Robert Benson Strimple (18 April 1935 – 17 November 2024) was an American theologian. He served as president of

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 ...

from 1982 to 1988.

Life and career

Strimple was born in

New Castle, Delaware New Castle is a city in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. The city is located six miles (10 km) south of Wilmington, Delaware, Wilmington and is situated on the Delaware River. As of 2020, the city's population was 5,551. New Cast ...

and studied at the

University of Delaware The University of Delaware (colloquially known as UD, UDel, or Delaware) is a Statutory college#Delaware, privately governed, state-assisted Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Newark, Delaware, United States. UD offers f ...

and

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 ...

. He taught at Toronto Bible College and WTS, before becoming the founding President of WSC. He was ordained as a minister 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 ...

in 1970. Strimple contributed to ''Three Views on the Millennium and Beyond'' (

Zondervan Zondervan is an international Christian media and publishing company located in Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States. Zondervan is a founding member of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA). It is a part of HarperCollins, Ha ...

, 1999), arguing for

amillennialism Amillennialism or amillenarism is a chillegorism, chillegoristic Christian eschatology, eschatological position in Christianity which holds that there will be no Millennialism, millennial reign of the Messianic Age, righteous on Earth. This view ...

. In 2004, a ''Festschrift'' was published in his honor. ''The Pattern of Sound Doctrine: Systematic Theology at the Westminster Seminaries'' included contributions from Jay E. Adams, R. Scott Clark, Ed Clowney, John Frame,

Richard Gaffin Richard B. Gaffin, Jr. (born 1936) is a Calvinist theologian, Presbyterian minister, and was the Charles Krahe Professor of Biblical and Systematic Theology at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from 1999 to 2008. He b ...

W. Robert Godfrey W. Robert Godfrey is a minister in the United Reformed Churches in North America and formerly served as the third president of Westminster Seminary California. As of 2017 he is president emeritus and professor emeritus of church history. He cur ...

D. G. Hart Darryl G. Hart (born 1956) is an American religious and social historian. Hart is Distinguished Associate Professor of History at Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, Michigan. He previously served as dean of academic affairs at Westminster Seminary ...

, Michael Horton, and

David VanDrunen David M. VanDrunen (born December 21, 1971) is the Robert B. Strimple Professor of Systematic Theology and Christian Ethics at Westminster Seminary California. VanDrunen was the 2004 recipient of the Acton Institute's Novak Award, a visiting ...

. VanDrunen argues that Strimple's "most significant accomplishment" was his article on

Philippians 2 The Epistle to the Philippians is a Pauline epistle of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The epistle is attributed to Paul the Apostle and Timothy is named with him as co-author or co-sender. The letter is addressed to the Christian ...

, and that in this way he followed John Murray in practising

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 ...

with a "distinctively exegetical bent". Strimple died on 17 November 2024, at the age of 89.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Strimple, Robert B. 1935 births 2024 deaths American Calvinist and Reformed theologians University and college founders Seminary presidents University of Delaware alumni Westminster Theological Seminary alumni Westminster Theological Seminary faculty Westminster Seminary California faculty Amillennialism Academic staff of Tyndale University College and Seminary Orthodox Presbyterian Church ministers People from New Castle, Delaware