Michael S. Horton

J. GRESHAM MACHEN PROFESSOR OF SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY AND APOLOGETICS

About Dr. Horton

Dr. Horton has taught systematic theology and apologetics at Westminster Seminary California since 1998 and is ordained in the United Reformed Churches in North America. He is also the founder of Sola Media and its associated endeavors: the White Horse Inn radio show and podcast, Modern Reformation magazine, Core Christianity, and Theo Global.

After receiving an MA from WSC in 1990, he earned a PhD from Wycliffe Hall, Oxford and the University of Coventry in 1996. From 1996 to 1998 he completed a research fellowship at Yale Divinity School. In 2016, he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Divinity from Grove City College.

A member of the American Academy of Religion, the Evangelical Theological Society, and the Council on Biblical Competencies at Biola University, Dr. Horton is also the author or editor of some forty books and contributor to various encyclopedias including the Oxford Handbook of Reformed Theology, the Oxford Handbook of Presbyterianism, and Brill’s Encyclopedia of Christianity.

His most recent books are Shaman and Sage: The Roots of “Spiritual but Not Religious” in Antiquity (Eerdmans, 2024), the first of three volumes on the intellectual history of “spiritual but not religious” as a phenomenon in Western culture; Justification (2 vols) (Zondervan, 2018); Rediscovering the Holy Spirit: God’s Perfecting Presence in Creation, Redemption, and Everyday Life (Zondervan, 2017); Core Christianity: Finding Yourself in God’s Story (Zondervan, 2016); Ordinary: Sustainable Faith in a Radical, Restless World (Zondervan, 2014); Calvin on the Christian Life: Glorifying and Enjoying God Forever (Crossway, 2014); Pilgrim Theology: Core Doctrines for Christian Disciples (Zondervan, 2013); The Christian Faith: A Systematic Theology for Pilgrims on the Way (Zondervan, 2011).

He has written articles for such publications as Pro EcclesiaChristianity TodayThe Washington Post, the International Journal of Systematic TheologyTouchstone, and Books and Culture.

Education

BA Biola University;
MA Westminster Seminary California;
PhD University of Coventry and Wycliffe Hall, Oxford

Other Affiliations

Founder of White Horse Inn
American Academy of Religion
Evangelical Theological Society

What I Want to Instill in My Students

“All of us are committed to helping students acquire the tools of lifelong learning. One of those skills is the art of listening to others. Sometimes, we Reformed folks get a reputation for cursing the darkness without lighting candles. It’s easy to shut people down and dismiss their arguments, but that not only opens the door to tolerating misrepresentation; it also weakens our own position. Only when we take people we disagree with seriously on their own terms and describe their views as they would recognize them do we then have the right to critique.

I think all of us, too, are committed to fueling our students’ love for Christian faith and practice, centering on ‘Christ, His Gospel, and His Church,’ as our motto says. I see evidence of this zeal for both truth and piety, doctrine and zeal, creeds and deeds, on campus every day and it’s very encouraging. With my colleagues, I want to see our graduates enter their ministry with sympathetic and pastoral hearts as well as courageous and clear conviction.”

More from Dr. Horton

Books

Edited 

Some of Dr. Horton’s books have been translated into Arabic, Chinese, Indonesian, Korean, Latvian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, and Vietnamese!

Articles

  • Hope is Not a Dream” State of the Great Commission Report – Theological Foundation Papers, Lausanne (July 2025)
  • Young Nones Might Not Hate Religion. But They Don’t Like the Vibes.” A Symposium on Christian Smith’s book Why Religion Went Obsolete, Christianity Today (May 2025)
  • Michael Horton Replies to Nadya Williams and John Ehrett” Mere Orthodoxy Online Journal (Winter 2025)
  • Will Evangelicals Lead a Revival in Dogmatic Theology?” Word by Word by Logos (Dec 2024)
  • Encountering God Should Make You Afraid” The Gospel Coalition (May 2022)
  • Why We Still Need John Stott’s Classic Book on the Holy Spirit” The Gospel Coalition (October 2021)
  • The Cult of Christian Trumpism” The Gospel Coalition,(Dec 2020)
  • The Gospel According to Mary” Core Christianity (Dec. 2020)
  • Lord, When Will You Restore the Kingdom?” Core Christianity (Nov 2020)
  • How I Can Believe in a God Who Sends People to Hell” Core Christianity (July 2020)
  • If the Creed Aren’t Infallible, Why Use Them?” Core Christianity (July 2020)
  • ‘I Just Believe the Bible’ Doesn’t Make you Orthodox” The Gospel Coalition (June 2020)
  • What Are You Afraid Of?” Core Christianity (April 2020)
  • Faith is not Wishful Thinking. It is Defiance.” The Gospel Coalition (Nov 2019)
  • Modern Medieval Protestants: Why We (Still) Need the Doctrine of Justification” The Gospel Coalition (October 2019)
  • The Crucial Difference Between Law & Gospel for the Christian Life” Core Christianity (July 2019)
  • Book Review on “The Color of Compromise: The Truth About the American Church’s Complicity in Racism” by Jemar Tisby, The Mod (June 2019)
  • Is Reality Secular? – An Interview with Dr. Mary Poplin” The Mod (Feb 2019)
  • Old School in New Age” Westminster Seminary California UPDATE Magazine (November 12, 2018)
  • How Jesus Accomplished Our Justification” The Mod (Nov 2018)
  • What Are Evangelicals Afraid of Losing?” Christianity Today (August 31, 2018)
  • The Making of a Heretic” Core Christianity (August 2018)
  • What Happens When Christianity Doesn’t Work” Core Christianity (Jan 2018)
  • Yes, Pat Robertson blamed the Vegas shooting on ‘disrespect’ for Trump and the national anthem” Washington Post (October 13, 2017)
  • Connecting the Church and the Gospel: A Reformation Perspective” 9Marks (Sept. 26, 2017)
  • Evangelicals should be deeply troubled by Donald Trump’s attempt to mainstream heresyWashington Post (January 3, 2017)
  • The Theology of Donald Trump” Christianity Today (March 2016)
  • The Ordinary Christian Life” Tabletalk (August 2014)
  • “Let’s Not Cut Christ to Pieces”, Christianity Today (July 2012)
  • “The God-Centered Gospel”, Tabletalk (April 2012)
  • “Calvinism: New Research and a Discussion with Roger Olson & Michael Horton”,
  • Christianity Today (March 2012)
  • “Why We Need Jesus”, Christianity Today (December 2011)
  • “Covenant”, Tabletalk (November 2011)
  • “The Death of Osama bin Laden: What Kind of Justice Has Been Done?” Christianity Today (May 2011)
  • “Who Exactly Are the Evangelicals?”, 9Marks (March 1, 2010)
  • “Transforming Culture with a Messiah Complex”, 9Marks (Feb. 26, 2010)
  • “Justification and Ecumenism”, Tabletalk (February 2010)
  • “Lent—Why Bother?” Christianity Today (February 2010)
  • “Christ at the Center”, Christianity Today (November 2009)
  • “Semper Reformanda”, Tabletalk (October 2009)
  • “My Top 5 Books on Calvin”, Christianity Today 53 no. 7 (July 2009)
  • “A Tale of Two Kingdoms”, Tabletalk (September 2008)
  • “Marketing the Church”, Tabletalk (January 2008)
  • “Law and Gospel”, Tabletalk (October 2006)
  • “How the Kingdom Comes”, Christianity Today 50, No. 1 (January 2006): 42-46
  • “Reformed Theology Vs. Hyper-Calvinism”, Tabletalk (November 2005)
  • “Reformed, Reforming”, Books and Culture (September/October 2003)
  • “Consumptive Regeneration”, Tabletalk (September 1997)
  • “Directions: If Grace is Irresistible, Why Evangelize?”, Christianity Today 43, No. 10 (September 6, 1999): 98
  • “Why Calvin Was A Calvinist”, Christianity Today 42, No. 7 (June 15, 1998): 55-57
  • Begin MR:
  • “Why We Still Need Modern Reformation”, MR 33, No. 6 (Nov/Dec 2024)
  • “’Behold the Man!’: Why Jesus Makes Us Uncomfortable”, MR 33, No. 5 (Sept/Oct 2024)
  • “Jesus’ Greatest Disciple”, MR 33, No. 4 (July/Aug 2024)
  • “A Brief History of Enthusiasm”, MR 33, No. 3 (May/June 2024)
  • “Head and Heart”, MR 33, No. 2 (March/April 2024)
  • “Beauty, Art, & Images in Worship”, MR 33, No. 1 (January/February 2024)
  • “Come, See God in Action!”, MR 33, No. 1 (January/February 2024)
  • “The Rule of Faith Isn’t Western”, MR 32, No. 6 (November/December 2023)
  • “Are We There Yet?”, MR 32, No. 5 (September/October 2023)
  • “The Old but New Commandment”, MR 32, No. 5 (September/October 2023)
  • “Truth With Kindness”, MR 32, No. 4 (July/August 2023)
  • “When We Become Beautiful”, MR 32, No. 2 (March/April 2023)
  • “’Live Your Truth’: How Hedonism Leads to Chaos”, MR 32, No. 1 (Jan/Feb 2023)
  • “Bible”, MR 31, No. 3 (May/June 2022)
  • “Evangelicals and the Evangel Future”, MR 31, No. 2 (March/April 2022)
  • “Fellowship for the Furtherance of the Gospel”, MR 31, No. 2 (March/April 2022)
  • “The Narcissism of Small Differences”, MR 31, No. 1 (Jan/Feb 2022)
  • “First the Temple, Then the City”, MR 30, No. 6 (Nov/Dec 2021)
  • “God the Preacher: The ‘Living and Active’ Word”, MR 30, No. 5 (Sept/Oct 2021)
  • “The Divine Wisdom of the Word Preached”, MR 30, No. 5 (Sept/Oct 2021)
  • “Theological Education: Ad Hoc Reflections”, MR 30, No. 4 (July/Aug 2021)
  • “The Martyr Complex”, MR 30, No. 4 (July/Aug 2021)
  • “Is Shakespeare Relevant Today?”, MR 30, No. 3 (May/June 2021)
  • “Pray for the City”, MR 30, No. 2 (March/April 2021)
  • “The Divine Artist”, MR 30, No. 1 (Jan/Feb 2021)
  • “Feasting in a Fast-Food World”, MR 29, No. 6 (Nov/Dec 2020)
  • “The Age of Entitlement: A WHI Interview with Jean Twenge”, MR 29, No. 5 (Sept/Oct 2020)
  • “Is Our Bible Too Small?”, MR 29, No. 4 (July/Aug 2020)
  • “Redeeming Justice”, MR 29, No. 3 (May/June 2020)
  • “Secular Spirituality: A Brief History”, MR 29, No. 2 (March/April 2020)
  • “Christianity and Culture”, MR 29, No. 1 (Jan/Feb 2020)
  • “It Is to Your Advantage That I Go Away”, MR 28, No. 4 (July/Aug 2019)
  • “Kingdom-Building Prayer”, MR 27, No. 6 (Nov/Dec 2018)
  • “The Lord’s Prayer”, MR 27, No. 6 (Nov/Dec 2018)
  • “The Last Enemy and the Final Victory: Singing the Blues with Jesus”, MR 27, No. 5 (Sept/Oct 2018)
  • “Word, Water, Supper: The Work of the Spirit”, MR 27, No. 3 (May/June 2018):
  • “From Plato to Glory”, MR 27, No. 2 (March/April 2018)
  • “Are Evangelicalism and Eastern Orthodoxy Compatible?”, MR 27, No. 1 (January/February 2018): 12-23
  • “The Church in a Post-Christian Culture”, MR 26, No. 6 (Nov/Dec 2017): 24-35
  • “Wonder Woman”, MR 26, No. 6 (Nov/Dec 2017): 72
  • “Different Version: Same Story”, MR 26, No. 5 (September/October 2017): 72
  • “Protestantism is Over and the Radicals Won”, MR 26, No. 5 (September/October 2017): 30-41
  • “There are No None Essentials”, MR 26, No. 4 (July/August 2017): 72
  • “True Faith”, MR 26, No. 4 (July/August 2017): 50-57
  • “A Cross-Cultural Community”, MR 26, No. 3 (May/June 2017): 72
  • “Why Historical Theology Matters: The Trinity and the Dangers of Biblicism”, MR 26, No. 3 (May/June 2017): 50-61
  • “The ‘Already” and ‘Not Yet’”, MR 26, No. 2 (March/April 2017): 72
  • “Comfort Ye My People: A Reformation Perspective on Absolution: The Lutheran View”, MR 26, No. 2 (March/April 2017): 30-51
  • “Regents in Revolt”, MR 26, No. 2 (March/April 2017): 12-19
  • “All People to Myself “, MR 26, No. 1 (January/February 2017): 48-59
  • “Pray for the City”, MR 26, No. 1 (January/February 2017): 72
  • “What Are You Looking For?”, MR 25, No. 6 (November/December 2016): 52-63
  • “Jesus’ Speech to His Fearful Followers”, MR 25, No. 6 (November/December 2016): 72

Videos

Meet Michael S. Horton

How Should a Christian Defend the Faith?

Why Do Christians Need Doctrine?

Let God Be God! 2024 Reformation Day Lecture

An Interview with Michael S. Horton