Robert M. Bowman Jr. (born 1957) is an American

Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...

Christian

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

specializing in the study of

apologetics Apologetics (from Greek , "speaking in defense") is the religious discipline of defending religious doctrines through systematic argumentation and discourse. Early Christian writers (c. 120–220) who defended their beliefs against critics and ...

Biography

Bowman received the

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

Biblical Studies Biblical studies is the academic application of a set of diverse disciplines to the study of the Bible (the Old Testament and New Testament).''Introduction to Biblical Studies, Second Edition'' by Steve Moyise (Oct 27, 2004) pages 11–12 Fo ...

and

Theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

from

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 compri ...

in 1981, did

doctoral studies 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 a ...

Christian Apologetics Christian apologetics ( grc, ἀπολογία, "verbal defense, speech in defense") is a branch of Christian theology that defends Christianity. Christian apologetics has taken many forms over the centuries, starting with Paul the Apostle in ...

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 ...

, and earned his Ph.D. in Biblical Studies at the

South African Theological Seminary The South African Theological Seminary (SATS) is a broadly evangelical distance education institution based in Bryanston (Johannesburg Region E), South Africa, founded in 1996. As of May 2018, Dr. Kevin Smith (DLitt Stellenbosch, PhD SATS) is th ...

., Center for Biblical Apologetics. From 2006 to 2008 he was the manager of Apologetics and Interfaith Evangelism for the

North American Mission Board The North American Mission Board (NAMB) is the domestic missions agency of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). It is involved in Southern Baptist church planting and revitalization, coordinating one of the United States's largest disaster relie ...

(based in

Alpharetta, Georgia Alpharetta is a city in northern Fulton County, Georgia, United States, and is a part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. As of the 2020 US Census, Alpharetta's population was 65,818 The population in 2010 was 57,551. History In the 1830s, the Ch ...

), an agency of the

Southern Baptist Convention The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination, and the largest Protestant and second-largest Christian denomination in the United States. The wor ...

. From 2008 to 2018 he served as the executive director of the

Institute for Religious Research The Institute for Religious Research (IRR) is an American Christian apologetics and counter-cult organization based in Cedar Springs, Michigan. It declares itself to be a non-denominational, non-profit Christian foundation for the study of rel ...

, an independent, evangelical nonprofit organization (formerly located in

Grand Rapids Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is the ...

, now based in

Cedar Springs, Michigan Cedar Springs is a city in Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 3,509 at the 2010 census. Cedar Springs is a northern city of the Grand Rapids metropolitan area and is about north of Grand Rapids. History The area wa ...

). He is married to wife Cathy with four children.

Writings

Bowman is the author of nearly sixty articles and of a dozen books. Five of those books he co-authored with Kenneth D. Boa, an

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

-trained scholar; two of these books (''An Unchanging Faith in a Changing World'' and ''Faith Has Its Reasons'') won the

Gold Medallion Book Award The Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA) is an international non-profit trade association whose member companies are involved in the publishing and distribution of Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to ...

. Four of his earliest books were theological critiques of the teachings of

Jehovah’s Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The group reports a worldwide membership of approximately 8.7 million adherents involved in ev ...

. *''Putting Jesus in His Place: The Case for the Deity of Christ'' (2007, with J. Ed Komoszewski; ) *''Sense and Nonsense about Heaven and Hell'' (2007, with Kenneth D. Boa; ) *''Sense and Nonsense about Angels and Demons'' (2007, with Kenneth D. Boa; ) *''Faith Has Its Reasons: Integrative Approaches to Defending Christian Faith'' (2001, 2006, with Kenneth D. Boa; ) *''20 Compelling Evidences That God Exists'' (2002, with Kenneth D. Boa; ) *''The Word-Faith Controversy: Understanding the Health and Wealth Gospel'' (2000; ) *''An Unchanging Faith in a Changing World'' (1998, with Kenneth D. Boa; ) *''Jehovah’s Witnesses'' (1995; ) *''Orthodoxy and Heresy: A Biblical Guide to Doctrinal Discernment'' (1992; ) *''Understanding Jehovah’s Witnesses: Why They Read the Bible the Way They Do'' (1991; ) *''Why You Should Believe in the Trinity: An Answer to Jehovah’s Witnesses'' (1989; ) *''Jehovah’s Witnesses, Jesus Christ, and the Gospel of John'' (1989; )

References

External links

Website of Robert M. Bowman, Jr.

Institute for Religious Research
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowman, Robert M. American Christian theologians 1957 births Converts to evangelical Christianity from Roman Catholicism Living people Westminster Theological Seminary alumni Evangelical Ministries to New Religions