James Oliver Buswell, Jr. (January 16, 1895 – February 4, 1977) was a Presbyterian theologian, educator and institution builder.

Education

Buswell was born in

Burlington, Wisconsin Burlington is a city in Racine and Walworth counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, with the majority of the city located in Racine County. The population of the city was 11,047 as of the 2020 census. History Prior to the arrival of Europea ...

. He received an A.B. from the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

(1917), a B.D. from

McCormick Theological Seminary McCormick Theological Seminary is a private Presbyterian seminary in Chicago, Illinois. As of 2023, it shares a campus with the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago and Catholic Theological Union, in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago. A l ...

(1923), an M.A. from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

, and his Ph.D. from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

(1949).

Professional life

He served as a chaplain in the 140th Infantry during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. After pastorates in a Presbyterian church in

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

(1919–1922) and a Reformed church in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

(1922–26), Buswell served as president of Wheaton College from 1926 to 1940. He then served as president of the National Bible Institute of New York City, and its successor, Shelton College, in

Ringwood, New Jersey Ringwood is a borough in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 11,735, a decrease of 493 (−4.0%) from the 2010 census count of 12,228, which in turn reflected a d ...

from 1941 to 1955. And finally, in 1956, he became dean of

Covenant College Covenant College is a private, liberal arts, Christian college in Lookout Mountain, Georgia, United States, located near Chattanooga, Tennessee. As the college of the Presbyterian Church in America, Covenant teaches subjects from a Reformed ...

(1956–1964) and

Covenant Theological Seminary Covenant Theological Seminary, informally called Covenant Seminary, is the denominational seminary of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). Located in Creve Coeur, Missouri, it trains people to work as leaders in church positions and elsewh ...

(1956–1970) 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 ...

. The libraries at both Wheaton College and Covenant Theological Seminary were named in his honor, though the Wheaton board of trustees voted in 2023 to remove Buswell's name because of his refusal to admit Black students in the 1930s.

Tenure as President of Wheaton College

In January 1926, the young Rev. Buswell was on the campus of Wheaton College to deliver a week's worth of chapel sermons. Within weeks, college trustees invited Buswell to become Wheaton's third president (and first ever not named Blanchard). He was the youngest college president at 31 years old. Over the next 14 years, Buswell oversaw a significant period of growth in both numbers and academic rigor. He guided the college through the process of accreditation, bolstered its curriculum (especially in the sciences), increased the percentage of full-time faculty with Ph.D.'s from 24% to 49%, and saw the enrollment grow from 400 to 1,100. However, Buswell's staunch

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 ...

, fundamentalist separatism and his reportedly difficult temperament made his tenure at Wheaton an uneasy one. After years of contentious relations on campus, the Wheaton board of trustees fired Buswell.

Doctrinal Distinctives

Although not 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 ...

, he was a

premillennialist Premillennialism, in Christian eschatology, is the belief that Jesus will physically return to the Earth (the Second Coming) before the Millennium, heralding a literal thousand-year messianic age of peace. Premillennialism is based upon a liter ...

who believed in what pre-tribulationists call a "mid-tribulation

rapture The Rapture is an Christian eschatology, eschatological position held by some Christians, particularly those of American evangelicalism, consisting of an end-time event when all dead Christian believers will be resurrected and, joined with Chr ...

." (Actually, he believed that the Bible term tribulation only applies to the 2nd half of Daniel's 70th week; thus a so-called "mid-tribulationist" may well call himself a "pre-tribulationist.") He authored dozens of articles and eleven books, most notably, ''A Systematic Theology of the Christian Religion'', 2 vols. (1962–63, out-of-print). Peculiar beliefs of Buswell include his theory that Melchizedek was a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ and that God's omnipresence does not mean that His existence extends throughout the universe—one may think of the universe as in God's lap.

Fundamentalist Churchman

Buswell was a staunch

Calvinist 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 Protestantism, Continenta ...

who held to the

Westminster Standards The Westminster Standards is a collective name for the documents drawn up by the Westminster Assembly (1643–1649). These include the Westminster Confession of Faith, the Westminster Shorter Catechism, the Westminster Larger Catechism, the Direc ...

and

covenant theology Covenant theology (also known as covenantalism, federal theology, or federalism) is a biblical theology, a conceptual overview and interpretive framework for understanding the overall structure of the Bible. It is often distinguished from dis ...

. He was considered a fundamentalist given his firm stand against the modernist accommodation within mainline Protestant denominations and his insistence on holding to the historic fundamentals (basics) of Christian doctrine. In 1936, he was dismissed from the ministry of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. for the part that he played in the Independent Mission Board controversy, and became a figure in the founding of what would become the

Orthodox Presbyterian Church The Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC) is a confessional Presbyterian denomination located primarily in the United States, with additional congregations in Canada, Bermuda, and Puerto Rico. It was founded by conservative members of the Presbyte ...

. The following year, he joined another fundamentalist

Carl McIntire Charles Curtis McIntire Jr. (May 17, 1906 – March 19, 2002), known as Carl McIntire, was a founder and minister in the Bible Presbyterian Church, founder and long-time president of the International Council of Christian Churches and the Am ...

in forming the

Bible Presbyterian Church The Bible Presbyterian Church is an Protestantism in the United States, American Protestant denomination in the Reformed tradition. It was founded by members of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church over differences on Christian eschatology, eschatolo ...

. He would later participate in the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (formerly the Bible Presbyterian Church, Columbus Synod) and the

Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod The Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod was a Reformed and Presbyterian denomination in the United States and Canada between 1965 and 1982. Formation The RPCES was formed in 1965 with the union of the Reformed Presbyterian Church, ...

Personal life

Buswell married Helen (née Spaulding) in 1918 and together they had four children, Jane, James III, Ruth, and John. His grandson and namesake was the virtuoso violinist, James O. Buswell IV (Dec. 4, 1946 - Sept. 28, 2021).

Works

Thesis

* *

Books

* * * *—originally published in 2 volumes

Works by children of J. Oliver Buswell, Jr.

Buswell, James Oliver III 2 January 1922 - 8 August 2011* *

References

External links

Buswell and Machen in Fundamentalist Controversy
* ttp://www.covenantseminary.edu/library/ The J. Oliver Buswell, Jr. Library, Covenant Theological Seminarybr>Buswell Memorial Library, Wheaton College
{{DEFAULTSORT:Buswell, J Oliver 1895 births 1977 deaths Military personnel from Wisconsin People from Burlington, Wisconsin United States Army personnel of World War I Orthodox Presbyterian Church ministers Presbyterian Church in the United States of America ministers Christian fundamentalists Heads of universities and colleges in the United States 20th-century Calvinist and Reformed theologians University of Minnesota alumni McCormick Theological Seminary alumni University of Chicago alumni New York University alumni 20th-century American clergy 20th-century American academics