Walter C. Kaiser Jr. (born April 11, 1933) 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 ...
Old Testament
The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...
scholar, writer, public speaker, and educator. Kaiser is the Colman M. Mockler distinguished Professor of Old Testament and former President of
Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in
South Hamilton, Massachusetts
South Hamilton is a postal address assigned to ZIP code 01982 by the Postal Service and is part of the town of Hamilton, Essex County, Massachusetts, United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the Uni ...
, retired June 30, 2006. He was succeeded by
James Emery White
James Emery White (born December 20, 1961), is the founding and senior pastor of Mecklenburg Community Church in Charlotte, North Carolina; President of Serious Times, a ministry that explores the intersection of faith and culture and hosts Churc ...
.
Life and career
Kaiser was born in 1933 in Folcroft, Pennsylvania of German Baptist parents, Walter Christian Kaiser Sr. and Estelle Jaworsky Kaiser. He earned his
A.B.
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...
from
Wheaton College, his
B.D. from Wheaton Graduate School, and both his
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 ...
and
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 a ...
in Mediterranean studies from
Brandeis University
, mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts"
, established =
, type = Private research university
, accreditation = NECHE
, president = Ronald D. Liebowitz
, pro ...
. Until 2006, he served as president of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (GCTS). Previous to his appointment at GCTS he was academic dean and Professor of Old Testament at
Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (TEDS) is an academic divinity school founded in 1897 and located in the northern Chicago suburb of Deerfield, Illinois. It is part of and located on the main campus of Trinity International University. It’s ...
, where he taught for more than twenty years. In 1977 he served as president of the
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 excha ...
. A recipient of the Danforth Teacher Study Grant, Kaiser is a member of the Wheaton College Scholastic Honor Society.
Prior to coming to Gordon-Conwell, Kaiser taught Bible and archeology at Wheaton College and taught at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in several capacities. In addition to teaching in the Old Testament department, he was senior vice president of education, academic dean, and senior vice president of distance learning and ministries. Kaiser currently serves on the boards of several Christian organizations.
[John H. Sailhamer, "Walter C. Kiser Jr.," in Bible Interpreters of the Twentieth Century: a Selection of Evangelical Voices, ed. Walter A. Elwell and J. D. Weaver (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Pub Group, 1999), 375-76.]
Kaiser has contributed to such publications as ''
Journal for the Study of the Old Testament
The ''Journal for the Study of the Old Testament'' (JSOT) is a peer-reviewed academic journal covering the field of Biblical studies. The editors-in-chief are David Shepherd (Trinity College Dublin) and Lena-Sofia Tiemeyer ( Örebro School of Theol ...
'', ''
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 ...
'', ''
Christianity Today
''Christianity Today'' is an evangelical Christian media magazine founded in 1956 by Billy Graham. It is published by Christianity Today International based in Carol Stream, Illinois. ''The Washington Post'' calls ''Christianity Today'' "evange ...
'', ''
Westminster Theological Journal
''Westminster Theological Journal'' is an evangelical theological journal published by Westminster Theological Seminary and edited by Vern Poythress
Vern Sheridan Poythress (born 1946) is an American philosopher, theologian, New Testament schol ...
'', and ''
Evangelical Quarterly
''Evangelical Quarterly'' is an academic journal covering theology and biblical studies. It was established in 1929 by Donald Maclean (principal), Donald Maclean and J. R. Mackay. The current Editor-in-chief, editors are Richard Snoddy and John Nol ...
''. He has also written numerous books. He is a critic of, and rejects the
Documentary Hypothesis
The documentary hypothesis (DH) is one of the models used by biblical scholars to explain the origins and composition of the Torah (or Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy). A vers ...
.
Works
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Chapters and Contributions
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Journal articles
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References
Further reading
Gordon-Conwell Staff ProfileMarge Kaiser
External links
* Walter Kaiser Jr. sermons at Aisquith Presbyterian Church http://www.aisquith.org/audio-sermons/?preacher=10
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaiser, Walter Jr.
1933 births
Living people
20th-century American theologians
20th-century evangelicals
21st-century American theologians
21st-century evangelicals
American biblical scholars
American evangelicals
Brandeis University alumni
Evangelical theologians
Gordon–Conwell Theological Seminary faculty
Old Testament scholars
Seminary presidents
Wheaton College (Illinois) alumni