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 exchange and written expression of theological thought and research."

History

The society was established in 1949 in response to a "keenly perceived need for interaction and wider dissemination of conservative research on biblical and theological issues." The inaugural meeting was held in Cincinnati and was organized by a committee chaired by Edward R. Dalglish of Gordon Divinity School. The group, representing approximately 20 different institutions and denominations, elected Clarence Bouma of Calvin Seminary as its first president.

Several times during its history, the society has been faced with doctrinal controversy. In the 1970s, members became polarized over the precise definition of "inerrancy" (including questions about literal vs. non-literal language and the possibility of scribal errors). In 1983 the society expelled Robert Gundry for his views on the historicity of some of the events in the Gospel of Matthew.CT Classic: Evangelical Scholars Remove Robert Gundry for His Views on Matthew | Christianity Today | A Magazine of Evangelical Conviction In 2003, the society narrowly decided against expelling Clark Pinnock and John E. Sanders for their beliefs about open theism. In 2007, Francis Beckwith resigned as president after he decided to be received into full communion in the Catholic Church. In 2008, Ray Van Neste and Dennis Burk introduced a proposal to further expand the doctrinal statement to include 11 points, but the motion ultimately failed.

Doctrine When it was initially formed, the society had a single doctrinal basis, biblical inerrancy. Thus, the original doctrinal statement was limited to one sentence: "The Bible alone and the Bible in its entirety is the word of God written, and therefore inerrant in the autographs." It was amended in 1990 to require Trinitarian belief and now includes a second sentence: "God is a Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, each an uncreated person, one in essence, equal in power and glory."

Membership Full, voting membership is available to anyone who has a Ph.D. or Th.D degree, or its equivalent and subscribes to the above doctrinal statements. Interested evangelicals who do not have such a degree can apply for associate membership, without voting rights. There is also a student membership. Members are not limited to specific denominational or theological traditions and not required to be affiliated with particular schools or seminaries. The number of full members in 2010 was nearly 4,200.Brief of Amici Curiae Evangelical Scholars

Journal

The society produces a quarterly journal, which contains scholarly articles and book reviews from various evangelical perspectives. First published in 1958, as the Bulletin of the Evangelical Theological Society, its name was changed in 1969 to the Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society (JETS).

Presidents Year Presidentlist of past presidents is found on page 69 of the program for the 65th Annual Meeting, held in 2013. 1950 Clarence Bouma 1951 Merrill Tenney 1952 Charles Woodbridge 1953 Frank Neuberg 1954 John Walvoord 1955 Harold Barnes Kuhn 1956 Roger Nicole 1957 Ned B. Stonehouse 1958 Warren C. Young 1959 Gilbert H. Johnson 1960 Allan MacRae 1961 R. Laird Harris 1962 Ralph Earle 1963 Vernon Grounds 1964 Burton Goddard 1965 Gordon Clark 1966 J. Barton Payne 1967 Stephen Paine 1968 Kenneth Kantzer 1969 Carl F. H. Henry 1970 Robert E. Cooley 1971 Harold Lindsell 1972 Robert L. Saucy 1973 Arthur H. Lewis 1974 Richard Longenecker 1975 Bruce K. Waltke 1976 Simon J. Kistemaker 1977 Walter C. Kaiser Jr. 1978 Stanley Gundry 1979 Marten Woudstra 1980 Wilber Wallis 1981 Kenneth L. Barker 1982 Alan F. Johnson 1983 Louis Goldberg 1984 Haddon Robinson 1985 Richard Pierard 1986 Gleason Archer 1987 Walter Dunnett 1988 Elmer Smick 1989 James A. Borland 1990 Robert Lewis Thomas 1991 H. Wayne House 1992 Gordon R. Lewis 1993 Gerry Breshears 1994 L. Russ Bush 1995 George W. Knight III 1996 Robert C. Newman 1997 Moisés Silva 1998 Norman Geisler 1999 Wayne Grudem 2000 John H. Sailhamer 2001 Darrell L. Bock 2002 Millard Erickson 2003 David M. Howard 2004 Gregory K. Beale 2005 Craig Blaising 2006 Edwin M. Yamauchi 2007 Francis J. Beckwith 2008 C. Hassell Bullock 2009 Bruce A. Ware 2010 Eugene H. Merrill 2011 Clinton E. Arnold 2012 Paul R. House 2013 Robert W. Yarbrough 2014 Thomas R. Schreiner 2015 Scott B. Rae 2016 Daniel B. Wallace 2017 Sam Storms 2018 David S. Dockery 2019 Michael J. Kruger 2020 Craig S. Keener 2021 R. Albert Mohler, Jr. 2022 D. A. Carson 2023 Timothy George 2024 Karen Jobes 2025 Craig Blomberg 2026 Scott R. Swain 2027 David W. Pao

References

External links Evangelical Theological Society website