J. Oliver Buswell
Encyclopedia
James Oliver Buswell, Jr. (Born in Mellon, Wisconsin, 1895–1977) was a Presbyterian fundamentalist educator and institution builder.
(1917), a B.D. from McCormick Theological Seminary
(1923), an M.A. from the University of Chicago
, and his Ph.D. from New York University
(1949).
. After pastorates in a Presbyterian church in Milwaukee
(1919–1922) and a Reformed church in Brooklyn (1922–26), Buswell became president of Wheaton College
from 1926 to 1940. He then served as president of the National Bible Institute of New York City, and its successor, Shelton College, in Ringwood, New Jersey
from 1941 to 1955. And finally, in 1956, he became dean of Covenant College
(1956–1964) and Covenant Theological Seminary
(1956–1970) in St. Louis, Missouri
.
who held to the Westminster Standards
and Covenant theology
. He was considered a fundamentalist
in his day, given his firm stand against the modernist accommodation within mainline Protestant denominations and his insistence on holding to the historic fundamentals of Christian doctrine. Although not a dispensationalist
, he was a premillennialist
who believed in a mid-tribulation rapture
. He authored dozens of articles and eleven books, most notably, A Systematic Theology of the Christian Religion, 2 vols. (1962–63), now out-of-print.
In 1936, he was dismissed from the Presbyterian ministry for the part he played in founding a fundamentalist mission board. He went on to participate in several different separatist Presbyterian denominations in his life, including the Orthodox Presbyterian Church
, the Bible Presbyterian Church
, the Evangelical Presbyterian Church
, and the Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod.
Education
He received an A.B. from the University of MinnesotaUniversity of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
(1917), a B.D. from McCormick Theological Seminary
McCormick Theological Seminary
McCormick Theological Seminary is one of eleven schools of theology of the Presbyterian Church . It shares a campus with the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, bordering the campus of the University of Chicago in Chicago, Illinois...
(1923), an M.A. from the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
, and his Ph.D. from New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
(1949).
Professional Life
He served as a chaplain in the 140th Infantry during World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. After pastorates in a Presbyterian church in Milwaukee
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...
(1919–1922) and a Reformed church in Brooklyn (1922–26), Buswell became president of Wheaton College
Wheaton College (Illinois)
Wheaton College is a private, evangelical Protestant liberal arts college in Wheaton, Illinois, a suburb west of Chicago in the United States...
from 1926 to 1940. He then served as president of the National Bible Institute of New York City, and its successor, Shelton College, in Ringwood, New Jersey
Ringwood, New Jersey
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there are 12,396 people, 4,108 households, and 3,446 families residing in the borough. The population density is 491.0 people per square mile . There are 4,221 housing units at an average density of 167.2 per square mile...
from 1941 to 1955. And finally, in 1956, he became dean of Covenant College
Covenant College
Covenant College is a Christian liberal arts college in Lookout Mountain, Georgia, United States.-History:Founded in 1955 in Pasadena, California, Covenant College and Theological Seminary moved its campus to St. Louis, Missouri the following year, and, in 1965, separated from the seminary, moving...
(1956–1964) and Covenant Theological Seminary
Covenant Theological Seminary
Covenant Theological Seminary is the denominational seminary of the Presbyterian Church in America . It is located in St. Louis, Missouri, and its purpose is to train leaders for work in the church and the world — especially as pastors, missionaries, and counselors. It does not require all...
(1956–1970) in St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
.
Tenure as President of Wheaton College
In January 1926, the young Rev. Buswell was on the campus of Wheaton College to deliver a week's worth of chapel sermons. Within weeks, college trustees invited Buswell to become Wheaton's third president (and first ever not named Blanchard). He was the youngest college president at 31 years old. Over the next 14 years, Buswell oversaw a significant period of growth in both numbers and academic rigor. He guided the college through the process of accreditation, bolstered its curriculum (especially in the sciences), increased the percentage of full-time faculty with Ph.D.'s from 24% to 49%, and saw the enrollment grow from 400 to 1,100. However, Buswell's staunch Calvinism, fundamentalist separatism, and his reportedly difficult temperament made his tenure at Wheaton an uneasy one. After years of contentious relations on campus, the Wheaton board of trustees fired Buswell.Fundamentalist Churchman
Buswell was a staunch CalvinistCalvinism
Calvinism is a Protestant theological system and an approach to the Christian life...
who held to the Westminster Standards
Westminster Standards
The Westminster Standards is a collective name for the documents drawn up by the Westminster Assembly. These include the Westminster Confession of Faith, the Westminster Shorter Catechism, the Westminster Larger Catechism, the Directory of Public Worship, and the Form of Church Government, and...
and Covenant theology
Covenant Theology
Covenant theology is a conceptual overview and interpretive framework for understanding the overall flow of the Bible...
. He was considered a fundamentalist
Fundamentalist Christianity
Christian fundamentalism, also known as Fundamentalist Christianity, or Fundamentalism, arose out of British and American Protestantism in the late 19th century and early 20th century among evangelical Christians...
in his day, given his firm stand against the modernist accommodation within mainline Protestant denominations and his insistence on holding to the historic fundamentals of Christian doctrine. Although not a dispensationalist
Dispensationalism
Dispensationalism is a nineteenth-century evangelical development based on a futurist biblical hermeneutic that sees a series of chronologically successive "dispensations" or periods in history in which God relates to human beings in different ways under different Biblical covenants.As a system,...
, he was a premillennialist
Premillennialism
Premillennialism in Christian end-times theology is the belief that Jesus will literally and physically be on the earth for his millennial reign, at his second coming. The doctrine is called premillennialism because it holds that Jesus’ physical return to earth will occur prior to the inauguration...
who believed in a mid-tribulation rapture
Rapture
The rapture is a reference to the "being caught up" referred to in 1 Thessalonians 4:17, when the "dead in Christ" and "we who are alive and remain" will be caught up in the clouds to meet "the Lord"....
. He authored dozens of articles and eleven books, most notably, A Systematic Theology of the Christian Religion, 2 vols. (1962–63), now out-of-print.
In 1936, he was dismissed from the Presbyterian ministry for the part he played in founding a fundamentalist mission board. He went on to participate in several different separatist Presbyterian denominations in his life, including the Orthodox Presbyterian Church
Orthodox Presbyterian Church
The Orthodox Presbyterian Church is a conservative Presbyterian denomination located primarily in the United States. It was founded by conservative members of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America who strongly objected to the pervasive Modernist theology during the 1930s . Led...
, the Bible Presbyterian Church
Bible Presbyterian Church
The Bible Presbyterian Church is an American Protestant denomination.-History:The Bible Presbyterian Church was formed in 1937, predominantly through the efforts of such conservative Presbyterian clergymen as Carl McIntire, J. Oliver Buswell and Allen A. MacRae. Francis Schaeffer was the first...
, the Evangelical Presbyterian Church
Evangelical Presbyterian Church (1961)
The Evangelical Presbyterian Church was a Reformed denomination founded in 1956.The EPC was composed of the majority of the Bible Presbyterian Church which left that denomination over what it felt was the strong influence of Carl McIntire and the fundamentalists, while the new church had a...
, and the Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod.