James Leo Garrett Jr. (November 25, 1925 – February 5, 2020) was an American theologian. He held the position of Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Theology atSouthwestern Baptist Theological Seminary inFort Worth, Texas.[1]
Garrett was born inWaco, Texas to James Leo Garrett Sr., a business teacher atBaylor University and his wife, Grace Hasseltine Jenkins Garrett.[2] He was converted in 1935 and was baptized into membership at the Seventh and James Baptist Church in Waco. He was licensed and ordained to the gospel ministry by the First Baptist Church of Waco.[3]
He earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Baylor University in 1945, a Bachelor of Divinity fromSouthwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1948, a Master's of Theology fromPrinceton Theological Seminary in 1949, a Doctor of Theology fromSouthwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1954, and a Doctor of Philosophy fromHarvard University in 1966.[4] He carried out additional studies at theCatholic University of America, inWashington D.C.,Oxford University,St. John's University, andTrinity Evangelical Divinity School inDeerfield, Illinois.
He died in February 2020 at the age of 94.[5]
In his long academic career, he has taught at Southwestern Baptist Seminary (1949–1959, 1979–),Southern Baptist Theological Seminary inLouisville, Kentucky (1959–1973) and Baylor University in Waco, Texas (1973–1979). He has also been a visiting professor at theHong Kong Baptist Theological Seminary. He has also been a guest lecturer in the countries ofMexico,Brazil,Uruguay,Colombia, theUkraine, andRomania, and at several schools in the United States.
In 1965, he attended the final session of theSecond Vatican Council, as a guest of the Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity; he later wrote his Harvard PhD dissertation on American Protestants’ writings on Roman Catholicism between the two Vatican councils.[4]
While a student at Southwestern, he pastored three small Baptist churches, and has served as an interim pastor for several Baptist churches. He has authored several volumes, includingBaptist Church Discipline in 1962,Baptists and Roman Catholicism published in 1965 byBroadman Press andWe Baptists in 1999. He is best known for his two volumeSystematic Theology: Biblical, Historical, and Evangelical.[3] He has contributed articles to twenty-one other books and authored hundreds of journal articles, encyclopedia articles, and book reviews.
He married Myrta Ann, a librarian, and they had three children.[3]
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