J. Steven Wilkins
Encyclopedia
J. Steven Wilkins is a conservative American
Calvinist and evangelical
pastor
and author.
and the Reformed Theological Seminary
of Jackson, Mississippi
. He was ordained as a minister in the Presbyterian Church in America
in 1976, and has served as the pastor of Auburn Avenue Presbyterian Church of Monroe, Louisiana
, since 1989.
In 2007, the Louisiana Presbytery was indicted by the PCA's Standing Judicial Commission for "failing to find a strong presumption of guilt" against Wilkins with regards to his theological views. Following this action, the congregation of Auburn Avenue Presbyterian Church voted without dissent to withdraw from the PCA on January 27, 2008 and subsequently joined the Confederation of Reformed Evangelical Churches
.
Wilkins is an advocate of Federal Vision
theology, and is a former board member of the League of the South
.
In his pamphlet Southern Slavery, As It Was (ISBN 1-885767-17-X) (co-authored with fellow Christian minister Douglas Wilson
), Wilkins argued for a revisionist view that the status of slaves had not been as bad as is currently taught in American schools. He stated for example that: "slavery produced in the South a genuine affection between the races that we believe we can say has never existed in any nation before the War or since." Historians such as Peter H. Wood
, Clayborne Carson
, and Bancroft Prize
winner Ira Berlin
have condemned the pamphlet's arguments, with Wood
calling them as spurious as holocaust denial
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Calvinist and evangelical
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
pastor
Pastor
The word pastor usually refers to an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. When used as an ecclesiastical styling or title, this role may be abbreviated to "Pr." or often "Ps"....
and author.
Biography
Steve Wilkins holds degrees from the University of AlabamaUniversity of Alabama
The University of Alabama is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States....
and the Reformed Theological Seminary
Reformed Theological Seminary
Reformed Theological Seminary is a non-denominational, evangelical Protestant seminary. RTS's first campus remains in Jackson, Mississippi, United States though the school has expanded to include several additional campuses.-Founding:...
of Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson is the capital and the most populous city of the US state of Mississippi. It is one of two county seats of Hinds County ,. The population of the city declined from 184,256 at the 2000 census to 173,514 at the 2010 census...
. He was ordained as a minister in the Presbyterian Church in America
Presbyterian Church in America
The Presbyterian Church in America is an evangelical Protestant Christian denomination, the second largest Presbyterian church body in the United States after the Presbyterian Church . The PCA professes a strong commitment to evangelism, missionary work, and Christian education...
in 1976, and has served as the pastor of Auburn Avenue Presbyterian Church of Monroe, Louisiana
Monroe, Louisiana
Monroe is a city in and the parish seat of Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 53,107, making it the eighth largest city in Louisiana. A July 1, 2007, United States Census Bureau estimate placed the population at 51,208, but 51,636...
, since 1989.
In 2007, the Louisiana Presbytery was indicted by the PCA's Standing Judicial Commission for "failing to find a strong presumption of guilt" against Wilkins with regards to his theological views. Following this action, the congregation of Auburn Avenue Presbyterian Church voted without dissent to withdraw from the PCA on January 27, 2008 and subsequently joined the Confederation of Reformed Evangelical Churches
Confederation of Reformed Evangelical Churches
The Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches , formerly the Confederation of Reformed Evangelical Churches, was founded in 1998 as a body of churches that hold to Reformed theology. Member churches include those from Presbyterian, Reformed, and Reformed Baptist backgrounds...
.
Wilkins is an advocate of Federal Vision
Federal Vision
The Federal Vision is a Reformed Evangelical theological conversation that focuses on covenant theology, trinitarian thinking, the sacraments of Baptism and Communion, biblical theology and typology, justification, and postmillennialism.A controversy arose in Calvinist, Reformed, and Presbyterian...
theology, and is a former board member of the League of the South
League of the South
The League of the South is a Southern nationalist organization, headquartered in Killen, Alabama, which states that its ultimate goal is "a free and independent Southern republic." The group defines the Southern United States as the states that made up the former Confederacy...
.
In his pamphlet Southern Slavery, As It Was (ISBN 1-885767-17-X) (co-authored with fellow Christian minister Douglas Wilson
Douglas Wilson (theologian)
Douglas James Wilson is a conservative Reformed and evangelical theologian, pastor at Christ Church in Moscow, Idaho, faculty member at New Saint Andrews College, and prolific author and speaker...
), Wilkins argued for a revisionist view that the status of slaves had not been as bad as is currently taught in American schools. He stated for example that: "slavery produced in the South a genuine affection between the races that we believe we can say has never existed in any nation before the War or since." Historians such as Peter H. Wood
Peter H. Wood
Peter H. Wood is an American historian and author of Black Majority: Negroes in Colonial South Carolina from 1670 through the Stono Rebellion . It has been described as one of the most influential books on the history of the American South of the past 50 years. He is a professor at Duke...
, Clayborne Carson
Clayborne Carson
Clayborne Carson is an African American professor of history at Stanford University, and director of the Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education Institute. Since 1985 he has directed the Martin Luther King Papers Project, a long-term project to edit and publish the papers of Martin Luther...
, and Bancroft Prize
Bancroft Prize
The Bancroft Prize is awarded each year by the trustees of Columbia University for books about diplomacy or the history of the Americas. It was established in 1948 by a bequest from Frederic Bancroft...
winner Ira Berlin
Ira Berlin
Ira Berlin is an American historian, a Distinguished University Professor at the University of Maryland, and a past President of the Organization of American Historians. Berlin is the author of such books as Many Thousands Gone and Generations of Captivity.-Biography:Berlin received his Ph.D....
have condemned the pamphlet's arguments, with Wood
Peter H. Wood
Peter H. Wood is an American historian and author of Black Majority: Negroes in Colonial South Carolina from 1670 through the Stono Rebellion . It has been described as one of the most influential books on the history of the American South of the past 50 years. He is a professor at Duke...
calling them as spurious as holocaust denial
Holocaust denial
Holocaust denial is the act of denying the genocide of Jews in World War II, usually referred to as the Holocaust. The key claims of Holocaust denial are: the German Nazi government had no official policy or intention of exterminating Jews, Nazi authorities did not use extermination camps and gas...
.
Writings
Wilkins is the author of- Face to Face: Meditations on Friendship and Hospitality (ISBN 978-1591280002)
- Call of Duty: The Sterling Nobility of Robert E. Lee (ISBN 978-1581823349)
- All Things for Good: The Steadfast Fidelity of Stonewall Jackson (ISBN 978-1581822250)
- The Federal Vision (ISBN 978-0975391402) (editor)