Liberty mourns loss of longtime Divinity Professor Dr. John D. Morrison

Liberty University mourns the loss of former longtime John W. Rawlings School of Divinity Professor Dr. John D. Morrison, who passed away on May 23 at the age of 73. 

Morrison, who was born on July 22, 1951, taught at Liberty for 38 years before his retirement in 2021. He received his Th.M. in Biblical and Systematic Theology from Western Seminary in 1983 and his Ph.D. in Philosophical Theology and Philosophy of Religion from the University of Virginia in 1993. He is the author of “Has God Said?: Scripture, the Word of God, and the Crisis of Theological Authority” (2006), “Knowledge of the Self-Revealing God in the Thought of Thomas Forsyth Torrance” (1997), and more than a dozen articles on Christology, Barth, the Trinity, Scripture, and theological methodology.

“Dr. Morrison was nothing if he wasn’t gracious and kind,” School of Divinity Dean Dr. Troy Temple said. “He demonstrated a core commitment to conservative biblical truth that has provided a firm foundation for what has become the John W. Rawlings School of Divinity and Liberty Theological Seminary. We need more professors like John Morrison who care for students sincerely and diligently hold them to the highest standard of scholarship. John Morrison was a very rare gift to Liberty University.”

He guest lectured over two dozen times at symposia hosted by the Evangelical Theological Society on subjects such as balanced biblical criticism, interactive models of scripture, and hermeneutics. Morrison also had guest lectured at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary since 2014 and been given honors such as “School of Religion Teacher of the Year” in 1990, “Who’s Who Among American Teachers” in 1991 and 1996, “Marquis’ Who’s Who in America” in 1999 and 2000, and a nomination to the Honor Society of Hebrew Studies. He was a member of the Evangelical Theological Society, North American Paul Tillich Society, and Karl Barth Society of North America.

While at Liberty, he taught honors undergraduate theology surveys, graduate classes in modern and contemporary theology and soteriology, and doctoral seminars in bibliology, Christology, and pneumatology in the Ph.D. in Theology & Apologetics program, of which he and Dr. Gary Habermas were the first dedicated professors.

“Dr. Morrison was a man of deeply sincere faith, always ready with a word of encouragement (‘persevere!’) and a commitment to pray for others, and of deep intellect as well,” said Dr. Chad Thornhill, residential chair and professor of Biblical & Theological studies, noting he was formerly an undergraduate and doctoral student in Morrison’s classes. “Among the faculty, he is often regarded as the sharpest theologian to have ever taught at LU. But as sharp as his intellect was — able, for instance, to quote Barth’s ‘Dogmatics,’ in German, off the cuff — his goal as a teacher was always to elevate his students through his own rigorous thinking and rigorous feedback. He would often spend hours marking up a single paper, an act of love and sacrifice to better his students in their own theological development. I am deeply grateful for the role Dr. Morrison played in my own development, as I know so many of his former students are as well.”

“It was an honor to work with John Morrison when I directed the PhD in Theology and Apologetics program,” said Biblical Studies Professor Dr. Leo Percer. Even more of an honor was to be called his ‘friend.’ I’m sorry I missed this note earlier, but I am appreciative for the kind words posted about a beloved colleague and friend. Thank you!

Prior to his time at Liberty, he taught English and coached multiple sports at Sweet Grass County High School in Big Timber, Mont. Morrison also previously served as an associate pastor at Bethel Baptist Church in Portland, Ore., from 1977-83.

Morrison is survived by his wife, Ellen Teichrow Morrison; children Heather Scott and her husband, Philip, and Shawn Morrison and his wife, Meghan; grandchildren Charity, Calvin, Charlotte, Emilia, Gabrielle, Benjamin, Chesterton, Nathan, John, and Susannah; siblings Debbie Rabideau and Scott Morrison and his wife, Nancy; and numerous nieces and nephews.