Michael Scott Horton (born May 11, 1964) is an American theologican who is the J. Gresham Machen Professor of Systematic Theology and Apologetics at

Westminster Seminary California Westminster Seminary California is a Reformed and Presbyterian Christian seminary in Escondido, California. It was initially a branch campus of Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia until 1982 when it became fully independent. It has 1 ...

. He is a scholar and theologian, having written and edited more than forty books and contributed to various encyclopedias, including the ''Oxford Handbook of Reformed Theology'' and Brill’s Encyclopedia of Christianity. In addition to his work as a professor, Horton is the founder of Sola Media and its productions, the ''White Horse Inn'' radio show and podcast, ''Modern Reformation'' magazine, ''Core Christianity'', and ''Theo Global''. His most recent book is ''Shaman and Sage: The Roots of “Spiritual but Not Religious” in Antiquity'', the first of three volumes in his intellectual history of “spiritual but not religious” as a phenomenon in Western culture. His books include ''Justification'' (2 vols), ''The Christian Faith'', ''Pilgrim Theology'', ''For Calvinism'', and ''People and Place: A Covenant Ecclesiology'', and his writing has been featured in ''The Washington Post'', ''Books and Culture'', ''Modern Reformation'', ''Pro Ecclesia'', and the ''International Journal of Systematic Theology]''. His popular writing also spans titles, such as ''Christless Christianity: The Alternative Gospel of the American Church''; ''Recovering Our Sanity: How the Fear of God Conquers the Fears that Divide Us''; ''Beyond Culture Wars'', ''Rediscovering the Holy Spirit: God’s Perfecting Presence in Creation, Redemption, and Everyday Life''; ''Ordinary: Sustainable Faith in a Radical, Restless World''; and ''Calvin on the Christian Life: Glorifying and Enjoying God Forever''.

History

Horton was raised in an

Arminian Arminianism is a movement of Protestantism initiated in the early 17th century, based on the Christian theology, theological ideas of the Dutch Reformed Church, Dutch Reformed theologian Jacobus Arminius and his historic supporters known as Remo ...

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

church. While in high school, Horton adopted

Calvinistic 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, Presbyterian, ...

beliefs as he read through the Bible, specifically the book of Romans. Horton claims he "threw his Bible across the room" as he read through Romans 9 and began to wrestle through the doctrines of election/predestination and the sovereignty of God. He began attending the Philadelphia Conference on Reformed Theology, where he met

James Montgomery Boice James Montgomery Boice (July 7, 1938 – June 15, 2000) was an American Reformed Christian theologian, Bible teacher, author, and speaker known for his writing on the authority of Scripture and the defense of Biblical inerrancy. He was also the ...

, R.C. Sproul, and J.I. Packer. Horton received a BA degree at

Biola University Biola University () is a private, nondenominational, evangelical Christian university in La Mirada, California. It was founded in 1908 as the Bible Institute of Los Angeles. It has over 150 programs of study in nine schools offering bachelor' ...

. Since high school, he had always known that he wanted to go to

Westminster Theological Seminary Westminster Theological Seminary (WTS) is a Protestantism, Protestant Christian theology, theological seminary in the Reformed theology, Reformed theological tradition in Glenside, Pennsylvania. It was founded by members of the faculty of Prince ...

in Philadelphia. At the time, Westminster Seminary California was just starting in a small storefront in Escondido but many of the men Horton was reading at the time taught there, and this eventually led to his choice to get his MA there. He learned

Biblical Hebrew Biblical Hebrew ( or ), also called Classical Hebrew, is an archaic form of the Hebrew language, a language in the Canaanite languages, Canaanitic branch of the Semitic languages spoken by the Israelites in the area known as the Land of Isra ...

and

Koine Greek Koine Greek (, ), also variously known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek, Septuagint Greek or New Testament Greek, was the koiné language, common supra-regional form of Greek language, Greek spoken and ...

, and studied under

Meredith Kline Meredith George Kline (December 15, 1922 – April 14, 2007) was an American theologian and Old Testament scholar. He also had degrees in Assyriology and Egyptology. Academic career Kline received his AB from Gordon College, Th.B. and Th.M. ...

. Horton received his

PhD 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 graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

from

Wycliffe Hall, Oxford Wycliffe Hall () is a permanent private hall of the University of Oxford affiliated with the Church of England, specialising in philosophy, theology, and religion. It is named after the Bible translator and reformer John Wycliffe, who was mas ...

through

Coventry University Coventry University is a Public university, public research university in Coventry, England. The origins of Coventry University can be linked to the Coventry School of Art and Design, Coventry School of Design in 1843. It was known as Lancheste ...

and completed a research fellowship at

Yale Divinity School Yale Divinity School (YDS) is one of the twelve graduate and professional schools of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Congregationalist theological education was the motivation at the founding of Yale, and the professional school has ...

. He was ordained a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

in the

Reformed Episcopal Church The Reformed Episcopal Church (REC) is an Anglican Church. It was founded in 1873 in New York City by George David Cummins, a former bishop of the Episcopal Church (United States), Protestant Episcopal Church. The REC is a founding member of the ...

. He was the president of Christians United for Reformation (CURE), which later merged to become the

Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals The Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals is an organization of Christian individuals that believes evangelicals have largely forgotten the foundations of the Christian Gospel and is dedicated to calling on the Protestant churches, especially those ...

(ACE). From 2001 to 2004 Horton served as the president of ACE, but is now no longer affiliated with that organization. He is also an ordained minister in the

United Reformed Churches in North America The United Reformed Churches in North America (URCNA) is a theologically conservative federation of Reformed churches founded in 1996. Many churches joined the URCNA after splitting from the Christian Reformed Church in North America denominatio ...

(URCNA), has served at two churches in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

, and was the Associate Pastor at Christ United Reformed Church in Santee, California, a URCNA member church. Horton taught an adult Sunday school class on God, suffering,

sanctification Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects ( ...

Calvinist theology 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, Presbyterian, ...

, and the basics of the

Heidelberg Catechism The Heidelberg Catechism (1563), one of the Three Forms of Unity, is a Reformed catechism taking the form of a series of questions and answers, for use in teaching Reformed Christian doctrine. It was published in 1563 in Heidelberg, Germany. Its ...

. This class is available on audio at the church website. In 1996 ''

Christianity Today ''Christianity Today'' is an evangelical Christian media magazine founded in 1956 by Billy Graham. It is published by Christianity Today International based in Carol Stream, Illinois. ''The Washington Post'' calls ''Christianity Today'' "eva ...

'' included him on their list of "Up & Comers: Fifty evangelical leaders 40 and under."

List of works

* ''The Agony of Deceit: What Some TV Preachers Are Really Teaching'' (1990) * ''Putting Amazing Back Into Grace'' (2011) * ''Beyond Culture Wars: Is America A Mission Field or Battlefield?'' (1994) * ''Where In The World Is The Church: Understanding Culture & Your Role In It'' (1995) * ''Power Religion: The Selling Out of The Evangelical Church'', edited with Charles Colson (1997) * ''Made In America: The Shaping of Modern American Evangelicalism'' (1991) * ''We Believe: Recovering the Essentials of the Apostle's Creed'' (1998) * ''Covenant and Eschatology'' (2002) * ''A Better Way: Rediscovering the Drama of God-Centered Worship'' (2003) * ''The Law of Perfect Freedom'' (2004) * ''Lord and Servant: A Covenant Christology'' (2005) * ''Covenant & Salvation: Union with Christ'' (2007) * ''Christless Christianity: The Alternative Gospel of the American Church'' (2012) * ''People and Place: A Covenant Ecclesiology'' (2008; 2009 ''

'' Book Award in Theology/Ethics) * ''Too Good to be True: Finding Hope in a World of Hype'' (2009) * ''God of Promise: Introducing Covenant Theology'' (2009) * ''The Gospel-Driven Life: Being Good News People in a Bad News World'' (2009) * ''The Christian Faith: A Systematic Theology for Pilgrims on the Way'' (2011) * '' Pilgrim Theology: Core Doctrine for Christian Disciples'' (2011) * ''For Calvinism'', with Maurice England (2011) * ''The Gospel Commission'' (2012) * . * ''Rediscovering the Holy Spirit: God's Perfecting Presence in Creation, Redemption, and Everyday Life'' (2017) * .

References

External links

Westminster Seminary California - Faculty Page

The White Horse Inn
Horton's radio program {{DEFAULTSORT:Horton, Michael 1964 births Living people 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century Calvinist and Reformed theologians 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century Calvinist and Reformed theologians 21st-century American Protestant theologians Alumni of Coventry University Alumni of Wycliffe Hall, Oxford American Calvinist and Reformed theologians American male non-fiction writers American religious writers Biola University alumni Calvinist and Reformed writers American critics of atheism Editors of Christian publications Westminster Seminary California faculty

History

List of works

See also

References

External links