This week in Christian history: John Bunyan, Dallas Seminary president, Boxer Rebellion

By Michael Gryboski, Mainline Church Editor Sunday, August 16, 2020

Lewis Sperry Chafer dies – Aug. 22, 1952

Lewis Sperry Chafer (1871-1952), American Theologian who founded Evangelical Theological College, which was later known as Dallas Theological Seminary. | Public Domain

This week marks the anniversary of when Lewis Sperry Chafer, the founder and first president of Dallas Theological Seminary, died while at a conference in Seattle, Washington.

An evangelist and theologian, in 1924 Chafer and his friend, William Henry Griffith Thomas, founded Evangelical Theological College, which later changed its name to Dallas Theological Seminary.

“Chafer served as president of the seminary and professor of Systematic Theology from 1924 until his death,” noted the website wholesomewords.org.

“Chafer had a tremendous influence on the evangelical movement. Among his students were...Howard Hendricks, J. Dwight Pentecost, Charles Caldwell Ryrie, J. Vernon McGee, and John Walvoord, who succeeded him as president of DTS.”