Vern Sheridan Poythress (born 1946) is an American

philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...

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 ...

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...

scholar and

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change. History On ...

, who is currently the New Testament chair of the ESV Oversight Committee. He is also the Professor of New Testament Interpretation at

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 ...

and editor of Westminster Theological Journal.

Biography

Poythress was born in

Madera, California Madera (Spanish language, Spanish for "Wood") is a city and county seat of Madera County, California, Madera County, California. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 66,224. Located in the San Joaquin Valley, Madera i ...

in 1946 to Ransom H. Poythress and Carola N. Poythress. He graduated from Bullard High School in

Fresno, California Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, makin ...

. At the age of 20, Poythress earned a

B.S. A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...

in mathematics with honor (valedictorian) from

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...

, in the year 1966. While there, he became a

Putnam Fellow The William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition, often abbreviated to Putnam Competition, is an annual mathematics competition for undergraduate college students enrolled at institutions of higher learning in the United States and Canada (regar ...

in 1964. He received his

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 ...

in mathematics from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

, finishing in 1970.

awarded him both an M.Div and a Th.M in apologetics for work done in the years 1971-74. He earned an M.Litt from the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

in New Testament studies during 1974-76. He received a

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 ...

in New Testament 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 ...

. In 1983, Poythress married Diane M. Poythress. They have two sons, Ransom Poythress and Justin Poythress. As of 2016, he was teaching New Testament and occasional courses on the philosophies of science and language at Westminster Theological Seminary in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, work he began in 1976. His blog with John M. Frame was listed in early 2018 as one of the top 50 Christian popular culture sites.

Thought

Poythress views

scientific law Scientific laws or laws of science are statements, based on repeated experiments or observations, that describe or predict a range of natural phenomena. The term ''law'' has diverse usage in many cases (approximate, accurate, broad, or narrow) ...

as a form of the word of God. In 1976, Poythress wrote a chapter on "A Biblical View of Mathematics," in which he argued (among other things) that number is eternal because the Trinity is eternal. In a 1983 article, he suggested that mathematics is the

rhyme A rhyme is a repetition of similar sounds (usually, the exact same phonemes) in the final stressed syllables and any following syllables of two or more words. Most often, this kind of perfect rhyming is consciously used for a musical or aesthetic ...

of the universe. His philosophy of science draws on the work of

Thomas Kuhn Thomas Samuel Kuhn (; July 18, 1922 – June 17, 1996) was an American philosopher of science whose 1962 book ''The Structure of Scientific Revolutions'' was influential in both academic and popular circles, introducing the term '' paradigm ...

Publications

Poythress has published a number of books in different fields — Christian

philosophy of science Philosophy of science is a branch of philosophy concerned with the foundations, methods, and implications of science. The central questions of this study concern what qualifies as science, the reliability of scientific theories, and the ultim ...

, linguistics, theological method, dispensationalism,

biblical law Biblical law refers to the legal aspects of the Bible, the holy scriptures of Judaism and Christianity. Judaism * Law of Moses * Mitzvah, divine commandment ** The Ten Commandments ** 613 commandments * Seven Laws of Noah, laws applicable to all o ...

copyright law A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, education ...

, hermeneutics, Bible translation, and

eschatology Eschatology (; ) concerns expectations of the end of the present age, human history, or of the world itself. The end of the world or end times is predicted by several world religions (both Abrahamic and non-Abrahamic), which teach that negati ...

and the

Book of Revelation The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament (and consequently the final book of the Christian Bible). Its title is derived from the first word of the Koine Greek text: , meaning "unveiling" or "revelation". The Book of R ...

Frame-Poythress.org has
more extensive self-published bibliography
including: * ''Philosophy, Science, and the Sovereignty of God''. Presbyterian and Reformed: 1976, reprinted 2004. . *
Symphonic Theology: The Validity of Multiple Perspectives in Theology
'. Zondervan: 1987. . *

'. 2d ed. Presbyterian and Reformed: 1993. . *

' (Foundations of Contemporary Interpretation series, volume 6). Zondervan: 1988. . *

', Wolgemuth & Hyatt: 1991, reprinted Presbyterian & Reformed: 1995. . *

'. Presbyterian and Reformed: 1999. . *

', Presbyterian and Reformed: 2000. . *

' (with

Wayne Grudem Wayne A. Grudem (born 1948) is a New Testament scholar turned theologian, seminary professor, and author. He co-founded the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood and served as the general editor of the ''ESV Study Bible''. Life Grudem was bo ...

). Broadman and Holman: 2000. . * ''The TNIV and The Gender-Neutral Bible Controversy'' (with

). Broadman and Holman: 2004. . *
Redeeming Science: A God-Centered Approach
'. Crossway Books: 2006. . *
In The Beginning Was The Word: Language--A God-Centered Approach
'. Crossway Books: 2009. . *
What Are Spiritual Gifts?
' (Basics of the Faith series). Presbyterian and Reformed, 2010. . *

'. Crossway Books: 2011. . *
Inerrancy and Worldview: Answering Modern Challenges to the Bible
'. Crossway Books: 2012. . *
Inerrancy and the Gospels: A God-Centered Approach to the Challenges of Harmonization
'. Crossway Books: 2012. . * ''Logic: A God-Centered Approach to the Foundation of Western Thought''. Crossway Books: 2013. . *
Redeeming Mathematics: A God-Centered Approach
'. Crossway Books: 2015. . Additionally, he has published a number of scholarly articles, including:Selected publications from Poythress's * * * * * * * * * * *

References

External links

Frame-Poythress.org
a website that publishes books, articles, and audio by the title subject, and by theologian John Frame. {{DEFAULTSORT:Poythress, Vernon Sheridan Living people 1946 births Presbyterian Church in America ministers Protestant philosophers American Calvinist and Reformed theologians Calvinist and Reformed philosophers California Institute of Technology alumni Harvard University alumni Westminster Theological Seminary alumni Westminster Theological Seminary faculty Putnam Fellows Alumni of Clare College, Cambridge Academic journal editors Stellenbosch University alumni California State University, Fresno faculty People from Madera, California 20th-century American writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century Calvinist and Reformed theologians 21st-century Calvinist and Reformed theologians 20th-century American philosophers 21st-century American philosophers New Testament scholars American biblical scholars Editors of Christian publications Critics of atheism Writers about religion and science

Biography

Thought

Publications

References

Further reading

External links