As a college professor, as president of the Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur and as a strong voice within the Presbyterian Church USA hierarchy, Dr. C. Benton Kline helped guide his denomination through turbulent times from the 1960s through the 1990s.
"I look upon Ben as an unsung (hero) throughout that time," said the Rev. Steve Montgomery, pastor of the Idlewild Presbyterian Church in Memphis, Tenn.
"It may sound odd to say the president of a seminary was unsung," he went on, "but I feel Ben had a positive influence in our denomination far wider than Atlanta, leading us to acceptance of progress on civil rights, the status of women in the church and issues of sexuality. And he did it in a gentle and loving way."
Dr. C. Benton "Ben" Kline Jr., 86, of Stone Mountain died Monday at Emory University Hospital of heart failure. His memorial service is 10 a.m. today at North Decatur Presbyterian Church. A.S. Turner & Sons funeral home is in charge of arrangements.
Born in Pittsburgh, Dr. Kline earned his undergraduate degree at Wooster (Ohio) College, his master's at Princeton (N.J.) Theological Seminary and doctorate in philosophical theology at Yale University.
After a brief stint as a Yale instructor, he taught philosophy at Agnes Scott from 1951 to 1969. During that period he became chairman of the philosophy department and dean of the Agnes Scott faculty. Moving to the Columbia seminary in 1969, he became dean of the faculty there, then president between 1971 and 1976, following the 39-year presidency of Dr. J. McDowell Richards.
"It was a difficult act to follow," said Dr. Erskine Clarke, a former Columbia faculty colleague now living in Montreat, N.C., "but Ben did so with grace and wisdom."
Dr. Kline brought what Dr. Clarke described as a modern administrative style to the job, giving deans more responsibility and faculty members a more active role in decision-making. He said Dr. Kline also instituted a new seminary curriculum that remains fundamentally the same today and hired some excellent additions to the faculty.
Dr. Kline suffered a serious heart attack that ended his presidency, he said, but after a year he returned to the seminary and taught for years afterward.
One major change for the seminary during Dr. Kline's presidency was the admission of women in large numbers as candidates for ordination to the ministry. The changed atmosphere was cause for rethinking long-established ways, Dr. Clarke said, one of them dealing with vocabulary.
"Ben had a woman student who would come to his class with a pot and a spoon," he continued, "and every time Ben would say ‘he' or ‘man' in a theology lecture, she would bang that pot with a spoon. Ben took her criticism with good humor and adapted quickly, using gender-neutral substitute words."
Dr. Kline's lectures were models of engagement with his students, Dr. Clarke said.
"Ben had a winsome spirit that students responded to, provoking a lot of questions and reflection on their part."
The Rev. Mr. Montgomery, who took seminary courses under Dr. Kline, said the latter brought theology alive and made it relevant to current developments. "He was a superb teacher who allowed us to develop our own theology but with the grounding he provided. He never tried to force his beliefs on us."
Dr. Mary Brown Bullock of Decatur, former president of Agnes Scott and now a visiting professor at Emory, said Dr. Kline personified what a teacher of liberal arts should be. Speaking as a former student of his, she said he taught her and others at Agnes Scott to think, to question and to believe.
The Rev. Emmett Herndon of Atlanta, retired Presbyterian campus minister at Emory University, remembered Dr. Kline as the head of the committee that hired him for the Emory position years ago.
"Every committee ought to have a leader like Ben," he said. "He stimulated discussion; he kept meetings on track; he initiated new ideas."
In addition to his campus lectures, Dr. Kline often took the pulpit at Presbyterian churches around metro Atlanta. The Rev. Mr. Herndon said Dr. Kline was an excellent preacher and gave thoughtful sermons. "When Ben spoke, people listened," he said.
Survivors include his wife, Christine Kline; a daughter, Mary Martha Riviere of Tucker; a son, John Kline of Decatur; five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
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