Robert H. Gundry

Robert Horton Gundry is a noted Biblical scholar. He received his Ph.D. from Manchester University in 1961 and has taught for several decades at Westmont College in California. His scholarship quickly made him one of the most highly regarded evangelical Bible scholars. He became a prominent member of the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS), and as such signed their statement affirming Biblical inerrancy.

In 1973 Gundry published The Church and the Tribulation: A Biblical Examination of Posttribulationism. This outstanding piece of scholarship still stands as one of the best works on the End Times and the return of Christ. In 1977 he followed up with another book addressing the controversy regarding the timing of the Second Coming when he published First the Antichrist: Why Christ Won't Come Before The Antichrist Does.

In 1982 he published Matthew: A Commentary on His Literary and Theological Art analyzing the Gospel of Matthew. Gundry used redaction criticism in his work. He thus argued that Matthew adapted the story of Jesus to appeal to the intended audience. Especially problematic was Gundry's assertion that Matthew made ahistorical additions to the infancy story in Matthew 1 and 2.

This sparked a major controversy in the Evangelical Theological Society. Gundry contended his work did not question the inerrancy of Matthew. Rather he argued that the Bible was never meant to be a work of history and that the religious content contains no errors. Gundry's view was supported by a significant portion of the ETS. The Society's executive looked into the matter and at first cleared Gundry. However a campaign against Gundry was launched, spearheaded by Norman Geisler. This campaign succeeded and in December 1983 Gundry was expelled from the ETS.

External links

• Westmont College profile
• Report on Gundry's expulsion from the ETS (only accessible to CT subscribers)
• Who's Who of Prophecy