Princeton Seminary reverses decision to award Tim Keller after protests

Princeton Theological Seminary has reversed its decision to give a major award to Rev. Tim Keller following protests over his church's position on the ordination of women and LGBT individuals.

Keller, the founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, was supposed to receive the 2017 Kuyper Prize for Excellence in Reformed Theology and Public Witness at the seminary in New Jersey on April 6. He is also scheduled to deliver a lecture on evangelization and "church planting."

However, Princeton President Craig Barnes decided not to honor Keller with the award after an alumni complained about the pastor's conservative positions. The complaints against the pastor drew traction among the Princeton community, and it grew louder on Wednesday, forcing Barnes to come up with a compromise.

"In order to communicate that the invitation to speak at the upcoming conference does not imply an endorsement of the [PCA's] views about ordination, we have agreed not to award the Kuyper Prize this year," Barnes stated in a letter released Wednesday morning, as reported by Christianity Today.

While Keller will no longer receive the award, he would still be allowed to deliver his lecture.

"The Kuyper Center's invitation to Reverend Keller simply to lecture at their conference will stand, and he has graciously agreed to keep the commitment. We are a community that does not silence voices in the church," Barnes wrote.

Rev. Traci Smith, the alumni who complained about Keller's views in a blog post, said that Barnes' decision was "the right move."

"Yes to academic freedom. Yes to listening to others whose opinions are different from our own (no matter how distasteful they may be). No to giving large fancy prizes that can be confused with endorsement," she said in a statement on Wednesday.

Daniel Wolpert, executive director at Micah: Minnesota Institute of Contemplation and Healing, also hailed the decision. However, he said that he would have preferred if a "queer theologian" was delivering the lecture instead of Keller.

Some conservative Christians rose to defend Keller and criticized the seminary.

Owen Strachan, director of the Center for Public Theology at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, said that Princeton's decision to strip Keller of the award was "deeply saddening and upsetting."

Strachan noted that Keller is a complementarian who has taught what the Scriptures teach about male leadership at home and the church. He also pointed out that the pastor does not believe that homosexual practice is consistent with the Scripture. He asserted that Keller is being publicly shamed for upholding the teachings of the Bible.