Word is spreading across the Internet this morning that beloved theologian T.F. Torrance has died today, December 2, 2007:

Thomas Forsyth Torrance (30 August 1913 - 2 December 2007) was a 20th century Protestant Christian theologian who served for 27 years as Professor of Christian Dogmatics at New College, Edinburgh in the University of Edinburgh, during which time he was a leader in Protestant Christian theology. While he wrote many books and articles advancing his own study of theology, he also translated several hundred theological writings into English from other languages. Torrance edited the English translation of the thirteen-volume, six-million-word Church Dogmatics (germ. “Die Kirchliche Dogmatik”) of celebrated Swiss theologian Karl Barth. Torrance’s work has been influential in the paleo-orthodox movement, and he is widely considered to be one of the most important Reformed theologians of his era (From Wikipedia).

Torrance was also the father of current Princeton Seminary president Iain Torrance. Once of the greatest experiences in my seminary career was taking a class on early church Christology from Iain Torrance who routinely brought photocopies of his father’s old library books to class so that we could read the church mothers and fathers along with both Iain and his father. The younger Torrance would decipher his father’s markings in the margins while adding his own thoughts as we read along in awe. We learned as much about the Torrance family as we did about Christology since the weekly lectures usually came attached with a Torrance family story about this or that theologian and a reading from a Torrance family book.

Heartfelt condolences go out to the entire Torrance family at this time of grieving for a man who has influenced many.

Update: George Hunsinger has posted a eulogy.

Update: Princeton Seminary has released this official announcement: Thomas Forsyth Torrance, the Reformed theologian and recipient of the Templeton Prize in 1978, died in Edinburgh in the early hours of the 2nd of December.  Dr. Torrance was a close friend of President McCord and of Sam and Eileen Moffett.  He was a member of the group that planned the founding of the Center of Theological Inquiry.  He delivered Warfield Lectures in 1981 (subsequently published as The Trinitarian Faith) and was often on the campus of PTS.  He was 94.  Dr. Torrance is survived by his wife Margaret and his two sons, Thomas and Iain, and his daughter Alison.  He had two grandchildren, Hew and Robyn.