Charles Rosenbury Erdman Sr. (1866–1960) was an American

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

minister and professor of theology at

Princeton Theological Seminary Princeton Theological Seminary (PTSem), officially The Theological Seminary of the Presbyterian Church, is a Private university, private seminary, school of theology in Princeton, New Jersey, Princeton, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Establish ...

Early life and education

Erdman was born on July 20, 1866, in

Fayetteville, New York Fayetteville is a village located in Onondaga County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 4,225. The village is named after the Marquis de Lafayette, a national hero of both France and the United States. It is ...

, to William J. Erdman, a leader in the

premillennialist Premillennialism, in Christian eschatology, is the belief that Jesus will physically return to the Earth (the Second Coming) before the Millennium, heralding a literal thousand-year messianic age of peace. Premillennialism is based upon a liter ...

and

holiness movement The Holiness movement is a Christianity, Christian movement that emerged chiefly within 19th-century Methodism, and to a lesser extent influenced other traditions such as Quakers, Quakerism, Anabaptism, and Restorationism. Churches aligned with ...

s of the late nineteenth century. He earned his

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

(1886) from the College of New Jersey (now

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

) and went on to study at

from 1887 to 1891. Erdman was ordained on May 8, 1891, in the Presbytery of

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

North, PCUSA.

Career

Erdman served as pastor of Overbrook Presbyterian Church in

from 1891 to 1897, and then at First Presbyterian Church in Germantown from 1897 to 1906. He joined the faculty at

in 1905, where he served as professor of practical theology until his retirement in 1936. During that time, Erdman was elected the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America in 1925, and also served as pastor of First Presbyterian Church in

Princeton, New Jersey The Municipality of Princeton is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton, New Jersey, Borough of Princeton and Pri ...

, from 1924 to 1934. Erdman was a major voice for tolerance toward deviation from the

Westminster Standards The Westminster Standards is a collective name for the documents drawn up by the Westminster Assembly (1643–1649). These include the Westminster Confession of Faith, the Westminster Shorter Catechism, the Westminster Larger Catechism, the Direc ...

, in opposition to

J. Gresham Machen John Gresham Machen (; 1881–1937) was an American Presbyterian New Testament scholar and educator in the early 20th century. He was the Professor of New Testament at Princeton Seminary between 1906 and 1929, and led a revolt against modernist ...

, which led to the reorganization of the seminary and some faculty breaking off from Princeton to form

Westminster Theological Seminary Westminster Theological Seminary (WTS) is a Protestantism, Protestant Christian theology, theological seminary in the Reformed theology, Reformed theological tradition in Glenside, Pennsylvania. It was founded by members of the faculty of Prince ...

in 1929. During his time in Princeton Erdman was instrumental in bringing to Princeton the

Westminster Choir College Westminster Choir College (WCC) is a historic conservatory of music, currently operating on the campus of Rider University, in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. Rider's College of Arts and Sciences (the college under which the historic institution has ...

, where a building bears his name, and the

American Boychoir School The American Boychoir School was a boarding/day middle school located in Princeton, New Jersey, and the home of the American Boychoir. The school originated as the Columbus Boychoir in Columbus, Ohio. In 1950, the school relocated after receivin ...

. The site of his former home is now occupied by Princeton Seminary's Erdman Hall which is named in honor of Charles and Estelle Erdman and houses th
Erdman Center

Death

Erdman died in 1960 and is buried in the

Princeton Cemetery Princeton Cemetery is located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. It is owned by the Nassau Presbyterian Church. In his 1878 history of Princeton, New Jersey, John F. Hageman refers to the cemetery as "The Westminster Abbey of the United S ...

of the Nassau Presbyterian Church.

Selected publications

Erdman was the author of over thirty popular biblical commentaries and books of pastoral theology. Two of his essays entitled "The Coming of Christ" and "The Church and Socialism" were included in ''

The Fundamentals ''The Fundamentals: A Testimony To The Truth'' (generally referred to simply as ''The Fundamentals'') is a set of ninety essays published between 1910 and 1915 by the Testimony Publishing Company of Chicago. It was initially published quarterly i ...

''. *"Modern Spiritual Movements" in ''Biblical and theological studies'', Princeton Theological Seminary, ed. (1912) *''Coming to The Communion'' (1912) *''The Gospel of Mark: an exposition'' (1917) *''The General epistles: an exposition'' (1918) *''The Acts: An Exposition'' (1919) *''The Gospel of Matthew: an exposition'' (1920) *''The Gospel of Luke: an exposition'' (1921) *''The Gospel of John: an exposition'' (1922) *''The Return of Christ'' (1922) *''Within the Gateways of the Far East: A Record of Recent Travel'' (1922) *''The First epistle of Paul to the Corinthians: an exposition'' (1928) *''The Epistle of Paul to the Ephesians: an exposition'' (1931) ISBN *''The Epistles of Paul to the Colossians and to Philemon: an exposition'' (1933) *''The Epistle to the Hebrews: an exposition'' (1934) *''The Revelation of John: an exposition'' (1936) *''The Pastoral epistles of Paul: an exposition'' (1966) *''The Epistle of Paul to the Galatians: An Exposition'' (1930) ISBN *''The Epistle of Paul to the Romans: An Exposition'' (1925)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Erdman, Charles R. 1866 births 1960 deaths Presbyterian Church in the United States of America ministers Princeton Theological Seminary faculty Moderators of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America