Fuller Theological Seminary, located in Pasadena, California, is one of the largest seminaries in the United States. A leading evangelical institution known for its ethnic and denominational diversity, Fuller has over 4300 students from 67 countries and 108 denominations.

Through its three schools, Theology, Psychology, Intercultural Studies, and the Horner Center for Lifelong Learning, the seminary offers university-style education leading to 13 different degrees.

Fuller Seminary is welcoming both to the Pentecostal conservative, and the Theologically liberal. Classes there are unlike any other, in that ministers who hold diametrically opposing political views often vehemently debate current ethical issues (such as abortion, homosexuality, poverty and war), yet still remain confident in their Christian comraderie.

History

Fuller Seminary

Some of the earliest faculty held to a theological and social conservatism, which later gave way to more progressive thinking in the 1960s and 1970s. There were tensions in the late 1950s and early 1960s as some of the conservative faculty members—such as Carl Henry, Harold Lindsell, Wilbur Smith and Gleason Archer—were uncomfortable with staff and students who did not agree with total biblical inerrancy. These tensions are discussed at length in George Marsden's historical account of the seminary and its place in the rise of neo-evangelicalism.

Extended education

In addition to its main campus in Pasadena, Fuller Theological Seminary offers classes at five extension sites located in the western United States:

• Fuller Northwest (Seattle)
• Fuller Northern California (Bay Area and Sacramento)
• Fuller Southern California
• Fuller Southwest (Phoenix)
• Fuller Colorado (Colorado Springs)

Notable alumni and faculty members

Fuller Theological Seminary has numerous notable alumni and faculty.

Notable alumni

• Rob Bell, founding pastor of Mars Hill Bible Church.

• Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ.

• Robert Grant,
  
  
  
  founder of the Christian Voice organization and the so-called "Father of the Christian right."

• John Ortberg, teaching pastor of Menlo Park Presbyterian Church, and author of several books including The Life You've Always Wanted and If You Want to Walk on Water, You've Got to Get Out of the Boat.

• John Piper, theologian and senior pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church.

• Miroslav Volf, noted theologian and Yale University professor. Director of the Yale Center for Culture and Faith.

• Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church and author of the best-selling book, The Purpose Driven Life.

• Anthony C. Yu, noted religion and literary scholar; translator of Journey to the West. Currently the Carl Darling Buck Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus in the Humanities and Professor Emeritus of Religion and Literature at the University of Chicago.

Notable faculty

• Gleason Archer, influential Biblical scholar and theologian. Taught at Fuller from 1948-65.

• Richard Mouw, noted Christian philosopher and author. Current President of Fuller.

• Edward John Carnell (1919-1967) was the author of Introduction to Christian Apologetics, A Philosophy of the Christian Religion, and many other books. He served as seminary President from 1954-59.

• David M. Scholer, Associate Dean for the Center for Advanced Theological Studies and Professor of New Testament. Scholer is a distinguished authority on ancient Gnosticism and particularly the Nag Hammadi Scrolls. Scholer, who has incurable cancer, has been delivering sermons on drawing on religious faith and having a deadly disease. Listen to the sermon Living With Cancer .

• Lewis B. Smedes (1921-2002), influential theologian and writer. Author of Forgive and Forget. Formerly Professor of Theology and Ethics and taught at Fuller for twenty-five years.

• Glen Stassen, noted Christian ethicist. Currently the Lewis B. Smedes Professor of Christian Ethics at Fuller.

• John Wimber, pastor and founder of the Vineyard Movement. Wimber directed the Charles E. Fuller Institute of Evangelism and Church Growth from 1974-1978 and later served as an adjunct professor at Fuller.

• Miroslav Volf, influential theologian and currently the Henry B. Wright Professor of Systematic Theology at Yale University. Author of Exclusion and Embrace, named by Christianity Today as one of the 100 most important religion books of the 20th Century. Volf taught at Fuller from 1991-1998.

Trivia

In the movie, Minority Report, character Danny Witwer, played by Colin Farrell, noted that he had attended Fuller Theological Seminary for three years before joining the Attorney General's office as a representative.

Bibliography

• George M. Marsden, Reforming Fundamentalism: Fuller Seminary and the New Evangelicalism (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1987).