one of my professors, here at RTS Charlotte, died yesterday after years of battling cancer. this wasn’t a surprise as Dr. Brown’s health had been declining fairly rapidly over the last month and a half or so as his cancer came back with a vengeance. before he got sick this last time, i was planning on going to Europe with him this summer for a Reformation history course.

Dr. Brown was truly a brilliant man. he earned four, yes, four, degrees from Harvard College and Divinity School, and he was a renowned expert in the fields of systematic theology, right-to-life issues, ethics, journalism, public affairs, and political philosophy. he was a co-founder of The Christian Action Council, now known as Care Net, Inc., the leading evangelical pro-life organization which works to help end the atrocity of abortion through education, ministry, and the establishment of pregnancy centers around the country. aside from his teaching and his social efforts, Dr. Brown was also an accomplished scholar. he published several notable works including The Sensate Culture, The Protest of a Troubled Protestant, and Death Before Birth. however, he was probably most known for his work Heresies: Heresy and Orthodoxy in the History of the Church, widely recognized as the definitive work on the subject of the various theological errors throughout the history of the Christian church.

Dr. Brown was one of my favorite professors here at Charlotte, not because of his courses, which were good courses, but because of his always cheerful presence in the halls of the seminary. he always had a joke or a great story ready, and he often spoke in limericks, which was quite funny. the first time i spoke to him, he asked me, in hebrew, to go to lunch with him. unfortunately, i had to decline (and this only after he translated his question after seeing my thoroughly confused expression) but his willingness to reach out to the students and truly get to know them will be greatly missed.

i thank God for the great privilege of knowing and studying under Dr. Harold O.J. Brown, and i rejoice with the angels that he is finally home and free from the suffering that he had to endure in this life. he can now join the Apostle Paul in saying, “i have fought the good fight, i have finished the race, i have kept the faith. henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing” (2 Timothy 4:7-8).