Dr. Ryrie at Word of Life Florida This Week

Dr. Charles Ryrie is teaching eschatology (the doctrine of Last Things) to the students at Word of Life Bible Institute in Florida this week. When he came in for dinner on Monday night, Marlene and I got to meet him. During my days at Dallas Seminary, he was one of the most popular professors. Back then he taught Senior Theology, our final theology course before graduation. He would lecture on various topics and then suddenly call on an unsuspecting student to answer a question. Because it was our fourth year, we were supposed to be ready to answer any question on any area of theology. It was a fun course because no one ever went to sleep. You had to stay awake because you never knew when he might call on your. The first version of the famed Ryrie Study Bible was released in the mid-70s. As students will do, we used to joke about taking classes from “the man who wrote the Bible.” At least the notes at the bottom of the page.

Dr. Ryrie is now 83, walks slowly, and looks as though a good breeze would blow him away. But his mind is still sharp. When I saw him sitting with some students yesterday, he was gesturing with his hands, making some theological point as he answered their questions.

Once a teacher, always a teacher.

When I spoke with Chuck Scheide who picked him up at the airport, Chuck said that when he asked if Dr. Ryrie knew me, he replied, “He was one of my students.” Yes, I was, and I am still glad about that thirty years after my last class with him.