John D. Woodbridge
John D. Woodbridge (born 1941) is an American church historian, editor, and composer. He serves as Research Professor of Church History and Christian Thought at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois.
Woodbridge joined the Trinity Evangelical Divinity School faculty in 1970 and became a full professor in 1974. He was a Visiting Professor of History at Northwestern University from 1989 to 1995. He also served as a senior editor at Christianity Today from 1997 to 1999. Four of his books have won Gold Medallion Book Awards. He appeared on The John Ankerberg Show in the 1980s and is a member of the American Catholic Historical Association and the American Society of Church History. In 2017, Colorado Christian University awarded him an honorary Doctor of Theology.
In 1982, Woodbridge played a key role in challenging a theory that biblical inerrancy was a recent invention. He published Biblical Authority: A Critique of the Rogers/McKim Proposal, arguing for a long-standing tradition of inerrancy in Christian history. The work drew mixed reactions: some scholars praised his thorough defense of inerrancy, while others remained skeptical about his broader conclusions.
Woodbridge is also interested in music, especially the piano, and has composed works. His best-known song is Sans Vous (Without You), written in 1965. It was the subject of a plagiarism lawsuit in 1983; a jury initially sided with him in 1991, but the judge later reversed the decision on a technicality. The case was settled out of court in May 1992.
Education and early work: Woodbridge earned a B.A. from Wheaton College, an M.A. from Michigan State University, and an M.Div. from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He earned his doctorate from the Université de Toulouse in 1969, with a thesis titled L'influence des philosophes français sur les pasteurs réformés du Languedoc pendant la deuxième moitié du XVIIIe siècle. His doctoral advisor was Jacques Godechot.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 15:42 (CET).