Vern Sheridan Poythress (born 1946) is an American philosopher, theologian, New Testament scholar and mathematician, who is currently the New Testament chair of the ESV Oversight Committee. He is also the Distinguished Professor of New Testament, Biblical Interpretation, and Systematic Theology at Westminster Theological Seminary and editor of Westminster Theological Journal.

Biography

Poythress was born in Madera, California in 1946 to Ransom H. Poythress and Carola N. Poythress. He graduated from Bullard High School in Fresno, California. At the age of 20, Poythress earned a B.S. in mathematics with honor (valedictorian) from California Institute of Technology, in the year 1966. While there, he became a Putnam Fellow in 1964. He received his Ph.D. in mathematics from Harvard University, finishing in 1970. Westminster Theological Seminary awarded him both an M.Div and a Th.M in apologetics for work done in the years 1971-74. He earned an M.Litt from the University of Cambridge in New Testament studies during 1974-76. He received a Th.D. in New Testament from the University of Stellenbosch. In 1983, Poythress married Diane M. Poythress. They have two sons, Ransom Poythress and Justin Poythress. As of 2016, he was teaching New Testament and occasional courses on the philosophies of science and language at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, work he began in 1976. His blog with John M. Frame was listed in early 2018 as one of the top 50 Christian popular culture sites.

Thought

Poythress views scientific law as a form of the word of God. In 1976, Poythress wrote a chapter on "A Biblical View of Mathematics," in which he argued (among other things) that number is eternal because the Trinity is eternal. In a 1983 article, he suggested that mathematics is the rhyme of the universe. His philosophy of science draws on the work of Thomas Kuhn.

Publications

Poythress has published a number of books in different fields — Christian philosophy of science, linguistics, theological method, dispensationalism, biblical law, copyright law, hermeneutics, Bible translation, and eschatology and the Book of Revelation including: Additionally, he has published a number of scholarly articles, including: