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R. Albert Mohler, Jr.

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R. Albert Mohler, Jr. (born October 19, 1959) presently serves as the [President] of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, the ninth person to hold that position.

He has been a member of the board of James Dobson's Focus on the Family since August 31 2004.[link]

He is married to the former Mary Kahler. They have two children named Katie and Christopher.

Contents

Early life, education, and publicity

Mohler is a native of Lakeland in central Florida. As a child he attended Lake Yale, a Florida Baptist campground. During his Lakeland years he attended Southside Baptist Church. [link] [link]

Mohler attended college at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Palm Beach County, Florida as a Faculty Scholar. He then received a B. A. from Samford University, a private, coeducational Baptist-affiliated college in Birmingham, Alabama. His graduate degrees, a Master of Divinity and Ph.D. in "Systematic and Historical Theology," were conferred by The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, also known as Southern Seminary.

Mohler has been recognized by such influential publications as Time and Christianity Today as a leader among American evangelicals. In fact, Time.com called him the "reigning intellectual of the evangelical movement in the U.S". Called "an articulate voice for conservative Christianity at large" by The Chicago Tribune, Mohler's mission is to address contemporary issues from a consistent and explicit Christian worldview.

In addition, Mohler is listed in Who's Who in America and other biographical reference works and serves on the boards of several organizations including Focus on the Family. He also serves on the Board of Reference for The Council for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood.

Mohler also serves Professor of Christian Theology at Southern Seminary. His writings have been published throughout the United States and Europe. He has contributed to several books including "Hell Under Fire: Modern Scholarship Reinvents Eternal Punishment," "Here We Stand: A Call From Confessing Evangelicals" and "The Coming Evangelical Crisis." He served as General Editor of "The Gods of the Age or the God of the Ages: Essays by Carl F. H. Henry" and served from 1985 to 1993 as Associate Editor of Preaching, a journal for evangelical preachers. He currently serves as Editor-in-Chief of The Southern Baptist Journal of Theology. Forthcoming book projects include works on the future of evangelical theology and on the evangelical responses to the cultural crisis.

Mohler has presented lectures or addresses at institutions including Wheaton College, Samford University, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, the University of Richmond, Mercer University, Cedarville University, Beeson Divinity School, Reformed Theological Seminary, Geneva College, Covenant Theological Seminary, The Cumberland School of Law, The Regent University School of Law, Vanderbilt University and the historic Chautauqua Institution, among many others.

The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (Southern Seminary)

Mohler joined the staff of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky in 1983 as Coordinator of Foundation Support. In 1987 he became Director of Capital Funding, a post he held until 1989. While still a student he served as assistant to then-President Roy Honeycutt.

In February 1993, Mohler was appointed President of the Seminary by the institution's board of trustees, succeeding Roy Honeycutt.

The Conservative Resurgence

Though founded upon its Abstract of Principles, since the 1950's, Southern Seminary had grown increasingly liberal and had moved away from the tradition of biblical inerrancy that it had once held. Many in the Southern Baptists were calling for a return such traditional teachings.

With the appointment of Mohler to the office of president by the trustees, the seminary saw a wholesale shift back towards a more conservative biblical theology (a move towards "confessional fidelity") and a rapid exodus (both voluntary and compulsory) of more than 60 percent of the faculty. It was believed that this was necessary to maintain Biblical integrity. The Carver School of Social Work, considered too liberal and outside the biblical mandate of the Church, was eventually dissolved. It has now been replaced by Southern Seminary's undergraduate program, [Boyce College].

The move to biblical fidelity also proved much more appealing to those in the Southern Baptist Convention as enrollment has multiplied several times over since Mohler took office. Southern Seminary saw its largest enrollment in its history during the Spring semester 2006. The seminary is now one of the most endowed and largest seminaries world-wide.

Paige Patterson, a former Southern Baptist Convention president and fellow seminary president, said Mohler's leadership “will mean that they recover their evangelical emphasis there” and that Mohler's Presidency meant that “the worst of the problems” were over: “Al Mohler has the brains of Erasmus and the courage of Luther.”

Mohler was also instrumental in the mid-1990's restructuring of the Southern Baptist Convention, which saw the Convention shift from a mixture of moderate and conservative voices to a solidly conservative base. After the restructering had occurred, biblical fidelity was needed in all areas of the Convention. This led to his involvement in the drafting of the controversial 2000 revision of the Baptist Faith and Message, which added an exhortation from [Ephesians 5] for wives to "submit graciously" to their husbands and for husbands "to love his wife as Christ loved the church", and removed an often misinterpreted clause referring to Jesus Christ as the standard by which the Bible is to be interpreted.

Missionaries and other representatives needed to reflect the identity of the Convention of churches that they were representing. The Convention affirmed that all missionaries should sign their approval to abide by the Convention's statement of faith, the Baptist Faith and Message. Those who refused to sign were dismissed or resigned.

Media and Editorial Work

Mohler served as editor of The Christian Index [link] the biweekly newsletter of the Georgia Baptist Convention [link]. From 1985 to 1993 he was Associate Editor of the bi-monthly Preaching Magazine [link].

Mohler served on the Advisory Council for the 2001 English Standard Version of the Bible (ESV.)

Starting July 29 2003 and continuing to the present (June 2006), Mohler blogs on CrossWalk.com, a web site maintained by Salem Web Network of Chesterfield, VA.

He presently is heard on a nationally syndicated radio talk show, The Albert Mohler Program, and also maintains a web site, where podcasts of the program, articles and essays, and his blogs and commentaries can be found [www.albertmohler.com].

Theology

Shortly after his term as President began, Mohler drafted a policy (which was ratified by the trustees) that the Seminary would only hire professors who were complimentarian in nature. Professors were to reaffirm their commitment to the Abstract of Principles by signing their name to it as a symbol of honor, reflecting their commitment to uphold and maintain their teaching according to it. Any who refused to sign it, were dismissed or resigned.

Theologically, Mohler represents intellectual conservative evangelical Christianity. He promotes a complementarian position on gender, promotes biblical ecclesiology, biblical preaching, the sanctity of human life, and affirms the sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman as revealed in Scripture . He believes in the verbal plenary inspiration of Scripture as the inspired, inerrant, infallible Word of God and as essential for every aspect of every Christian.

Mohler often collaborates with several Reformed pastors and theologians through a blog entitled Together for the Gospel These include C.J. Mahaney, charismatic-Calvinist and founder of Sovereign Grace Ministries, Mark Dever, Southern Baptist pastor and founder of 9Marks Ministries, Ligon Duncan, a Presbyterian (PCA Moderator), R.C. Sproul of Ligonier ministries, John Piper, pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church, and John MacArthur, pastor of Grace Community Church.

Inclusivism and Pluralism, Tried and Found Wanting

Mohler is a proponent of the historical Christian view of exclusivism. This means that there is no other name under heaven by which men may be saved and that Jesus is affirmed as the only Way, Truth, and the Life and that no man comes to the Father except by Jesus. As an adherent to Calvinism Mohler believes that human salvation is a free gift from God, and cannot be earned by human action or will. He has publicly advanced this position with respect to Judaism, Islam, and Catholicism. He recently accurately restated the historic Christian position that "any belief system, any worldview, whether it's Zen Buddhism or Hinduism or dialectical materialism for that matter, Marxism, that keeps persons captive and keeps them from coming to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, yes, is a demonstration of Satanic power."

Islam

In the months after the events of September 11, 2001, when broad sectors of the religious community were ignoring wise counsel by organizing interfaith prayer services in an effort to improve Christian-Islamic relations, Mohler was explicating the differences between the biblical Jesus and the false Jesus of Islam. Ergun Caner , former Muslim and dean of Liberty Seminary has written many books and articles pertaining to Islam and a comparison of Islam's Jesus with Christianity's Jesus

I'm no specialist in Islamic theology. I'll let those who are debate whether or not there is that kind of militancy and warrior culture within Islamic theology. But I want to say as a Christian theologian, the biggest problem with Islamic theology is that it kills the soul.

The bigger problem with Islam is not that there are those who will kill the body in its name, but that it lies about God [and] presents a false gospel, an un-gospel...These are difficult things to say. This is not polite.[link]

On March 17 2006 he said on the Fox News Channel, that Muslims are "motivated by demonic power" [link] Information on the persecuted church can be found at International Christian Concern .

Vatican II Catholicism

"I believe that the Roman church is a false church and it teaches a false gospel...and indeed, I believe that the pope himself holds a false and unbiblical office."-- (R. Albert Mohler, Jr., on Larry King Live, March 2000)
Contrary to the prevailing ecumenical co-belligerence between different Christian traditions in contemporary American Christianity (particularly politically, over issues like Abortion or Gay Marriage), and in keeping with his very conservative Calvinist theology, Mohler has made strong anti-Catholic statements. Despite his criticism of the Catholic Church, however, Mohler maintains a respect for the ante-Nicene Catholic theologian, St. Augustine.

Media Appearances

Mohler appeared on MSNBC's Donahue on August 20 2002. [link]. The subject was Christian evangelization of Jews. The show's host along with members of both Catholic and Jewish clergy squared off against Mohler's insistence that salvation lies exclusively in the acceptance of Christ.

On April 15 2003, Mohler granted an interview [link] published in Time Magazine. The subject was the issue of evangelization of Iraqi Muslims in the form of Christian aid groups.

On May 5 2003, Mohler appeared on NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross, also discussing the issue of evangelization of Iraqis. At issue was whether the coupling of evangelization with basic human aid relief might be perceived as aggressive or coercive by the Iraqi people, and whether such a perception, if widespread, might place other relief workers in jeapordy. Mohler argued that biblical, evangelical Christianity is not uniquely American, but exists as a movement throughout the world, so that Christian witnessing is not, in his view, to be interpreted as a move on the part of any single nation against the religion of another. At the same time however, Mohler ackowledged the need for "sensitivity," and distanced himself from the idea that religion should be spread in a coercive manner, whether through mode of evangelization or legislation. When pressed, Mohler expressed support for the idea of religious plurality (as in the case of young America) as a theoretical matter of law, but denied the validity of any other belief system but the one he professes. ([Debate Over Christian Aid to Iraq Nationally Aired] in The Christian Post)

On December 18 2004, Mohler debated retired Episcopal bishop John Shelby Spong on Faith Under Fire, a program hosted by Lee Strobel and appearing on PAX, a Christian television network. The subject was the historicity and truthfulness of the Bible.

Speaking Engagements

On June 17 1999, Mohler preached to the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) in Louisville, Kentucky. He prefaced his remarks, in part, by saying "As a citizen of Louisville, I'm so glad to have a Presbyterian group here that doesn't have a gay and lesbian caucus." Mohler has written an article(s) entitled "Homosexuality & the Bible"

On October 31 2004, Mohler spoke at the First Baptist Church of Woodstock, Georgia on the subject "Deciphering the Da Vinci Code." Mohler has written several articles about the Da Vinci Code.

On November 5-6, 2004, Mohler spoke at Covenant Life Church in Gaithersburg, Maryland, giving presentations entitled "Being Men and Raising Men," and "Embracing God's Design for Marriage." The first of these events was open only to men: the church's web site described it as a "more than relevant topic in a culture marked increasingly by unbiblical views of male and female roles." The second event was open only to engaged and married couples.

On November 8-9, 2004, Mohler spoke at the annual meeting of the Florida Baptist State Convention. [link]

On May 21, 2005, Mohler gave the commencement address at Union University in Jackson, Tenn. Mohler told graduates they can display the glory of God by telling and defending the truth, sharing the gospel, engaging the culture, changing the world, loving the church and showing the glory of God in their own lives. [link]

Mohler is on the board of directors of Focus on the Family. In this role he was one of the principal organizers of Justice Sunday, a nationally televised event broadcast from [Highview Baptist Church (Louisville, Kentucky)], Mohler's home church, in Louisville, Kentucky on April 24 2005. Mohler shared the stage with Charles Colson, and Focus on the Family founder James Dobson. U. S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist appeared at the event via videotape. Another host of the program was Family Research Council president Tony Perkins.

The purpose of the broadcast was to mobilize the conservative base in lobbying the United States Senate to curtail debate on the nominations to the Federal Judiciary made by George W. Bush.

We want to communicate to all that we are not calling for persons merely to be moral. We want them to be believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, because we don’t just need instruction, we need salvation. Now, because of that, something has to explain why we would take this time on a Sunday night to talk about something like the federal judiciary. I want to make clear why there is such a sense of urgency that we would do this. It’s because so much that is precious to us, so much that is essential to this civilization, this culture, this great democratic republic is in the hands of the courts. And we know that means that much is at risk. Because we have been watching. And we have been learning. For far too long, Christians have been concerned to elect the right people to office, and then go back home. We have learned the importance of the electoral process, and yet we’re also discovering that that third branch of government, the judiciary, is so very, very important. We have been watching court cases come down the line. In 1973, Roe v. Wade, just declaring a woman’s right to an abortion. We now know in the aftermath of that decision, that Justice Blackman, who was the author of the majority opinion, even has admitted that they were determined to legalize abortion, and they just went to the Constitution to try to find an argument that would get them where they wanted to go. And they did. Now, that was a wake-up call for Americans to say, now wait a minute, there’s nothing in the Constitution about abortion. By no stretch of the imagination did the founders of this nation and the framers of that document intend for anyone to be able to read those words and find a right to kill unborn children. -- April 24 2005
[link] (Democracy Now, May 5 2005) [Full Text at American Rhetoric]

Abstinence

In 2005, Mohler spoke at a forum at the Southern Baptist Seminary on the subject of "Alcohol and Ministry". While he agreed that the Bible does not explicitly condemn alcohol, he did give wise counsel to the following gathering (who were primarily seminary students):

:I can assure you of this: if you are associated with the use of beverage alcohol, I think I dare exaggerate not to say that 99% of all doors of ministry in the Southern Baptist Convention will be closed to you. And I do not believe that is an exaggeration. And let me tell you why...you may think, 'That just shows high-bound and unthinking the Southern Baptist Convention is.' Why should the Southern Baptist Convention or a local church take a risk? Why should it be in the position of deciding whether this is a problem or not. I mean, you have to understand, why would the church take that on?
In addition, on July 3rd, 2006, Mohler praised the efforts of Daniel Akin, President of the Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, for his abstinence-only position. For more information click here:[link]

Quotes and Resources

Selected bibliography

Books edited by R. Albert Mohler, Jr.

Books to which R. Albert Mohler, Jr. has contributed

External links

 

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