The Evangelical Theological Society (ETS) is a professional society of

Biblical The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

scholars, educators, pastors, and students "devoted to the

inerrancy Biblical inerrancy is the belief that the Bible "is without error or fault in all its teaching"; or, at least, that "Scripture in the original manuscripts does not affirm anything that is contrary to fact". Some equate inerrancy with biblical i ...

and inspiration of the Scriptures and the gospel of Jesus Christ" and "dedicated to the oral exchange and written expression of theological thought and research."

History

The society was established in 1949 in response to a "keenly perceived need for interaction and wider dissemination of conservative research on biblical and theological issues." The inaugural meeting was held in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

and was organized by a committee chaired by Edward R. Dalglish, of Gordon Divinity School. The group, representing approximately 20 different institutions and denominations, elected

Clarence Bouma Clarence Bouma (November 30, 1891 in Harlingen, Friesland – August 12, 1962 in Grand Rapids, Michigan) was a theologian and professor at Calvin Theological Seminary. Early life and education Bouma was born Klaas Bouma in the Netherlands in 18 ...

, of Calvin Seminary, as its first president. Several times during its history, the society has been faced with doctrinal controversy. In the 1970s, members became polarized over the precise definition of "inerrancy" (including questions about literal vs. non-literal language and the possibility of scribal errors). In 1983 the society expelled

Robert Gundry Robert Horton Gundry (born 1932) is an American scholar and retired professor of New Testament studies and Koine Greek. Life Gundry was born in 1932 to Norman C. and Lolita (née Hinshaw) Gundry. He is the older brother of Stanley N. Gundry ...

for his views on the historicity of some of the events in the

Gospel of Matthew The Gospel of Matthew), or simply Matthew. It is most commonly abbreviated as "Matt." is the first book of the New Testament of the Bible and one of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells how Israel's Messiah, Jesus, comes to his people and for ...

. In 2003, the society narrowly decided against expelling

Clark Pinnock Clark H. Pinnock (February 3, 1937 – August 15, 2010) was a Christian theologian, apologist and author. He was Professor Emeritus of Systematic Theology at McMaster Divinity College. Education and career Pinnock was born in Toronto, Ontar ...

and

John E. Sanders John E. Sanders is an American Christianity, Christian theology, theologian. He currently serves as professor of religious studies at Hendrix College. Sanders is best known for his promotion of open theism but he has also written on cognitive lingu ...

for their beliefs about

open theism Open theism, also known as openness theology and free will theism, is a theological movement that has developed within Christianity as a rejection of the synthesis of Greek philosophy and Christian theology. Open theism arises out of the freewi ...

. In 2007, Francis Beckwith resigned as president after he decided to be received into full communion in the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. In 2008, Ray Van Neste and Dennis Burk introduced a proposal to further expand the doctrinal statement to include 11 points, but the motion ultimately failed.

Doctrine

When it was initially formed, the society had a single doctrinal basis,

biblical inerrancy Biblical inerrancy is the belief that the Bible "is without error or fault in all its teaching"; or, at least, that "Scripture in the original manuscripts does not affirm anything that is contrary to fact". Some equate inerrancy with biblical i ...

. Thus, the original doctrinal statement was limited to one sentence: "The Bible alone and the Bible in its entirety is the word of God written, and therefore inerrant in the autographs." However, it was amended in 1990 to require

Trinitarian The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the Fa ...

belief and now includes a second sentence: "God is a Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, each an uncreated person, one in essence, equal in power and glory."

Membership

Full, voting membership is available to anyone who has a

Master of Theology Master of Theology ( la, Theologiae Magister, abbreviated MTh, ThM, or MTheol) is a post-graduate degree offered by universities, divinity schools, and seminaries. It can serve as a transition degree for entrance into a PhD program or as a stand ...

(Th.M.) degree or its equivalent and subscribes to the above doctrinal statements. Interested evangelicals who do not have such a degree can apply for associate membership, without voting rights. There is also a student membership. Members are not limited to specific

denominational A religious denomination is a subgroup within a religion that operates under a common name and tradition among other activities. The term refers to the various Christian denominations (for example, Eastern Orthodox, Catholic, and the many variet ...

or theological traditions and not required to be affiliated with particular schools or seminaries. The number of full members in 2010 was nearly 4,200.Brief of ''Amici Curiae'' Evangelical Scholars
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Journal

The society produces a quarterly journal, which contains scholarly articles and book reviews from various evangelical perspectives. First published in 1958, as the ''Bulletin of the Evangelical Theological Society'', its name was changed in 1969 to the ''

Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society The ''Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society'' is a Scholarly peer review, refereed List of theological journals, theological journal published by the Evangelical Theological Society. It was first published in 1958 as the ''Bulletin of the ...

'' (JETS).

Presidents

References

External links

Evangelical Theological Society websiteJournal of the Evangelical Theological Society (JETS) website
{{Authority control Protestant theology

Evangelical Theological Society The Evangelical Theological Society (ETS) is a professional society of Biblical scholars, educators, pastors, and students "devoted to the inerrancy and inspiration of the Scriptures and the gospel of Jesus Christ" and "dedicated to the oral exch ...

Christian organizations established in 1949 Theological societies