Millard J. Erickson (24 June 1932), born in

Isanti County, Minnesota Isanti County ( ) is a county in the east-central part of the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 41,135. Its county seat is Cambridge. History The county was formed on February 13, 1857. Its name came from the I ...

, is an

Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual expe ...

Christian theologian Christian theology is the theology of Christian belief and practice. Such study concentrates primarily upon the texts of the Old Testament and of the New Testament, as well as on Christian tradition. Christian theologians use biblical exegesis ...

, professor of theology, and author.

Early life and education

He earned a B.A. from the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...

, a B.D. from Northern Baptist Theological Seminary, an M.A. from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

, and a Ph.D. from

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

Ministry

Erickson, an ordained

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...

minister, is a fairly conservative and moderately Calvinistic

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

. He is accommodating of non-mainstream views on a number of issues, but one of the most vocal opponents of theological liberalism and progressive trends within Evangelicalism. Erickson is a prominent critic of openness theology as well as

postmodern Christianity Postmodern theology, also known as the continental philosophy of religion, is a philosophical and theological movement that interprets theology in light of post- Heideggerian continental philosophy, including phenomenology, post-structuralism, a ...

, including the

Emerging Church The emerging church is a Christian Protestant movement of the late 20th and early 21st centuries that crosses a number of theological boundaries: participants are variously described as Protestant, post-Protestant, evangelical, post-evangelical, ...

movement. Erickson was Professor of Theology at

Western Seminary Western Seminary is an interdenominational Evangelical Christian seminary with campuses in Portland, Oregon; San Jose, California; and Sacramento, California. Western Seminary also has online-only degrees and programs and provides non-credit cla ...

in Portland,

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

. He was professor of theology and academic dean at Bethel University seminary for many years. He also taught at

Baylor University Baylor University is a private Baptist Christian research university in Waco, Texas. Baylor was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Texas and one of the ...

. In 1998, a ''

Festschrift In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the h ...

'' was published in his honor. ''New Dimensions in Evangelical Thought : Essays in Honor of Millard J. Erickson'' included contributions from

Timothy George Timothy George (born 9 January 1950) is an American theologian and journalist. He became the founding dean of Beeson Divinity School at the school's inception in 1988 and was the dean from 1989–2019, now serving as Research Professor of Divinity ...

Stanley J. Grenz Stanley James Grenz (1950–2005) was an American Christian theologian and ethicist in the Baptist tradition. Early years Grenz was born on 7 January 1950 in Alpena, Michigan. Grenz graduated from the University of Colorado in 1973. He then earn ...

, Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., Alister E. McGrath,

Roger Nicole Roger R. Nicole (December 10, 1915 – December 11, 2010Roger Nicole (1915-2010) http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justintaylor/2010/12/11/roger-nicole-1915-2010/) was a native Swiss Reformed Baptist theologian and proponent of Christian egalita ...

Wolfhart Pannenberg Wolfhart Pannenberg (2 October 1928 – 4 September 2014) was a German Lutheran theologian. He made a number of significant contributions to modern theology, including his concept of history as a form of revelation centered on the resurre ...

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 ...

, Thom S. Rainer, and

Thomas R. Schreiner Thomas R. Schreiner (born April 24, 1954) is an American Reformed New Testament scholar. He is the James Buchanan Harrison Professor of New Testament Interpretation at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He previously taught at Bethel U ...

Works

Books

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Articles and Chapters

* * * * * *_____ (2017). "Language, Logic, and Trinity: A Critical Examination of the Eternal Subordinationist View of the Trinity". ''Priscilla Papers''. 31 (3): 8-15.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Erickson, Millard 1932 births Living people University of Minnesota alumni American Baptist theologians Writers from Portland, Oregon Western Seminary Bethel University (Minnesota) faculty Baylor University faculty Northern Baptist Theological Seminary alumni University of Chicago alumni Northwestern University alumni