Beeson Divinity School
Encyclopedia
Samford University
Samford University, founded as Howard College is a private, coeducational, Alabama Baptist Convention-affiliated university located in Homewood, a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, United States. It includes the , Cumberland School of Law, McWhorter School of Pharmacy, Brock School of Business, Ida V....
is an interdenominational evangelical
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
divinity school
Divinity School
Divinity School may refer to:* The common noun, divinity school* When used as a proper noun, may be an abbreviated reference to one of the following:** Beeson Divinity School** Berkeley Divinity School** Brite Divinity School...
. The current dean is Timothy George
Timothy George
Timothy George is the dean of Beeson Divinity School at Samford University and has been the dean since the school's inception in 1988. George teaches church history and doctrine and serves as executive editor for Christianity Today...
.
Though located on the campus of a Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
university, Beeson remains interdenominational. The school offers the Master of Divinity
Master of Divinity
In the academic study of theology, the Master of Divinity is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America...
degree, the Master of Arts in Theological Studies degree, and the Doctor of Ministry
Doctor of Ministry
The Doctor of Ministry degree is, according to The Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada , a doctoral level degree oriented toward ministerial leadership often in an area of applied theology, such as missions, evangelism, church leadership, pastoral psychology or the...
degree.
Founding
Beeson Divinity was established on February 9, 1988. It is named for Ralph Waldo Beeson (1900-1990), who gave one of the largest donations (70 Million) in Samford history to create the first divinity school at a Baptist college in the USA, and for his father, John Wesley Beeson. Ralph Beeson wanted the donation to remain anonymous, but relented to the naming of the school after his father as well at the suggestion of Samford's board of trustees.Andrew Gerow Hodges Chapel
The focal point of the divinity school is the Andrew Gerow Hodges Chapel, dedicated in 1995 and named in honor of Andrew Gerow Hodges in 2002. Though an original design, it was inspired by a chapel in Venice designed by Andrea PalladioAndrea Palladio
Andrea Palladio was an architect active in the Republic of Venice. Palladio, influenced by Roman and Greek architecture, primarily by Vitruvius, is widely considered the most influential individual in the history of Western architecture...
. The interior of the dome
Dome
A dome is a structural element of architecture that resembles the hollow upper half of a sphere. Dome structures made of various materials have a long architectural lineage extending into prehistory....
contains paintings of prominent figures from Christian history and was inspired by a passage in chapter 12 of Hebrews
Epistle to the Hebrews
The Epistle to the Hebrews is one of the books in the New Testament. Its author is not known.The primary purpose of the Letter to the Hebrews is to exhort Christians to persevere in the face of persecution. The central thought of the entire Epistle is the doctrine of the Person of Christ and his...
. It was painted by a modern Romanian fresco
Fresco
Fresco is any of several related mural painting types, executed on plaster on walls or ceilings. The word fresco comes from the Greek word affresca which derives from the Latin word for "fresh". Frescoes first developed in the ancient world and continued to be popular through the Renaissance...
master named Petru Botezatu. The chapel also commemorates one 20th century Christian martyr
Martyr
A martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce, or accept, a belief or cause, usually religious.-Meaning:...
from each of the six inhabited continents, and the sculptures portraying each of them are also the work of Botezatu.
Notable faculty
Timothy GeorgeTimothy George
Timothy George is the dean of Beeson Divinity School at Samford University and has been the dean since the school's inception in 1988. George teaches church history and doctrine and serves as executive editor for Christianity Today...
, Historical Theology, Dean
Allen P. Ross, Old Testament
Frank Thielman, New Testament
Gerald Bray
Gerald Bray
Gerald L. Bray is an English theologian and church historian. From 1993 to 2006 he taught at Beeson Divinity School, where he is now a research professor. He is the editor of the Churchman journal. His book, Biblical Interpretation: Past and Present was one of Christianity Today's books of the...
, Historical Theology
Robert Smith, Preaching
Paul House, Old Testament
Ken Mathews, Old Testament
Carl Beckwith, Historical Theology
Conferences
Each summer, Beeson Divinity School hosts a week-long Pastors School conference. Past speakers have included Alistair Begg, Haddon Robinson, John Piper, Warren Wiersbe, and Will Willimon, along with members of Beeson's faculty.Beeson has hosted a number of theology conferences, including "The Will to Believe and the Need for Creed" (2009), "J.I. Packer and the Evangelical Future" (2006), and "God The Holy Trinity" (2004). Lectures from these conferences have been published by Baker Academic Publishing as the Beeson Divinity Studies series.