdman was instrumental in bringing to Princeton the

Westminster Choir College Westminster Choir College (WCC) is a historic conservatory of music currently operating on the campus of Rider University in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. Rider's Westminster College of the Arts, the college under which the historic institution has b ...

, where a building bears his name, and the

American Boychoir School The American Boychoir School was a boarding/day middle school located in Princeton, New Jersey, and the home of the American Boychoir. The school originated as the Columbus Boychoir in Columbus, Ohio. In 1950, the school relocated after receiving ...

. The site of his former home is now occupied by Princeton Seminary's Erdman Hall which is named in honor of Charles and Estelle Erdman and houses th
Erdman Center

Death

Erdman died in 1960 and is buried in the

Princeton Cemetery Princeton Cemetery is located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. It is owned by the Nassau Presbyterian Church. John F. Hageman in his 1878 history of Princeton, New Jersey refers to the cemetery as "The Westminster Abbey of the United State ...

of the Nassau Presbyterian Church.

Selected publications

Erdman was the author of over thirty popular biblical commentaries and books of pastoral theology. Two of his essays entitled "The Coming of Christ" and "The Church and Socialism" were included in ''

The Fundamentals ''The Fundamentals: A Testimony To The Truth'' (generally referred to simply as ''The Fundamentals'') is a set of ninety essays published between 1910 and 1915 by the Testimony Publishing Company of Chicago. It was initially published quarterly in ...

''. *"Modern Spiritual Movements" in ''Biblical and theological studies'', Princeton Theological Seminary, ed. (1912) *''Coming to The Communion'' (1912) *''The Gospel of Mark: an exposition'' (1917) *''The General epistles: an exposition'' (1918) *''The Acts: An Exposition'' (1919) *''The Gospel of Matthew: an exposition'' (1920) *''The Gospel of Luke: an exposition'' (1921) *''The Gospel of John: an exposition'' (1922) *''The Return of Christ'' (1922) *''Within the Gateways of the Far East: A Record of Recent Travel'' (1922) *''The First epistle of Paul to the Corinthians: an exposition'' (1928) *''The Epistle of Paul to the Ephesians: an exposition'' (1931) ISBN *''The Epistles of Paul to the Colossians and to Philemon: an exposition'' (1933) *''The Epistle to the Hebrews: an exposition'' (1934) *''The Revelation of John: an exposition'' (1936) *''The Pastoral epistles of Paul: an exposition'' (1966) *''The Epistle of Paul to the Galatians: An Exposition'' (1930) ISBN *''The Epistle of Paul to the Romans: An Exposition'' (1925)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Erdman, Charles R. 1866 births 1960 deaths Presbyterian Church in the United States of America ministers Princeton Theological Seminary faculty