Charles C. Ryrie

Charles Caldwell Ryrie (born March 2, 1925 in St. Louis , Missouri , † February 16, 2016 in Dallas , Texas ) was an American evangelical theologian . He was Professor of Systematic Theology at Dallas Theological Seminary for decades and authored the widely used Ryrie Study Bible .

Life

Ryrie grew up as the son of a banker in Alton, Illinois . After graduating from high school , he spent a semester in 1942 at the Stony Brook School on Long Island , directed by Frank E. Gaebelein . He then studied mathematics at Haverford College near Philadelphia , where he was accepted into the student association Phi Beta Kappa . After meeting the President of Dallas Theological Seminary , Lewis Sperry Chafer, in 1943 he dropped his plan to follow his father into banking and enrolled in Dallas in 1944 as a theology student. In 1947 he obtained his master’s degree with a thesis on the relationship between the new covenant and premillenarianism ; In 1949 the doctorate followed with a thesis on the basics of premillenarianism.

As early as 1948 Ryrie had accepted a position as associate professor at Westmont College in Santa Barbara (California) . In 1950 he became dean of studies and chairman of the department for biblical theology and philosophy . To acquire a Ph.D. he went to the University of Edinburgh for two years in 1951 ; his dissertation dealt with the role of women in the church.

From 1953 Ryrie taught systematic theology at the Dallas Theological Seminary . In 1958 he was temporarily president of the Philadelphia College of Bible , but returned to Dallas in 1962 as chairman of the department of systematic theology and dean for doctoral studies, to remain there until his retirement in 1983. Guest lectureships have taken him to Bethel Theological Seminary (Arden Hills, Minnesota ), Biola University ( La Mirada , California ), Cedarville College ( Cedarville , Ohio ), the Moody Bible Institute ( Chicago ), and the Word of Life Bible Institute ( New York) ) as well as to Europe, Israel, South Africa, Mexico, Haiti, Argentina and Brazil. In 1991 he was once again an adjunct professor at the Philadelphia Biblical University . From 1998 to 2004 he was visiting professor at the Brake Bible School in Lemgo.

Ryrie was a member of the First Baptist Church in Dallas.

family

In 1959, Ryrie married Mildred Anne Belden, 23, from Minnesota . The couple had two daughters and a son. In 1987, Ryrie's wife divorced him and later remarried.

theology

Ryrie was regarded as a leading exponent of dispensationalism , which he helped to gain a substantial theoretical foundation with his standard work Dispensationalism Today (1965, revised 1995). He spoke out against liberal , neo-orthodox and charismatic approaches and also represented ethically generally conservative positions. His approximately 30 book publications, including a systematic theology in one volume ( Basic Theology , 1986; dt. Understanding the Bible , 1996), are mostly written in a generally understandable manner and are characterized by a clear, non-polemical style. Ryrie's most successful work (circulation over 2 million) is the Ryrie Study Bible (NT 1976, Complete Bible 1978, expanded 1994, German 2012), a study Bible with introductions, exegetical explanations and various appendices.

In the German-speaking world, his works are particularly valued within the Brethren movement .

Publications

• The Basis of the Premillennial Faith (1953, revised 2005)
• Neo-orthodoxy: What It Is and What It Does (1956)
• The Place of Women in the Church (1958); New edition: The Role of Women in the Church (1970)
• Biblical Theology of the New Testament (1959; revised 2005)
• First and Second Thessalonians ( Everyman's Bible Commentary Series , 1959; reissued 2001)
• The Acts of the Apostles (1961)
• The Grace of God (1963)
• Dispensationalism Today (1965); revised und Erw .: Dispensationalism (1995, new edition 2007) - German Dispensationalism. Understand God's plan of salvation ( Christian literature distribution , Bielefeld / Mitternachtsruf , Dübendorf 2016, ISBN 978-3-86699-348-8 )
• The Holy Spirit (1965, revised and expanded 1997) - eng. You will receive power. What the Bible teaches about the Holy Spirit (Christliche Verlagsgesellschaft, Dillenburg 2003, ISBN 978-3-89436-367-3 )
• Revelation ( Everyman's Bible Commentary series , 1968; new edition 1996) - Eng. Understanding Revelation. Perspective and clarity for the most fascinating book in the Bible (Christliche Verlagsgesellschaft, Dillenburg 2011, ISBN 978-3-89436-875-3 )
• Balancing the Christian Life (1969, ext. 1994) - German balanced. Biblical teaching in practical life (Christliche Verlagsgesellschaft, Dillenburg 1994, ISBN 3-89436-076-3 ); revised: balanced instead of aloof. The way to a real spiritual life (Christliche Verlagsgesellschaft, Dillenburg 2007, ISBN 978-3-89436-571-4 )
• The Bible and Tomorrow's News: A New Look at Prophecy (1969); revised: The Final Countdown (1982)
• A Survey of Bible Doctrine (1972)
• You Mean the Bible Teaches That ... (1974); Revised: Biblical Answers to Contemporary Issues (1991) - German Biblical answers to questions of our time. Arguments on current topics and problem areas of modern society (Christliche Verlagsgesellschaft, Dillenburg 1997, ISBN 3-89436-139-5 )
• The Ryrie Study Bible: New Testament (1976)
• The Living End (1976); revised: The Best Is Yet to Come (1981)
• The Ryrie Study Bible (1978, ext. 1994) - German The Ryrie Study Bible. Elberfeld Bible ( SCM R. Brockhaus , Witten / Christliche Verlagsgesellschaft, Dillenburg 2012, ISBN 978-3-417-25197-5 )
• A Look at Life after Life (1978)
• What You Should Know about Inerrancy (1981) - German error excluded! Truth and inspiration of the Bible in cross-examination (Christliche Verlagsgesellschaft, Dillenburg 1996, ISBN 3-89436-111-5 )
• What You Should Know about the Rapture (1981); Revised: Come Quickly, Lord Jesus: What You Need to Know about the Rapture (1996)
• Making the Most of Life (1982)
• What You Should Know about Social Responsibility (1982)
• Ryrie's Concise Guide to the Bible (1983)
• (with Paul E. Steele :) Meant To Last: A Christian View of Marriage, Divorce, and Remarriage (1983)
• The Miracles of Our Lord (1984, new edition 2005) - German Die Wunder Jesu (Christliche Verlagsgesellschaft, Dillenburg 1998, ISBN 978-3-89436-085-6 )
• Basic Theology: A Popular Systematic Guide to Understanding Biblical Truth (1986, revised 1999). Understanding the Bible. The manual of systematic theology for everyone (Christliche Verlagsgesellschaft, Dillenburg / Christian Literatur-Spread, Bielefeld 1996, ISBN 3-89436-109-3 )
• So Great Salvation: What It Means to Believe in Jesus Christ (1989) - the main thing saved? What salvation means (Christliche Verlagsgesellschaft, Dillenburg 1998, ISBN 3-89436-175-1 )
• Transformed by His Glory (1990)
• Object Lessons: 100 Lessons from Everyday Life (1991) - Ger. Show it with objects. 100 lessons from everyday life (Christliche Verlagsgesellschaft, Dillenburg 1997, revised 1998 and other, ISBN 3-89436-141-7 )
• Nailing Down a Board: Serving Effectively on the Not-for-Profit Board (1999)
• Ryrie's Practical Guide to Communicating Bible Doctrine (2005) How do I prepare a teaching sermon? (Christian publishing company, Dillenburg 2011, ISBN 978-3-89436-914-9 )

literature

• Walter A. Elwell (Ed.): Handbook of Evangelical Theologians. Baker, Grand Rapids 1993.
• Timothy Larsen (Ed.): Biographical Dictionary of Evangelicals. InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove 2003.
• Paul D. Weaver: The Theological Method of Charles Caldwell Ryrie. In: Journal of Ministry and Theology 17.2 (2013), pp. 33-89.

Web links

• Literature by and about Charles C. Ryrie in the catalog of the German National Library
• Works by and about Charles C. Ryrie  in the German Digital Library
• Sandra Glahn: Dr. Charles C. Ryrie (1925-2016). In: DTS Magazine. February 16, 2016, archived from the original on February 16, 2016 ; accessed on December 31, 2018 . 

Individual evidence

1. ↑ USA: Theology professor Charles C. Ryrie has died , idea , reported on February 18, 2016.
2. ^ Minnesota Marriage Index, 1958-2001 .
3. ↑ Erwin W. Lutzer: A Tribute to Dr. Charles Ryrie ( Memento of the original from July 21, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , February 17, 2016. 
4. ↑ Joe Simnacher: Charles Ryrie, 90, ex-Dallas seminary professor . The Dallas Morning News , February 22, 2016.
5. ^ Texas Divorce Index, 1968-2010 .
6. ↑ Erwin W. Lutzer: A Tribute to Dr. Charles Ryrie ( Memento of the original from July 21, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , February 17, 2016.