George Eldon Ladd

George Eldon Ladd (July 31, 1911 – October 5, 1982[1]) was a Baptist minister and
professor of New Testament exegesis and theology at Fuller Theological
Seminary inPasadena, California, known in Christian eschatology for his promotion
of inaugurated eschatology and "futuristic post-tribulationism."
Ladd was born in Alberta, Canada, and was raised in New England. He studied theology
at Gordon College in Massachusetts, and was ordained in 1933 in the Northern Baptist
Convention.[2] He pastored churches in New Hampshire and Vermont while pursuing further
education at Gordon Divinity School. Ladd served as an instructor at Gordon College of
Theology and Missions (now Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary), Wenham,
Massachusetts from 1942–45. He was an associate professor of New Testament and
Greek from 1946–50, and head of the department of New Testament from 1946–49. He
studied at Harvard University during this period, completing a PhD dissertation on "The
Eschatology of the Didache".[2]
Ladd moved to California in 1950, and taught biblical theology at Fuller Theological
Seminary, Pasadena. Fuller was in the fourth year of its existence when Ladd joined the
faculty, and Hagner notes that he "became one of the key figures in developing the
seminary's direction."[2]
Ladd's best-known work, A Theology of the New Testament, has been used by thousands
of seminary students since its publication in 1974. In a poll conducted by Mark Noll in 1986,
this work ranked as the second most influential book among evangelical scholars, second
only to Calvin's Institutes.[3] A Theology of the New Testament was enhanced and updated
by Donald A. Hagner in 1993. Ladd's belief in both present and future aspects of the
Kingdom of God caused his detractors to critically compare his eschatological views to
the Amillennialism that was popular within Reformed theological circles.[4] Despite these
comparisons, Ladd was not Reformed, and in fact rejected the Calvinistic view of the
doctrine of salvation.[5]
John Piper uses Ladd's desire for scholarly credibility as a cautionary tale, and relates how
Ladd "was almost undone emotionally and professionally" by Norman Perrin's critical
review of Ladd's Jesus and the Kingdom. Piper goes on to describe how Ladd walked
through the halls of Fuller shouting and waving a royalty check when A Theology of the
New Testament was a stunning success ten years later.[6]
Ladd was a notable, modern proponent of Historic Premillennialism, and often
criticized dispensationalist views. This was notable during this period, as dispensationalism
was by far the most widely held view among evangelicals during the mid-twentieth century.
[7]
 His writings regarding the Kingdom of God (especially his view of inaugurated
eschatology) have become a cornerstone of Kingdom theology. His perspective is
expressed in The Meaning of the Millennium: Four Views, R. G. Clouse, editor (Downers
Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1977) and the shorter and more accessible The Gospel of the
Kingdom (Paternoster, 1959).
In 1978, a Festschrift was published in his honour. Unity and Diversity in New Testament
Theology: Essays in Honor of George E. Ladd (ISBN 080283504X), which included
contributions by Leon Morris, William Barclay, F. F. Bruce, I. Howard Marshall, Richard
Longenecker and Daniel Fuller.

Selected publications
 The Blessed Hope . Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1980. ISBN 0-8028-1111-6
 The Gospel of the Kingdom. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1959. ISBN 0-8028-1280-5

 A Commentary on the Revelation of John. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1972. ISBN 0-

8028-1684-3
 The Last Things (An Eschatology For Laymen). Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1978.

 A Theology of the New Testament. 2d ed. Edited by Donald A. Hagner. Grand

Rapids: Eerdmans, 1993. ISBN 0-8028-0680-5

 The Presence of the Future. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1974. ISBN 0-8028-1531-6

References[edit]
1. Jump up^ http://death-records.mooseroots.com/l/212977217/George-Eldon-Ladd
2. ^ Jump up to:a b c Hagner, Donald A. (1999). "George Eldon Ladd". In Walter A.
Elwell and J. D. Weaver. Bible Interpreters of the 20th Century. Grand Rapids: Baker.
pp. 228–243.

3. Jump up^ Noll, Mark (1986). Between Faith and Criticism: Evangelicals,

Scholarship, and the Bible in America. p. 212.

4. Jump up^ D'Elia, John A.. A Place at the Table: George Eldon Ladd and the
Rehabilitation of Evangelical Scholarship in America. Oxford University Press, 2008, p. 49.

5. Jump up^ D'Elia, John A.. A Place at the Table: George Eldon Ladd and the
Rehabilitation of Evangelical Scholarship in America. Oxford University Press, 2008, p. 10.

6. Jump up^ Piper, John (2011). "The Pastor as Scholar". In Strachan, Owen; Mathis,

David. The Pastor as Scholar and The Scholar as Pastor. p. 37.

7. Jump up^ D'Elia, John A.. A Place at the Table: George Eldon Ladd and the
Rehabilitation of Evangelical Scholarship in America. Oxford University Press, 2008, p. xxiii.