Charles Caldwell Ryrie (March 2, 1925 – February 16, 2016) was an American Bible scholar and Christian theologian. He served as professor of

systematic theology Systematic theology, or systematics, is a discipline of Christian theology that formulates an orderly, rational, and coherent account of the doctrines of the Christian faith. It addresses issues such as what the Bible teaches about certain topics ...

and dean of doctoral studies at

Dallas Theological Seminary Dallas Theological Seminary (DTS) is an evangelical theological seminary in Dallas, Texas. It is known for popularizing the theological system of dispensationalism. DTS has campuses in Dallas, Houston, and Washington, D.C., as well as extension ...

and as president and professor at what is now

Cairn University Cairn University is a private Christian university in Langhorne Manor and Middletown Township, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1913, the university has six schools and departments: Business, Counseling, Divinity, Education, Liberal Arts ...

. After his retirement from Dallas Theological Seminary he also taught courses for Tyndale Theological Seminary. He is considered one of the most influential American theologians of the 20th century. He was the editor of ''The Ryrie Study Bible'' by

Moody Publishers Moody Bible Institute (MBI) is a private evangelical Christian Bible college in Chicago, Illinois. It was founded by evangelist and businessman Dwight Lyman Moody in 1886. Historically, MBI has maintained positions that have identified it as ...

, containing more than 10,000 of Ryrie's explanatory notes. First published in 1978, it has sold more than 2 million copies. He was a notable proponent of classic dispensationalism.

Early life, education, and family

Ryrie was born to John Alexander and Elizabeth Caldwell Ryrie in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

, and grew up in

Alton, Illinois Alton ( ) is a city on the Mississippi River in Madison County, Illinois, United States, about north of St. Louis, Missouri. The population was 25,676 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is a part of the River Bend (Illinois), Riv ...

. His paternal grandfather, John Alexander Ryrie Sr. (1827-1904), served as a correspondent in the late 1870's of the earliest known

Plymouth Brethren The Plymouth Brethren or Assemblies of Brethren are a low church and Nonconformist (Protestantism), Nonconformist Christian movement whose history can be traced back to Dublin, Ireland, in the mid to late 1820s, where it originated from Anglica ...

meeting in the United States, which was started in Alton by Scottish settlers in 1849. After graduating from high school in 1942, Charles attended

The Stony Brook School The Stony Brook School is a private, Christian, co-educational, college-preparatory boarding and day school for grades 7–12 in Stony Brook, New York, United States. It was established in 1922 by John Fleming Carson and fellow members of ...

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

for one semester, where he became acquainted with headmaster Frank E. Gaebelein. Ryrie attended

Haverford College Haverford College ( ) is a private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Haverford, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded as a men's college in 1833 by members of the Religious Society of Fr ...

, intending on following his father into a banking career. However, during his junior year, while meeting with

founder Lewis Sperry Chafer, Ryrie dedicated his life to Christian ministry, and left Haverford to study theology at Dallas Theological Seminary. Haverford conferred his BA (1946) on the basis of his studies at Dallas. A year later, he earned his Th.M. (1947), and two years following that his

Th.D. Doctor of Theology (, 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 equivalent to the Doctor of ...

(1949). He went on to complete his

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...

(1954) at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

. He also earned a Litt.D. from Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary, now

Liberty University Liberty University (LU), known simply as Liberty, is a Private university, private Evangelicalism in the United States, evangelical Christian university in Lynchburg, Virginia, United States. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Conservativ ...

School of Divinity. In 1987, Ryrie's wife divorced him. Believing that the Bible did not allow divorced persons to remarry, he determined to live the rest of his life as a single man, despite his wife's subsequent remarriage. Dr. Ryrie was the father of three children and grandfather of three grandchildren.

Academic career

Ryrie began his academic career by teaching one summer for Midwest Bible and Missionary Institute (which would eventually become a part of Calvary Bible College). Ryrie joined the faculty of

Westmont College Westmont College is a private Christian liberal arts college in Montecito, California, United States. It was founded in 1937. History Ruth Kerr, owner and CEO of the Kerr Glass Manufacturing Company, established the school as the Bible Missiona ...

in 1948 and eventually became dean of men and chairman of the Department of Biblical Studies and Philosophy. He returned to Dallas Theological Seminary in 1953 to teach systematic theology, but left for several years to serve as president of Philadelphia College of the Bible (now Cairn University), from 1958 to 1962. He was also an adjunct faculty member from Fall 1991 through Fall 2001. Upon returning to Dallas once again, he became dean of doctoral studies until his retirement in 1983. Ryrie has written 32 books which have sold more than 1.5 million copies. Additionally, his study bible has sold more than 2.6 million copies. Ryrie was an avid collector of quality rare Bibles and Bible manuscripts. On December 5, 2016, his collection was sold by Sothebys for 7.3 Million USD. A 15th century copy of a

Wycliffe's Bible Wycliffe's Bible (also known as the Middle English Bible ''MEB Wycliffite Bibles, or Wycliffian Bibles) is a sequence of orthodox Middle English Bible translations from the Latin Vulgate which appeared over a period from approximately 1382 to ...

New Testament sold for $1,620,500 at auction.

Theology

Charles Ryrie taught Free Grace theology, the belief that only fiduciary faith in Jesus Christ is needed for salvation. Ryrie wrote a book ''"So Great Salvation: What It Means to Believe in Jesus Christ"'', in which he criticized the Lordship salvation view of salvation. Ryrie defended the view that the word "''metanoia''" (repentance) refers to a change of mind, being a synonym for faith instead of a turning from sin. Charles Ryrie agreed with some of the points in

Calvinism Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Christian, Presbyteri ...

, holding to

total depravity Total depravity (also called radical corruption or pervasive depravity) is a Protestant theological doctrine derived from the concept of original sin Original sin () in Christian theology refers to the condition of sinfulness that all h ...

and

unconditional election Unconditional election (also called sovereign election or unconditional grace) is a Calvinist doctrine relating to predestination that describes the actions and motives of God prior to his creation of the world, when he predestined some people t ...

, though he taught that the atonement was universal. Ryrie was a

dispensationalist Dispensationalism is a theological framework for interpreting the Bible which maintains that history is divided into multiple ages called "dispensations" in which God interacts with his chosen people in different ways. It is often distinguish ...

, holding to a pretribulation rapture. Ryrie agreed with the doctrine of

divine simplicity In classical theistic and monotheistic theology, the doctrine of divine simplicity says that God is simple (without parts). God exists as one unified entity, with no distinct attributes; God's existence is identical to God's essence. Overview ...

, saying it underscores God's self-existence. Ryrie rejected

Monothelitism Monothelitism, or monotheletism was a theological doctrine in Christianity that was proposed in the 7th century, but was ultimately rejected by the sixth ecumenical council. It held Christ as having only one will and was thus contrary to dyoth ...

Apollinarianism Apollinarism or Apollinarianism is a Christological position proposed by Apollinaris of Laodicea that argues that Jesus had a human body and sensitive human soul, but a divine mind and not a human rational mind, the Divine Logos (Christianity), L ...

and held to Trinitarian theology. Charles Caldwell Ryrie taught that when attending church, men should remove their caps and that women should wear a headcovering (veil), as he said that Saint Paul's command in was "based on theology (headship v.3), the order of creation (v.7-9), and the presence of angels in the meeting (v.10)."

Death

Ryrie died on February 16, 2016, in Dallas, Texas.

Publications

Two of his books (''The Miracles of Our Lord'' and ''So Great Salvation'') garnered the

Gold Medallion Book Award The Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA) is an international non-profit trade association whose member companies are involved in the publishing and distribution of Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres ...

. Other publications include: * ''Dispensationalism Today,'' 1965; The Moody Bible Institute of Chicago. * ''A Survey of Bible Doctrine''

Moody Press Moody Bible Institute (MBI) is a private evangelical Christian Bible college in Chicago, Illinois. It was founded by evangelist and businessman Dwight Lyman Moody in 1886. Historically, MBI has maintained positions that have identified it as n ...

, 1972 (First Edition), 1989 (11th Edition) NOTE: This title is also available in electronic version for use with, and sold by:

Logos Bible Software Logos Bible Software is a digital library application developed by Faithlife Corporation. It is designed for electronic Bible study. In addition to basic eBook functionality, it includes extensive resource linking, note-taking functionality and ...

. *''The Grace of God''

, 1963 (First Edition), 1970 (Second Edition), 1975 (Third Edition) , * ''Ryrie's Concise Guide to the Bible'', Here's Life Publishers, 1983 aperbackNOTE: This title is also available in electronic version for use with, and sold by:

. * '' Basic Theology'',

, 1986, * ''Balancing the Christian Life'',

, 1994 * ''Biblical Answers to Tough Questions'', Tyndale Seminary Press, 2008. * ''Biblical Theology of the New Testament'',

, 1959. * ''Come Quickly Lord Jesus: What You Need to Know About the Rapture,'' Harvest House Publishers, 1996. * ''Dispensationalism'',

, 1995 * ''Neo-Orthodoxy: What It Is and What It Does,''

, 1956. * ''Revelation,'' Chicago:

, 1968. * ''Ryrie's Practical Guide to Communicating Bible Doctrine'', Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2005 * ''So Great Salvation: What It Means to Believe in Jesus Christ'',

, 1997 * ''The Acts of the Apostles,''

, 1961.
''The Basis of the Premillennial Faith,''ECS Ministries
2005. * ''The Best Is Yet to Come,''

, 1981. * ''The Holy Spirit''

1965
''The Miracles of Our Lord''ECS Ministries
2005. * ''The Role of Women in the Church,'' B & H Publishing Group, 2011. * ''The Ryrie Study Bible''

1986, 1994 * ''What You Should Know About Inerrancy'',

, 1981.

References

*Ellwell, Walter. (1993). Handbook of Evangelical Theologians. Baker Book House. * * *Weaver, Paul D. (2015). ''Charles Caldwell Ryrie: The Man, His Ministry and Method''. Kindle Direct Publishing. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ryrie, Charles Caldwell 1925 births 2016 deaths 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American theologians 20th-century Christian biblical scholars 20th-century evangelicals 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American theologians 21st-century Christian biblical scholars 21st-century evangelicals American biblical scholars American Evangelical writers American male non-fiction writers American religious writers Cairn University Christian writers about eschatology Dallas Theological Seminary alumni Dallas Theological Seminary faculty Dispensationalism Evangelical theologians Haverford College alumni People from Alton, Illinois Premillennialism The Stony Brook School alumni Stony Brook University alumni Writers from Illinois Writers from St. Louis Writers from Texas