Meredith G. Kline
Encyclopedia
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
and Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
scholar advance in Archeology, both Assyriology and Egyptology.
Academic career
Kline received his A.B.Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
from Gordon College
Gordon College (Massachusetts)
Gordon College is a liberal arts college located on the former Princemere estate in Wenham, Massachusetts, northeast of Beverly. Founded by Baptist minister A. J...
, Th.B. and Th.M. from Westminster Theological Seminary
Westminster Theological Seminary
Westminster Theological Seminary is a Presbyterian and Reformed Christian graduate educational institution located in Glenside, Pennsylvania, with a satellite location in London.-History:...
in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, and Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in Assyriology
Assyriology
Assyriology is the archaeological, historical, and linguistic study of ancient Mesopotamia and the related cultures that used cuneiform writing. The field covers the Akkadian sister-cultures of Assyria and Babylonia, together with their cultural predecessor; Sumer...
and Egyptology
Egyptology
Egyptology is the study of ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end of its native religious practices in the AD 4th century. A practitioner of the discipline is an “Egyptologist”...
from Dropsie College. He enjoyed a long and fruitful professorial career spanning five decades and two coasts, teaching Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
at Westminster Theological Seminary
Westminster Theological Seminary
Westminster Theological Seminary is a Presbyterian and Reformed Christian graduate educational institution located in Glenside, Pennsylvania, with a satellite location in London.-History:...
(1948-1977), Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
Gordon–Conwell Theological Seminary is an evangelical theological seminary whose main campus is based in South Hamilton, Massachusetts, with three other campuses in Boston, Charlotte, North Carolina and Jacksonville. The current president of Gordon-Conwell is Dennis Hollinger...
(1965-1993), the Claremont School of Theology
Claremont School of Theology
Claremont School of Theology is a graduate school located in Claremont, California, offering Master of Art, Masters of Divinity, Doctorate of Ministry and Ph.D...
(1974-1975), Reformed Theological Seminary
Reformed Theological Seminary
Reformed Theological Seminary is a non-denominational, evangelical Protestant seminary. RTS's first campus remains in Jackson, Mississippi, United States though the school has expanded to include several additional campuses.-Founding:...
(1979-1983), and Westminster Seminary California
Westminster Seminary California
Westminster Seminary California is a Reformed Christian graduate educational institution located 25 miles north of San Diego, California in Escondido. It was initially a branch campus of Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia until 1982 when it became fully independent...
(1981-2002). Kline was a professor emeritus at Westminster Seminary California and Gordon-Conwell until his death. He was an ordained minister in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church
Orthodox Presbyterian Church
The Orthodox Presbyterian Church is a conservative Presbyterian denomination located primarily in the United States. It was founded by conservative members of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America who strongly objected to the pervasive Modernist theology during the 1930s . Led...
.
Work
Building on the legacy of Geerhardus VosGeerhardus Vos
Geerhardus Johannes Vos was an American Calvinist theologian and one of the most distinguished representatives of the Princeton Theology. He is sometimes called the father of Reformed Biblical Theology.-Biography:...
, Kline was an influential voice for Covenant Theology
Covenant Theology
Covenant theology is a conceptual overview and interpretive framework for understanding the overall flow of the Bible...
in the Reformed
Reformed churches
The Reformed churches are a group of Protestant denominations characterized by Calvinist doctrines. They are descended from the Swiss Reformation inaugurated by Huldrych Zwingli but developed more coherently by Martin Bucer, Heinrich Bullinger and especially John Calvin...
tradition, providing both new insights into Scripture and critical engagement with contemporary biblical scholarship. He is perhaps best known for his contributions on the subject of Suzerain
Suzerainty
Suzerainty occurs where a region or people is a tributary to a more powerful entity which controls its foreign affairs while allowing the tributary vassal state some limited domestic autonomy. The dominant entity in the suzerainty relationship, or the more powerful entity itself, is called a...
–Vassal
Vassal
A vassal or feudatory is a person who has entered into a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. The obligations often included military support and mutual protection, in exchange for certain privileges, usually including the grant of land held...
treaties
Treaty
A treaty is an express agreement under international law entered into by actors in international law, namely sovereign states and international organizations. A treaty may also be known as an agreement, protocol, covenant, convention or exchange of letters, among other terms...
, specifically on the relationship of treaties from the 2nd millennium BC
2nd millennium BC
The 2nd millennium BC marks the transition from the Middle to the Late Bronze Age.Its first half is dominated by the Middle Kingdom of Egypt and Babylonia. The alphabet develops. Indo-Iranian migration onto the Iranian plateau and onto the Indian subcontinent propagates the use of the chariot...
to covenants found in the Bible.
Kline is also well known for propounding the framework interpretation of the creation account found in the first chapter of Genesis.
Theologian John Frame
John Frame
John M. Frame is an American philosopher and Calvinist theologian especially noted for his work in epistemology and presuppositional apologetics, systematic theology, and ethics...
has called Kline "the most impressive biblical theologian
Biblical Theology
Biblical theology is a discipline within Christian theology which studies the Bible from the perspective of understanding the progressive history of God revealing Himself to humanity following the Fall and throughout the Old Testament and New Testament...
of my lifetime," adding that Kline's work "is orthodox
Orthodoxy
The word orthodox, from Greek orthos + doxa , is generally used to mean the adherence to accepted norms, more specifically to creeds, especially in religion...
, yet often original, and it always provides [a] rich analysis of Scripture
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
."
In 2000, a festschrift
Festschrift
In academia, a Festschrift , is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during his or her lifetime. The term, borrowed from German, could be translated as celebration publication or celebratory writing...
was published in Kline's honor: Creator Redeemer Consummator: A Festschrift for Meredith G. Kline, ed. H. Griffith and J. R. Muether
John Muether
John R. Muether is Professor of Church History at Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando, Florida, as well as the Library director. He is the co-editor of the Nicotine Theological Journal...
(Greenville, SC: Reformed Academic Press).
Publications
Some of Kline's many publications include:- God, Heaven, and Har Magedon: A Covenantal Tale of Cosmos and TelosGod, Heaven, and Har MagedonGod, Heaven and Har Magedon: A Covenantal Tale of Cosmos and Telos is Reformed theologian Meredith G. Kline's major work in many ways summing up his contributions to biblical and covenant theology, written for a more general audience....
(2006) ISBN 1-59752-478-6 - Glory in Our Midst: A Biblical-Theological Reading of Zechariah's Night Visions (2001) ISBN 1-57910-599-8
- Kingdom Prologue: Genesis Foundations for a Covenantal Worldview (2000) ISBN 1-59752-564-2
- The Genesis Debate: Three Views on the Days of Creation (contributor, 2000) ISBN 0-9702245-0-8
- Images of the Spirit (1999) ISBN 1-57910-205-0
- The Structure of Biblical Authority (1997) ISBN 1-57910-069-4
- "Space and Time in the Genesis Cosmogony," Perspectives on Science & Christian Faith 48 (1996) pp. 2-15
- "Covenant Theology Under Attack" New Horizons (Feb. 1994)
- By Oath Consigned: A Reinterpretation of the Covenant Signs of Circumcision and Baptism (1968)
- Treaty of the Great King: The Covenant Structure of Deuteronomy: Studies and Commentary (1963)
- "Because It Had Not Rained," Westminster Theological JournalWestminster Theological JournalWestminster Theological Journal is a theological journal published by Westminster Theological Seminary....
20 (1958) pp. 146-57. - The Habiru: Kin or Foe of Israel (Doctoral Thesis, 1958)
External links
- Meredith Kline Online - a website with a comprehensive collection of Kline's writings
- The Upper Register - a website with publications by and about Kline from his former student and collaborator Lee Irons
- Audio lectures by Kline
- "Covenant Theology and Old Testament Ethics: Meredith G. Kline's Intrusion Ethics" by Jeong Koo Jeon, in Kerux: The Journal of Northwest Theological Seminary, vol. 16, no. 1
- A Glossary of Klinean Terminology