John C. Rankin

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For other persons named John Rankin, see John Rankin (disambiguation).

Rev. John C. Rankin (born June 23, 1953) is an American theologian. He is the founder and president of the Theological Education Institute in Hartford, Connecticut.

[edit] Biography

Rankin was raised an agnostic Unitarian but converted to a biblical and evangelical faith through "divine revelation" when he was 14-years old. An alumnus of Fellowship of Christians in Universities and Schools (FOCUS), and of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship (IVCF), John holds graduate degrees in theology from Gordon-Conwell (M.Div.) and Harvard (Th.M. Ethics and Public Policy). He is ordained through the Vineyard Christian Fellowship in Wakefield, Massachusetts. Since his return to Connecticut in 1992, his home church is the Covenant Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) of Simsbury. Married in 1977, he and his wife Nancy have three sons and one daughter.

In October of 2002, Rankin debated Fred Phelps, pastor of Westboro Baptist Church and creator of the "godhatesfags.com" website, on the question "Does God Hate Homosexuals?" [1]