SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (BP)–Clayton Harrop, 78, former vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty at Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary, died Jan. 10 of cancer.
Elected to the seminary’s faculty in 1955, Harrop retired in 1994 and continued to serve as senior professor of New Testament interpretation.
Bill Crews, Golden Gate’s president, said the seminary “has lost a dear, dear friend. This was a man who loved God’s Word and expressed it through his scholarship as well as through his daily life. We will miss him greatly.”
Harrop held the bachelor of divinity and doctor of philosophy degrees from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., and a bachelor of arts degree from William Jewell College in Liberty, Mo. He participated in post-doctoral studies at the University of Chicago, Cambridge University in England and the University of Gottingen in Germany.
Before joining the seminary faculty, he was pastor of the New Hope Baptist Church, Newtonville, Ind., and the Birmingham (Mo.) Baptist Church.
Harrop wrote “The Letter of James,” a book published by Convention Press, and “History of the New Testament in Plain Language,” published by Word Press, along with numerous articles for Southern Baptist Sunday School publications and various Christian magazines. He also contributed articles to the Mercer Dictionary of the Bible and the Holman Bible Dictionary.
He was a member of the Society of Biblical Literature and the National Association of Baptist Professors of Religion. He was listed in Who’s Who in Religion, Who’s Who in American Education, Directory of American Scholars, Outstanding Educators of America, Dictionary of International Biography and Who’s Who in Biblical Studies and Archaeology.
Harrop and his wife, Shirley, traveled extensively throughout Europe and attended meetings of the International Congress on Biblical Studies in Oxford, England, and the Society of New Testament Studies meeting in Southampton, England.
In addition to his wife, Harrop is survived by three children, Judith, Joyce and Janice.
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