Daniel Payton Fuller (born August 28, 1925) is an American theologian and Professor Emeritus of

hermeneutics Hermeneutics () is the theory and methodology of interpretation, especially the interpretation of biblical texts, wisdom literature, and philosophical texts. Hermeneutics is more than interpretative principles or methods used when immediate ...

. Fuller is the son of radio evangelist Charles E. Fuller, co-founder of the

Fuller Theological Seminary Fuller Theological Seminary is an interdenominational Evangelical Christian seminary in Pasadena, California, with regional campuses in the western United States. It is egalitarian in nature. Fuller consistently has a student body that compr ...

Life and career

Fuller was born in August 1925 in Los Angeles, California, the only child of Charles E. Fuller and Grace Payton Fuller. After graduation from

South Pasadena High School South Pasadena High School (SPHS or "South Pas") is the one public high school serving grades 9-12 in the city of South Pasadena, California. With the South Pasadena Middle School and three elementary schools (Arroyo Vista, Marengo, and Monterey ...

in 1943, Fuller enlisted in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

and became a commissioned officer. He was discharged in 1946. He was ordained at Immanuel Baptist Church in

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. I ...

. He served as Assistant Pastor at

Park Street Church Park Street Church, founded in 1804, is a historic and active evangelical congregational megachurch in Downtown Boston, Massachusetts. The Park Street Church is a member of the Conservative Congregational Christian Conference. Typical attendance a ...

, Boston, Massachusetts, from 1949 to 1950. He currently holds the title of Professor Emeritus of

, where he taught from 1953 to 1993 and served as Dean of the School of Theology from 1963 to 1973. Additionally he served as President of the Gospel Broadcasting Association and the Fuller Evangelistic Association. Fuller is a graduate of the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, ...

at Berkeley and Fuller Theological Seminary. He holds the Doctor of Theology degrees from Northern Baptist Seminary and from the

University of Basel The University of Basel (Latin: ''Universitas Basiliensis'', German: ''Universität Basel'') is a university in Basel, Switzerland. Founded on 4 April 1460, it is Switzerland's oldest university and among the world's oldest surviving universit ...

in Switzerland. He is married with four children. In 2005, Fuller was honored at an awards convocation for 50 years of service to the seminary. His papers from 1928 to 2000 are held in the archives and special collections of the Fuller Theological Seminary.

Theology and influence

Fuller wrote ''Gospel and Law: Contrast or Continuum?'' in 1980. Paul Rainbow argues that he "sent shock waves throughout the bastions of Reformed theology by asserting that there is 'an inseparable connection between faith and resulting works' such that 'the Bible sometimes speaks of faith and sometimes of works when it speaks of the condition to be met' for salvation." Fuller argued for a radical continuity between

Old Covenant The Mosaic covenant (named after Moses), also known as the Sinaitic covenant (after the biblical Mount Sinai), refers to a covenant between God and the Israelites, including their proselytes, not limited to the ten commandments, nor the eve ...

and

New Covenant The New Covenant (Hebrew '; Greek ''diatheke kaine'') is a biblical interpretation which was originally derived from a phrase which is contained in the Book of Jeremiah ( Jeremiah 31:31-34), in the Hebrew Bible (or the Old Testament of the C ...

economies, and rejected the antithesis between

law and gospel In Protestant Christianity, the relationship between Law and Gospel— God's Law and the Gospel of Jesus Christ—is a major topic in Lutheran and Reformed theology. In these religious traditions, the distinction between the doctrines of ...

. His view was critiqued by

Meredith Kline Meredith George Kline (December 15, 1922 – April 14, 2007) was an American theologian and Old Testament scholar. He also had degrees in Assyriology and Egyptology. Academic career Kline received his AB from Gordon College, Th.B. and Th.M ...

, O. Palmer Robertson, and Robert Godfrey. Fuller has had a significant influence on John Piper, who studied under him at Fuller Seminary. In his foreword to Fuller's 1992 book ''The Unity of the Bible: Unfolding God's Plan for Humanity'', Piper wrote, "No book besides the Bible has had a greater influence on my life than Daniel Fuller's ''The Unity of the Bible''."

Selected writings

*''The Unity of the Bible: Unfolding Gods Plan for Humanity'', Zondervan (May 1992) *''Gospel and Law: Contrast or continuum?: The Hermeneutics of Dispensationalism and Covenant Theology'', Eerdmans (1980) *"1972 Give the Winds a Mighty Voice : The Story of Charles E. Fuller", Waco, Word Books.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fuller, Daniel 1925 births Living people American theologians University of California, Berkeley alumni Fuller Theological Seminary alumni University of Basel alumni Fuller Theological Seminary faculty American expatriates in Switzerland United States Navy officers United States Navy personnel of World War II