Preaching and Scholarship: Inaugural Address of Archibald Thomas Robertson

Can scholars preach? Should scholars preach? What is the relationship between intellectual cultivation and thoughtful preaching? In his inaugural lecture at Southern Baptist Seminary in 1890, A. T. Robertson clarifies the relationship between scholarship and preaching. He contends that objections to theological education usually arise from ignorance about the real workings of seminaries. This address counters the prejudice against higher learning, and shows that it is not only possible, but preferable for someone to become a respectable scholar and remain a preacher. Moreover, says Robertson, we cannot underestimate the work of the Holy Spirit during intellectual pursuit.