Columbia Theological Seminary

Columbia Theological Seminary is one of the ten theological institutions affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). It is located in Decatur, Georgia. Dr. Stephen A. Hayner is the seminary's president.

Description

Columbia Theological Seminary was founded in 1828 in Lexington, Georgia, by several Presbyterian ministers. In 1830, the seminary was moved to Columbia, South Carolina (taking its name at that location), and in 1927, to its current location in suburban Atlanta.

Students : 475 in six degree programs (see below). Faculty: 32. Alumni/ae 3,500 living.

Basic degree programs

• Master of Divinity - prepares students for ordained ministry (M.Div.).
• Master of Arts in Theological Studies - academic training in theology (M.A.T.S.).
• Master of Arts in Practical Theology - a new (2010) degree program that offers areas of concentration in Christian Education, Christian Leadership, Pastoral Care/Pastoral Theology, and Worship(M.A.P.T.).

Advanced degree programs

• Master of Theology - prepares students for Doctorate studies (Th.M., like the S.T.M.).
• Doctor of Ministry - advanced degree for ordained ministers (D.Min.).
• Doctor of Educational Ministry - advanced Christian Education training (D.Ed.Min).
• Doctor of Theology - offered for Pastoral Care and Counseling (Th.D).

Columbia's Center for Lifelong Learning offers non-degree programs and events for lay persons and clergy.

People associated with the seminary

• James Henley Thornwell, (1812-1862) professor of theology post-1855; president of South Carolina College, leader in organizing the Presbyterian Church in the Confederate States.
• Benjamin Morgan Palmer, graduate (1841); Professor of Church History and Polity (1854-1856), first Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in the Confederate States.
• Charles Colcock Jones, Sr., professor (1835-38, 1847-50), patriarch of the family chronicled in Children of Pride (1972) and Erskine Clarke's Dwelling Place (2005)
• Joseph R. Wilson, father of Woodrow Wilson, faculty member following the Civil War.
• Peter Marshall, 1931 graduate, twice Chaplain of the United States Senate.
• D. James Kennedy, graduate.
• Alan Bancroft, future moderater of the PCUSA.
• Walter Brueggemann, Old Testament Professor Emeritus, theologian and writer.
• Erskine Clarke, Professor Emeritus, religious historian.
• Ian Punnett, graduate, radio talk show host.
• Ben Mathes, graduate, Missionary, founder of Rivers of the World.
• Barbara Brown Taylor, Adjunct Professor of Christian spirituality, and well-known Episcopal priest and writer.
• John H. Leith, graduate.
• J. Vernon McGee, graduate (1933), founder of Thru The Bible Radio Network.

External links

• Columbia Theological Seminary web site.
• [1].