The Works of John Frame & Vern Poythress

Frame-Poythress.org

Triperspectival Theology for the Church

Vern Sheridan Poythress

Biographical Sketch

poythress

Vern S. Poythress was born in 1946 in Madera, California, where he lived with his parents Ransom H. Poythress and Carola N. Poythress and his older brother Kenneth R. Poythress.  The family lived on a farm until he was five years old. When he was nine years old he made a public commitment to Christ and was baptized in Chowchilla First Baptist Church, Chowchilla, California. The family later moved to Fresno, California, and he graduated from Bullard High School in Fresno.

He earned a B.S. in mathematics from California Institute of Technology (1966) and a Ph.D. in mathematics from Harvard University (1970). After teaching mathematics for a year at Fresno State College (now California State University at Fresno), he became a student at Westminster Theological Seminary, where he earned an M.Div. (1974) and a Th.M. in apologetics (1974). He received an M.Litt. in New Testament from University of Cambridge (1977) and a Th.D. in New Testament from the University of Stellenbosch, Stellenbosch, South Africa (1981).

He has been teaching in New Testament at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia since 1976. In 1981 he was ordained as a teaching elder in the Reformed Presbyterian Church Evangelical Synod, which has now merged with the Presbyterian Church in America.

More information about his teaching at Westminster can be found at the Westminster Seminary website.

Dr. Poythress studied linguistics and Bible translation at the Summer Institute of Linguistics in Norman Oklahoma in 1971 and 1972, and taught linguistics at the Summer Institute of Linguistics in the summers of 1974, 1975, and 1977. He has published books on Christian philosophy of science, theological method, dispensationalism, biblical law, hermeneutics, Bible translation, and Revelation. A list of publications is found on this website.

Dr. Poythress married his wife Diane in 1983, and they have two children, Ransom and Justin. He has side interests in science fiction, string figures, volleyball, and computers.

Where to Start with Vern Poythress’ Writings

Here are some representative articles that can serve as an introduction to the writings of Vern S. Poythress. Articles of greater interest are put earlier in the list.

Readers are encouraged to consult his books for a more thorough explanation. Most of his books are available on the ebooks page of this website. See especially

  • Symphonic Theology: The Validity of Multiple Perspectives in Theology (reprint, P & R, 2001).
  • The Lordship of Christ: Serving Our Savior All of the Time, in All of Life, with All of Our Heart (Crossway, 2016).
  • Reading the Word of God in the Presence of God: A Handbook for Biblical Interpretation (Crossway, 2016).
  • Knowing and the Trinity: How Perspectives in Human Knowledge Imitate the Trinity (P & R, 2018).
  • God-Centered Biblical Interpretation (P & R, 1999).

A full bibliography can be found at https://frame-poythress.org/vern-poythress-bibliography/.

A Sketch of a Life Transition

by Vern Poythress

I have been asked quite a few times what happened to me to make a transition from mathematics to Bible and theology. I decided to write up a brief account. (Spoiler: it was gradual.)

I made a public commitment to Christ at a church camp when I was nine years old. I have been a committed follower of Christ since then.

I enjoyed mathematics from an early age, and I was good at it. I enjoyed its beauty. I went to Caltech and majored in mathematics. I was also a participant in the Caltech Christian Fellowship, the only Christian student group on campus. My plan was to become a college teacher of mathematics at a secular college, where I would help and encourage the Christian student groups.

Even as an undergraduate, I became more seriously interested in studying the Bible and theology with academic depth. I thought about going to seminary to satisfy this desire.

Then I was in a Ph.D. program in mathematics at Harvard University. Harvard had a theological library, and Park Street Church where I attended had a collegiate minister, Dr. Robert Ives, whom I asked about what to read. Half way through the doctoral program I realized that my heart’s desire had shifted more toward the Bible and theology than toward mathematics. I had to ask God what this meant. I decided to complete my doctoral work and then go to seminary. I took a year off, 1970-71, teaching mathematics at Fresno State College, partly because I was tired of just being a student, partly because I wanted to take up the challenge of teaching mathematics from a distinctively Christian point of view. (Some of the long-range fruit can be found in my book Redeeming Mathematics.)

I perceived that one could not be a first-rate mathematician and a first-rate pastor or Bible scholar or theologian all in one lifetime. So, before God, I chose to make mathematics something of a hobby rather than my main focus. I resigned my position at Fresno State College at the end of the spring semester, 1971, and became a student at Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, in the fall, 1971.