Harold O. J. Brown

From an email by Wayne Grudem (posted with permission):

I
just learned this morning that Harold O. J. (“Joe”) Brown, professor of
theology at Reformed Theological Seminary – Charlotte, NC, and a
long-time friend, is gravely ill. His cancer from several years ago has
returned and a tumor is interfering with his breathing and speech, so
that he has a breathing tube and a feeding tube. He is at home with
hospice care. He is fully alert, but physically he is failing rapidly.
He is 73 (his 74th birthday is coming on July 6).

Joe taught
with me at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School for many years, always a
good and faithful friend, stalwart in defense of the truth, with a
never-failing sense of humor (bursting forth in Latin as often as
English). His prolific and erudite writings have advanced the work of
the kingdom in several areas of theology and ethics, and he was a major
intellectual and organizational force behind the pro-life movement in
the United States from its beginning (together with Dr. C. Everett Koop
he founded the Christian Action Council, now Care Net, in 1975). His
excellent book Heresies (Doubleday,
1984) is (as far as I know) the definitive historical survey of the
various false doctrines rejected by the church throughout 2000 years.

Please
pray for God’s comfort and strength for Joe and his wife Grace at this
time. I phoned this morning and talked with Grace, then was also able
to talk to Joe for a few minutes, reminding him of old times and
telling him how thankful I am for his friendship and the testimony of
his life. I could not understand his responses, but Grace said he was
saying “Thank you, thank you.”