Norman Shepherd (born 1933) is an American theologian who served as associate 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 ...

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 ...

from 1963 to 1981. He later served for almost two decades as a minister in the

Christian Reformed Church in North America The Christian Reformed Church in North America (CRCNA or CRC) is a Protestant Calvinist Christian denomination in the United States and Canada. Having roots in the Dutch Reformed Church of the Netherlands, the Christian Reformed Church was found ...

Early life and education

Norman Shepherd received his undergraduate degree from Westminster College, and went on to earn his B.D. and Th.M. from

. He began doctoral studies at the Free University of Amsterdam but failed to complete his PhD due to his teaching course load at Westminster.

Career

Shepherd began teaching at Westminster Theological Seminary in 1963, and continued there until 1981. He pastored churches in the Christian Reformed Church in North America from 1983 until his retirement in 1998.

Controversial views

Shepherd had a number of views that were criticized as being contrary 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 this led him to be dismissed from his post at Westminster. First and foremost, Shepherd was found to have taught students in the classroom that Justification was by the twofold instrument of faith and good works. This directly contradicted one of the two foundational principles of the Protestant Reformation—and a doctrine that is considered by Protestants to be the heart of the Gospel—that Justification is by faith alone or ''Sola Fide''. It also violated Shepherd's pledge not to teach anything that contradicted the doctrinal standards of the seminary. In the seven-year dispute within the seminary community, which ultimately culminated in Shepherd's dismissal, Shepherd backed away from explicitly saying that faith and works were co-instrumental in Justification, but, despite changes in terminology, maintained the substance of his teaching on Justification. Shepherd argued that

evangelism Evangelism, or witnessing, is the act of sharing the Christian gospel, the message and teachings of Jesus Christ. It is typically done with the intention of converting others to Christianity. Evangelism can take several forms, such as persona ...

should be carried out with

covenant Covenant may refer to: Religion * Covenant (religion), a formal alliance or agreement made by God with a religious community or with humanity in general ** Covenant (biblical), in the Hebrew Bible ** Covenant in Mormonism, a sacred agreement b ...

in mind rather than

election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative d ...

, which will lead the evangelist to say to people, "Christ died to save you." This was criticized as being a denial of

limited atonement Limited atonement (also called definite atonement or particular redemption) is a doctrine accepted in some Christian theological traditions. It is particularly associated with the Reformed tradition and is one of the five points of Calvinism. ...

. Shepherd spoke of Christians being justified by "obedient faith," a phrase that was criticized as denying justification by faith alone. Shepherd also taught that a person may "pass from an elect and justified status to a non-elect and non-justified status." In other words, he taught that a person could lose his or her salvation. This contradicted the Reformed teaching of the eternal security of the believer and the doctrine of the

perseverance of the saints Perseverance of the saints, also known as preservation of the saints, is a Calvinist doctrine asserting that the elect will persevere in faith and ultimately achieve salvation. This concept was initially developed by Augustine of Hippo in the ea ...

, articulated in the

Synod of Dort The Synod of Dort (also known as the Synod of Dordt or the Synod of Dordrecht) was a European transnational Synod held in Dordrecht in 1618–1619, by the Dutch Reformed Church, to settle a divisive controversy caused by the rise of Arminianism. ...

. On May 4, 1976, the faculty of Westminster Theological Seminary requested that Shepherd produce a written statement detailing his view of the doctrine of justification ''

sola fide (or simply ), meaning justification by faith alone, is a soteriological doctrine in Christian theology commonly held to distinguish the Lutheranism, Lutheran and Reformed tradition, Reformed traditions of Protestantism, among others, from th ...

'', due to concerns that his teaching on the subject might be out of accord with the

. The controversy over Shepherd's views gradually spread from the seminary to the broader Reformed theological community. Shepherd was repeatedly exonerated by the faculty and board of trustees during their investigation of his views. On November 21, 1981, the board of trustees dismissed Shepherd from his teaching post, expressing a desire to distance the seminary from the intensity and longevity of the controversy.

Jelle Faber Jelle Faber (12 May 1924, Drogeham – 30 September 2004, Hamilton, Ontario) was a Dutch-Canadian theologian. After obtaining his Doctor of Theology degree at the Theological University of the Reformed Churches in Kampen at the age of 45, he emig ...

, Principal of the Canadian Reformed Theological Seminary, compared Shepherd's dismissal to that of

Klaas Schilder Klaas Schilder (19 December 1890 – 23 March 1952) was a Dutch Neo-Calvinist theologian and professor in the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands (Dutch ''Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland'' or GKN) and later in the Reformed Churches in the N ...

, and noted that Shepherd was in agreement with

Francis Turretin Francis Turretin (also known as François Turrettini; 17 October 1623 – 28 September 1687) was a Genevan-Italian Reformed scholastic theologian.Martyn Lloyd-Jones David Martyn Lloyd-Jones (20 December 1899 – 1 March 1981) was a Welsh Congregationalist minister and medical doctor who was influential in the Calvinist wing of the British evangelical movement in the 20th century. For almost 30 years, he ...

, referring to Shepherd's teaching on Justification, commented, "to teach this to students is tragically wrong." William Hendriksen said, "As I see it, we must choose between Shepherd's view and that of Paul...What Shepherd offers looks like a kind of compromise between Catholicism and Protestantism, a compromise that will never satisfy either party...as I personally see it, his view should not be allowed to be taught at Westminster Seminary." Shepherd's views were also controversial in 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 denomination in which he was a minister. Shepherd left the OPC in 1983 and became a minister in the

, serving congregations in Minnesota and Illinois until his retirement in 1998.

Legacy

In 2001, Shepherd published a book, ''The Call of Grace: How the Covenant Illuminates Salvation and Evangelism'', which contained the substance of the teachings that led to his dismissal from Westminster Theological Seminary. In 2012, a ''

Festschrift In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the h ...

'' was published in his honor. ''Obedient Faith: A Festschrift for Norman Shepherd'' included contributions from James B. Jordan, Peter Leithart, Andrew Sandlin, and Rich Lusk.

References

External links