2006 William R. Rice Lecture Series
Date: Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Speaker: Dr. Rodney Decker
Theme: “Is It Better to Bury or to Burn? A Biblical Perspective on Cremation and Christianity in Western Culture” – pdf
Lectures:
Biblical Data Related to Cremation – mp3
Theological and Historical Issues in Cremation – mp3
Cultural Issues Related to Cremation, and Q&A – mp3
About Our Speaker:
Born and reared in Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania, Dr. Decker was saved at the age of five. He was baptized at, and later ordained by, the Osterhout Bible Church in Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania.
Dr. Decker attended Baptist Bible College and Seminary in Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania, receiving his bachelor’s degree in 1974 and his Master of Divinity degree in 1978. After several years of ministry as an assistant pastor at Fellowship Baptist Church (Philadelphia) and at Calvary Baptist Church (Detroit), he completed his Master of Theology degree at Detroit Baptist Seminary.
After completing his graduate studies, Dr. Decker pastored The Country Church in Caro, Michigan for eight years. He then taught on the faculty of Calvary Bible College and Theological
Seminary from 1990 to 1996 as chairman of the Department of Biblical Languages, and professor of Greek and theology. During the 1994–95 academic year he was granted a sabbatical to complete residence work for his Doctor of Theology degree in New Testament. Upon completion of dissertation research, he was awarded the doctoral degree by Central Baptist Seminary in Minneapolis in 1998. In 1996 he returned to Baptist Bible Seminary as associate professor of New Testament and Greek where he teaches courses in both the Master of Divinity and the Doctor of Philosophy programs.
Dr. Decker has published articles in Bibliotheca Sacra, Grace Theological Journal, Trinity Journal, Detroit Baptist Seminary Journal, and in the Journal of Ministry and Theology. He has written three books, including a technical study of the Greek verb in Mark’s gospel, and two shorter ones on dispensational theology and a history of the English Bible. Two additional books are in preparation, one a reader in Koine Greek, the other a grammatical commentary/handbook on the Gospel of Mark. He is also the creator of an extensive Internet web site, New Testament Resources. He is a member of the Evangelical Theological Society.
When not involved in a writing project, he enjoys various home-improvement projects, font design, database programming, and reading. He and Linda, his wife of 30+ years, have three grown children and several grandchildren. The Deckers were involved for several years in the ministry of a church plant project in the Mayfield/Jermyn/Carbondale, Pennsylvania area (North Valley Baptist Church) sponsored by First Baptist Church, Marilla, New York in cooperation with BBS’s Project Jerusalem. They are presently members of the Northmoreland Baptist Church in Centermoreland, Pennsylvania.
