(By Peter Smith, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). Robert A.J. Gagnon, a biblical scholar who became one of the most outspoken and polarizing opponents of same-sex practice in a generation of debates within his and other Protestant denominations, has resigned from the faculty of the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. The seminary is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA), a denomination…
By Leslie Scanlon, The Presbyterian Outlook. Hunter Farrell, who is stepping down as head of World Mission for the Presbyterian Church (USA), announced Oct. 5 that he has accepted a call to serve as director of the World Mission Initiative at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. Farrell, 58, said his new position will begin in January and will…
By Toby Tabachnick, The Jewish Chronicle. For those with an interest in Near Eastern archaeology, a trip to the neighborhood of East Liberty may be in order to unearth the hidden gem that is the Kelso Museum of Near Eastern Archaeology. Signage is scarce, so if you don’t know the museum is there you will…
By Peter Smith, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He calls himself “the new guy,” and he has spent his first weeks on the job meeting with and listening to people in places ranging from the red-brick campus of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary to some of the grittier streets of its surrounding neighborhoods. And as a veteran of seminary…
By Yitzhak Santis, Guest Columnist, The Jewish Chronicle. To David Esterline, incoming president of the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary: First, congratulations on your appointment, as reported in The Jewish Chronicle. I wish you all success in your new endeavor.I take a special interest in your support for the divestment resolution at last year’s General Assembly of the Presbyterian…
By Toby Tabachnick, The Jewish Chronicle. The incoming president of the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary is a proponent of divestment from Israel, but what effect his views will have on future clergy who attend the graduate theological school of the Presbyterian Church (USA), located in East Liberty, remains to be seen.David V. Esterline will succeed William…
By Jerry L. Van Marter PRINCETON, N.J. – With the idea of membership meaning less and less in American culture and its churches, the Rev. John Burgess today (Dec. 10) suggested rethinking the theology of baptism as the key to recasting what membership means in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). “Attention to baptismal theology and practice…