Dr. Blair Smith explains that while RTS is not a denominational seminary, it is a confessional one. Rooted in the authority of Scripture and the Westminster Confession of Faith, its teaching is shaped by the Reformed tradition while serving students from a variety of denominational backgrounds.
The following is a transcript of the video above.
Is Reformed Theological Seminary for a specific denomination?
One of the questions we often get at Reformed Theological Seminary is whether we are a denominational seminary, whether we have formal relations with any American, North American or international denomination, and we do not. We are, in that sense, non-denominational. But that does not mean we are not rooted in a tradition, nor do we have certain specific beliefs. Every year, our faculty signs off on a document stating that we believe in the authority and inerrancy of Scripture. That’s our foundation. And then we also sign off on, we believe, the Westminster Confession of Faith, the most faithful and clear expression of biblical doctrine. That makes us a confessional seminary. That is our teaching. What informs our theology here at RTS is rooted in the Reformed and Presbyterian tradition, as the Westminster Confession of Faith is part of that tradition. So if you come and take a Bible class or a theology class or whatever class you are going to take here, it’s going to be shaped by that confessional teaching. So you will find a variety of denominations represented among our student body. And you also find that, among our faculty, though limited by the confession, they will come from a variety of Reformed and Presbyterian denominations. So if you come and study at Reformed Theological Seminary, you are not coming to a denominational seminary, but to a confessional seminary, one rooted in the Reformed tradition and in the belief that the Westminster Confession of Faith is the best expression of that tradition. We want to be as broad as the Reformed tradition as expressed in the confession is. But we, as we are broad in that sense, also have those limits, have those good borders, as this is expressive of what we believe is in God’s Word, in His truth, and we want to hold to that.
