William Greenough Thayer Shedd

1820-1894. American theologian. Born in Massachusetts and educated at the University of Vermont and Andover Theological Seminary, he gained pastoral experience in both Congregational and Presbyterian churches, but the major portion of his life was spent first as professor of English literature at the University of Vermont, then in teaching in the theological seminaries at Auburn, Andover, and Union (New York). His theology was strongly conservative and Calvinistic. His Dogmatic Theology (3 vols., 1888-94) is a clear statement of Westminster Presbyterian Calvinism. He defended orthodoxy in controversy with his colleague at Union, C.A. Briggs,* whose OT critical views led eventually to his dismissal from the Presbyterian Church and the withdrawal of Union from the Presbyterian denomination. Shedd's other major works are Lectures on the Philosophy of History (1856); History of Christian Doctrine (1863); Homiletics and Pastoral Theology (1869).