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Summer 2009 | Volume 67, No. 4
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Garrett Honored for Release of Life's Work
by Keith Collier
James Leo Garrett, Jr.’s contribution to Southern Baptist scholarship is immeasurable. Southwestern honored Garrett during a chapel service, March 11, for his newly released book, Baptist Theology: A Four-Century Study.
The book presents the history of Baptist doctrinal beliefs through primary sources, confessions, and teachings of major theologians, as well as an examination of principal theological movements and controversies.
Garrett rejects the notion that Baptists have historically contributed little to theology. “I once had a teacher who told us, ‘Baptists really haven’t written any theology. It’s the Anglicans, the Lutherans, the Presbyterians, and the Catholics; they do the theology,’” he said.
“I didn’t believe that when he said it, and it’s taken me 50 years to disprove it. I believe you will find that in the Baptist heritage, we have had many men, some of them without formal training but who themselves with their Bibles have been able to do a tremendous job. All across the centuries, Baptists have had representatives who have done worthy theological work.”
Garrett has authored, co-authored, edited, and co-edited more than 130 published works, including a thesis, two dissertations, scholarly articles, and books. This count includes authorship of his two-volume Systematic Theology: Biblical, Historical, and Evangelical.
Garrett earned two degrees at Southwestern Seminary (B.D., 1948; Th.D., 1954), a Master of Theology degree from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1949, and a Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1966. He first served on the faculty at Southwestern Seminary from 1949 to 1959. After teaching on two other faculties of theology and religion, he returned to Southwestern in 1979, becoming a distinguished professor in 1991. Since his retirement in 1997, he has held emeritus status.
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