Francis Nigel Lee (5 December 1934 – 23 December 2011) was a British-born Christian theologian and minister. Lee was particularly known for the large number of
academic degree
An academic degree is a qualification awarded to students upon successful completion of a course of study in higher education, usually at a college or university. These institutions commonly offer degrees at various levels, usually including unde ...
s he earned from a variety of institutions. He obtained
BA,
LLB
Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...
and
MA degrees from the
University of Cape Town
The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...
;
L.Th,
BD,
M.Th and
Th.D.
Doctor of Theology ( la, Doctor Theologiae, abbreviated DTh, ThD, DTheol, or Dr. theol.) is a terminal degree in the academic discipline of theology. The ThD, like the ecclesiastical Doctor of Sacred Theology, is an advanced research degree equiva ...
degrees from the
University of Stellenbosch
Stellenbosch University ( af, Universiteit Stellenbosch) is a public research university situated in Stellenbosch, a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Stellenbosch is the oldest university in South Africa and the oldest extant ...
; a
Ph.D.
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...
from the
University of the Free State
The University of the Free State is a multi-campus public university in Bloemfontein, the capital of the Free State (province), Free State and the judicial capital of South Africa. It was first established as an institution of higher learning in ...
; and several other doctorates from
unaccredited institutions, including
D.Min,
STD and D.Hum degrees from
Whitefield Theological Seminary.
Lee was born in
Kendal
Kendal, once Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England, south-east of Windermere and north of Lancaster. Historically in Westmorland, it lies within the dale of th ...
in the UK, but emigrated as a child to South Africa, where he became a
minister. Lee moved to the USA, where he served as a minister in the
Presbyterian Church in America
The Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) is the second-largest Presbyterian church body, behind the Presbyterian Church (USA), and the largest conservative Calvinist denomination in the United States. The PCA is Reformed in theology and presb ...
, as Professor of Philosophy at
Shelton College
Shelton College was a private, Christian, liberal arts college that was located in Cape May, New Jersey. It was involved in a landmark case requiring religious schools to acquire a state license to grant academic degrees.
The college motto was ...
,
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
and as Academic Dean of Graham Bible College in
Bristol, Tennessee
Bristol is a city in the State of Tennessee. Located in Sullivan County, its population was 26,702 at the 2010 census. It is the twin city of Bristol, Virginia, which lies directly across the state line between Tennessee and Virginia. The ...
.
Lee then moved to Australia, where he served as Professor at the Presbyterian Church of
Queensland Theological Hall.
Stuart Piggin notes that Lee "exuberantly led the resurgence of Reformed theology among Queensland Presbyterians."
Lee was a firm advocate of the
historicist
Historicism is an approach to explaining the existence of phenomena, especially social and cultural practices (including ideas and beliefs), by studying their history, that is, by studying the process by which they came about. The term is widely u ...
method of interpretation in Christian eschatology.
Published works
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References
Further reading
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External links
Autobiography Dr Francis Nigel Lee.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Francis Nigel
1934 births
2011 deaths
People from Kendal
Presidents of Calvinist and Reformed seminaries
University of Cape Town alumni
Stellenbosch University alumni
University of the Free State alumni
American Calvinist and Reformed theologians
20th-century Calvinist and Reformed theologians
Australian Presbyterian ministers
English expatriates in Australia
British emigrants to South Africa