Lewis Benedictus Smedes (August 20, 1921 – December 19, 2002) was a renownedChristian author, ethicist, and theologian in theReformed tradition. He was a professor of theology and ethics for twenty-five years atFuller Theological Seminary inPasadena,California. His 15 books, including the popularForgive and Forget: Healing the Hurts We Don't Deserve, covered some important issues includingsexuality andforgiveness.
Lewis Benedictus Smedes was born in 1921, the youngest of five children. His father, Melle Smedes, and mother, Rena, emigrated to the United States fromOostermeer,Friesland in theNetherlands (Rena's original name was Renske.) When he was two months old, his father died in the partially completed house he built inMuskegon,Michigan.
Smedes married Doris Dekker. He died after falling from a ladder at his home inSierra Madre, California on December 19, 2002. He was survived by his wife, three children, two grandchildren and one brother.
Smedes graduated fromCalvin College (B.A.),Calvin Theological Seminary (B.D.), and theFree University of Amsterdam (Th.D). He pursued other graduate studies atOxford University inUnited Kingdom and theUniversity of Basel inSwitzerland.
Smedes began his teaching career at Fuller Theological Seminary as a visiting professor in 1968. He joined the faculty as full professor in 1970. He retired in 1995.
After his time at Fuller, Smedes performed several years of pastoral service in theChristian Reformed Church at Madison Avenue Christian Reformed Church (Paterson, NJ), where he was ordained.
Smedes also taught at theFree University in Amsterdam (1968 to 1969) andCalvin College (1957 to 1970) inGrand Rapids, Michigan.
Collections of Smedes papers are housed atCalvin University andFuller Theological Seminary.
In addition to many articles, Smedes wrote many popular books including:
