Andrew Purves

Andrew Purves is a Christian theologian in the Reformed tradition through the Church of Scotland (and later, the Presbyterian Church (USA)). He holds the Chair in Reformed Theology at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary.

A native of Edinburgh, Scotland, Purves earned degrees in philosophy and divinity from the University of Edinburgh, and a Th. M. degree from Duke Divinity School. His Ph. D. is from the University of Edinburgh. In Scotland, he studied under Thomas F. Torrance. Torrance, his brother James Torrance, Athanasius, John Calvin, Karl Barth, and Jurgen Moltmann were all important influences in Purves' theological development.

Originally a member of the Church of Scotland, Purves moved to the United States in 1978 and was ordained in 1979. He served as pastor of the Hebron Presbyterian Church in Clinton, Pennsylvania, until 1983 when he began teaching at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary.

Purves' primary concerns surround Christology. He continually argues for a vital connection between the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ in his vicarious humanity and the Christian life; a connection founded upon the believer's union with Christ.

Much of Purves' work is a call to reclaim the classical, Christological tradition of the Church, thereby renewing the Church through traditional doctrine and the wisdom of the patristic writers. Some associate him with the paleo-orthodox movement. He has become a leader of evangelical renewal in the PCUSA and has become known in that denomination for his support of conservative Christian views concerning the person and work of Jesus Christ (rejecting pluralism), reclaiming a center in Christ, on sexuality and withholding ordination from self-avowed, practicing, unrepentant gays and lesbians.

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