Michael Horton (theologian)

==History==
Horton was raised in an [[Arminian]] [[Baptist]] church.<ref name="wscal_a">{{cite interview |last= Horton |first= Michael |work= Office Hours |interviewer= [[R. Scott Clark]] |location= [[Escondido, CA]] |date= October 5, 2009 |title= Meet Michael Horton |url=http://wscal.edu/resource-center/resource/the-man-behind-the-mic |accessdate= November 12, 2012}}</ref> While in high school, Horton adopted [[Calvinistic]] beliefs as he read through the Bible, specifically the book of Romans. Horton claims he "threw his Bible across the room," as he read through Romans 9 and began to wrestle through the doctrines of election/predestination and the sovereignty of God. He began attending the Philadelphia Conference on Reformed Theology, where he met [[James Montgomery Boice]], [[R.C. Sproul]], and [[J.I. Packer]].<ref name="wscal_a" />

Horton received a [[Bachelor of Arts|BA]] degree at [[Biola University]].<ref name="wscal">{{cite web |title= Michael S. Horton | publisher = Westminster Seminary California |url=http://wscal.edu/academics/faculty-bio/michael-s-horton |accessdate= November 12, 2012}}</ref> Since high school, he had always known that he wanted to go to [[Westminster Theological Seminary]] in Philadelphia.<ref name="wscal_a" /> At the time, Westminster Seminary California was just starting in a small storefront in Escondido but many of the men Horton was reading at the time taught there, and this eventually led to his choice to get his [[Master of Arts|MA]] there.<ref name="wscal" /><ref name= "wscal_a" />  He learned [[Biblical Hebrew]] and [[Koine Greek]], and studied under [[Meredith Kline]]. He was impressed by the important concepts put forward by Kline, Robert Strimple, [[W. Robert Godfrey|Robert Godfrey]], and Dennis Johnson.<ref name="wscal_a" />

Horton received his [[PhD]] from [[Wycliffe Hall, Oxford]] through [[Coventry University]]<ref name= "wscal" /><ref name="monergism">{{cite news | title= Michael Horton | publisher = Monergism Books| work = The threshold | type = biography | url=http://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/articles/bio/michaelhorton.html}}</ref> and completed a research fellowship at [[Yale Divinity School]].<ref name="wscal" />

He was ordained a [[deacon]] in the [[Reformed Episcopal Church]]. He was the president of Christians United for Reformation (CURE), which later merged to become the [[Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals]] (ACE).<ref name="monergism" />  From 2001 to 2004 Horton served as the president of ACE, but is now no longer affiliated with that organization. He is also an ordained minister in the [[United Reformed Churches in North America]] (URCNA), has served at two churches in [[Southern California]],<ref name="monergism" /> and was the Associate Pastor at Christ United Reformed Church in Santee, California, a [[United Reformed Churches in North America|URCNA]] member church.<ref name="whitehorseinn">{{cite news | work =White Horse Inn | title =Meet Our Hosts | url =http://www.whitehorseinn.org/meet-our-hosts.html | url-status =dead | archiveurl =https://archive.today/20130416040551/http://www.whitehorseinn.org/meet-our-hosts.html | archivedate =2013-04-16 }}</ref>  Horton taught an adult Sunday school class on God, suffering, [[sanctification]], [[Calvinist theology]], and the basics of the [[Heidelberg Catechism]]. This class is available on audio at the church website.<ref>{{cite news | last = Horton | first = Michael S | author-link = Michael Horton (theologian) | publisher = Christ United Reformed Church | title = Catechism | url = http://www.christurc.org/catechism_horton.html | url-status = dead | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20120909211714/http://www.christurc.org/catechism_horton.html | archivedate = 2012-09-09 }}</ref> 

In 1996 ''[[Christianity Today]]'' included him on their list of "Up & Comers: Fifty evangelical leaders 40 and under."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/1996/november11/6td20b.html?start=4 |title=Up & Comers, Part 2 | work =Christianity Today |date=1996-11-11 |accessdate= 2012-02-20}}</ref>