George Arthur Buttrick
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George Arthur Buttrick (March 23, 1892 – January 23, 1980) was an English-born, American-based
Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
preacher A preacher is a person who delivers sermons or homilies on religious topics to an assembly of people. Less common are preachers who Open-air preaching, preach on the street, or those whose message is not necessarily religious, but who preach com ...
, author and lecturer.T. A. Prickett, ''The Story of Preaching'',
Bloomington, Indiana Bloomington is a city in Monroe County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. The population was 79,168 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the List of municipalities in Indiana, seventh-most populous city in Indiana and ...
:
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, 2011, pp. 80-8

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Early life

Buttrick was born in Seaham Harbour,
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
on March 23, 1892. He attended the
Victoria University of Manchester The Victoria University of Manchester, usually referred to as simply the University of Manchester, was a university in Manchester, England. It was founded in 1851 as Owens College. In 1880, the college joined the federal Victoria University. A ...
and later emigrated to the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
.


Career

Buttrick served as a
pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...
in
Quincy, Illinois Quincy ( ) is a city in Adams County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. Located on the Mississippi River, the population was 39,463 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 40,633 in 2010. The Quincy, Illinois, mic ...
, Rutland, Vermont,
Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...
, and in 1927 he succeeded
Henry Sloane Coffin Henry Sloane Coffin (January 5, 1877 – November 25, 1954) was president of the Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York, Union Theological Seminary, Moderator of the General Assembly, Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in the Unit ...
as minister of the Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. In 1936, Buttrick officiated the wedding of
Fred Fred or FRED may refer to: People * Fred (name), including a list of people and characters with the name Mononym * Fred (cartoonist) (1931–2013), pen name of Fred Othon Aristidès, French * Fred (footballer, born 1949) (1949–2022), Fred ...
and Mary Anne MacLeod Trump, the parents of
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
. Buttrick gave a lecture series at
Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
. From 1955 to 1960 he was Plummer Professor of Christian Morals and Preacher to the university at
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
. He was then a guest professor at the
Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Unio ...
and went on to teach at Garrett–Evangelical Theological Seminary in
Evanston, Illinois Evanston is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States, situated on the North Shore (Chicago), North Shore along Lake Michigan. A suburb of Chicago, Evanston is north of Chicago Loop, downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skok ...
. He later taught at
Davidson College Davidson College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Davidson, North Carolina, United States. It was established in 1837 by the Concord Presbytery and named after American Revolutiona ...
in
Davidson, North Carolina Davidson is a suburban town in Mecklenburg, Iredell, and Cabarrus counties, North Carolina, United States. It is a suburb in the Charlotte metropolitan area. The population was 15,106 at the 2020 census, up from 10,944 in 2010. The town was ...
,
Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...
in
Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
, and the Southern Baptist Seminary in
Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...
. He also taught classes on preaching at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. While at Harvard, Buttrick served as advisor to Phillips Brooks House, the student-run social service organization, and was greatly admired for his dedication to the cause of social justice. This admiration was put to the test when he denied the use of Harvard's Memorial Church to a Jewish couple who wished to be married there by a rabbi. His reasoning, strongly supported by Harvard president Nathan Pusey, was that the church was a Christian institution, and that permitting it to be used for non-Christian activities would be to secularize it. An intense controversy erupted involving both faculty, students, and donors to the university, ending in 1958 when Buttrick reversed his position on the ground that "The Harvard community is today a mixed society. It contains numerous groups with religious loyalties other than those which gave shape to Harvard’s ceremonies of public worship." Buttrick was also Commentary Editor for ''The Interpreter's Bible'', a twelve volume set of the Holy Scriptures, in the King James and Revised Standard Versions with general articles and introduction, exegesis and exposition, first published by Abingdon-Cokesbury Press in 1952.


Death and legacy

Buttrick died in 1980. His son, David G. Buttrick (1927–2017), was a Presbyterian minister who later joined the
United Church of Christ The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a socially liberal mainline Protestant Christian denomination based in the United States, with historical and confessional roots in the Congregational, Restorationist, Continental Reformed, and Lutheran t ...
and became the Drucilla Moore Buffington Professor of Homiletics and Liturgics at the
Vanderbilt University Divinity School The Vanderbilt Divinity School and Graduate Department of Religion (usually Vanderbilt Divinity School) is an interdenominational divinity school at Vanderbilt University, a major research university located in Nashville, Tennessee. It is one of o ...
.
Frederick Buechner Carl Frederick Buechner ( ; July 11, 1926 – August 15, 2022) was an American author, Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies ...
has often cited Buttrick as a central influence on his career, including his decision to become himself a Presbyterian minister. Buttrick's influence was also cited by Eugene Peterson, who was raised Pentecostal but became an intern at Madison Avenue during Buttrick's ministry and was inspired by his preaching.''A Burning in My Bones: The Authorized Biography of Eugene H. Peterson, Translator of The Message'' by Winn Collier, p. 72-75 In fact, according to Peterson's biographer Winn Collier, both Buechner and Peterson were sitting in the pews of Madison Avenue Presbyterian that same year, having their shared epiphanies under Buttrick's preaching.


Bibliography

*''Parables of Jesus'' (1928) *''Jesus Came Preaching: Christian Preaching in the New Age'' (1931) *''Christian Fact and Modern Doubt'' (1934) *''Prayer'' (1942) *''Christ and Man's Dilemma'' (1946) *''So We Believe, So We Pray'' (1951) *''Faith and Education'' (1952) *''Sermons Preached in a University Church'' (1959) *''Biblical Thought and the Secular University'' (1960) * Editor, ''Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible'', 4 vols (1962) *''Christ and History'' (1963) *''God, Pain, and Evil'' (1966) *''The Beatitudes, A Contemporary Meditation'' (1968) *''The Power of Prayer Today'' (1970) *''The Interpreter's One Volume Commentary on the Bible'' (1971)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buttrick, George Arthur 1892 births 1980 deaths People from Seaham Alumni of the Victoria University of Manchester Harvard University faculty Vanderbilt University faculty English emigrants to the United States Davidson College faculty