Robert Thieme

R.B. Thieme, Jr.
Born	April 1, 1918 Fort Wayne, Indiana, U.S.
Died	August 16, 2009 Houston, Texas, U.S.
Occupation	Theologian, Author
Spouse	Betty Beal
Children	Robert "Bobby" Thieme, III

Robert Bunger Thieme, Jr. (April 1, 1918 – August 16, 2009) was pastor of Berachah Church, a nondenominational Christian church in Houston, Texas, from 1950-2003. Affectionately called "the Colonel" by his congregation, he was a dispensationalist theologian who wrote over a hundred books and conducted over 10,000 sermons on various theological topics during his 55 years as a pastor.

Biography

Thieme was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana and raised in Beverly Hills, California due to a large family inheritance. He attended Beverly Hills High School, including four years study in Latin and went on for his undergraduate studies at the University of Arizona at Tucson where he majored in Greek and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, graduating with honors in Classical Literature in 1940. While attending university, he met and married Betty Beal, the daughter of a Baptist minister.

During World War II, he served in the Army Air Corps where he eventually was in charge of training Army Air Corps cadets at Luke Field. In 1946, at 28 years old, he was commissioned as a Lieutenant Colonel, from which his nickname "the Colonel" originates, and he entered the Reserves. He continued in a militaristic vein after leaving the service, including as a guest speaker at the third annual Houston Anti-Communism School in 1960. Additionally, during the early 1960s Thieme publicly lectured on Communist brainwashing techniques

At this point, he attended Dallas Theological Seminary where he graduated Magna Cum Laude. His 1949 Master's thesis is entitled Armageddon: an investigation of the campaign of the great day of God the Almighty. During his time at DTS, he held a part-time pastorate at Reinhardt Bible Church in Dallas, Texas.

In 1950, he came to Berachah Church in Houston, Texas, having been recommended to the church for this position by Dr. J. Ellwood Evans of Dallas Theological Seminary. Thieme met with the Board of Deacons at the close of his first Sunday service and demanded that they resign immediately, or he would. The board acceded to this demand, and from that moment on, according to Joe Wall, Thieme "became the dominant leader who brooked no challenge to his authority." He was pastor at Berachah until he retired in 2003 due to Alzheimer's disease.

After retiring in 2003, his only son, Robert "Bobby" Thieme III, was elected by the congregation of Berachah to serve as the new pastor. Since his retirement, R.B. Thieme Ministries has shifted focus to compiling Thieme's sermons and notes into new books, and reformatting and revising existing material into modern formats (e.g. DVD, MP3, and Powerpoint).

Over the years, Thieme has ordained dozens of men to the ministry.

In 2007, C. G. Hunt wrote an unauthorized biography on Thieme's family history and upbringing entitled Robert B. Thieme Jr.: His Ancestry, His Life, ISBN 9781598582345. The book has raised questions concerning the veracity of some claims Thieme has made about his background, including his sports letters at the University of Arizona and his Latin honors from Dallas Theological Seminary.

Theology

Thieme attended Dallas Theological Seminary and was influenced by its founder, Dr. Lewis Sperry Chafer, in his theology. He has, in turn, been influential in the ministries of other Christians, including former U.S. Vice President Dan Quayle. He can be described as a dispensational, non-denominational Protestant who believes in Biblical inerrancy.

Vocabulary

He developed his unique systems of vocabulary and doctrinal study based on what he called ICE: Isagogics, Categories, and Exegesis. Isagogics means studying the Bible in terms of the historical context in which each book was written, including both the human writer, the audience, the times in which they lived, etc. Categories refers to a topical categorization of doctrine, so that one can approach the Bible on a step-by-step basis and cross-reference scriptures effectively. Exegesis means studying the Bible in the original languages (or as best as is available) so that one is not relying on an intermediate chain of language translations which may obscure or lose meanings. Through the ICE method, Thieme sought to uncover all of the deepest truths of Scripture.

Distinctive teaching

Thieme held to some uncommon doctrines and distinctive teaching on a number of subjects.

Blood of Christ

Thieme held that it was the spiritual death rather than the physical death of Jesus that was substitutionary and salvific. Thieme used the phrase "Blood of Christ" as a "representative analogy for the work of Christ in salvation."

Abortion

Thieme taught that there is no human soul in a fetus and that it doesn't become a human life until the point of birth (see: The Origin of Human Life); in an interview with Joe Wall, he categorically denied that he taught abortion is acceptable. Thieme taught that the fetus has biological life, including reflex motility and unconscious brain activity, and what he terms the "format soul", analogous to a formatted but blank computer disk. Thieme indicated that during fetal development, the brain is prepared to receive a human soul but does not actually receive one and become a human person until God breathes the "spark of life" (neshemah) into the body at human birth.

Thieme called Roe v. Wade "one of the wisest and most brilliant decisions that the Supreme Court has made in many, many, many years" and said that "abortion is a decision between a patient and her doctor."

Spiritual growth

Thieme believed that a pastor was the "only one who can grow by personal study" and that "the congregation cannot grow by personal study, it can only grow by being under authority. Thieme argued that "no believer can read the Bible daily for himself and discover and learn the mystery doctrine for the Church Age, and understand the mechanics of the protocol plan of God. It must be taught through authority." He also argued that

“

No believer can read the Bible and attain spiritual maturity. The Bible is our textbook, but the gift of pastor teacher is designed to communicate the specifics of the mystery doctrine that cause spiritual growth. Doctrine must be learned under authority, and that authority is vested in the spiritual gift of pastor teacher.

”

Retractions

Thieme's continuing study over the years led him to revise some of his older teachings. The 1987 printing of The Integrity of God included a one page supplemental insert clearly admitting a doctrinal error on an issue, stating that "Ongoing study has led me to revise certain expressions of Bible doctrine that appear in this book", and that:

“

In emphasizing God's righteousness and justice, however, I understated His love. While work on this book was in progress, I taught that holy God cannot love the unbeliever. This is false, and I have since ceased to make that extreme statement. Scripture clearly declares that "God so loved the world" that He gave His Son (John 3:16).

”

Criticism

Thieme's teachings and theology have been widely disseminated, and have been the topic of numerous critical articles and books, including those of Miles J. Stanford, Dr. Stewart Custer, Rev. Robert Walter, J. Ellwood Evans, Ron Enroth, Daniel Wallace, and Dr. R. L. Hymers, Jr.. In addition, he has been both commended and criticised in dissertations by Th.D. candidates at his alma mater, Dallas Theological Seminary, such as by Joe Layton Wall (note the foreword by DTS president John F. Walvoord), and at other seminaries, such as by Todd Campo at Trinity College and Seminary, George King at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Philip Mitchell at Grace Theological Seminary. Garry Wills, in his book Under God: Religion and American Politics shares insightful interviews with Thieme and his staff on how he perceives himself and how he teaches with his exclusive interpretation of the Bible ISBN 9781416543350.

Ministry

Some of Thieme's works. The titles in the top row illustrate his military style.

Thieme's style of teaching and vocabulary reflected strongly his military background. He would, for example, wear his military uniform while preaching from the pulpit on holidays such as Veterans Day and Memorial Day. He referred to believers as "Christian soldiers" and wrote a number of books which focused on military service as it related to the believer's spiritual life, such as War: Moral or Immoral, and Freedom through Military Victory. Thieme also used military imagery in books such as Follow the Colors, Christian, at Ease!, and The Christian Warrior, analogizing the Christian spiritual life in some ways to physical combat. His teachings have been popular among military personnel.

Berachah Church supports both United States and worldwide evangelism, especially through an outreach group called Operation Grace: World Missions. OGWN currently supports missionaries in the United States, Mexico, Costa Rica, Brazil, Thailand, Korea, the Philippines, Africa, England, Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, Moldovia, and Kazakhstan.

Even since his retirement, Thieme's ministry has continued to grow worldwide in a number of ways. As of January 2007, many of his books have been translated into a dozen languages, including Spanish, Portuguese, German, Hungarian, Romanian, Korean, Chinese, Thai, and Russian. Currently, his sermons are broadcast on the radio in a number of US states, Africa, and the Philippines. Study groups have also been formed by so-called "tapers", a term hearkening to the pre-internet era of messages recorded and distributed on cassette tapes, in the US, England, Canada, Germany, and the Philippines. To facilitate easier world evangelism, tape distribution centers have been opened outside the US in Australia, England, the Philippines, and Germany.

Financial policy

A key position of Thieme's theology is that the Word of God should be based on the same grace shown to believers by God. As a result, his ministry has never charged money on any materials, including books, tapes, and DVDs, of his doctrinal teachings. In the cover of all of his booklets, a note appears that states "to place a price on Bible Doctrine is incompatible with grace," and therefore "no price list for tapes or publications is furnished. No money is requested. When the Lord motivates a believer, that individual is free to give."

Selected publications

Most of Thieme's books are compilations of his notes and sermons from his years of teaching. Many are out of print, although R.B. Thieme Ministries does keep many in print as well. The below list is a small subset of his total work.

• The Barrier
• King of Kings and Lord of Lords
• The Blood of Christ
• The Trinity
• God's Perfect Gift
• Heathenism
• A Matter of Life & Death
• The Night Before Christmas
• Anti-Semitism
• The Plan of God
• Apostasy in the Land
• Slave Market of Sin
• Armageddon
• Canonicity
• Daniel Chapters One through Six
• Isolation of Sin
• The Divine Outline of History
• Old Sin Nature vs. Holy Spirit
• Dispensations and the Church

• The Prodigal Son
• Freedom through Military Victory
• Rebound & Keep Moving!
• In Harm's Way
• Rebound Revisited
• Levitical Offerings
• Satan and Demonism
• Victorious Proclamation
• Better Things for Christmas
• Christian, at Ease!
• Christian Integrity
• The Prayer for Eternal Life
• Christian Suffering
• A Prayer for America
• Divine Guidance
• Dying Grace
• Creation, Chaos, and Restoration
• The Origin of Human Life

See also

• Free Grace theology

External links

• R.B. Thieme Minstries
• Berachah Church
• Integrity of God
• Col. Thieme Update - periodic updates on Thieme's health
• Books still in print
• Other ministries claiming Thieme as an influence
• Joe Layton Wall's PhD dissertation investigating Thieme's Doctrines