John D. Woodbridge

John D. Woodbridge (born 1941) is an American church historian, professor, editor, and composer. He is Research Professor of Church History and Christian Thought at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois.

Career He joined the faculty of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in the department of church history in 1970 and became full professor in 1974. He was Visiting Professor of History at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois from 1989–1995. From 1997 to 1999 he served as a senior editor at Christianity Today. Among the books which he has either authored or edited, four have won a Gold Medallion Book Award. He appeared on The John Ankerberg Show in the 1980s. He is a member of the American Catholic Historical Association and the American Society of Church History. In 2017, he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Theology from Colorado Christian University.

Views on inerrancy In 1982, he played a critical role in refuting a thesis advanced by Jack Rogers and Donald McKim which argued that the doctrine of biblical inerrancy was a recent development, developed by the Old Princetonians and particularly B. B. Warfield. According to Clark Pinnock, the Rogers-McKim proposal argued, "that the historic doctrine of inspiration was the affirmation of the infallibility of the Bible in matters of faith and practice with the possibility of errors appearing in the nonessential marginal material." Scriptural inerrantists perceived the Rogers-McKim proposal as an attack on the doctrine of biblical inerrancy and a debate continued for several years following the 1979 publication of Rogers' and McKim's book The Authority and Inspiration of the Bible. Professor Woodbridge replied with the publication of a book in 1982 titled Biblical Authority : A Critique of the Rogers/McKim Proposal. John C. Whitcomb summarized it thus, "The superficial scholarship displayed in this work has been carefully exposed by such theologians as John D. Woodbridge." John M. Frame declared, "In this lecture I will not be discussing this issue, however, because I believe that the thesis that inerrancy is recent was thoroughly demolished by John D. Woodbridge in his book Biblical Authority: A Critique of the Rogers/McKim Proposal." Other less theologically conservative scholars were mixed. Clark Pinnock, for example, described Woodbridge's work as an "erudite refutation," and that it "dealt a deadly blow". But while acknowledging that Woodbridge was historically correct in asserting the long tradition of inerrancy down to the ancient church, he expressed skepticism, concluding, "There is no proof here that [Woodbridge] understands the Bible better or better prepares us to face the modern issues."

Music Among his other interests are music, especially piano, for which he has composed music. His best known work is the song "Sans Vous (Without You)" composed in 1965. It was the basis for a lawsuit in 1983 when it was allegedly plagiarized and used as the theme song for the made-for-television film adaptation of Herman Wouk's The Winds of War. The case was heard in federal district court by Judge David Vreeland Kenyon and initially resulted in a jury verdict in favor of Dr. Woodbridge in June 1991, although Judge Kenyon later reversed the decision on a technicality. The case was settled out of court in May 1992.

Select works Books

As editor

Articles and chapters