Name: R. Albert Mohler, Jr.
Why you should know him: Oft-quoted for his views on cultural and religious issues. Time.com called Dr. Mohler the “reigning intellectual of the evangelical movement in the U.S.”
Denomination: Southern Baptist
Position: President and Professor of Christian Theology at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary—the flagship school of the Southern Baptist Convention and one of the largest seminaries in the world; Editor-in-Chief of The Southern Baptist Journal of Theology
Previous: Editor of The Christian Index; Associate Editor of Preaching; Host of “The Albert Mohler Program,” a daily radio show distributed nationwide by Salem Communications.
Education:
B.A. Samford University
M. Div. Southern Seminary
PhD Southern Seminary (in systematic and historical theology)
Postgraduate study/research at the St. Meinrad School of Theology and Oxford University (England)
Area of expertise/interest: Evangelical theology; Southern Baptist doctrine; cultural issues
Books: Published five books, including Atheism Remixed; contributed chapters to several books including Here We Stand: A Call From Confessing Evangelicals and The Coming Evangelical Crisis.
Other writings: The Washington Post’s On Faith religion column; maintains a blog at AlbertMohler.com.
Assessment: Dr. Mohler is a prime example of the type of evangelical leader who has a profound impact on our country while remaining relatively unknown outside of Christian circles. He was one of the key figures in the conservative resurgence within the Southern Baptist Convention, a monumental change that affected the largest Protestant denomination in America.
As bold as he is intelligent, Mohler often takes positions that are politically incorrect (e.g., his claim that Jews and Muslims dont worship the “same God” as Christians) or that would raise the eyebrows of his fellow Baptists (i.e., his view that couple who choose “deliberate childlessness” are in violation of God’s moral order). He is also an ridiculously prolific writer, producing a quality article on culture and society for his blog almost every weekday.
Anyone who wants to know the direction that conservative evangelicalism will take in America would do well to keep track of this influential theologian.
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